Couch to Capital: September Legislative Updates

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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

Resources:

• https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/status-reports
• https://ohiocounseling.org/legislative-advocacy
• https://www.counseling.org/advocacy/take-action
• https://abcnews.go.com/Health/sick-stomach-trump-distorts-facts-autism-tylenol-vaccines/story?id=125852331
• https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/09/16/nx-s1-5543271/rfk-jr-mental-health-screening-schools-stigma?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews

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

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• Instagram: @OhioCounseling
• Facebook: facebook.com/ohiocounseling
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ohio-counseling-association-b78256165/

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

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:01):
Welcome to Ohio Counseling Conversations Couch
to Capital, your quickconnection from the counseling
office to where laws meet lives.
In this segment, we break downthe latest legislative and
judicial updates, policychanges, and advocacy efforts
that impact counselors acrossOhio.
Whether you're licensed, intraining, or just passionate

(00:22):
about the field of counseling,we've got what you need to stay
informed and empowered.

SPEAKER_00 (00:29):
Welcome back to Couch to Capital on Ohio
Counseling Conversations, wherewe bridge the gap between your
clinical couch and the halls ofOhio State House and beyond.
I'm Victoria Frasier, and eachmonth it's our goal to bring you
the most relevant legislativeupdates impacting counselors,
clients, and the mental healthprofession across our state.
Ohio education institutions arebeginning to feel the effects of

(00:53):
Senate Bill 1, known as theAdvanced Higher Education Act.
The bill targets diversity,equity, and inclusion efforts
and demands colleges alter theways educators run their
classrooms.
The bill demands that facultypublicly share their syllabi
online.
Ohio State University and theUniversity of Cincinnati moved

(01:13):
to close their DEI-relatedoffices before Senate Bill 1
officially became law on June27th of this year.
Most of the concretedevelopments 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 academicprograms they propose

(01:35):
eliminating due to the law's lowenrollment threshold, which
requires cutting majors thatgraduate less than five students
in a three-year period.
Typically, students alreadyenrolled in these programs will
still be allowed to graduate.
The University of Toledo andOhio University have already
announced plans to cut nine andeleven programs respectively.

(01:57):
By the 30th, university leadersmust provide proof of their
approved plans to an Americancivics literacy course, which
will now be a requirement forall students working towards a
bachelor's degree.
Students will not be required tocomplete the course until 2029,
and universities are allowed tomake their own exemption
policies.

(02:17):
Senate Bill 1 also includesmeasures affecting faculty
beginning on December 31st.
Among these measures are changesin how university professors
earn and keep tenure.
Additionally, universities arerequired to submit a report to
the Ohio Department of HigherEducation detailing their costs
over the past five years.

(02:39):
Reportedly, a standard reportingformat is still being developed.
Finally, by June of 2026,universities will have to tell
state leaders how they plan toenforce the law's call for
making faculty publicly posttheir class syllabi.
This requirement begins for thefall semester of 2026.

(02:59):
While we expect that SB1 willhave lasting effects on higher
education, many of the specificimpacts of these measures remain
uncertain.
In other news, RepresentativesMike Odysseo and Josh Williams
have introduced House Bill 347,also known as the She Wins Act,
which attempts to reinstateOhio's 24-hour waiting period

(03:22):
before women are able to accessabortion care.
House Bill 347 would requiredoctors to provide patients
seeking an abortion withinformation about the physical
and psychological risks at least24 hours before an abortion pill
or procedure.
Patients seeking care wouldreceive information about risks
associated with the care andcould sue if they don't receive

(03:45):
this information from providers.
The bill is at odds with thejudge's decision that previously
blocked the 24-hour waitingperiod after voters approved a
reproductive rights amendment in2023.
Previously, the 24-hour waitingperiod was ruled
unconstitutional by the courtsand blocked from enforcement.
House Bill 347 is still in theearly stages and hasn't been

(04:09):
assigned to a House Committeefor review.
But we will keep you updated asit moves through the courts.
Nationally, the attacks onaccess to mental health
continue.
U.S.
Health Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy and the EducationSecretary, Linda McMahon, want
schools to stop providing accessto mental health screenings and

(04:30):
therapy.
They are of the opinion thatschools should rely on natural
sources of mental well-being,strong families, nutrition and
fitness, and hope for thefuture.
They mentioned the recent billsigned by Illinois' governor,
which requires schools in thestate to offer mental health
screening tests beginning inthird grade.
The screenings are standardizedquestionnaires that ask children

(04:53):
about their feelings andwell-being.
Kennedy and McMahon are of theopinion that these screenings
medicalize the unique andsometimes unpredictable behavior
of young children and create newstigmas that students may carry
with them for life.
Mental health screenings act asa starting point for
conversations around mentalhealth and work to reduce stigma

(05:13):
by raising awareness andnormalizing conversations about
mental health for families.
Stigma grows from keeping mentalhealth in the dark, not
acknowledging when people arestruggling, and a lack of access
to peer-reviewed and empiricallyvalid information.
Additionally, the screenings area tool and not something that is
meant to diagnose thosecompleting them.

(05:35):
Dr.
Vera Fuhrer, Director of ChildPsychiatry at Northwell Health,
says the prevalence of mentalhealth disorders is high.
A lot of the disorders do startbefore age 15.
We know that the rates haveincreased in recent years.
While natural sources of mentalhealth are factors in the
functioning and prognosis of achild's development, they are

(05:57):
not the only influences.
Regular school-based mentalhealth screenings are there to
help catch symptoms early andconnect kids to care before
there is a crisis.
Additionally, President Trumpmade an announcement on
September 23rd stating thatpeople who are pregnant should
not take acetaminophil, commonlyknown as Tylenol.

(06:18):
He, along with Health and HumanServices Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy, claimed that the use ofacetaminophil while pregnant can
be linked to autism.
Reportedly, autism experts atthe Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention were notconsulted about this
announcement and were not askedto review the findings or
recommendations that thepresident shared.

(06:39):
Helen Tager Floosberg, directorof the Center for Autism
Research Excellence at BostonUniversity, called Trump's
comments dangerous.
Fevers can harm the mother andthe developing fetus, she said,
adding that fevers are morestrongly associated with autism
than Tylenol.
Ann Bauer, whose studies werecited by the administration in

(07:00):
their announcement, hasresponded.
She was alarmed by the commentsand clarified that if Tylenol
does have an association, whichit may not, it would help
account for only a fraction ofcases.
Additionally, research has notbeen thoroughly conducted and
reviewed concerning the linkbetween Tylenol and autism
spectrum disorder.
She points out that it'simportant to remember that

(07:22):
Tylenol is one of the only safefever reducers for both the
person carrying the child alongwith the baby.
And there is far more extensiveresearch about the consequences
of high fevers while pregnant.
A limited understanding of theresearch and the dissemination
of misinformation can haveconsiderable repercussions for
pregnant individuals.
Furthermore, the autisticcommunity may be adversely

(07:45):
affected by stigma andinsensitive rhetoric related to
their experiences.
And now a call to action.
Congress is considering astopgap funding measure known as
a continuing resolution or CRthat will extend federal
government funding pastSeptember 30th, which is the end
of the current fiscal year whentelemetal health extensions are

(08:08):
set to expire until November20th or beyond that date, until
a final federal budget isapproved.
The current flexibilities intelemetal health care have
allowed mental health care to bedelivered by counselors to
Medicare clients remotely viaaudio or video platforms with no
geographic requirements andwithout an in-person visit

(08:30):
requirement every six months.
Congress needs to include thesewaivers and related provisions
in the CR currently underconsideration.
Without it, this could createunnecessary obstacles for
patients who could otherwisereceive effective care from
home.
Access to telemedicineappointments have been shown to
result in high appointmentcompletion rates with a 64%

(08:51):
higher attendance rate comparedto in-person appointments.
This can improve treatmentcontinuity so that patients can
maintain consistent care withoutbarriers and strengthen access
to care, especially for clientswith limited mobility or who
live in rural areas.
All of these factors lead tobetter health outcomes due to
the ability to have moreconsistent appointments and more

(09:12):
effective condition managementas a result.
Contact your members of Congressand request their support for
including telemental healthflexibilities in the CR.
It is most helpful forcounselors to share how the loss
of these flexibilities wouldaffect our practice and our
ability to show up meaningfullyfor those we serve.
Links to the directories of Ohiorepresentatives and senators can

(09:35):
be found in the show notes.
That wraps up this month'sepisode of Couch to Capital.
Make sure you're subscribed soyou never miss an update.
If you have questions, feedback,or want to get involved with our
advocacy efforts, be sure todrop us a line.
You can text us or connect withour socials found in the show
notes.

SPEAKER_01 (09:52):
That's it for this edition of Couch to Capital,
brought to you by the OhioCounseling Association and Ohio
Counseling Conversations.
In the meantime, stay tuned,stay engaged, and keep
advocating for the future ofcounseling in Ohio.
Because what happens at theCapitol doesn't stay at the
Capitol, it impacts everycounseling conversation.