COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Senate has passed controversial legislation that would require all public school students in grades six through 12 to be taught a three-part “Success Sequence” emphasizing marriage before childbirth as a key step toward avoiding poverty.

Senate Bill 156, sponsored by state Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, passed along party lines and now moves to the Ohio House of Representatives for consideration. If enacted, the bill would require the state’s Department of Education and Workforce to develop standards and a model curriculum for teaching the sequence.

The core of the mandate is a three-pronged framework based on research suggesting individuals are "overwhelmingly less likely to live in poverty in adulthood" if they follow a specific order of life choices:

  1. Graduating from high school.
  2. Getting a full-time job.
  3. Waiting until marriage to have children.

Proponents of the legislation, including Senator Cutrona, frame the sequence as an evidence-based tool for economic mobility and poverty reduction. The bill’s text defines the sequence as a framework based on research from diverse institutions that shows a lower likelihood of poverty for those who follow these steps.

The bill faced opposition during committee hearings earlier this year, with critics arguing the measure is government overreach that imposes a singular, conservative moral viewpoint onto diverse student populations.

In testimony submitted to the Senate Education Committee in June 2025, opponents argued the sequence is not neutral education but rather "cultural indoctrination" and "ideological overreach".

Lis Regula, an Ohioan who submitted opponent testimony, said the bill "promotes a narrow and moralistic worldview" rooted in "outdated, exclusionary notions of 'family values' that do not reflect the lived experiences or aspirations of many Ohio families". Another opponent, Trisha Hunt of Marysville, wrote that the steps, while potentially "good choices for some," are "moralized standards that reflect one particular worldview".

Opponents voiced concerns that mandating the instruction as a graduation requirement risks stigmatizing and marginalizing students. This includes students from diverse family structures, children of single parents, and young people whose life circumstances do not align with the prescribed path.

Critics, including Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, argue the bill’s focus on individual choices distracts from larger systemic problems.

The organization stated that the “Success Sequence” "Ignores structural inequalities" and places "too much emphasis on individual agency while ignoring systemic issues". They contend that success cannot be defined by such a single, narrow standard, noting that "marital status does not determine a person's success". Furthermore, they accused lawmakers of choosing to impose "conservative religious values on all students" rather than addressing urgent issues like Ohio's maternal and infant mortality crisis or improving overall economic outcomes for families.

Opponent testimony echoed these concerns, stating that the curriculum is "culturally biased and stigmatizing" and sends a message that a student’s worth depends on conforming to a specific social model.

Beyond the content, the bill’s opponents also criticized the mechanism for its implementation. Testimony described the bill as "government overreach at its worst" because it strips authority from locally elected school boards.

The bill mandates that the Department of Education and Workforce establish a committee to review the curriculum and standards. This committee will include school district board of education members and parents. However, testimony from Lis Regula argued the bill cedes authority to a "politically appointed committee with broad and poorly defined power" to set curriculum standards, raising concerns about possible ideological bias in the material.

The Department of Education and Workforce would be required to adopt rules to administer the section, and any rules adopted must be consistent with the evidence of the "positive personal and societal outcomes" of the success sequence. School districts would then be required to provide instruction on the sequence in one or more existing courses.

Having passed the Senate, the bill now awaits referral to a committee in the Ohio House of Representatives, where the debate over its mandate on marriage, family structure, and education will continue.