What is SB 328?
Ohio’s Senate Bill 328
Senate Bill 328 is a bipartisan Ohio bill designed to ensure every student — starting in middle school — has access to structured career exploration, professional skill development, and personalized academic and career planning.
The bill also establishes an Education and Workforce Return on Investment (ROI) Initiative to link data across state agencies and identify which programs are actually working for students and employers.
In short: SB328 is Ohio’s most significant step forward in aligning education with real workforce needs. And Future Plans has been building the tools and partnerships to deliver on it for years.
Why it Matters
The Problem SB328 Is Trying to Solve
Ohio’s students are entering the workforce — or not — without enough guidance, career context, or self-knowledge to make decisions that will shape the next 40 years of their lives.
The data is clear:
- For 43% of Ohio students, high school is their last formal education stop before entering the workforce.
- 86% of Ohio parents say it is important for their child to have a plan that maps a pathway to a career.
- Nationally, 69% of workers are disengaged from their jobs — often because they ended up in careers that do not fit who they are.
- The average person spends over 100,000 hours working across their lifetime.
Career-connected learning, early coaching, and personalized planning are not extras. They are the foundation of a workforce that works — for individuals, employers, and communities alike.
What SB328 Requires
What the Bill Requires
Middle School Career Exploration (Grades 6-8)
All students must complete career exploration instruction between 6th and 8th grade, including:
- Local interest and aptitude assessments
- At least one career coaching session
- Exposure to Ohio’s 16 career clusters
- Professional and soft skills development
- Preparation of a student academic and career plan.
Student Academic and Career Plans
Starting with 8th graders in 2026-27, every student will have a personalized plan covering their strengths, interests, career pathway alignment, and academic roadmap. Plans are updated annually and culminate in a professional resume by senior year.
Education and Workforce ROI Initiative
The bill requires Ohio state agencies to link and analyze education and workforce data to identify which programs deliver the strongest results for students, employers, and taxpayers — and to make that information publicly available.
How Future Plans Delivers
Future Plans Is Already Built for This
Future Plans does not need to adapt to SB328. We have been building and delivering its core requirements for years — and we have the data to prove it works.
Career Assessment
Our comprehensive assessment measures abilities, interests, work values, and personality type — exactly the kind of individualized aptitude data SB328 requires for every student. We currently deploy this with middle school and high school students across Ohio.
Career Coaching
We train and deploy career navigators who work one-on-one with students to interpret assessment results, set goals, and build personalized academic and career plans — aligned directly with SB328’s coaching framework requirements.
The 5-Step Process
Our proven 5-step model — Assess, Coach, Discover, Prepare, Place — mirrors the full arc of what SB328 asks schools to deliver, from early exploration through workforce connection.
Middle School Interest Assessment (New — Launching 2026)
Future Plans is launching a new middle school-specific interest assessment designed for 6th-8th grade students. This tool is purpose-built for the SB328 career exploration requirement and is available now for schools and districts planning for the 2026-27 rollout.
Career Navigator Network
Future Plans currently supports career navigators in schools across Ohio. Our navigators are trained, community-rooted, and ready to help districts meet SB328’s coaching and planning requirements — without creating new administrative burden.
Outcomes Data
We track student and adult outcomes across all five steps — employment rates, wage outcomes, credential attainment, and more. Our data infrastructure is designed to support the kind of ROI measurement SB328’s initiative calls for.
Our Track Record
What Five Years of This Work Looks Like
- 36,000+ individuals reached through assessment, coaching, and workforce training
- 50+ counties served across Ohio, including all 32 Appalachian counties
- 55 schools and 36 career navigators supported in 2025-2026
- 3,127 student assessments completed in the current pilot
- 1,993 students received individualized coaching
- Employment outcomes 14-26% above the state average
- 552%+ return on investment tied to living-wage job placement
Get Involved
Ready to Get Ahead of SB328?
Whether you are a school, district, community, or employer, Future Plans can help you prepare for SB328 requirements — and deliver results that go beyond compliance.
For schools and districts
Partner with Future Plans to deploy assessments, career navigators, and student planning tools ahead of the 2026-27 implementation timeline. Please fill out the interest form below.
For communities
Future Plans works with communities to build the coalitions and systems that make career-connected learning possible at scale.
Become a Future Plans Community
For employers
Help shape the pipeline. Future Plans Purpose Partners play a direct role in connecting students to real career pathways in Ohio.
