COLUMBUS - Fourth-graders will be prevented from advancing and 10th-graders won't be able to eventually graduate unless they pass proficiency tests under tougher school standards signed into law Friday by Gov. George Voinovich.
Schools also will have to set aside money for financial emergencies, textbooks and building maintenance. Districts that fail to improve will face state intervention and performance audits.
''These bills will help guarantee that Ohio taxpayers are going to get a return on their investment in our schools,'' Mr. Voinovich said in a statement.
Missing from the package was a price tag. The Republican-controlled General Assembly also scuttled other reform ideas that school groups contend are needed to improve student performance, such as all-day kindergarten and smaller class sizes in early grades.
GOP legislative leaders advanced the two accountability bills last month in an attempt to build support among rank-and-file lawmakers for Mr. Voinovich's proposed penny-on-the-dollar increase in the state sales tax.
The governor wanted voters to approve the tax increase, which would have raised $1.1 billion annually. His plan was designed to comply with an Ohio Supreme Court order that declared the state's school-funding system is unconstitutional because it relies too heavily on local property taxes.
However, lawmakers were unable to reach consensus on the plan earlier this month, forcing state leaders to scramble to draft an alternative before the court's March 24 deadline to fix the system.
While the funding plan failed, tougher standards crafted to help sell it moved ahead.
Some school leaders already are grumbling about the new requirements. They say the standards are ''unfunded mandates'' and complain that the rhetoric from Mr. Voinovich and lawmakers could lead citizens to think schools haven't been accountable.
''The people in Columbus are setting out to control everything that goes on in the schools,'' Reading Superintendent John Varis said. ''I thought we had locally elected school boards to make those decisions.''
Moreover, questions remain about whether the state has the stomach to enforce some of the standards.
Eight years ago, legislators approved even tougher rules governing school performance. After school officials and some lawmakers complained, the Ohio Department of Education essentially shelved them.
The previous law called for troubled schools to draft annual improvement plans. Those that failed to demonstrate progress would have been overseen by a state-appointed monitor.
Legislators tried to craft similar language last month but gave up in the face of opposition from school officials and religious conservatives who feared that it would erode local control of schools.
''We recognize there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution for very disparate school districts,'' sponsoring Sen. Gene Watts, R-Galloway, said. ''We also felt the previous law would have had people in the schools doing nothing but planning. They wouldn't have time to teach.''
The new law calls for tougher standards for passage of proficiency tests, dropout rates and student attendance. Parents would receive annual report cards on how their districts perform.
But the law is silent about what should happen to troubled schools. Instead, it orders the state Education Department to recommend rules to the General Assembly by July 1.
John Goff, state superintendent of public instruction, said he hoped that the tougher standards would help revive talks on school funding.
''We've got real difficulties if there is no funding in place for schools to carry this out,'' he said. ''Signing these bills should put a little more pressure on the General Assembly to deal with the funding system.''
HIGHLIGHTS OF NEW LAW
