Ohio Republicans are rolling out a sweeping new proposal that would unwind local bans on conversion therapy and sharply limit how state and local agencies, including public schools and the foster care system, support transgender youth. The 55-page H.B. 693, sponsored by state Reps. Gary Click (R-Vickery) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.), would insulate parents and some public employees from discipline for refusing to affirm a child’s gender identity, while giving the state new leverage over local funding to enforce those rules. Backers say it is about protecting family conscience rights. Opponents say it would wipe out hard-fought local protections and put vulnerable young people in the crosshairs.
As reported by News 5 Cleveland, Click and Williams introduced the bill at the Statehouse this week, casting it as a pushback against what Click called government promotion of "woke ideology." The legislation specifically calls out Cuyahoga County policies and would narrow what certain county programs can do, including how they communicate with parents about sexual orientation and gender identity.
What is in the bill
H.B. 693 would, among other provisions, redefine counseling aimed at "reversing" gender identity so that it no longer qualifies as conversion therapy in jurisdictions that currently ban the practice. It would prohibit agencies from denying foster placements to couples who say they will not support a child’s transgender identity and bar schools from disciplining teachers who refuse to use a student’s preferred pronouns. The bill also includes language that would let the state pull funding from local governments that do not fall in line. Click told News 5 Cleveland, "It is not conversion therapy to help children discover their identity and who they are biologically."
Local bans at risk
Cuyahoga County, which in September 2025 became the first county in Ohio to prohibit conversion therapy for minors and vulnerable adults, now finds its ordinance on the chopping block. The county measure set up fines and potential license sanctions and routed complaints to the county Human Rights Commission, a framework local advocates praised at the time as a meaningful protection for young people. Those advocates now warn that a state law like H.B. 693 could sweep away those safeguards and bring back practices that public health organizations have already rejected as harmful, as reported by The Buckeye Flame.
County reaction
Cuyahoga County officials say they are reviewing the new bill while standing by the ban they passed last year. Coverage from Cleveland Scene highlighted the ordinance’s enforcement system and the unanimous council vote that approved it in 2025. County leaders have signaled they will be weighing how H.B. 693 could disrupt day-to-day county operations and enforcement.
Where this fits in Ohio politics
H.B. 693 drops into an already crowded landscape of Statehouse fights over gender, schools and parental rights. Democrats have put forward bills such as H.B. 300, which would ban conversion therapy statewide, while earlier Republican-backed measures, including H.B. 68 that restricted gender-affirming care for minors and limited participation of trans athletes, continue to generate lawsuits and political heat. The Statehouse News Bureau has detailed those recent court challenges and how they set the stage for this newest proposal.
What happens next
For H.B. 693 to move, it first needs a committee assignment and a round of public hearings, a process that will test just how much appetite lawmakers have for rewriting local rules in such a charged arena. Sponsors Click and Williams, both members of the Ohio House, have used their caucus roles to drive similar issues before, and their offices regularly post bill updates and press releases on the chamber’s official site. At the same time, competing legislation like H.B. 300 keeps advocates and lawmakers dug in on opposing sides of the debate (Ohio Legislature and Ohio House, Ohio House).
For now, H.B. 693 opens another front in Ohio’s ongoing policy battles over schools, child welfare and local control. County officials and advocates say they will be glued to committee schedules and testimony lists as the Statehouse decides whether to overhaul, or override, local protections for LGBTQ+ youth.
