By Deba Uwadiae and Taiwo Akinlami

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine began his 2025 State of the State address with “the State of the State is strong. Ohio is strong,” assuring Ohioans that things are moving rightly.

Speaking before a crowd of legislators and members of the public, at the joint session of the Ohio General Assembly, Governor DeWine pledged to continue making Ohio the best place in the nation to live, work, and raise a family.

“Since taking office, my administration has worked each day to help ensure that every Ohioan has the tools to live up to their full potential and the opportunity to live their version of the American dream,” said Governor DeWine.

“For the truth is, we cannot achieve our full potential as a state unless each Ohioan first achieves theirs.” 

Workforce:

Thanks to the state’s targeted work to attract economic development projects into local communities, Ohio has added more than 81,000 private sector jobs. Further, at least 15,000 additional jobs are coming to Ohio through projects that are currently in development.

In response to Ohio’s growing workforce needs, Governor DeWine announced that Lt. Governor Jim Tressel will lead an initiative to implement Ohio’s Workforce Playbook. By examining the needs and circumstances of Ohio’s various regions, Ohio’s Workforce Playbook will determine a course of action to retain existing talent, recruit new talent to Ohio, and rally Ohio’s existing workforce to greater productivity.

Education:

Following the enactment of a new law last year requiring school districts to implement policies to address the use of cell phones in schools, many districts that banned cell phones have noted substantial improvement in student engagement, attendance, grades, socialization, and communication. As a result of the lessons learned over the past year, Governor DeWine announced a proposal to ban cell phone use in all Ohio schools.

“Addiction to screen time and the non-stop barrage of notifications rob our children of precious time to learn from their teachers during the school day,” said Governor DeWine.

“I ask the Legislature to approve the language in our budget to put an end to cell phone use during school hours in all Ohio school districts to give the precious time during the school day back to our kids so they can learn, and teachers can teach.”

Ohio’s recent shift to implement the Science of Reading in all K-12 schools is delivering encouraging results. This year’s School Report Cards showed significant improvement in English Language Arts proficiency among elementary students, climbing by 2.2% among Ohio third graders, 5.2% among fourth graders, and 3.1% among fifth graders.

To recognize and celebrate schools that are improving literacy instruction, Governor DeWine announced the creation of the new Governor’s Science of Reading Recognition Program. More than 40 schools have been selected for this recognition in the program’s inaugural year. The full list of schools will be announced soon.

To better incorporate several subjects into the curriculum of Ohio’s schools, Governor DeWine also announced plans to:

• Embed social studies content directly into materials used to teach reading and writing skills.
• Require instruction on Ohio history in every grade, starting in kindergarten.
• Emphasize the development of essential practical life skills such as time management, problem-solving, teamwork, critical thinking, and adaptability.
• Integrate career planning into existing high school graduation plans to help students define their career goals and identify the education or training needed to achieve them.
• Put driver’s education back into Ohio’s high schools.

Governor DeWine also announced plans for two new school programs:

• The Ohio Principal Apprenticeship Program will match aspiring principals with veteran principals to better prepare them to embrace the challenges of school leadership.
• Lt. Governor Tressel will lead a soon-to-be-announced initiative to promote physical fitness in Ohio schools.

Childcare:

Ohio continues to help more working families get financial support for childcare. Ten months after the launch of Ohio’s Childcare Choice Voucher Program, which expanded access to state childcare support to assist working families earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level, Ohio is now supporting 5,100 more families and 7,700 more children.

Additionally, Governor DeWine’s proposed child tax credit would provide families up to $1,000 per child every year through age 6. This will help eligible parents pay for childcare, healthcare, and other costs associated with raising children.

Youth Vision, Dental, and School-Based Care:

Programs in Ohio that offer school-based care are successfully helping students thrive. To ensure that more students have access to critical healthcare, Governor DeWine announced details of two new school-based programs proposed in the state budget:

• The OhioSEE vision program will ensure that all Ohio students in kindergarten through third grade get vision screenings. Further, the program will ensure all students who need follow-up comprehensive eye exams or glasses get them. An anticipated 33,000 children are expected to be served by OhioSEE over the next two years.
• The Children’s Dental Services Program will start as a pilot program in nine Ohio counties that are designated as Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas and lack non-profit dental facilities to provide care to low-income families. The program will partner with dental professionals in the community and school districts to deploy dental programs directly into schools – providing screenings, preventative care, and treatment to children who need these services the most.

Additionally, Governor DeWine continued to tout the successes of school-based health clinics across the state and urged all Ohio superintendents to reach out to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to learn how they can easily set up a school-based health clinic in their district.

Higher Education:

The new Ohio Governor’s Merit Scholarship, which awards $5,000 scholarships to graduating seniors in the top 5% of their class who attend an Ohio college or university, is successfully encouraging more of Ohio’s brightest to pursue in-state higher education. Prior to the creation of this scholarship, only about 60% of students meeting scholarship parameters stayed in Ohio for college. Last year, 76% of students eligible for the scholarship accepted it and are attending Ohio colleges and universities. This year, the acceptance rate grew even further to 87%. Over the first two years of the program, an additional 2,700 of Ohio’s top students stayed in the state to pursue their degrees.

To further entice Ohio’s brightest students to stay here to chase their educational and career dreams, Governor DeWine’s budget proposes to guarantee admission to the main campus of every state college or university for all Ohio high school students in the top 5% of their class.

Because work-based learning opportunities can be a core component of a student’s academic success, Governor DeWine announced that he will require Ohio’s state colleges and universities to implement meaningful work-based learning programs, such as co-op, internship, or externship programs.

Governor DeWine’s proposed budget will also make Ohio the first state in the nation to tie a significant portion of funding for colleges and universities to student outcomes, including how many students got a job after graduation.

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