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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.
1
2
3
4
5
A
MHA
DEPARTMENT OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
B
General
Revenue Fund
C
GRF
336519
Community
Projects
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
D
General
Revenue Fund Total
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
E
TOTAL
ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
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.