Ohio urged to prioritize kids as education, poverty trends worsen

Farah Siddiqi

New national data show worsening outcomes for Ohio kids, especially in the areas of education and family economic stability, and state and national advocates said policymakers must act on the findings.

The 2025 Kids Count Data Book ranks Ohio 31st among states for education and 27th for children's economic well-being. It said 68% of Ohio fourth graders are not proficient in reading and the same share of eighth graders struggle with math.

John Stanford, executive director of the Children's Defense Fund-Ohio, said it is more proof lawmakers are making choices to leave children behind.

"I'm infuriated that the General Assembly would scrap a bipartisan school funding formula that was developed just six years ago, that was very supported by those who work in the field of education," Stanford asserted. "It makes no sense whatsoever."

The Children's Defense Fund-Ohio said nearly one in five children in the state live in poverty. The organization is asking state lawmakers to make child-focused investments central in the next budget cycle.

Nationwide, the report found 73% of eighth graders are not proficient in math, and 5% of children lack health insurance.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which released the report, said child well-being depends on local and federal investment in policies that work.

"It's critically important that policymakers look at the data on food security in their community, that they look at the data on access to health care, that they look at what's been effective in driving child well-being," Boissiere urged.

The Kids Count report showed Ohio has also seen slight increases in the number of children whose parents lack secure employment and those living with high housing-cost burdens, meaning a family spends at least one-third of its income on housing.