This week, Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted discussed at length the negative effects that the pandemic has had on school-aged children and their educational progress. Lt. Gov. Husted said the administration seeks to champion career technical and vocational education and training “to help tens of thousands more Ohioans a year find well-paying jobs without a college education.” To help achieve this goal, the administration’s executive budget includes:

• $50 million to support career technical and vocational education, with $8 million a year going toward providing access to free credential assessments for students (with the goal of 70,000 high school students a year earning a credential).
• $12.5 million a year for the innovative workforce incentive program, which will provide incentive payments to schools for each in-demand credential earned by a student.
• Funding for a pilot program designed to allow students to complete both a high school diploma and an associate degree within six years at no cost to them.

The lieutenant governor cited a recent study that showed the U.S. economy could lose up to $28 trillion over the coming years due to learning losses caused by COVID-19. 2/10/2021