The Ohio Senate held its first hearing Tuesday for a bill that would require schools to teach a “success sequence” life path, including encouraging students to get married before having children.
Sponsored by Sen. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield), Senate Bill 156 would require students in grades six through 12 to study this success sequence, which includes obtaining a high school degree, finding a full-time job and marrying before having children. Cutrona said 97% of individuals who do all three are not impoverished, although federal analysis warns other factors will still be at play.
“The ‘Success Sequence’ is a proven formula to help young adults avoid poverty
and achieve the American Dream,” Cutrona said.
SB 156 would require the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to develop model curriculum regarding the three-pronged success approach, which would have to be bolstered by evidence and feedback from a committee of parents and local board of education members. It is based on research from varying institutions, although the success sequence concept was popularized by the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank.
According to Ohio’s poverty report, Ohioans who are married with children have far lower poverty rates than single-parent households, and low poverty rates are associated with higher levels of education. However, this data does not consider other relevant factors, like increased flexibility when two parents could be working. Understandably, full-time jobs offer regular income and naturally correlate with lower poverty rates.
According to a federal success sequence analysis, high living costs and low wages can make the practice less applicable to young people. Affordable childcare and lack of familial support were also listed as barriers for people who followed the success sequence but still struggled economically.
Critics of the bill have said they disagree with encouraging students to follow one set career path, especially one that may not reflect choices students want to make. According to the CDC, Ohio is among the states with the highest rates of birth to unmarried women, amassing 42.3% of all births.
Meanwhile, religious groups have voiced support for the bill’s emphasis on a more traditional family.
“When we invest in building strong children, we can save some of the expense of rebuilding broken adults,” Center for Christian Virtue Policy Director David Mahan said of SB 156. “Encouraging education, hard work, and the importance of marriage and family helps reduce the risk of ever falling into poverty, and a whole host of other negative outcomes, in the first place.”
SB 156 had its first Education Committee hearing Tuesday but is not scheduled for any further hearings at the time of publication.
