COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine gave his final State of the State Address on Tuesday afternoon, emphasizing his accomplishments over the past year.
"I promised, 'To be the Governor for all the people of our state, and that I would remember each and every day that I am their servant,'" DeWine said about first being elected. "That is what I have tried to do over these past seven years."
DeWine’s speech mainly focused on what he has said he is proudest of — his education initiatives.
Education
"At the beginning of this school year, only 14% of their kindergarten students were on track with their reading skills for their age... Already, the number of kindergarteners on track with their reading skills has jumped to 50%," the governor said.
His literacy programs, efforts to combat chronic absenteeism and ban on cell phones in classrooms have had positive results, he said.
"The culture change in our schools is miraculous!" he said. "Our children are interacting and talking with each other again."
But Ohio Democrats like House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) argue that DeWine is only telling half the story on education.
RELATED: Ohio's public schools end 2025 feeling bruised. The governor doesn't see it that way.
"We've got the money to make life more affordable for billionaires, but we don't have the money for after-school sports or band or to get kids home safe," Isaacsohn said in a press conference after speech.
Nonpartisan research group Policy Matters Ohio found that K-12 schools are being underfunded by nearly $3 billion over the next two years.
Schools around the state are already laying off teachers, closing buildings and shutting down programs.
RELATED: Lorain City Schools students, teachers beg for the fine arts department not to take a funding cut
"We cannot ask schools to fix chronic issues with the lowest state share of education funding in history, until we hire enough teachers, until there is air conditioning on a hot day, until we provide safe and reliable transportation, we will not be able to solve our absenteeism problem," Isaacsohn continued.
In a December interview, we addressed the funding concerns with DeWine.
"Are we doing right by public schools right now?" I asked him.
"I think we are, but look, it's a continuing process," the governor responded.
That continuing process is the lawmakers, like Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), and their decisions.
"The governor emphasized his education wins. What do you say to the schools who argue that they can't continue their success due to expected or unexpected funding cuts?" I asked McColley and House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima).
"Well, I do think the governor, the things that he cited... Those happened on his watch, and I think that's fair," Huffman said, adding that this is less about money and more about holding people accountable for the jobs they are "paid to do."
McColley agreed.
"If more money were the answer, the districts that received the most money would be producing better results," the president said.
He argued that schools need to be better at spending.
"There are a lot of school districts across the state that are doing an awful lot and delivering great results for less dollars," McColley said.
The Democrats are also worried about what happens to public education after DeWine
"What lies ahead is truly, truly going to be great," DeWine said in his speech. "What we're seeing now is just, just, the beginning."
I have been covering school funding extensively for years. Click here to read the latest development.
Fitness and health
Coinciding with education, DeWine pushed Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel's fitness program that is meant to help kids develop "healthy habits."
"It turns out push-ups are bipartisan, everyone struggles equally," DeWine joked.
He advocated for double the amount of recess time in most public schools from 30 minutes to 60 minutes per day.
"Recess gives children the chance to get outside and just be kids. It increases their physical activity. It improves their memory, attention, and concentration. It helps them stay on-task in the classroom. It reduces disruptive behavior in the classroom. And, it improves children’s ability to learn how to share and negotiate," DeWine said.
He also brought up his OhioSEE initiative, which is a free eye care service for kindergarten through third-grade students to address vision issues
Tech
The governor called on the lawmakers to pass legislation to make it illegal to possess, create or distribute child pornography, also known as child sexual assault material, created by artificial intelligence.
He also asked to hold AI companies accountable if their models generate content that suggests self-harm or violence against others.
"Ohio law needs real consequences. The Ohio Attorney General and County Prosecutors must have clear legal tools to hold these tech companies criminally and civilly accountable," the governor said.
RELATED: Ohio lawmakers want AI companies held liable for bot-encouraged suicides
The last tech request was for the General Assembly to pass a law to require cell phone and tech companies to automatically implement control features so that parents can monitor everything their kids do.
Seatbelts
Once again, the governor has asked for a primary seatbelt law. This would allow law enforcement officers to pull people over for not buckling up.
RELATED: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine wants to strengthen seat belt laws, GOP lawmakers not interested
Seat belt laws in the state fall under secondary enforcement, meaning police officers can't pull over drivers or passengers for non-use of the safety device. They can, however, ticket someone for not wearing a seat belt if they are already pulled over for another reason.
In Ohio, drivers and front-seat passengers who are 15 years of age and older must wear a seat belt. Anyone ages eight to 14 also has to wear a belt in any seat of the car; this means that 15-year-olds and older do not have to wear seat belts in the back seat. Children aged seven and under have to use a car or booster seat.
"Only 12% of Ohioans do not wear seatbelts, yet they represent more than 60% of the fatalities in car accidents," DeWine said.
Business
DeWine cheered the business development Ohio has been able to accomplish as he has been governor.
"Over the past few years, we have brought many companies to Ohio and secured significant expansions of Ohio-based companies, yet many of these businesses are just now starting to hire and ramp up," DeWine said.
Anduril Industries, a major U.S. defense contractor that creates weapons & drones, is set to create up to 4,000 jobs, DeWine said.
Joby Aviation, a company building flying taxis, will employ up to 2,000 Ohio workers, he added.
Amgen, Ohio’s largest life sciences and pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, will soon be adding 350 more workers, he said.
Moving forward
We will continue covering DeWine's SOTS priorities and what lawmakers had to say about them in the coming days.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
