Ohio Governor Mike DeWine focused on the education, welfare and future of the Ohio children in his 2024 State of the State address to a Joint Session of the Ohio General Assembly.

“The single most important thing we can do for Ohio’s future is to ensure that all Ohio children — no matter where they live, no matter who their parents are — have the opportunity to live up to their full God-given potential and that they have the chance to pursue their dreams and their passions in life,” said Governor Mike DeWine.

“When I was running for Governor, Fran told me that she wanted to make sure every Ohio child under five years-of-age would be eligible to receive a book in the mail each month from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. When she became First Lady, only 13 percent of Ohio’s children were getting books. Today, all Ohio children under five are now eligible, and we are at 60 percent enrollment — with 402,000 Ohio children receiving a free book in the mail each and every month.”

Other areas highlighted in the State of the State address include Science of Reading, Let Every Ohio Child See/Vision, Testing Plan School-Based Health Clinics, Early Childhood Education, Educator and Administrative Development, Career Pathways, Healthy Kids, Cell Phone/Social Media, Helping Those in Crisis, Delta 8 and Marijuana, Tobacco and Safety on the Roads.

The following are major accomplishments and new initiatives highlighted in the speech.

Science of Reading

Accomplishment: With the help of $64 million state investment, Ohio’s schools are implementing literacy curricula aligned with the Science of Reading, a method of literacy education based on decades of research that teaches reading in the way that brains learn best. 

Next Steps: Governor DeWine called on every president, provost, and dean of a college of education at all of Ohio’s colleges and universities to align their teacher preparation programs to the science of reading.

Let Every Ohio Child See/Vision Testing Plan

Next Steps:  Governor DeWine announced the Children’s Vision Strike Force, led by Ohio Department of Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff, M.D., MBA, to scale local efforts to ensure every student who fails a vision screening has a follow up comprehensive eye exam and is able to receive glasses if they need them.

School-Based Health Clinics

Accomplishment: As part of the General Assembly’s historic investment in Appalachia, Governor DeWine recently announced the Appalachian Children’s Health Initiative, which is helping 20 Ohio counties create or expand community- and school-based health clinics to serve at least 61,000 students and 375,000 residents.

Next Steps: Governor DeWine today asked the Ohio Departments of Health and Education and Workforce to work together to provide technical assistance to any school district that wants to create their own school-based health clinic.

Early Childhood Education

Next Steps: Governor DeWine announced a revision to the child care quality rating system to simplify and reduce paperwork, focus on better outcomes for kids, and, for the first time ever, provide quality-rated programs with access to curriculum aligned with the Science of Reading.

Accomplishment: With the support of the General Assembly, Governor DeWine has increased access to child care and Ohio’s public preschool program through expanded eligibility and investment. As a result, more than 16,000 children are being served today.

Next Steps: Governor DeWine today announced a new Child Care Choice Voucher Program that will provide financial support for an additional 8,000 Ohio children. Qualifying families are those earning up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level or $60,000 for a family of four. Expanding child care access for working families is essential for a thriving economy.

Educator and Administrative Development

Accomplishment: In 2023, Governor DeWine announced the creation of the Teacher Apprenticeship Program where school leaders identify potential future teachers already working in the schools and provide them with an opportunity to participate in a registered apprenticeship program to obtain their teaching license.

Next Steps: Governor DeWine announced that the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce would create a Principal Apprenticeship Program where up-and-coming principals can receive hands-on, in-school training from veteran principals to better prepare them for challenges on the job.

Career Pathways

Accomplishment: Not every career requires a traditional 4-year degree, and with the support of the General Assembly, Governor DeWine announced $200 million in grants to grow new career tech classrooms at 35 training centers. Just last month, he awarded $67 million to 56 programs to purchase additional training equipment so more students can access training on state-of-the-art equipment.

Next Steps: Governor DeWine today asked the legislature to make a change in statute that would require career planning into existing high school graduation requirements. The goal is for all Ohio graduates to have a clear path toward a career.

Healthy Kids

Next Steps: Governor DeWine announced the launch of Family Connects, a pilot program in 11 Ohio counties that will provide an evidence-based, universal nurse newborn home visiting program, to offer support and answer questions families may have.

Cell Phone/Social Media

Next Steps: For students to get the most out of the school day, teachers shouldn’t have to compete with students’ phones. Governor DeWine is calling on local school leaders to prohibit the use of student phones in the classroom. He is also calling on the General Assembly to pass a bill requiring all schools to communicate to parents their phone and social media policies.

Next Steps: Calls on legislature to pass a new law that addresses legal concerns surrounding a previously passed law that requires parental consent for children to have social media accounts prior to the age of 16 years old.

Helping Those in Crisis

Accomplishment:  Governor DeWine and the director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health are working on building the mental health system to help Ohioans where and when they need it, including establishing a mobile response stabilization service to respond to those in crisis in 38 counties.

Next Steps: Governor DeWine plans to expand the mobile response stabilization service to all 88 Ohio counties so families across the state will have someone to call if their child is in crisis.

Delta 8 and Marijuana

Next Steps: Governor DeWine called on the General Assembly to pass legislation that would restrict the sale of intoxicating hemp, also known as Delta-8 products. The Governor has previously endorsed legislation that would require Delta-8 products to be sold under the same restrictions as regulated marijuana. Governor DeWine also called on the General Assembly to pass legislation to make clear marijuana cannot be smoked in public places, especially places where smoking marijuana would interfere with children and other Ohioans who should not or would not want to be around such smoke.

Tobacco

Accomplishment: To reduce youth tobacco use, Ohio has adopted a higher minimum purchase age of 21 years old.

Next Steps: Given that 81% of 12- to 15-year-olds who first tried tobacco did so with flavored tobacco products, Governor DeWine called on the Biden administration to enact proposed rules that would ban the sale of flavored tobacco and e-liquid products. Absent a federal rule, Governor DeWine called on the General Assembly to pass a uniform, statewide flavored tobacco ban as well.

Safety on the Roads

Accomplishment: Ohio’s distracted driving law, which was a major initiative of Governor DeWine, has been in effect for several months and has yielded a significant reduction in traffic collisions, preventing an estimated 3600 collisions and 2000 injuries. This has been done by making distracted driving a primary offense for law enforcement.

Next Steps: Governor DeWine pledged to work with the General Assembly on making not wearing a seatbelt a primary offense for law enforcement, which should have a similar result in reducing fatalities as distracted driving primary enforcement did.

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