Ohio Republicans want to mandate self-defense training for high school students

Ohio students would have to take a self-defense class to graduate from high school if a bill introduced Tuesday by two House Republicans becomes law. 

“Young women between the ages of 16-19 are the most vulnerable to be sexually assaulted,” Rep. Tom Young, R-Washington Twp, said in a statement. “This training will also provide opportunity for development of relationships between students and their local law enforcement and school resource officers.”

Called the Student Protection Act, House Bill 639 would require incoming freshmen in public and private schools to complete self-defense training as part of their health education starting in the 2023-2024 academic year. 

The instructors would have to be school resource officers or certified self-defense instructors.    

“Physical, emotional or sexual abuse and assault are never okay. These behaviors should never be tolerated or go unreported,” Rep Andrea White, R-Kettering, said in a statement. “Reinforcing this message with our young people, while equipping them with defensive tactics and proactive strategies will help them protect themselves and avoid dangerous situations.”

She added that self-defense training could also help students identify early signs and symptoms of mental health issues and potentially aggressive behavior in their peers.  

Neither White nor Young mentioned the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in their joint press release. Young told the USA Today Gannett Ohio Bureau that the bill has been in the works for months and the timing was coincidental. 

The idea came from three recent graduates of Olentangy's Liberty High School who approached Young about what they described as the need for this training. 

"I ran it also by my daughter and her friends. She’s 21," Young said. "They really liked it and gave me their opinions on it as well."

But he recognized that teaching students to recognize troubling behavior and how to report it could help in other situations. 

Anna Staver is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. It serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.