COLUMBUS – Legislation purportedly aimed at relieving the workforce shortage has been approved by the Ohio Senate, along with a measure requiring high school students to be taught the advantages of free-market capitalism.
The Republican-led Senate on Wednesday approved a measure that would allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. year-round, with permission from parents and guardians. Current state law prohibits younger teens from working past 7:00 p.m. during the school year, except during holiday breaks.
Senators also passed a resolution urging Congress to change the Fair Labor Standards Act to allow teens under 16 to work the later hours.
Another bill would require the State Board of Education to incorporate academic concepts of free market capitalism into the standards and model curriculum for financial literacy and entrepreneurship for grades nine through 12.
“This bill is a solution in search of a problem,” said Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo), who voted against all three pieces of legislation.
“Financial literacy classes should focus on equipping our youth with the skills and knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their personal finances and navigate the complexities of our modern economy, not as a platform to promote an economic ideology,” she said.
The bills now head to the House of Representatives.