Ohio lawmakers sent a bill to DeWine to improve the math skills of students, while providing an exemption to the governor’s science of reading plan

Ohio lawmakers have sent a bill to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine that aims to improve students’ math skills in the state, while ensuring that the state’s classical schools won’t be required to teach the science-of-reading curriculum, an idea the governor has championed.

Senate Bill 19, introduced by state Rep. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, would require the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to compile a list of high-quality core curricula for students. It also mandates schools to provide free academic interventions, including additional tutoring, additional classes, an extended school calendar, and a learning support program, to students who scored poorly on their state math and English language assessments.

School districts or individual schools would be required to develop a plan that would improve math skills if more than half of their students scored below grade level on their third-grade math achievement assessment.

“These costs could be significant but are highly uncertain,” according to an Ohio Legislative Service Commission analysis. “Ultimately, they will depend on the number of qualifying students already receiving services meeting the bill’s requirements and district and school implementation decisions.”

On the other hand, students who earned high grades would be automatically placed in advanced math courses.

While math scores dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, the state has experienced improvement on state tests.

According to The Education Data Center’s Ohio 2025 assessment results, “approximately 57.2% of students reached proficiency in 2025, above 55.6% in 2024, and the 2021 rate of 49.4%.” Even though the students’ math grades have improved, their scores are still lower than in 2018 and 2019.

State Rep. Sarah Fowler-Arthur, R-Ashtabula, was one of the lawmakers who supported the bill, saying that it is “about meeting students where they are,” adding that the bill “opens the next door” for successful students and “provides targeted supports” for struggling students.

“Senate Bill 19 helps to make sure that students who need additional support are not falling through the cracks, that they receive a more consistent support that is tied directly to the instruction happening in their classroom,” she said, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.

However, some lawmakers were more skeptical about the bill.

“When students fall behind in mathematics, the consequences can follow them for years,” state Rep. Sean Brennan, D-Parma, said, according to the Ohio Capital Journal. “The legislation is not perfect. There are still provisions I would have preferred to see handled differently there. There are sections I will continue to monitor closely, as will others, as they’re implemented.”

The Ohio Education Association also praised the bill for its aim to help students in Ohio, but added that teachers in the state are already aware of the problems.

“Struggling students need to be caught up, but classroom teachers already know that,” OEA President Jeff Wensing said, according to the Ohio Capital Journal. “I still think we can continue to work together to do better for the students in public education across our state.”

Some Democratic lawmakers in the state House and state Rep. Michelle Teska, R-Clearcreek Twp., voted against the bill.

The Ohio House Education Committee updated the bill to ensure that Ohio’s eight classical schools – the ones that teach Latin and classical literature of the Western civilization, among other things – won’t be required to teach the science of reading, a key part of DeWine’s plan to improve the reading skills of Ohio students.

According to the news source, DeWine previously said his science-of-reading curriculum is one of the most important things he did as governor, implying he would likely veto the bill’s final version.

Ohio school districts have been required to teach the science of reading curriculum since the 2024-25 school year.