Lawmakers urge Ohio students to read, discuss Declaration of Independence for US’s 250th anniversary

FILE — Thomas Jefferson’s annotated copy of the Declaration of Independence, on display in “The Polonsky Exhibition of the New York Public Library’s Treasures” at the Manhattan library, Jan. 28, 2019. Leonard Polonsky, a philanthropist who funded the arts and helped make significant historical artifacts and documents available to the public, including Sir Isaac Newton’s early papers and a letter from Christopher Columbus’s maiden voyage, died on March 14, 2025, at his home in Manhattan. He was 97. (Vincent Tullo/The New York Times)

Credit: NYT

Credit: NYT

FILE — Thomas Jefferson’s annotated copy of the Declaration of Independence, on display in “The Polonsky Exhibition of the New York Public Library’s Treasures” at the Manhattan library, Jan. 28, 2019. Leonard Polonsky, a philanthropist who funded the arts and helped make significant historical artifacts and documents available to the public, including Sir Isaac Newton’s early papers and a letter from Christopher Columbus’s maiden voyage, died on March 14, 2025, at his home in Manhattan. He was 97. (Vincent Tullo/The New York Times)
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Ohio’s state legislature is urging students from first grade onward to read the Declaration of Independence in 2026 in honor of the 250th anniversary of its signing.

A 32-0 vote from the Senate on Wednesday was followed another unanimous approval from the Ohio House on House Concurrent Resolution 22.

The legislation, soon to be sent to the Ohio Secretary of State, has no legal effect. Merely, the resolution encourages students to read the nation’s founding document and urges schools to provide “formal classroom time” for discussion.

Sen. Catherine Ingram, D-Cincinnati, said Wednesday that it’s important for students to read the document and “interpret it for themselves.”

The legislation is meant to add to the Trump administration’s push to “provide a grand celebration worthy of the momentous occasion of the 250th anniversary of American Independence and to honor the history of our great Nation,” so says the resolution.

“Not only does this resolution help mark a historic landmark in our nation’s history, but also to ensure that the next generation of Americans understand one of the founding documents of this great nation,” Senate Health Committee Chair Andy Brenner, R-Delaware, said on the Senate floor on Wednesday.

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