At a public forum in Hilliard, Ohio gubernatorial hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy laid out his vision for reforming the state’s education system, arguing that Ohio must restore strong academic standards and refocus schools on foundational learning.
Ramaswamy served as the keynote speaker on Aug. 20 at a panel held at the Makoy Center in Hilliard, where Republican lawmakers and school choice advocates gathered to discuss the future of education policy.
Outside the venue, a small crowd of demonstrators gathered along the roadway, accusing the forum’s speakers of pushing a conservative agenda they believe could undermine public education. In his remarks, Ramaswamy argued that restoring academic standards in Ohio’s schools is essential to improving student performance, warning that the U.S. is losing educational ground to global competitors such as China.
“We are going to bring a radical revolution of standards to our public schools — I would tell you that we’re going to elevate our standards — but that may be too much, we’re going to bring standards in the first place,” Ramaswamy told.
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He said Ohio must strengthen its core learning benchmarks, particularly in reading and math. Ramaswamy added that he plans to “bring back the third-grade reading guarantee,” emphasizing the need to reinforce existing literacy efforts. He also voiced support for a phonics-driven approach known as the “science of reading,” which he noted is already required in school curricula by the Ohio General Assembly.
“It is our moral responsibility to make sure that you are able to read at any basic level before you advance to the fourth grade,” Ramaswamy further added.
Ramaswamy stressed the need to raise math achievement, with a particular focus on eighth-grade algebra. He said Ohio “is completely missing that mark,” pointing out that a large share of students is not meeting proficiency goals. Previous reports show that more than 60% of students in the state fall short in eighth-grade algebra.
“We are entering the era of AI, we’re entering the era of quantum computing,” Ramaswamy stated. “It would be a moral dereliction if we allow our kids to grow up in that country, that world, to be victimized by the future instead of being empowered to seize that future.”
He added that discussions about public education have “devolved into an accounting debate,” saying the focus has shifted to arguments over funding levels rather than addressing what is actually happening in classrooms.
“Now I’m not going to say that if you lower funding that automatically means outcomes are going to improve, but it means that there are other factors far more responsible for whether students perform far more than this silly accounting debate,” Ramaswamy said.
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Ramaswamy added that while base pay for teachers needs to go up, he believes compensation should reflect performance and be determined locally by district administrators rather than through union-negotiated collective bargaining agreements. “This is not a Republican talking point, but I am going to say it anyway because it is true,” Ramaswamy addressed. “The best public school teachers deserve to be paid a lot more than the starting salary of $40,000. In a modern economy, you can’t live the American dream on that.”
Outside the venue, demonstrators who gathered to voice their concerns. Among them was Marielle Henault of Pint Size Protestors and the Columbus Education Justice Coalition, who said they were rallying to defend what they see as the future of public education in Ohio.
“It has been systematically under attack, our public schools have been underfunded for decades at this point,” Henault said. “Meanwhile, money is being funneled through the voucher program to private and charter schools, which is taking away the money that we need to educate every single child in Ohio.”
Henault expressed concern that if Ramaswamy wins, his policies could mirror federal efforts, including potential funding cuts and moves to weaken or dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. “I imagine that will get worse,” Henault said. “There are lots of concerns.”