Governor DeWine Delivers Final State Of The State And Uses Opportunity To Center Administration's Policies To Support Ohio Children

Governor Mike DeWine delivered his final State of the State address this afternoon before a joint session of the Ohio General Assembly in the chambers of the Ohio House of Representatives. Today's session was attended by both houses of the legislature, the Ohio Supreme Court, the statewide elected officers, the members of the Governor's Cabinet and the public.

The Governor started his address, which lasted just over an hour, by offering gratitude: to the members of the General Assembly who have served during the last seven years, to Lt. Governor Tressel and his family as well as former Lt. Governor Husted and his family, the Cabinet members, the staff serving throughout the Executive branch, the members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Ohio National Guard, First Lady DeWine and the DeWine family and to the citizens of Ohio for providing him the opportunity to serve as Governor.

The Governor called back to his first State of the State address and the story of his grandfather planting trees for future generations, saying that together they planted many trees that are now growing to success. Governor DeWine hailed the success of the effort to implement the Science of Reading in schools, the lowest infant mortality rate in the state in 20 years, multiple awards to the state for our business climate, the success of the Governor's Merit Scholarship in keeping Ohio students in state for higher education, a decrease in drug overdoses, the jobs being brought to the state by Anduril Industries, Joby Aviation and Sierra Nevada Corporation, among others.

As is usual for Governor DeWine, during his time as governor and his public career as a whole, he spent most of his speech focusing on children, families and education proposals. The Governor highlighted several proposals, including:

• Ohio's Dolly Parton Imagination Library – A signature initiative of First Lady Fran DeWine, the Library has distributed more than 25 million books since its inception. Ohio is the only state where children can be enrolled in the hospital from birth. He encouraged the legislature to continue its support.
• Science of Reading – The Governor stated that kindergartner readiness has improved by 8.3% this year, showing the success of the implementation in pre-kindergarten programs. He warned the one-third of the state's universities that have not implemented training in Science of Reading programs that the state will enforce the law requiring them to close those programs at the end of the year if they have not done so. Finally, Governor DeWine announced four new programs to further the Science of Reading:
  • The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce is creating regional teams to help districts that have not yet implemented the Science of Reading in their schools.
  • The regional teams will also be available to any district to assess their progress in implementation and help in improving instruction.
  • Fifty more ReadOhio coaches will be deployed to support school districts with evidence-based, science-of-reading strategies to improve literacy.
  • Finally, the Education Service Centers will offer free training and credentialing to school staff to become a ReadOhio coach.
• Healthy Habits for Kids – The Governor called on the General Assembly to support policies that get kids off screens and back into play-based learning. He asked the legislature to pass House Bill 304, sponsored by Representatives Tom Young (R-Washington Township) and Melanie Miller (R-Ashland), to expand recess for students in grades K-8. The Governor also encouraged the General Assembly to make permanent the Team Tressel Fitness Challenge – a program led by Lt. Governor Tressel to help kids in grades 3–8 to build lifelong habits around fitness, healthy eating, and sleep and lays the foundation for a brighter future by improving students' physical and mental health.
• Kids Mental Health and Technology – Governor DeWine asked the General Assembly to build on state law that has banned the use of cellphones in schools, saying it has made a positive culture change in schools that should be extended outside of school hours. He was particularly concerned by teen use of screens and social media. While the Governor said these issues are best addressed by parents, there are things that the government can do to help. DeWine called on the legislature to pass legislation to:
  • Make it illegal to possess, create or distribute artificial intelligence (AI)-simulated child pornography, referencing Senate Bill 163, introduced by Senators Bill Blessing (R-Colerain Township) and Terry Johnson (R-McDermott).
  • Hold technology companies accountable for AI programs that encourage kids or adults to commit suicide or harm themselves or others. DeWine said these companies should be held criminally and civilly accountable for such actions.
  • Require technology companies to automatically enable parental controls – these should be an opt-out feature, not an opt-in.
• Seatbelt Laws as a Primary Violation – The Governor encouraged the legislature to make seatbelt law violations a primary violation – meaning law enforcement officers could stop drivers for failing to wear a seatbelt, which is not allowed under current law. Pointing to the drop in traffic crashes and deaths following the enactment of stronger distracted-driving laws, DeWine said the law can be a great motivator and that a primary seatbelt law could save as many as five lives each month.

He also encouraged the General Assembly to continue to support OhioSEE (a program to provide vision screening and glasses to school-age children), programs to address school absenteeism, the expansion of Career Technology education for high school students, and school-based healthcare clinics.

In closing, referencing the DeWine family tradition of planting trees, the Governor paraphrased his father and said that the best time for planting these programs is now. Saying our greatest days are ahead of us, he closed by leading a chant of OH-IO.

It is important to remember that the General Assembly is currently in its second year of a two-year session, which will be tight due to it being an election year. Session will break for much of April for the annual spring break and to allow members with primaries to be out campaigning. There will also likely be a long break from the end of June until after the general election in early November. A quick lame duck session in November and December will finish out Governor DeWine's final term as Governor.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.