communities that we represent, for the people who sent us here to fight for them, who trust us to work together, as we have in the past, to make their lives better, even, mr. president, better, even, mr. president,

live coverage coming up on spam thursday. 10:00 a.m. eastern the confirmation hearing for president trumps nominees to be ambassadors to canada, mexico and japan. on c-span2 beginning at 8:30 a.m. eastern the congressional asian-pacific caucus leadership will hold a press conference thousand democrats 2025 issues conference and at 10:00 a.m. eastern the senate is back in session where lawmakers are expected to work on a six-month funding bill to advert a government shutdown this coming friday at midnight. on c-span three florida congressman dave weldon will testify before the senate health committee on his nomination to lead the senators for disease control and prevention. also expected to vote on the nominations of the director of national institutes of health and marty mcgarry to be the

commissioner of the food and drug administration. you can also watch live coverage on c-span now our free mobile video app or website c-span.org. >> c-span, democracy unfiltered. we are funded by these television companies and more including spark life. >> what is great internet. it is strong, is it fast, is it reliable. at spark light we know connection goes way beyond technology. from monday morning meetings to friday nights and everything in between, the best connections are always there right when you need them. so, how do you know it's great internet? because it works. we are spark light and we are always working for you. >> spark life support c-span as a public service along with his other television providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy.

>> governor addressing the joint session of the ohio general assembly on his accomplishments including implementing career planning into school graduation requirements and passing legislation requiring school districts to ban cell phone use during school hours. the state of the state of address lasts about an hour and 10 minutes. [applause]

the state of our state is strong ohio is strong. to gather, together, we have accomplished so much in the last six years. we have had the highest number of jobs ever in our state's history. we have added more than 81,000 private sector jobs in a nearly 5.7 million ohioans right now employed in our workforce. and these job numbers do not even reflect the new jobs that will come soon from all of the winds that we have already announced. let's take a trip around ohio. and see what is being built right now. and we should think about all of the new jobs that will come when this construction is completed

it we will soon see work starting the largest job project in the county history. first quality tissue will soon be employing 400 people in northwest ohio. [applause] from there, had southeast and we will find a brand-new soybean processing plant being erected in wyandotte county. half a million dollar investment from the louis dreyfus company. creating 114 new jobs that will help farmers all over the northwest ohio. let's go to dayton where soon we will see air taxis actually flying in the air made by the 2000 employees who will be at the aviation. keep going south. keep going south. there is more to come. east of fayette county, electric vehicle battery factory set to open later this year. this plant will employ 2200 of

our fellow ohioans. further down cincinnati area, worldpay a leading global financial tech elegy company has picked sam's township for its new horror corporate headquarters. more than 500 new jobs to the state. from there, we will head east to jackson and visit bayside bourbon here skilled ohio craftsman in southeast ohio will be making even more shard white oak bourbon barrels. [applause] they will increase production from 400,000 barrels per year to 600,000 barrels per year adding 32 new jobs, 42 new jobs in jackson and pike counties.

js w steel be adding 42 new jobs and retaining hundreds more as a upgrade the junction steel plant to cleaner and higher-quality specialty steel. and then these three counties, investing almost $53 million to nearly double the fiber loss door manufacturing glass adding 145,000 more jobs as they begin to bake a brand-new product line of ohio made interior doors. the mayor will get down to downtown cleveland where now we see a whole different skyline which is emerging with the completion of a new williams skyscraper on public square. [applause] new headquarters soon you'd bringing 400 jobs to downtown cleveland. and then a short drive over

taking us to the new research and development center which will bring an additional 132 jobs. for the west we can see forward motor company's expansion. if they double the work worse with 2000 additional jobs. now, let's head back south where we have another remarkable economic when. the world new leader in defense tech elegy. they are bringing the single largest job creation project in ohio history creating more than 4000 high paying manufacturing jobs. [applause] these ohioans will produce cutting-edge technologies and build revolutionary aircraft which will transform both of our aerospace industry and our military. and, finally, we will head north

a little east silicone heartland intel is completely changing the landscape. they have already invested $7 billion of their 20 billion plant capital investment already invested. and they poured enough concrete to build the ohio state horseshoe six times over. and that is just so far. the 3000 future jobs there will make ohio the world leader in the manufacturing of microchips critical to our innovation economy and to our national defense. from now on our essential manufacturing for the united states of america.

let me say this. these are just a few of the victories. welcome to the chamber two of our fellow hawaiians who are building ohio's future. a fifty-year electrician apprentice from akron and nexis titus also from akron who is a member of the united association of plumbers and pipefitters to 19. both of them, please stand up. all right.

[applause] thank you. we thank all of the skilled trades and craft workers in the state of ohio. you do amazing work. thank you for building this state. but there is more good news. fifteen years ago, cnbc ranked ohio 34 that the best states to conduct business. but today, we are ranked seventh nationally in first among our neighboring states. and even more. even better. for the second year in a row site selection for

infrastructure and economic development investment. we are prepared for the future. our income tax rates are the lowest today that they have been in over 50 years. companies are coming here because we are exceedingly business friendly regulatory environment. we created culture and our agencies. if not a gotcha culture at all. one that will help business get from point a to point b. and a partnership with all of you. all of our agencies have reduced we will continue these efforts to ease the burdens on business and streamline our government.

and further, we have slice more than 930 ohio regulation and at least 2.3 million words from the administrative code. our proposed budget will slice another two-point read million word and delete 3200 additional unnecessary rules and there is more to do. [applause] let's talk for a moment about energy. we all know how important that is. we also have successfully fought the federal regulatory process to get energy to both ohio businesses and homes much faster than that was taking place before. and our proposed budget will make it easier for energy generators to provide power directly to ohio businesses. what we have all done together in ohio is just amazing. these were not empty promises we

talked about this. these are tangible, tangible results. [applause] while we celebrate our victories , the job of the governor is also to point out our states on finished business. i will do that now. but, first, our goal remains the same. to work each day so that every single ohio and has the tools to live up to their full potential and has the opportunities to live their version of the american dream. that is our goal every single day. to do that, we must remove the barriers preventing ohioans from entering the workforce. that means we must make sure all receive a good education

starting with learning how to read. we must build a system that enables every ohioans was a mental health challenge or an addiction problem to receive the care that they need. and to receive that right in the home community. that is our job and we are making progress. [applause] the truth is, we cannot achieve our full potential as a state unless each ohio and first achieves their spirit workforce remains both our greatest opportunity and our most significant challenge. together, we have created all of these incredible economic opportunities and new jobs in ohio. but, now, our mission as a state is to act with great urgency and intense focus on billing these jobs. that is why have asked ohio's

lieutenant governor kim tressel to lead an exciting and innovative new effort to create ohio's workforce playbook. lieutenant governor, missus trussell, isu to stand up in the gallery. [applause] i want to take a moment to thank the lieutenant governor, to think ellen who is in the gallery with fran, for joining our team. we are thrilled to have the tressel buyer side as we continue to move the ball towards our goal line. they are real partnership. we've got to do a couple of those, guys.

[laughter] they are a real partnership. allen is her own distinguished in business and also understands the workforce needs of ohio. lieutenant governor, a leader in every job he has ever held. i saw that up close during his nine years running -- university has president. he knows education. he knows workforce and he knows ohio. [applause] ohio is a work force playbook. really a watchable extension of our economic success. lieutenant governor is ready and he is ready to help clear the barriers supporting ohioans back and he is ready to recruit everyone we can onto our ohio workforce team had and, so, i am asking the lieutenant governor to focus on identifying the job,

skill set, education and talent needs and each separate region of the state. in doing this, the lieutenant governor will bring people together. working closely with our four-year universities and colleges. our career technical schools. our state agencies as well as local businesses and leaders and develop a strategy that has a specific needs of each region of the state. focusing on how we will produce enough orders to meet those needs as we have talked about. striving to pain homegrown talent, recruit new talent into ohio and also rally our existing workforce. we must now look at the ohioans who we can help cease more opportunities by removing the roadblocks that slowed them down starting first with ojai and

with disabilities. we need them on our workforce team. our state agency opportunities for ohioans with disabilities known as ood serves ohioans with disabilities and helps them get and keep jobs. with your help we have helped almost 32,000 with disabilities to reach their goal of employment. [applause] the parents of students with disabilities across our state, we want your child to live up to their full potential and to know that we have the services to assist you in your child on a career plan and to achieve your goals. make sure you are talking with your high school to get access to ood career counselors. help your child find a path to employment or to higher

education. meet with these counselors. include them in your meetings. and take advantage of this service. ood has guided kelsey weaver, for example throughout her educational journey. originally from belmont county, kelsey has quadriplegic cerebral palsy. ood has provided her the essential career assessment. technology and job readiness training ultimately enabling her to complete her college degree and pursue her passion. pursue her passion for helping others. today, kelsey lives in lucas county. works with the social worker at clearwater council of governance i am so happy and very pleased to have her here with us today on the house floor. please give her a round of applause. [applause]

we are very proud of you. used to be imprisoned. when you, nowhere were for steam as well. that is why we are encouraging ohio employers to hire those reentering the work was after incarceration. [applause] the ohio department. [applause] the ohio department of rehabilitation and correction releases about 8000 people back

into society each year. and, it is in all of our interest to get them into the workforce which is why we have proactively prepared inmates for reentry and specialized job-training for ohio's now most in demand industries. our trained ex- offenders want to work. i say to the employers in ohio, give them a chance. [applause] [cheering and applause] help them help them find the dignity, purpose and hope that comes with a job. when i was in high school, i had my own experience working

closely day after day with a man who spent 18 years in prison. his name was leonard steel. he was one of the hardest working people i ever met in my life. and no one, no one, had a bigger heart than he did. there are a lot of leonard steel 's in ohio today, a lot of people that have paid their debts to society and they just need to be given a chance to go to work. [applause] a number of tremendous programs ran by nonprofit organizations across ohio to help the formerly incarcerated assimilate back into a community and into a job. the leadership in restaurant institute. they are doing some incredible work. really a model, not just for

ohio, but for the nation. a nonprofit in cleveland for formerly incarcerated adults training and hands-on work experience in the hospitality and culinary institutes. operating on the belief that, " every human being regardless of their past has a right to a fair and equal future and he is right about that". we got to know brandon we had an event we hosted for other governors. we are so pleased that he is with us today in the gallery. will you please stand and thank you for good that you are doing. write back here, guys. hi, brandon. [applause]

we also need on our work for steam ohio youth who have been in state custody at the department of youth services each facility helps youth with job interview preparation, resume writing, job search availability to prepare you for when they leave custody and return back to their communities [applause] through such effort, preparing many young people who, today, have purpose and are very productive citizens of our state prepared to make a living with good wages and and construction landscaping, retail, warehouse work, the food service industry, even one who has recently become a licensed barber. all of the above. but not only do we need these young people in my workforce team, we also need our retired ohio buckeyes. and our state, as our states

population ages, older residents will be vital to grow in our workforce and stimulating our economy. and, so, i say to our employers, do not forget that our seniors are hidden gem and are often an untapped resource. [applause] they have a strong strong work ethic. ....

and every month. we've attracted 2100 behavioral health professionals into the field since 2022 to our great minds program. we've served nearly 16,000 youth and families since 2019 through mobile crisis services. and since start of administration 2019 we triggered more than 50,000 men and women

with substance use disorders who at time were in one of ohio's 28 prisons. despite significant efforts and progress, stigma sadly often remains when it comes to hiring someone with a mental health or someone addicted to fentanyl. these ohioans can work, these ohioans can contribute. someone who has been recovered for many years of drug addiction is often the best person to try to get others in recovery and that's why we are investing in certified peer supporters with personal experience or help someone to navigate services. they, in turn, can help others. since 2019 we've helped more

than the world know what it's like for parents struggling with subs abuse disorder because she used to be one. after time in prison, in a winding road to recovery she's now employed as a peer supporter and works to engage families and treatment so they could reunify with their children, laurel is

with us today, laurel, give her a round of applause. laurel understands the deep trauma that children family face when kids are placed in the custody of children services. so now let's talk about children services, let's talk about those kids. children in foster care are among our most vulnerable ohioans and we have a moral obligation to help them. today in ohio, we have the lowest number of children in foster care since 2016 and that's great. yet all too often taken from parents' custody or public children services agency still have no where to place these

kids. sometimes leaving them to spend the night in a hotel or in a county office, these are our children. they've already endured a great deal of trauma, surely, surely we can do better than this. i'm so very grateful to all of you for your support in taking meaningful steps to do better by these kids who continue investment in local children services and with our plan creation this budget of regional child wellness campuses we will work to ensure that no child is ever, ever left without care. these new wellness campuses will provide safe supportive environment for children that cannot be with their families keeping them close to home, connecting to treatment and on the best part forward reunification or independence. at the same time, we remain fully committed to ohio rise. our program that coordinates care to serve the kids with the

most complex physical and behavioral health needs. ohio rise now serves 42,000 youth. they serve them by getting them the specialized help they need and by keeping families together. all these ohioans identify justt talked, adults that used to be in prison and also those in recovery, all them, all them deserve the chance to live up to their god-giving potential and to lead healthy productive and meaningful lives and guess what, we need all them on our workforce team as well. [applause] >> we know that the key to success in life is ability to

read, no one recognizes that more than wife of 58 -- almost 58 years. front row. [applause] >> as you could see i was having trouble with the 58, but moving towards it because of france dedication, todd: 70% of ohio households who have a child of the age of 5 are getting free book in the mail each and every month. [applause] and since the start of our administration more than, listen to this, more than 20 million

free books have been mailed to ohio children. [applause] >> we talked to young families, so many of them tell us receiving this book each and every month has changed bedtime routine and reading more to their children and they tell us their children are asking them to read to them more. we are seeing families bonding more and helps more children get prepared for kindergarten. i want to thank all of you in the general assembly for your belief in this program. we also want to thank local partners in the state who raise money and ask every day to sign their kids up for these books. we also know that the very best method for teaching young children is the science of reading who goes back to the

basics of phonics and sounding words out. members of the general assembly two years ago i asked for your help to bring the science of bringing to every child in school and as they train next generation of teachers. we are already seeing encouraging signs. this year school report cards showed significant improvement in english language arts proficiency among elementary students climbing 2.2 percentage students among ohio third graders, 5.5 among fourth graders and 3 points among fifth graders. we are moving in the right direction. while this kind of fundamental change takes time, it takes

perseverance, takes persistence, the reward will be so well worth the effort as more children become proficient in reading they will be more prepared to thrive in the classroom, in the workforce, in life. we are current i will providing literacy coaches to provide in lawless performance schools to emphasize the science of reading. our budget continues this program and when students are falling behind our budget requires districts with low rates, proficient readers to focus more of their dollars on teaching children how to read. schools that are improving literacyic instruction for high school students need to be recognized, they need to be celebrated and so today i'm happy to announce that some of our high-achieving schools across ohio will soon be honored to governor of science of reading recognition program.

this program honors schools that are totally aligned with reading and fully embraced the training. we've selected a little bit over 40 schools across ohio that we will soon be honoring. that includes austin town elementary school in mahonan county. in two years, they more than double the number of kindergarten students who were on track with reading and the district's third reading proficiency rate are at 84%, 12 percentage points higher than pre-pandemic levels.

>> congratulations. today's school age children in ohio as they have been for many years are required to receive vision screenings at school, screenings yet shockingly only a fourth of the students who are found to need additional vision care whether be comprehensive eye exam or glasses actually receive them. that leaves tens of thousands of ohio students not being able to see as they should. this is wrong, we have to change this. last year we announced the creation of a workforce children's vision strike force to develop ohio's first ever statewide plan to ensure that every ohio child that needs glasses will get glasses. now, we have taken the

recommendations and we are very pleased to the announce the creation of new ohio see program. the innovative program will focus on children when vision is critical to learning to read. it will ensure that all ohio students and kindergarten to third grade including those who may be home schooled or attend private schools will not only get a vision screening but they will also receive comprehensive eye exams if the screenings indicated correction is leading and if it turns out they do need glasses, they will get glasses. we anticipate, we anticipate that through ohio see more than 33,000 children will be served in ohio over the next two years

including children like lyles in the columbus city school district, the school nurse referred to the nationwide children's hospital school base eye clinic following a vision screening at school. had been struggling but she had never seen an eye doctor but once she got a comprehensive eye exam, she needed eye glasses, she got them and then a whole new world opened up. shaneta had been living in a blur for a very long time and suddenly everything came into for focus. she was understandable emotional leaving the clinic with new glasses. the staff asked what was wrong with her, what's wrong, she said, i can see clearly now. i'm just taking it all in. shaneta and her mother are with us today on the house floor.

thank you, guys, let's give them a hand. thank you all. [applause] >> ohio see program is after amazing work of nonprofit organization sight for all united in the mahonan valley. they are instrumental in helping see better and read better too. when jackson, second grader of jefferson elementary in warren ohio first met with sight for all united was severely farsighted. after getting eye surgery, jackson now thrives in reading and was recently recognized at school not just for reaching reading goal but by surpassing that reading goal.

jackson is also with us today. jackson please stand so we can give you a round of applause. [applause] ohio see work changed lives and i ask for your support of this program. equally more is dental care, dental care can make it easy for child eat, sleep and even talk. it's clear that many ohio children have untreated serious dental problems that follow them in adulthood. we must step up for these kids, that's why our subject establishes our new children's dental services pilot program, we will start by serving

children in nine ohio county designated as dental health professional shortage areas and also that lack nonprofit dental facilities to provide care to low-income families. we partnered with dental professionals, those who live in the community and school districts to deploy dental programs directly into school providing screenings, preventive care and treatment to children that need these children the most. i ask for the support as well. schools across ohio are helping students get proper medical care so they can focus and they can learn. these clinics work when schools partner with local healthcare provider and we see how the clinics can, in fact, be self-sustaining, we will show schools how to do it. i urge all ohio school

superintendents to reach out to the department of education, reach out to steve and we will walk you through the process step by step. we know the schools are the center of our communities and these clinics are cost effective and they bring prime aye care directly into the school for everyone to have access to it. just look at 12-year-old fifth grader at warner middle school. she visited her school-base health clinic with hearing and vision concerns. the clinic set her up with audio specialists and now she has hearing aids. hearing has greatly improved and grades in school have gone up. we are so happy to have kylie was today in the gallery, kylie, please stand up so we can give you a round of applause. kylie.

addiction to screen time and nonstop notifications rob during the school day. i want to thank representative tracee richardson and miranda for relentless work to pass a bill in may to require all schools to implement policies to address the use of cell phones in schools. i also want to thank our schools, our parents, our communities, ohio former lieutenant governor and ohio's u.s. senator john houston. i want to thank john, i want to thank his wife tina for early leadership on this very, very important issue. tina is with us today in the gallery and let's give her and

john a round of applause. wife r we have heard repeatedly from teachers, school board members an parents who tell us when cell phones were banned during the school day in their school, the school transformed before their very eyes. kids are focused in the classroom, sound of laughter echoed throughout the lunch room. these kids are actually talking to each other instead of having their heads down buried in their phones. local school district implemented policy where students lock their phones in pouches during the school day and the results have been profound.

superintendent kyle wolf told us that student engagement have both improved, grades are better, socialization is improving becoming more positive, the number of students being disciplined was cut nearly in half instantly and even communication between students and teachers has improved because they had more opportunities simply to interact with each other. i want to thank superintendent wolf for having the courage to say enough is enough. he's here today with us. so let's give him a round of applause as well. [applause] >> what's happening in valley is happening in school buildings all across ohio that have banned phones during school hours. as a country and as a state, we have learned a lot and we've learned a lot more even on this

last year and the evidence today is so much stronger than it was even when the bill was passed, the evidence is overwhelmed. the jury team back, there's a verdict and so citizens of ohio, members of the general assembly it's time the finish the job and ban cell phones in all ohio schools so kids can learn. for too many working parents

balancing can become very difficult budget continues, significant investment in helping more parents go to work and have them peace of mind, together through child care choice voucher program we've expanded access to quality child healthcare support to assist families up to 201% of the federal poverty level. this program has been around for only ten months but already 5100 more ohio families and 7700 more children are getting the child care that they need. i ask the members of the gem assembly for the continued support of this because our voucher program really education workforce program is making a significant positive impact on young children and working

families throughout the state of ohio. today more than ever young feelings are feeling more financially constrained and so every ohio child under the age of 7 in our budget we are going to give working parents a thousand dollar tax credit to ease financial burdens of raising a family. this will help parents fund child care or healthcare pay for groceries, diapers, rent, any other cost. it'll help as they create family of their dreams and will help ohio get more parents also onto our workforce team. i've heard said that teaching is the greatest optimism because teachers believe in a better future and they have faith in the ability of every student,

put a good teacher in the classroom and kids will learn. few things make a difference and countless teachers across ohio pour their heart and their soul into this work and into their students every single day. >> in the gallery today with us are ohio's 2025 teachers of the year, please stand, we are grateful for what you do. [applause]

thank you so much. we are very grateful. school principal has power to transform culture in school and improve outcomes. that's why our budget establishes apprenticeship program. this two-year training program will match aspiring inprincipals with veteran principals to better prepare them to embrace jury charge of school leadership so they can create condition for students to thrive. another goal of education should be to develop good citizens. essential part of that is teaching of basic critical thinking skills. being curious, asking questions, making arguments and supporting a position with solid facts and evidence. martin luther king put it best and i quote, education must

enable one to way and discern the true from the false, real from unreal and facts from the fiction. the function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. end of quote, to promote critical thinking and open dialogue on college campuses we took a major step in our last budget, allowed the general assembly and higher education leaders creating 5 new center for civic and culture society, one in miami, ohio state, university of toledo. i'm pleased that leaders from the new civic centers are with us today in the gallery, please also stand so we can give you a round of applause.

thank you very much. [applause] >> well, before college exposure to places like the civic centers, we know that teaching children critical thinking skills most often comes to classes and history, english, civics, social studies. earlier this year i sat down with social studies teacher from across ohio. what a dedicated group of teachers. they told me one of the biggest challenges they see is too many kids are not being exposed to enough social studies content especially in elementary school and they intend to change that by putting deliberate focus on civics, social studies, american history, ohio history. the best place to start is in the elementary grades by embedding social studies content

directly into materials that teacher use to teach reading and writing skills. and so i'm directing the department of education and workforce to develop such a model curriculum i'm asking the general assembly to support that effort in our budget as well. further we are going to increase our kids exposure to ohio history. today's students receive the majority of ohio history education in fourth grade. instead we are going to expose kids to our state's history in every grade starting in kindergarten. i thank the ohio history connection for serving as a terrific partner in this effort by supplying schools with excellent teaching materials. they share our pride in our state's rich history, the vital role our state has played in the development of this great country. now today, too many ohio children are driving our roads without any training.

fran and i have heard from participants all over the state. they tell us with from the experience of their own kids. because of this, many teens are waiting -- 18 to get their license which training is no longer required. there are more crashes, fatalities than 16 and 17-year-old drivers. the teen waits until 18 or 19 to get a license, many high school students will miss valuable opportunities to get a job, internship or other work-related learning experiences when they are still in school. schools are the logical and most successful places for teens to

learn how the drive. yet very few schools currently offer driver's education. we need to change that. our budget helps school partner with independent driving training schools or start their own training programs with the support of the general assembly and allocating a permanent revenue stream all ohioan wills have the opportunity to receive funding to make driver training available to their students. we are going to make driver's training affordable, we are going to bring it directly, directly to students. we are going to enable teenagers to get jobs and internships and we will save lives by doing this. [applause] >> my friends, with our help it's time to put driver's education back, back into our high schools. learning basic life skills is so

essential to succeeding in the work and life. before you can decide on a career or educational path, you need to first understand who you are, what are your interests, what are you good at, what's your passion, are you resilient, hard-working, grateful, do you have a purpose or goal in your life. far too often when young people are interviewing for jobs or starting out in their careers they ask they lack talent rather they may lack practical life skills things such as time management, how to get along with others, how to stay on task, problem-solving team work resilience, adapt ability, curiosity, creativity, all the nontechnical schools and trades related to how you work that are part of any workplace. kids need to be ready for life in a real world after graduation. they need to learn to overcome

work ethic and grip determination that goes with it, how to pay bills and most fulfilling civic duties and includes voting and further they need to learn basic first aid, how to prepare a simple meal, understand nutrition, dietary needs and the importance of physical fitness. now, speaking of physical fitness, state tune for a future announcement as i have asked lieutenant governor to promote fitness in our schools, more on that bill, more to come. lacking these skills is barrier to employment and barrier for successful life. that's why i'm directing the department of education workforce to review the state's learning standard and model curriculum to emphasize the development of practical life

skills. the department will report back to me and back to you with recommendations to make sure that we are adequately focusing on the essential skills in our schools. just as basic life skills are important, so is the student's ability to participate in sports and other extra curriculum activities that teach so many important lessons. i want to take a moment to talk about how we can help make sure that no ohio student is denied the chance to participate because they can't afford fees or equipment. now we love our sports, we love our teams, for decades, we've used general fund dollars to help with the building or renovation of ballparks in stadiums. these sports facilities are spread all over ohio that include captains, cuber ducks,

dragons, and more and more. they're everywhere. the way the state historically assisted these facilities means that that money competes for dollars with education, mental health and many other items in our budget, vital important things. we now with the budget i presented you have an opportunity to stop using our general fund dollars to build or renovate ballparks and stadiums. my proposed increase on online sports gaming companies will allow us to do this and also, also allow us to help kids to afford to play sports and participate in other activities in the schools. many times the opportunity to participate in sports or theater, band, other activities are frankly the only things that kids are excited about and in

some cases the only thing keeping that child in school, the language in our budget proposal is truly a win-win. i'm asking you to take a hard look at that. i'm asking you to do it. it is a win for everybody. [applause] >> who can help guide them in these important decisions. our budget addresses this by integrating career planning into existing high school graduation plans to help students knock out goals and help identify education training needed to achieve these goals. we know that this will make a difference. take alexis, a junior at fortfright high school involvement in faa ignite her passion for agriculture

communications to internship and other opportunities with local agriculture media outlets, alexis discovered her calling to combine love for agriculture for talent of telling a story. alexis is with us today, alexis, will you please stand, let's give her a hand. thanks, alexis. that's over 13,000 more students earning credentials and engaged in career-tech education than 2021. let me tell you about drew, played sports, active member of

the school community, when he is mother kathy started working at tolls, career and technical center, drew got a helping nudge to apply for cools and engineering. he knew he could still stay involved in his extra curricular activities at school. during senior year he landed paying internship in columbus where he got real work experience that solidify his choice to continue his education at the university of cincinnati for chemical engineering. drew, will you please stand up. thank you, drew. [applause] >> it's so important to expose them to all the great colleges and universities we have right

here in the state of ohio. thanks to general assembly strong sports last year we were able to award the very first governor's merit scholarship to graduating seniors who were in the top 5 percent of their class who attended ohio college and university. these are 5,000-dollar a year scholarships renewable each year for up to four years. funding for the merit scholarship means top remains a top priority. last year to give you some numbers, 77% of students eligible were in top 5% of high school class eligible accepted and attending ohio colleges and universities. of the students in senior class astounding 80% remaining in ohio to go to college.

only 60% of top 5% ohio students stayed in ohio for college. now because of this scholarship this year additional 1700 of our top students remaining in ohio. 1700 more than expected and they will not go to college outside of ohio. last year ell baker, graduated and currently pursuing her education at kent state university. here is what elli had to say about the scholarship. come from appalachia, historically low-income area where paying for college isn't the easiest thing though i didn't want that to hold me back from achieving my aspirations.

then there's ella, currently a high school senior, ella recently received merit scholarship and plans to accept it so she can stay in ohio to study computer science and spanish. ellie and ella are with us today. let's give them a round of applause. we are proud of both of you. one of the biggest complaints that fran and i heard over many years of ohioans including legislators is this too large for ohio students to get in ohio campuses. we are going the change that in our budget by guarantying that mission to the main campus of

every state college or university for all ohio high school students who are in the top 5% of their class. they will be guarantied emission into those -- i'm happy to say they have interest in matching this pledge as well. we also must remain focus on making college more comfortable for high school students. that's why our budget includes continued support for ohio college opportunity grant or ocag, provides financial assistance to students who have the highest level of financial need. today nearly 59,000 students from across ohio are currently receiving help through ocaf. recipient of this grant, she was considering taking year off from school and saving enough money

to pay for senior, however, because of this grant she has been able to continue with her classes and she's expect today graduate in may. she plans to work in springfield to provide translation services to assist the haitian creole immigrant population. helen, please stand, we are proud of you as well. as part of our budget we will require each state school to implement a meaningful work-base learning program. ohio has many leaders and work-base learning including the university of cincinnati model which was created over a hundred years ago as well as miami's work plus program on its regional campuses to allow students to earn essentially

debt-free degree of tuition paid by employer. i recently sat with cincinnati students. zach, congratulations on your job offer. please stand so give you an applause as well. we need more business experts like zach, cybersecurity analysts, software developer,

social worker, behavioral therapists and so many, many more. our state workforce needs a clear. so now it's time to match those needs with students graduating the .the appropriate education and training. today we determine the amount of state funding, college and state universities receive by the number of students completing courses, certificates and degrees. our budget takes this to the next logical level by partially funding our state colleges and universities based on actual student outcomes including how many students get a job after graduation. [applause] this will make ohio the first in the nation to tie significant of portion to colleges and universities to graduates that are getting jobs. this past year, we lost 3 legendary former ohio legislative leaders and champions of education and

workforce development. house speaker john davisson, floor leader kirk and senate minority leader ben, they shared a deep love for this state and for our people, great optimism about future. we think about them when we come into this chamber today. we've had every reason to be optimistic about our future. our great state is working progress with everything in life. but we can always progress further especially when it comes to filling the jobs and realizing the opportunities that we have created but we are going to get there. we have the playbook. we the team, and now together

let's go win. and as we , do let's also rent the words of ben who reminds us that and, i quote, our success is measured not just by wins but legacy we leave behind. that legacy is the future of our great state and what is it, our children, it's our grandchildren, great grandchildren, it's also what we prioritized, the investments we make and our commitment to each of the young people who are here with us today, we owe it to them to open all of the awesome possibilities and life-changing possibilities that ohio has to offer for they truly are our future. they are our hope for tomorrow and they will become ohio's legacy. thank you all very much, may god

bless this great state and the people of ohio. thank you. [applause] c-span's washington journal our live forum involving you to discuss latest issues, politics and public policy from washington and across the country, coming up thursday morning, the wall street journal's richard rueben discusses where the money is going and colombia university graduate detained by immigration officials in connection with campus protests against the war in gaza. will be joined by conner fitzpatrick foundation for

individual rights and expression and the university of ottawa's, discusses the trump's administration tariffs against canada and threats to make the country america's 51st state. c-span's washington journal, join in the conversation, live at 7:00 eastern thursday morning on c-span, c-span now or online at c-span.org. on thursday, dr.day will testify before theenate committee on his nominationo lead the centers for disease control and prevention. former u.s. representative from florida o runs medical prtice expected to be questioned on stance on vaccines and autism. live on c-span 3, c-span now free mobile video app or online at c-span.org. democracy, it isn't just an id