To enact section 3301.25 of the Revised Code to establish the Community Connectors Workforce Program and to make an appropriation.
Summary
HB98 creates the Community Connectors Workforce Program within the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to help connect students with jobs, internships, apprenticeships, and career mentors in their local communities. The program would be administered through educational service centers, which may employ or contract with one to three directors to work in participating high schools. Those directors would coordinate with OhioMeansJobs centers and other community partners, screen and place students, and provide or coordinate instruction in soft skills and professional skills such as communication, time management, problem-solving, civility, and ethics.
The bill also requires participating directors to report program participation and placement outcomes to both the educational service center and the department. It allows students to use the instruction provided under the program to qualify for the OhioMeansJobs-readiness seal. Businesses and organizations that hire students through the program must comply with Ohio minor labor laws. In addition to creating the program in statute, the bill appropriates $8 million per fiscal year for FY 2026 and FY 2027, with funding split between equal allocations to educational service centers and allocations based on student counts.
Impact
HB98 would add a new section to the Revised Code, section 3301.25, and create a state-run workforce and career-readiness program for high school students. It would expand the role of educational service centers in coordinating student career placement services and require the Department of Education and Workforce to oversee the program. The bill also makes a recurring appropriation of $8 million in each of two fiscal years, affecting the state budget and directing funds to educational service centers for staffing and program administration.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests broad support at the committee level, with unanimous 12-0 votes on two re-refer actions. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded debate or public testimony in the provided materials. Overall, the bill appears to have been received positively as a workforce-development and student-opportunity measure, at least procedurally, with no recorded opposition in the supplied vote history.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided transcripts, but the bill’s structure suggests a few potential areas of interest: how educational service centers will select and manage directors, how eligibility and application standards will be set locally, and whether the program’s funding level is sufficient to support staffing and student services statewide. The requirement that participating employers comply with minor labor laws may also be a practical compliance issue, though no opposition is shown in the available record.
To amend sections 3517.12, 3517.13, and 3517.155 of the Revised Code to modify the Campaign Finance Law regarding foreign nationals and statewide initiatives and referenda and to declare an emergency.
To amend sections 3505.01 and 3505.10 of the Revised Code to modify the deadline for a political party to certify its nominees for President and Vice-President to the Secretary of State.
To amend sections 3517.12, 3517.13, and 3517.155 of the Revised Code to modify the Campaign Finance Law regarding foreign nationals and statewide initiatives and referenda and to declare an emergency.
To delay the deadline for a major political party to certify its presidential and vice presidential candidates to the Secretary of State for the 2024 general election.
An act to amend Sections 24801, 24826, 24827, 24830, 24862, and 24908 of, to repeal Section 24861 of, and to repeal and add Section 24863 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation.