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Ohio House passes Fostering School Success Act to bolster supports for foster youth
Summary
The House passed House Bill 25 after floor debate, creating new roles and interagency responsibilities to improve education continuity for foster youth, including school foster care liaisons and clearer interagency accountability. Supporters said the bill grew from years of advocacy and repeated testimony.
The Ohio House on March 4 passed House Bill 25, the Fostering School Success Act, to improve educational stability and supports for children in foster care.
Sponsor Representative Gerald Ray said the bill "clearly outlines the roles of the departments of education and workforce, children and youth, higher education, and job and family services to work together in an accountable fashion to ensure needed resources are made available and utilized to support our foster care youth in their education journey." He described the measure as a significant investment in personnel resources and credited advocacy and committee work for the bill's development.
Representative Jerrells, who said he had worked on the bill for about four years, told colleagues that the legislation "grew out of listening" to foster youth and advocates who testified repeatedly and described system breakdowns, including lost records and students moving schools multiple times in a year. "This bill is doing something," Jerrells said, urging passage and noting advocates in the gallery.
Chairman Tom Young, who oversaw the bill in committee, described interagency coordination behind the measure and thanked department staff and advocates who testified multiple times. Supporters said the bill creates school foster care liaisons, clarifies agency responsibilities and seeks to ensure students are known "by name" so they get consistent supports.
The House approved the bill on a roll-call vote, with 92 affirmative votes and 1 negative vote. After passage, Representative Ray moved to agree to the title without objection.
The measure now proceeds to any further required enrollment or transmission steps for enactment. The House record does not specify implementation dates or funding allocations tied directly to the bill text as debated on the floor.
