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About OESCA: Code of Professional Ethics

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Code of Professional Ethics

Ohio ESC Association

Code of Professional Ethics

 

 

Whereas, OESCA can only become stronger if we operate as a statewide network of service agencies and speak with a unified voice to the Ohio Department of Education, the office of the Governor, the state legislature and other state-level policy makers, without internal fighting and turmoil, and the resulting distrust between and among our member organizations;

           

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the following code of professional ethics be hereby adopted and implemented as a stated policy of OESCA and each of its member organizations:

 

PREAMBLE

 

The principal ideal of OESCA members is to work together as a statewide network of support to provide high quality, cost-effective programs and services to students, school districts and state-level partners. OESCA strongly encourages interagency cooperation and the collaborative delivery of programs and services, between ESCs and the 16 regions of the Educational Regional Service System, to ensure equitable access to all students regardless of where they live and attend school. In pursuit of this ideal, we, the members of OESCA, agree to abide by the following code of ethical conduct.

 

CODE

 

  1. Open recruitment by ESCs of school districts from one ESC to another is strongly discouraged and is a violation of the OESCA code of professional ethics.
  2. Open recruitment by ESCs, including fiscal agents under contract with ODE, of school districts from one region of the educational regional service system (ERSS) to another region is strongly discouraged and is a violation of the OESCA code of ethics.
  3. An ESC marketing/offering an alternative service, including online courses and/or professional development or services offered under contract with ODE or other state agencies, to the member districts of any other ESC SHALL communicate their intentions and send a copy of the information to the superintendent of the other ESC at least 10 business days before contacting the prospective school district.
  4. If an ESC is approached by a school district within the territory of another ESC requesting contracted services or a transfer of membership as allowed under the Ohio Revised Code, the superintendent of the ESC approached SHALL communicate this to the OESCA Executive Committee and the ESC superintendent in which the school district is currently a member within 10 business days of initial contact. The current ESC superintendent would then have the opportunity to discuss any concerns with the district requesting services or transfer of membership. Those who knowingly fail to comply with this section are in violation of the intent of the OESCA Code of Professional Ethics.
  5. In the case in which an ESC does not offer all the services of another ESC, that ESC SHALL not discourage a member district from contracting with another ESC for the contracted provision of those specific services which they do not currently provide. The prospective providing ESC superintendent SHALL communicate this possible service offering to the superintendent of the member district’s ESC.
  6. Pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code, once a school district has made the final decision to transfer membership to another ESC that district must remain with the new ESC for 5 years per statutory requirements.
  7. Educational Service Centers (ESCs) will openly communicate differences with each other, first on a one-to-one basis to reach a resolution. If resolution of conflict is not reached at that level, an officer of OESCA may be asked to participate in mediating these discussions. Finally, if a resolution is not reached at that level, the disagreement will be discussed at the next meeting of the OESCA Executive Committee. Based on the discussions and the facts brought to light over the conflict, the OESCA Executive Committee may issue its findings in writing and may distribute, as appropriate, the findings as a means to give clarification to the general membership of how the Code of Professional Ethics can be applied.
  8. OESCA members will attend and actively participate in meetings of OESCA including, but not limited to, the two annual membership meetings.
  9. OESCA members with divergent views need to express those openly and with each other and should reach consensus.
  10. OESCA members must act and respond in a courteous, ethical, and professional manner.
  11. OESCA members shall provide the ESC leadership, supervisory staff and other employees of the ESC, as appropriate, with copies of the OESCA Code of Professional Ethics.

 

RESPONSE TO VIOLATIONS

 

The procedures and actions indicated below are simply a listing of the response options available to OESCA, and all procedures may not be involved in each violation.

 

The focus of the following provisions is to resolve issue(s) and do so at the lowest level in the process to ensure the continued provision of high-quality services to member districts. The President may submit a written response at any step in the process.

 

  1. Verbal notification from the President to an ESC superintendent.
  2. Written notification from the President to an ESC superintendent.
  3. Meeting with the Executive Committee if requested by the President or ESC superintendent. The meeting should be informal, without rules of evidence, witnesses, cross examination or official transcripts.
  4. Action by the Executive Committee to suspend all membership rights for a specified number of days. During this probationary period this ESC would not have attendance rights at any OESCA-sponsored activity except the Franklin B. Walter Awards Luncheon a student-focused event recognizing the top student in each county of the state.
  5. Action by the Executive Committee to effectuate an involuntary withdrawal (expulsion) of the member ESC from OESCA. This may occur only upon a two-thirds vote of the entire membership.

 

REVIEW:

 

The OESCA Executive Committee shall periodically review and make recommendations to update the Code of Professional Ethics.  All amendments shall be affirmed by the general membership.

 

DEFINITIONS:


Communicate: The announcement/information/notice would be transmitted by e-mail within 10 business days

 

School District: Any chartered non-public, community or other school as defined by and/or included in the laws and regulations of the State of Ohio.

 

Service: Core Services

 

OESCA Mission

 

OESCA and its members provide leadership and services that enable school districts to increase student achievement and improve Ohio’s educational system.

 

Vision Statement

 

OESCA will be recognized at state and national levels for educational leadership and superior member services.

 

Association Beliefs

 

OESCA believes that high quality educational opportunities are the cornerstone of our democracy. Educational Service Centers provide (1) leadership to help all students reach high standards of performance and (2) cost-efficient regional services. Therefore, OESCA actively promotes and supports the following beliefs:

 

  • OESCA believes that public schools are highly successful and continue to confront and overcome the challenges of socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, and the accompanying deprivations that impact learning.
  • State resources must be focused on providing support to public education. Nothing will provide a greater impact on the future of Ohio, and our nation, as developing the minds of its future citizens and leaders.
  • Accountability is an important aspect in school improvement. ESCs are best positioned to assist districts with efficient and economical operational and academic resources to support school accountability.
  • ESCs are best positioned to provide districts with technical assistance.
  • ESCs should be eligible to receive funding from all state education formulas and grants in order to carry out state and local education initiatives.
  • OESCA supports state fiscal policies that reinforce the capacity of the state government to adequately support public education.

 

Strategic Goals

 

Goal #1: Increase active membership in support of OESCA by Ohio ESCs.

 

Goal #2: Establish an effective, consistently used system of accountability for Ohio ESCs aligned to the regional quality delivery standards adopted by the State Regional Alliance Advisory Board of the Educational Regional Service System.

 

Goal #3: Create a system of technical assistance designed to enable ESCs to improve performance.

 

Goal #4: Establish recognition of OESCA’s value by ODE, the Legislature and other key stakeholders.

 

Goal #5: Build strategic partnerships to advance OESCA’s organizational priorities.

 

 
 

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