3/5/2011 10:44:00 PMHow Senate Bill 5 will affect education in Ohio

The Plain Dealer

Senate Bill 5 stands to sweep away many of the rules that educators, administrators and school boards have worked under for decades. Here are some of the changes in the version of the bill passed by the Ohio Senate:

• Wages still will be negotiated through collective bargaining. But management gets to decide much more than it does now, including leave policies, class sizes and where employees are assigned.

• Employees can't strike. If agreement can't be reached on bargaining issues, a fact-finder's report and the last offers from both sides will be made public. The school board then chooses one of the offers.

•Salaries must be based on merit. Automatic raises now pegged to years of service and education credentials - known as step increases -- will be abolished.

• Seniority no longer determines who gets laid off. Performance will be the primary factor, though seniority still will have a role.

• Continuing contracts for experienced teachers - more commonly known as tenure - will no longer be granted.

• Districts will pay for no more than 85 percent of employees' health care premiums. Currently, at least 335 districts pay a higher percentage.

• Districts won't pay for any of the employees' required contribution to their pension plans, which is 10 percent of their salaries. Some districts pick up part of that now, but it's unclear how many.