Cleveland.com reflects on its two-year project reporting from within Almira Elementary – a compelling series on the challenges and successes of educating children living in poverty and real-life demonstration of the Butterfly Effect, “the concept that small changes can have dramatic effects in the long term – that the tiny breeze of a proverbial butterfly’s flapping wings could, somewhere, eventually stir a typhoon.”

Quotable & Notable

Fact of the Week

This interactive timeline and accompanying article by the Center for American Progress depict trends in federal child care legislation over the past decade, a period during which over 200 bills were introduced. Despite many bills introduced and debated in Congress, only six were passed into law. The authors call on Congress to commit to long-term investments in child care infrastructure. 

Policy Radar

Ohio budget 

Gov. DeWine signed the state’s biennial FY24-25 budget last week – an $86 billion spending plan clocking in at nearly 6,200 pages. Throughout this budget season, there was much uncertainty around investments in children’s programs and whether DeWine’s initial priorities would survive, as well as debate on education issues like the third-grade reading guarantee, private school vouchers, and school lunches. Legislators deliberated up until the final hour (and even past it) to come to agreement. Here are some articles that do a nice job summarizing what made it to passage:

• Cleveland.com’s take on what the budget does or doesn’t do for Ohio’s kids 
• The Dispatch’s review of how the budget will impact the lives of regular Ohioans 
• A press announcement from the DeWine administration, signaling points of pride 
• A quick review of some of the most high-profile vetoes made by the governor 
• A review by Groundwork Ohio of the accomplishments made by the advocacy community

From our vantage point, here are some of the most pertinent budget items related to Ohio’s children: 

• State sales tax exemptions on baby items, like cribs, diapers, strollers, car seats, etc. 
• An increase in eligibility for publicly funded child care subsidies, from 142% of the federal poverty level to 145% 
• Expanded paid parental leave for eligible state employees 
• A new state agency, the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, that will incorporate and streamline all programs for young children 
• $154 million in funds for child care and preschool 
• A new prohibition on childcare providers such that there can be no requirement that childcare staff must hold a certain degree (bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral), as well as a prohibition on using these credentials for Step Up to Quality rating purposes 
• New funding for infant vitality programs 
• Changes all references to “daycare” in Ohio Revised Code to “child care” 
• Changes the name of the Ohio Department of Education to the Department of Education and Workforce, along with significant changes to its governance – to be controlled by a governor-appointed agency lead instead of the State Board of Education 
• Increased appropriations for the free- and reduced-price lunch program 
• Requirement that school districts use literacy curricula that come from a pre-approved list of evidence-based options. Also defines the “science of reading” and prohibits the three-cueing approach in reading instruction. Provides dedicated funding for the purchase of new materials. 
• Eliminates the retention provision of the state’s third-grade reading guarantee, in that parents/guardians can overrule a school’s decision to retain a third grader who doesn’t attain a passing score on the reading exam 

And, because sifting through this much information can be somewhat of a slog, here are nominees for the most random or interesting new rules for Ohio: 

• Prohibition on using TikTok on government-owned devices 
• Our expert analysis: What if one of Ohio’s agency directors really needs to access a video of a cat falling into a bathtub? 
• Requirement that Ohioans under the age of 16 attain parental approval before signing up for social media 
• Our expert analysis: HONESTLY GOOD. (Or at least I can tell my 10yo the “state” said no.) 
• Creations of a new Division of Marijuana Control, which changes oversight of the state’s medical cannabis program. This also establishes a Superintendent of Marijuana Control. 
• Our expert analysis: Can you imagine this being your job title, though? 
• The solar eclipse got $1 million. That is, the state set aside funds to manage the influx of people who may come to the state in April 2024 to see a full solar eclipse. 
• Our expert analysis: A big win for amateur astronomers (and the communities people may flock to for viewing)? Part of these funds should go toward the purchase of solar viewing glasses.

New from Crane

New research by Dr. Rebecca Dore and Crane colleagues shows that low to moderate screen time levels may not matter with respect to preschoolers’ academic skill gains and suggests that demonizing screen media use is not helpful. However, over two hours of daily screen use may have impacts on preschoolers’ social skills as well as possible impacts on sleep. Read more about the study here. NBC4i also reported on the study here.

What We're Reading

Two local news outlets report on the increase in Ohio’s poverty rate. According to the latest state of poverty report by the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies, Ohio’s rate is 13.4% – up from 12.7% the previous year.

An article in Early Learning Nation describes findings from a survey by the National Diaper Bank Network and the alarming reality that nearly half (47%) of American families struggle to afford diapers.

Research Round-Up

A brief in The Conversation summarizes research by economists exploring the ways parents use their time differently during the school year versus summer months. The results show that mothers of school-age children tend to sleep 25 minutes less during the school year than during the summer months. They also have 28 fewer minutes in free time and dedicate seven fewer minutes to exercise in the school year compared to during the summer. Fathers in the study still sacrificed time asleep and free time during the school year – but less of it compared to mothers in the study. The authors connect these results to the possibility that a higher rate if seasonal affective disorder in women could be related to the greater demands on mothers during the school year.

This edition written by: Jamie O'Leary and Janelle Williamson

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