Cincy Reporter

Students in Ohio and across the country have fallen behind academically during the pandemic, and lawmakers of all political persuasions want to get them back on track. 

But they don't necessarily agree on the solutions. 

Former Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, one of the Democrats looking to be Ohio's next governor, proposed spending federal recovery dollars on free summer school for all Ohio school children. 

"I believe this is a moral imperative, and we have the money to do it," Cranley said during a press call Monday. "All we need is the political will."

Cranley is running for the Democratic nomination for governor against former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.

Summer school plan

Cranley's plan would require all Ohio school districts to offer a free, six-week summer school program to all eligible students – even those who attend private or community schools. 

Attendance by both teachers and students would be optional, but the schools would have to provide transportation as well as free breakfast and lunch. 

"We don’t expect that 100% of families would take advantage of this option," Cranley said. But he's hoping to capture the one in four students who were chronically absent last year. 

"We have a moral obligation to do everything we can to help these students,’’ Cranley said.

More: Ohio schools struggle with spikes in chronic absenteeism during the pandemic

How to pay for it

Ohio schools and the state Department of Education received a combined $7.9 billion in federal COVID-19 relief and had spent about 21% as of Feb. 28, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education.

"We’ve got a lot of money sitting around...," said Stephen Dyer, an education policy fellow for Innovation Ohio. "We can afford to do six weeks of summer school."

He estimated the program would cost about $740 million if every K-12 public school student attended. 

That didn't include any local costs districts might incur such as bonuses or incentives to lure teachers back to their classrooms.

But Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro didn't think finding teachers for summer classes would be a huge issue. 

"Last year when a lot of districts were offering expanded summer school classes, I didn’t really hear about local districts having problems," DiMauro said. 

What schools are already doing

Most public schools offer summer enrichment programs, but they can come at a cost to parents. 

Attendance isn't a given either. Canton City Schools, for example, reported that 60-65% of students who sign up for summer school consistently show up. Still, the district plans to offer even more classes this summer.

Other districts are taking similar steps partly because of Senate Bill 229.

Introduced by Republican Sen. Bill Blessing and signed into law in December, the law required districts to submit their learning loss solutions to the Ohio Department of Education. 

The plans could include summer school as well as longer days, tutoring and extended school years, Blessing said. "There was a lot of latitude in the language."

As for universal summer school, Blessing wasn't opposed to offering it. Though he wanted to see the details first.

"Maybe I’m completely wrong, but (the districts) fight us whenever there is a mandate on anything," Blessing said. 

DiMauro said letting schools localize their options and requiring a free summer school both have merit. 

"I think there's a need to come up with as many solutions as possible...," DiMauro said. "I don't see this as a particularly divisive or controversial issue, which is kind of refreshing." 

Original source can be found here.