On Oct. 22, the Ohio Senate passed Senate Bill 156, which requires the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to teach young adults in grades six through 12 a three-pronged “success sequence.”
This success sequence, described as a poverty avoidance measure by the Ohio Senate, entails that individuals complete at least a high school education, obtain a full-time job and marry before having children.
At least one course required for high school graduation must include this curriculum.
The Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank, drafted model legislation for this educational plan, promoting it to the states.
Ohio State Senator Al Cutrona, the bill’s sponsor, brought the legislation to the Senate with the aim of breaking Ohio’s cycle of poverty and advancing social and financial stability.
“I think that’s really important to be able to educate students on and if we can help a child or two avoid a great generational poverty, I think that’s incredible,” Cutrona said.
Cutrona explained what motivated him to introduce this bill.
“What came before my desk was this 1997 longitudinal study, something that has been resurveyed over 20 times every single year from ’97 to 2011…And what that data showed is that by following the success sequence, the likelihood is 97% to avoid poverty and I was blown away by those statistics,” Cutrona said. “I looked at more and more articles and more and more information from both left-leaning and right-leaning groups. It all kind of pointed to the same exact conclusion. And so, I thought this is material that children need to be aware of.”
Cutrona shared his outlook on how school districts would implement the success sequence.
“The way that I drafted the bill, I wanted there to be a whole lot of local control, because I recognize that every school district is different than a school district next to them, especially with Ohio being as big as it is and diverse as it is. I wanted locals to be included in this process. So, the curriculum will really be decided in many ways by the parents, by the school districts, by the teachers and educators and a whole host of school board members and folks like that,” Cutrona explained.
Since this curriculum would be required for high schoolers’ graduation, Cutrona envisioned the content being incorporated into pre-existing classes.
Ohio State Senator Theresa Gavarone, the representative for District 2, which includes Wood County, co-sponsored the bill. Gavarone expanded on her support through the lens of student critical thinking.
“The curriculum is designed to help students make informed life choices,” Gavarone shared in a statement with Falcon Media. “It’s really tough being a single parent, certainly being a single parent without a high school diploma or a full-time job. So, if we can give students some tools and just a little more information, to enable them to think through the consequences of their actions, then maybe they’ll make choices that will help lead them to a successful and prosperous life.”
Dr. Nicole Kalaf-Hughes, a professor at Bowling Green State University, applied her research background on political institutions, representation and local, state and federal interaction to Senate Bill 156.
She elaborated on how state bills become laws and what it means for a bill to pass the Ohio Senate.
“Most bills die in committee, regardless of topic, sponsor, etc. What makes this interesting is that it has passed the Senate relatively quickly—introduced in March, passed in October—and is now in the House. The sponsor and cosponsors are all Republicans in the Senate and the vote was also along party lines. It is likely to see similar support in the House, if it makes it out of committee,” Kalaf-Hughes said. “No, it’s not law…It still has to pass the House, have any differences hammered out and be signed into law by the governor. It’s likely to have little to no Democrat support, which doesn’t really matter in Ohio but is probably worth noting.”
Kalaf-Hughes examined the content of the bill and the implications of its conservative origins.
“Students would be taught that they should graduate high school, get a job and get married—in that order—before having children. The concerns are that this order may not mirror all familial experiences and that while the data suggest graduating from high school, working and having children later can help reduce the probability of poverty, the order of those events occurring did not necessarily matter,” she continued.
“I do think there are broader concerns that could come up with an increase in state control of education—the U.S. typically has a heavy emphasis on local control of education—and the fact that this model legislation is the creation of the Heritage Foundation, not something necessarily driven by state need. In that case, it could be a solution in search of a problem and is likely to tie into the Heritage Foundation’s emphasis on a traditional family structure and all that implies ideologically,” she said.
Yet, Senate Bill 156 does not stand alone; its content would most likely be incorporated into other courses. Kalaf-Hughes assessed the bill’s interaction with other required curricula.
“It’s also interesting to consider how this ties in with what states are doing in terms of abstinence-only, relative to comprehensive sex ed,” Kalaf-Hughes said. “Are states teaching comprehensive sex ed and waiting to start a family until after graduation, job and marriage, or are they teaching abstinence-only and waiting to start a family?”
As the state of Ohio awaits the advancement of Senate Bill 156 into the House, students and educators are left to consider its potential implementation, adaptation and effects.
