Ohio Counseling Conversations

Couch to Capital: September Legislative Updates

• Ohio Counseling Association

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We track how Ohio’s SB1 reshapes higher education, how HB 347 collides with reproductive rights rulings, why school mental health screenings matter, and how misinformation about Tylenol and autism spreads fear. We close with a direct push to protect telemental health flexibilities before they expire.

• SB1’s impact on DEI offices, syllabi transparency, and training climate
• Program cut thresholds and ripple effects on counseling pipelines
• New civics requirement and tenure changes in context
• HB 347’s 24-hour waiting period and clinical implications
• National pushback on school screenings versus prevention value
• Clarifying claims about acetaminophen, pregnancy, and autism
• Telemental health flexibilities, attendance gains, and access stakes
• Practical steps for advocacy and sharing lived impact with lawmakers

Contact your members of Congress and request their support for including telemental health flexibilities in the CR. Links to the directories of Ohio representatives and senators can be found in the show notes

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OCA Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/ohiocounseling

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Created by the OCA's Media, Public Relations, and Membership (MPRM) Committee & its Podcast Subcommittee

·Hosted by Victoria Frazier

·Pre-Production & Coordination by Marisa Cargill, Victoria Frazier, and Leah Wood

·Editing by Marisa Cargill


SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Ohio Counseling Conversations Couch to Capital, your quick connection from the counseling office to where laws meet lives. In this segment, we break down the latest legislative and judicial updates, policy changes, and advocacy efforts that impact counselors across Ohio. Whether you're licensed, in training, or just passionate about the field of counseling, we've got what you need to stay informed and empowered.

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome back to Couch to Capital on Ohio Counseling Conversations, where we bridge the gap between your clinical couch and the halls of Ohio State House and beyond. I'm Victoria Frasier, and each month it's our goal to bring you the most relevant legislative updates impacting counselors, clients, and the mental health profession across our state. Ohio education institutions are beginning to feel the effects of Senate Bill 1, known as the Advanced Higher Education Act. The bill targets diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and demands colleges alter the ways educators run their classrooms. The bill demands that faculty publicly share their syllabi online. Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati moved to close their DEI-related offices before Senate Bill 1 officially became law on June 27th of this year. Most of the concrete developments of the law will not take effect until 2026 or later. By September 26 of this year, public colleges must turn in their plans for which academic programs they propose eliminating due to the law's low enrollment threshold, which requires cutting majors that graduate less than five students in a three-year period. Typically, students already enrolled in these programs will still be allowed to graduate. The University of Toledo and Ohio University have already announced plans to cut nine and eleven programs respectively. By the 30th, university leaders must provide proof of their approved plans to an American civics literacy course, which will now be a requirement for all students working towards a bachelor's degree. Students will not be required to complete the course until 2029, and universities are allowed to make their own exemption policies. Senate Bill 1 also includes measures affecting faculty beginning on December 31st. Among these measures are changes in how university professors earn and keep tenure. Additionally, universities are required to submit a report to the Ohio Department of Higher Education detailing their costs over the past five years. Reportedly, a standard reporting format is still being developed. Finally, by June of 2026, universities will have to tell state leaders how they plan to enforce the law's call for making faculty publicly post their class syllabi. This requirement begins for the fall semester of 2026. While we expect that SB1 will have lasting effects on higher education, many of the specific impacts of these measures remain uncertain. In other news, Representatives Mike Odysseo and Josh Williams have introduced House Bill 347, also known as the She Wins Act, which attempts to reinstate Ohio's 24-hour waiting period before women are able to access abortion care. House Bill 347 would require doctors to provide patients seeking an abortion with information about the physical and psychological risks at least 24 hours before an abortion pill or procedure. Patients seeking care would receive information about risks associated with the care and could sue if they don't receive this information from providers. The bill is at odds with the judge's decision that previously blocked the 24-hour waiting period after voters approved a reproductive rights amendment in 2023. Previously, the 24-hour waiting period was ruled unconstitutional by the courts and blocked from enforcement. House Bill 347 is still in the early stages and hasn't been assigned to a House Committee for review. But we will keep you updated as it moves through the courts. Nationally, the attacks on access to mental health continue. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and the Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, want schools to stop providing access to mental health screenings and therapy. They are of the opinion that schools should rely on natural sources of mental well-being, strong families, nutrition and fitness, and hope for the future. They mentioned the recent bill signed by Illinois' governor, which requires schools in the state to offer mental health screening tests beginning in third grade. The screenings are standardized questionnaires that ask children about their feelings and well-being. Kennedy and McMahon are of the opinion that these screenings medicalize the unique and sometimes unpredictable behavior of young children and create new stigmas that students may carry with them for life. Mental health screenings act as a starting point for conversations around mental health and work to reduce stigma by raising awareness and normalizing conversations about mental health for families. Stigma grows from keeping mental health in the dark, not acknowledging when people are struggling, and a lack of access to peer-reviewed and empirically valid information. Additionally, the screenings are a tool and not something that is meant to diagnose those completing them. Dr. Vera Fuhrer, Director of Child Psychiatry at Northwell Health, says the prevalence of mental health disorders is high. A lot of the disorders do start before age 15. We know that the rates have increased in recent years. While natural sources of mental health are factors in the functioning and prognosis of a child's development, they are not the only influences. Regular school-based mental health screenings are there to help catch symptoms early and connect kids to care before there is a crisis. Additionally, President Trump made an announcement on September 23rd stating that people who are pregnant should not take acetaminophil, commonly known as Tylenol. He, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, claimed that the use of acetaminophil while pregnant can be linked to autism. Reportedly, autism experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were not consulted about this announcement and were not asked to review the findings or recommendations that the president shared. Helen Tager Floosberg, director of the Center for Autism Research Excellence at Boston University, called Trump's comments dangerous. Fevers can harm the mother and the developing fetus, she said, adding that fevers are more strongly associated with autism than Tylenol. Ann Bauer, whose studies were cited by the administration in their announcement, has responded. She was alarmed by the comments and clarified that if Tylenol does have an association, which it may not, it would help account for only a fraction of cases. Additionally, research has not been thoroughly conducted and reviewed concerning the link between Tylenol and autism spectrum disorder. She points out that it's important to remember that Tylenol is one of the only safe fever reducers for both the person carrying the child along with the baby. And there is far more extensive research about the consequences of high fevers while pregnant. A limited understanding of the research and the dissemination of misinformation can have considerable repercussions for pregnant individuals. Furthermore, the autistic community may be adversely affected by stigma and insensitive rhetoric related to their experiences. And now a call to action. Congress is considering a stopgap funding measure known as a continuing resolution or CR that will extend federal government funding past September 30th, which is the end of the current fiscal year when telemetal health extensions are set to expire until November 20th or beyond that date, until a final federal budget is approved. The current flexibilities in telemetal health care have allowed mental health care to be delivered by counselors to Medicare clients remotely via audio or video platforms with no geographic requirements and without an in-person visit requirement every six months. Congress needs to include these waivers and related provisions in the CR currently under consideration. Without it, this could create unnecessary obstacles for patients who could otherwise receive effective care from home. Access to telemedicine appointments have been shown to result in high appointment completion rates with a 64% higher attendance rate compared to in-person appointments. This can improve treatment continuity so that patients can maintain consistent care without barriers and strengthen access to care, especially for clients with limited mobility or who live in rural areas. All of these factors lead to better health outcomes due to the ability to have more consistent appointments and more effective condition management as a result. Contact your members of Congress and request their support for including telemental health flexibilities in the CR. It is most helpful for counselors to share how the loss of these flexibilities would affect our practice and our ability to show up meaningfully for those we serve. Links to the directories of Ohio representatives and senators can be found in the show notes. That wraps up this month's episode of Couch to Capital. Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an update. If you have questions, feedback, or want to get involved with our advocacy efforts, be sure to drop us a line. You can text us or connect with our socials found in the show notes.

SPEAKER_01:

That's it for this edition of Couch to Capital, brought to you by the Ohio Counseling Association and Ohio Counseling Conversations. In the meantime, stay tuned, stay engaged, and keep advocating for the future of counseling in Ohio. Because what happens at the Capitol doesn't stay at the Capitol, it impacts every counseling conversation.