Representative Jena Powell, Ohio's 80th House District — HB 277, Ohio House Commerce & Labor Committee

Summary

Sponsor testimony of Representative Jena Powell, Ohio's 80th House District, to the Ohio House Commerce & Labor Committee on HB 277, the Cosmetology Reform Act. The testimony says the bill would reduce the minimum hours for a license: 1000 instead of 1500 hours for cosmetologists, 800 instead of 1200 for hair designers, and 1000 instead of 1800 for barbers. It also lists out-of-state license recognition, pre-graduate testing, distance learning, and additional testing facilities approved by the Ohio Cosmetology & Barbering Board. It states that a cosmetology education costs an average Ohio student $22,250 and that only 26.2% of students graduate on time.

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                                   Representative Jena Powell
                                       Ohio’s 80th House District


Chairman Stein, Vice Chair Johnson, Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan, and members of the Ohio
House Commerce & Labor Committee, thank you for the opportunity to present sponsor
testimony on HB 277.
HB 277, the Cosmetology Reform Act, will comprehensively reform Ohio’s cosmetology and
barber licensing laws.
This bill seeks to:
    1) Focus on cosmetology student success to enter the beauty industry with less debt and
       greater ability to repay student loans;
    2) Remove barriers to success for aspiring cosmetologists and barbers, mostly women and
       minorities;
    3) Create a more flexible education and testing scenario (especially in light of COVID-19).
We will accomplish these goals in HB 277 by:
                     Reducing the minimum hour requirement by the state to receive a cosmetology
                      or barber license
                         o For cosmetologists, 1000 instead of 1500 hours
                         o For hair designers, 800 instead of 1200 hours
                         o For barbers, 1000 instead of 1800 hours
                         o Also reduces the hour requirements for those who already have one type
                           of cosmetology license and are hoping to get licensed in another area of
                           cosmetology (from 1000 to 400)
                     Providing for out-of-state license recognition
                     Allowing for pre-graduate testing, so students that are ready to take the exam
                      can do so after completing most of their clock hours
                     Allowing barber & cosmetology schools to utilize distance learning or
                      classroom education for fulfilling education requirements
                     Requiring the Ohio Cosmetology & Barbering Board to approve additional
                      testing facilities across the state where a student can go to take the written exam.
                       o Currently, Ohioans are forced to drive to the one approved testing
                         facility in Ohio which is in Grove City, an incredible inconvenience for
                         a majority of Ohioans
Other states – Texas, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, and most recently, California (on the
Governor’s desk) – have their cosmetology hour requirement at 1000 hours.
Currently in Ohio, high school career tech programs are already teaching cosmetology coursework
for 1,125 hours. The additional 375 hours to meet the state requirement of 1500 hours are math,
science, etc. High school programs also promote students doing internships with on-the-job
training for up to 150 hours. This means that currently, there are Ohio cosmetologists who have
received less than 1000 hours of cosmetology education and are licensed. A national study
conducted by AIR concluded that any amount required over 1000 hours for a cosmetology license
does not lead to higher graduation rates, licensure rates, or earning potential.
I have passed out the current hour requirements from the Ohio Cosmetology & Barbering Board
for you to see. As you will notice, there are 750 hours of clinic time for cosmetologists, in addition
to 375 hours of flexible learning hours and 375 hours of theory. Did you know that these 750 hours
of work that aspiring cosmetologists do to cut, color, and style hair are unpaid? In fact, Ohio
cosmetology students are paying Ohio private cosmetology schools for the chance to cut hair on
paying customers in the schools’ on-site clinics. The schools get free labor from the students, and
are paid by both student and customer.
Did you know that a cosmetology education costs an average Ohio student $22,250? The
accessibility of PELL grants and federal financial aid has increased the cost that schools charge
students and the amount of debt students take on in order to complete school. However, only 26.2%
of students graduate on time (within twelve months), which means schools increase the tuition for
these students yet again.
We have an opportunity here to remove barriers to success for Ohio’s aspiring cosmetologists and
barbers, to help them start earning money for their hard work, and to reduce the financial burden
of cosmetology or barber school.
As most of you have heard me say, I am on a mission to make Ohio the most business-friendly
state in the nation. One of the biggest steps we can take in that direction is to stop overregulating
individuals in our state. It is time we move forward to make Ohio a more attractive place for
individuals to live, work, play, and raise families in our communities.
Thank you again for the opportunity to present HB 277, the Cosmetology Reform Act, and I am
happy to answer any questions from the Committee at this time.


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