As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 797

2025-2026

Representatives Salvo, Brownlee

To establish the Social Work Apprenticeship Retention and Training (SMART) Internship Program, to name this act the Ohio Students and Families Workforce Strengthening Act, and to make an appropriation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Eligible student" means a student who is both of the following:

(a) Enrolled in, and in good standing at, a master's degree program at one of the following:

(i) Bowling Green State University;

(ii) Miami University;

(iii) Ohio University;

(iv) Wright State University;

(v) Youngstown State University.

(b) Working towards obtaining an independent social worker or social worker license under section 4757.26 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Qualifying school" means any of the following public schools in which at least fifty per cent of the students are eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch and that agrees to employ an eligible student under the program:

(a) A school district;

(b) An educational service center;

(c) A community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code;

(d) A STEM school established under Chapter 3326. of the Revised Code.

(3) "Supervisor" means the assigned supervisor, field instructor, or task instructor that supervises an eligible student, as assigned by the eligible student's university.

(B) Not later than ninety days after the effective date of this section, the Chancellor of Higher Education shall establish the Social Work Apprenticeship Retention and Training (SMART) internship program to support students and families and to help address nonacademic barriers to student success. The chancellor shall establish the program as a three-year pilot program to test strategies for strengthening the school-based social work workforce in underserved and high-need schools. Beginning with the academic year that begins after the effective date of this section, the Chancellor shall award grants to eligible students to provide a paid and educationally meaningful internship experience at a qualifying school.

The pilot program shall be evaluative in nature and is not intended to establish a permanent program without further action by the General Assembly.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to require or expand the provision of clinical mental health treatment in schools.

(C) Eligible students shall apply to participate in the pilot program in a form and manner prescribed by the Chancellor.

(D) Each eligible student awarded a grant under this section shall work at an internship for up to twenty hours per week for not more than thirty weeks.

(E) Each grant shall be awarded for three academic years and shall not exceed fifteen thousand dollars for each school year. The Chancellor shall distribute the grant through either of the following methods:

(1) At a rate of twenty-five dollars per hour that is paid on the same pay schedule offered to other licensed educators at the qualifying school where the eligible student is working;

(2) Through a lump sum payment of up to fifteen thousand dollars that shall be paid at the end of the internship period for the corresponding school year.

(F)(1) If the grant program or a student's internship is permanently terminated, and the student does not satisfy the requirements of an eligible student under this section, the following applies:

(a) For a student who receives a grant under division (E)(1) of this section, no further grant payments shall be made to that individual as of the day the student no longer meets the requirements.

(b) For a student who receives a grant under division (E)(2) of this section, the student may receive a prorated amount of the lump sum that reflects the number of hours the student worked during the student's internship at a qualifying school while meeting the requirements of an eligible student.

(2) If a student temporarily does not satisfy the requirements of an eligible student under this section, due to relocating to another qualifying school or due to a leave of absence, the following applies:

(a) For a student who receives a grant under division (E)(1) of this section, no payments shall be made during the period in which the student does not meet the requirements. Payments shall resume once the student again meets the requirements of an eligible student but shall not extend beyond thirty weeks from the date the student began the internship.

(b) For a student who receives a grant under division (E)(2) of this section, the student remains eligible to receive the full grant amount if the student completes all of the requirements of the program prescribed under this section.

(G) Each university at which an eligible student is enrolled may continue implementing any existing evaluation processes required as part of any certification, licensing, or approval requirements associated with serving as a school-based social worker or student support professional.

(H) Each eligible student that receives a grant under this section shall submit any evaluations the student receives, including evaluations under division (G) of this section, while completing an internship at a qualifying school to the Chancellor. The Chancellor shall use any evaluation received under this section to determine an eligible student's continued eligibility for a grant under this section and shall notify the student if the Chancellor disqualifies a student for a grant based on evaluations under this division.

(I) The Chancellor shall provide grants to supervisors of up to two hundred fifty dollars for each eligible student the individual supervises.

(J) The Chancellor shall adopt rules to administer the pilot program.

(K) The Chancellor shall submit the following reports to the standing committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate that consider higher education legislation:

(1) An interim report following completion of the second academic year of the pilot program's operation that focuses on the following:

(a) Program participation;

(b) Internship placements;

(c) Early completion and retention trends;

(d) Implementation challenges;

(e) Recommended program adjustments.

(2) A final report upon the completion of the pilot program that evaluates overall program effectiveness and includes recommendations regarding the continuation, expansion, modification, or future funding of the program.

(L) Any reporting required under this section shall be limited to aggregate data only and to information that is reasonably available through program administration, participating universities, and qualifying schools. No new or duplicate data collection shall be created to fulfill the reporting requirements under this section. To the extent practicable, each report should include all of the following:

(1) The number of students who applied to and participated in the program, disaggregated by university;

(2) The number of students who successfully completed internships;

(3) The number, type, and geographic distribution of qualifying schools served;

(4) A high-level, aggregate comparison of where participating students were enrolled versus the schools or regions in which internships were completed;

(5) Early and post-program workforce placement outcomes, to the extent available;

(6) General categories of nonacademic supports provided to students and families;

(7) Supervisor participation and feedback;

(8) Workforce gaps addressed in underserved and high-need schools;

(9) Recommendations for program improvement or scalability.

The Chancellor may include any additional information related to the pilot program the Chancellor determines is necessary to provide context in either the interim or final report.

(M) Based on the amount of the appropriation made for the program established under this section and the number of applications the Chancellor receives, after the first year of the program, the Chancellor may award grants to a new cohort of eligible students for subsequent years of the program or, instead of awarding grants to a new cohort, continue to award grants to eligible students who are currently participating in the program, until the students complete their internships.

(N) The Chancellor shall cease awarding any new grants under this section after the third academic year that occurs after the effective date of this section.

Section 2. All items in this act are hereby appropriated as designated out of any moneys in the state treasury to the credit of the designated fund. For all operating appropriations made in this act, those in the first column are for fiscal year 2027 and those in the second column are for fiscal year 2028. The operating appropriations made in this act are in addition to any other operating appropriations made for these fiscal years.

Section 3.

COMMUNITY PROJECTS

The foregoing appropriation item 336519, Community Projects, shall be used, in collaboration with the Department of Higher Education, for the Social Work Apprenticeship Retention and Training (SMART) Internship Pilot Program established in Section 1 of this act.

Section 4. Within the limits set forth in this act, the Director of Budget and Management shall establish accounts indicating the source and amount of funds for each appropriation made in this act, and shall determine the manner in which appropriation accounts shall be maintained.

Expenditures from the FY 2027 operating appropriations contained in this act shall be accounted for as though made in, and are subject to all applicable provisions of, H.B. 96 of the 136th General Assembly. Expenditures from the FY 2028 operating appropriations contained in this act shall be accounted for as though made in, and are subject to all applicable provisions of, the main operating appropriations act of the 137th General Assembly.

Section 5. This act shall be known as the Ohio Students and Families Workforce Strengthening Act.