To amend sections 3301.0718, 3302.07, 3314.03, 3326.11, and 3328.24 and to enact section 3313.6034 of the Revised Code to enact the Baby Olivia Act to require human growth and development instruction in public schools.
HB485, known as the Baby Olivia Act, would require Ohio public schools to provide instruction in human growth and development for students in grades 5 through 12. The required curriculum must include at least two specified audiovisual materials: a high-definition ultrasound video showing early fetal development and the “Meet Baby Olivia” video, or a substantially similar video, depicting fertilization and stages of human development through birth. The bill also directs the Department of Education and Workforce to publish a list of approved instructional materials for this topic.
The bill gives parents or guardians access, upon request, to the instructional materials used to satisfy the requirement and allows a student to be excused from the instruction upon written parental request. It also requires the department to conduct annual compliance audits of each district or school and publish the findings. In addition to creating new section 3313.6034, the bill amends several existing provisions governing health curriculum standards, innovative pilot programs, community schools, STEM schools, and college-preparatory boarding schools to ensure that the new human growth and development instruction is incorporated and not overridden by conflicting model curricula or exemptions.
HB485 would add a new statewide instructional mandate for public schools and related school types, affecting city, local, exempted village, joint vocational, and other public schools, as well as community schools, STEM schools, and college-preparatory boarding schools through cross-references in their governing statutes. It would also limit the Department of Education and Workforce’s ability to adopt health standards or model curricula that conflict with the new requirements, and it would bar certain pilot-program exemptions from applying to the new section. The bill would therefore expand state oversight of curriculum content, create parental access and opt-out rights, and impose recurring audit and publication obligations on the department.
The available voting history suggests the bill had meaningful support in the House, passing House committee 8-4 and then passing the full House 59-27. That pattern indicates a generally favorable but not unanimous sentiment. The bill’s title and structure suggest it is framed as a curriculum and transparency measure, and the House action shows it advanced with a clear majority.
The main points of contention are likely the bill’s required use of specific fetal-development videos, the extent of state control over health curriculum, and the inclusion of human growth and development content in grades 5 through 12. Opponents may object to the mandated instructional materials, the potential for ideological or religious controversy, and the annual compliance audits, while supporters likely view the measure as promoting fetal development education and parental transparency. The 59-27 House vote and 8-4 committee vote show that the bill is divisive, with substantial but not overwhelming support.