OESCA
CODE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
(click for a Microsoft Word version: OESCA Code of Ethics.doc)
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 public education is 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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Whereas, OESCA can only become stronger if we speak with a unified voice to both the Ohio Department of Education, the office of the Governor, the state legislature and other state policy makers, without internal fighting and turmoil, and the resulting distrust within our organization;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the following code of ethics be hereby adopted and implemented as a stated policy of OESCA:
CODE OF ETHICS
Preamble
The principal ideal of OESCA members is to work together to provide quality cost-effective services to students and school districts. In pursuit of this ideal, we, the members of OESCA, agree to abide by the following code of ethical conduct.
Code
- The ESCs will openly communicate differences with each other, first on a one-to-one basis to try to reach a resolution. If it 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, the disagreement may be discussed at an Executive Committee meeting.
- If an ESC is approached by a school district requesting services or a transfer of membership who is a member of another ESC 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. That ESC superintendent would then have the opportunity to discuss any concerns with the district requesting services or transfer of membership.
- Open recruitment of school districts from one ESC to another is strongly discouraged and is a violation of the OESCA code of ethics.
- Open recruitment by ESCs of school districts from one region of the education regional service system to another region is strongly discouraged and is a violation of the OESCA code of ethics.
- An ESC marketing/offering an alternative service to the member 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.
- 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 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.
- Once a school district has made the final decision to transfer to another ESC that district must remain with that ESC for 5 years per statutory requirements under the Ohio Revised Code.
- Members will attend and actively participate in meetings of OESCA.
- Members with divergent views need to express those openly and with each other and should reach consensus.
- Members must act and respond in a courteous, ethical, and professional manner.
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.
- Verbal notification from the President to an ESC superintendent.
- Written notification from the President to an ESC superintendent.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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
Approval Date: ______/______/______
Signature of ESC Governing Board President: _________________________________
Signature of ESC Superintendent: _________________________________
Updated: 04/28/08