OH HB98

Establishes the Community Connectors Workforce Program under the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to connect high school students with jobs, internships, apprenticeships, and career mentoring in their communities

Requires each educational service center to employ or contract with 1-3 directors who have experience in job placement, school counseling, or K-12 education to administer the program in participating school districts

Directors must collaborate with OhioMeansJobs centers, create student application procedures including interviews and aptitude tests, and provide classroom instruction in soft skills such as problem-solving, time management, communication, and ethics

Appropriates $8 million in each fiscal year (FY 2026 and FY 2027) from the General Revenue Fund, with $4 million distributed equally among educational service centers and $4 million allocated proportionally based on student count

Requires businesses employing students through the program to comply with Ohio minor labor laws and mandates directors to report participation and placement data to their educational service center and the state department