Ohio AI Laws: HB 96, IT-17 and What's Next (2027)

The AI-specific Ohio statute we found in our copy of the Revised Code, captured July 31, 2026, is the school AI policy law, Ohio Revised Code Section 3301.24, enacted by HB 96, the state budget, and effective September 30, 2025. State agencies also operate under administrative policy IT-17, and Ohio's criminal code separately covers fabricated sexual images.

Status as of November 5, 2026: Bill status on this page comes from the Ohio Legislature's status pages, read that day. No AI bill listed here has passed both chambers. SB 163 passed the Senate on May 20, 2026 and is in a House committee; the others are in committee as introduced. A few bill details are attributed to news reports because they are not in the titles we read.

This page covers Ohio state law, with one short note on the federal layer. We read the current text of ORC 3301.24, 2917.211 and 2307.66 on the Ohio Revised Code website on November 5, 2026. Other Ohio sections come from our copy of the Revised Code, captured July 31, 2026, so what this page says about those sections is as of that copy. For how other states compare, see the US AI laws hub.

ORC 3301.24: Ohio's School AI Policy Law (Enacted by HB 96)

Section 3301.24 is titled "Artificial intelligence policy" and has two divisions. The current version, read November 5, 2026, shows an effective date of September 30, 2025. HB 96 of the 136th General Assembly enacted it, and it is the only version.

Division (A) was the state's assignment. "Not later than December 31, 2025, the department of education and workforce shall develop a model policy on the use of artificial intelligence in schools." That model policy "shall address appropriate use of artificial intelligence by students and staff for educational purposes."

Division (B) was the local assignment. "Not later than July 1, 2026, each school district, community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, and STEM school established under Chapter 3326. of the Revised Code shall adopt a policy on the use of artificial intelligence." It adds that a district or school "may adopt the department's model policy."

Both dates have passed, so the requirement now describes something covered schools should already have done. The statute's text is narrow in four ways:

• It lists districts, community schools and STEM schools. It does not list private schools.
• It requires a policy. It does not require any school to use or teach AI.
• It does not say what a local policy must contain. Its content requirement applies to the state's model policy.
• It names no penalty.

We have not reviewed the department's model policy, so this page does not describe its contents. A parent or teacher who wants the rule for a particular school should ask that district for its adopted policy.

IT-17: Ohio's AI Policy for State Agencies

The Ohio Department of Administrative Services posts State of Ohio Administrative Policy No. IT-17, on the use of AI in state solutions. The current version shows an effective date of January 5, 2026, and its revision history lists the original policy on December 4, 2023. It is an administrative policy, not a statute.

The policy states: "This policy applies to all state agencies, boards, and commissions under the authority of the Governor." That scope covers state bodies, so the policy does not regulate private businesses generally. It does reach suppliers through procurement: "Agency contracts must prohibit suppliers from using State of Ohio materials or Data in Generative AI solutions, unless such use is explicitly approved by the Agency director or designee." Agencies must also make sure suppliers disclose when they use generative AI to produce works the state owns or build it into products the state uses.

Two workforce rules are among the policy's requirements:

• "The use of Generative AI for work purposes must be approved by the Agency director or designee and must be in alignment with the requirements defined by the AI Council (refer to section III.F. for additional details)."
• "Only State-Managed or Governed Data Ecosystem, and AI Council approved, Generative AI solutions can be used to conduct state business."

Ohio Deepfake Law: ORC 2917.211 and 2307.66

Ohio has a statute on fabricated sexual images. ORC 2917.211(C) bars knowingly disseminating "a fabricated sexual image of another person without the other person's consent," and division (D) reaches creating or soliciting one with intent to distribute, without consent and in order to harass, extort, threaten or cause harm. Each is a fourth-degree felony, or third-degree with a qualifying prior conviction, and division (E) lists exceptions.

ORC 2307.66 gives a victim a civil action for an injunction and compensatory and punitive damages, and defines the term as "a created, adapted, or modified image" in which a recognizable person is nude or engaged in a sexual act. Neither section uses the term AI, but that definition does not depend on how the image was made. A civil action must be brought within four years after the victim discovers the image. The current version of each section, read November 5, 2026, shows an effective date of September 30, 2025, after amendment by HB 96.

AI-created child sexual abuse material is a separate question. ORC 2907.321 and ORC 2907.322 do not mention AI. Section 2907.321 bars creating "any obscene material that has a minor or impaired person as one of its participants or portrayed observers," and section 2907.322, which has no obscenity element, bars creating "any material that shows a minor or impaired person participating or engaging in sexual activity, masturbation, or bestiality." Division (B)(3) of each lets the trier of fact infer a person is a minor if the material "represents or depicts the person as a minor or impaired person."

That inference has a limit. In State v. Tooley (2007), the Ohio Supreme Court held that the state must prove a real child is depicted to support a possession conviction under section 2907.322, and said that "if no actual minor is depicted, there is no violation of R.C. 2907.322." That case was about possession, and the court said it would not extend First Amendment protection for virtual images to "morphed" images, which alter a real child's picture, so do not assume the quoted line covers an AI edit of a real child's photo. The decision predates generative AI, we have not checked how later courts have treated it, and it did not decide the obscenity offense in section 2907.321, so how far that section, or the creating and distribution offenses in section 2907.322, reach a purely AI-generated image remains a question for a prosecutor and a court. Do not read any of this as a safe zone, because federal law also applies in Ohio. In the 2023 edition of the United States Code, 18 USC 1466A covers knowingly producing, distributing, receiving or possessing an obscene visual depiction "of any kind" that depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and certain graphic depictions of what is or appears to be a minor that lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value, where one of the section's interstate-commerce or similar conditions is met. It adds: "It is not a required element of any offense under this section that the minor depicted actually exist."

The federal definition of child pornography in 18 USC 2256(8) also includes a computer-generated image that "is, or is indistinguishable from, that of a minor" engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and an image "created, adapted, or modified to appear that an identifiable minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct." The Ohio deepfake laws page covers this area in depth.

What We Did Not Find: Hiring, Health Care and Chatbots

We searched our copy of the Ohio Revised Code for "artificial intelligence." We found no comprehensive AI act, chatbot statute, health care AI statute, employment AI statute or frontier model statute. That copy was captured July 31, 2026, so it may not include acts from the 2026 session.

The search did turn up two appraiser statutes, ORC 4763.01 and 4768.01. Both mention "artificial intelligence programs" inside a definition of "automated valuation model." Neither creates an AI duty.

AI Note-Takers and Recording in Ohio

Ohio's wiretap statute lets a person who is not a law enforcement officer intercept a communication if that person is a party or a party gave prior consent, unless the purpose is a criminal offense, a tortious act or another injurious act (ORC 2933.52(B)(4)). See Ohio AI meeting recording laws for how that applies to AI note-takers.

Federal AI Policy and Ohio

As of November 4, 2026, we found no federal statute, scanning the titles of the public laws of the 119th Congress, that sets general rules for private AI systems or generally preempts state AI laws. In December 2025, Executive Order 14365 directed federal agencies to challenge or discourage state AI laws the administration views as conflicting with national policy, and called for a federal framework from Congress. The order itself does not declare any state law invalid. See Trump's AI executive orders and state AI law preemption.

Ohio AI Bills: SB 163, HB 524, HB 469 and Others

In his 2026 State of the State address, Governor DeWine called on the legislature to "Prohibit the possession, creation, or distribution of child pornography that is created by Artificial Intelligence." He also asked it to "Hold tech companies accountable for allowing their Artificial Intelligence to encourage, assist, endorse, or instruct anyone to harm themselves or others," and to require cell phone and tech companies to automatically implement parental controls.

The table lists AI bills in the 136th General Assembly that we read on the Legislature's site on November 5, 2026. Subjects follow each bill's official title unless a report is named. The status column comes from each bill's status page, which lists actions such as referrals and passage, not hearings, so a bill may have had hearings after its referral.

What Changes in Ohio AI Law in 2027

As of November 4, 2026, we found no AI law scheduled to take effect in Ohio in 2027; we searched news and web reports and our copy of the Ohio Revised Code, captured July 31, 2026, for the 2025 and 2026 sessions.

The bills in the table are in the 136th General Assembly, which runs through December 2026. As of November 5, 2026, the Legislature's status pages show that none of them has passed both chambers.

Statehouse reporting on an earlier session describes lawmakers having to reintroduce bills and restart the committee process once a session ends. So the question to check in 2027 is whether any of these bills became law in 2026 or returned as a new bill.

The ORC 3301.24 deadlines are behind us, so that statute sets no new date for 2027.

More Ohio Laws

Explore other Ohio law topics on Recording Law:

• Ohio Recording Laws
• Ohio Data Privacy Laws
• Ohio Background Check Laws
• Ohio Biometric Privacy Laws
• Ohio Data Breach Notification Laws
• Ohio Deepfake Laws
• Ohio AI Meeting Recording Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Ohio have an AI law?

Yes, in a narrow sense. ORC 3301.24, enacted by HB 96, the state budget, required each Ohio school district, community school and STEM school to adopt a policy on the use of artificial intelligence by July 1, 2026. We found no comprehensive Ohio AI act in our copy of the Revised Code, captured July 31, 2026.

Does Ohio have a deepfake law?

Yes, for sexual images. ORC 2917.211, in its current version effective September 30, 2025, makes it a felony to knowingly disseminate a fabricated sexual image of another person without consent, and to create or solicit one with intent to distribute in order to harass, extort, threaten or cause harm. ORC 2307.66 gives victims a civil action. Neither section uses the term AI, but the definition turns on the result, not the tool: a created, adapted or modified image in which another person is recognizable and is nude or engaged in a sexual act.

Does Ohio require AI policies in schools?

Yes. Under ORC 3301.24, effective September 30, 2025, each school district, community school and STEM school had to adopt a policy on the use of artificial intelligence by July 1, 2026. A district or school may adopt the state department's model policy. The statute does not list private schools and does not require any school to use AI.

What is Ohio IT-17?

IT-17 is a State of Ohio administrative policy on AI, posted by the Department of Administrative Services. Its current version took effect January 5, 2026, and the original dates to December 4, 2023. It applies to state agencies, boards and commissions under the authority of the Governor. Generative AI use for work must be approved by the agency director or designee and align with AI Council requirements, and only generative AI solutions from a state-managed or governed data ecosystem that the AI Council has approved may be used for state business. It also reaches suppliers through state procurement.

Has Ohio passed SB 163?

Not as of November 5, 2026. The Legislature's status page shows that the Senate passed SB 163 on May 20, 2026, that it was introduced in the House on May 26, and that it was referred to the House Technology and Innovation Committee on May 27, 2026. It shows no House vote. SB 163 is a bill, not a law.

Is AI-generated child sexual abuse material illegal in Ohio?

It can be. In our copy of the Revised Code, captured July 31, 2026, ORC 2907.321 and 2907.322 do not mention AI. Section 2907.321 bars creating any obscene material that has a minor as a participant or portrayed observer, section 2907.322 bars creating material that shows a minor engaging in sexual activity, and both let the trier of fact infer that a person is a minor from how the material depicts them. In State v. Tooley (2007), the Ohio Supreme Court held that the state must prove a real child is depicted to support a possession conviction under section 2907.322. That case was about possession, and the court said it would not extend First Amendment protection for virtual images to images altered from a real child's picture, so do not assume the ruling covers an AI edit of a real child's photo. The decision predates generative AI, we have not checked how later courts have treated it, and it did not decide section 2907.321, so how far that section, or the creating and distribution offenses in section 2907.322, reach a purely AI-generated image remains a question for a prosecutor and a court. Do not read that as a safe zone: federal law also applies in Ohio. 18 USC 1466A covers obscene visual depictions of any kind that depict a minor in sexually explicit conduct, and certain graphic depictions of what is or appears to be a minor that lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. It says the minor depicted need not actually exist and applies where its interstate-commerce or similar conditions are met. Separately, the federal definition of child pornography in 18 USC 2256(8) includes a computer-generated image that is, or is indistinguishable from, that of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and an image altered to appear that an identifiable minor is engaging in that conduct. Governor DeWine asked lawmakers in 2026 to prohibit AI-created child pornography specifically.

Will any Ohio AI law take effect in 2027?

As of November 4, 2026, we found no AI law scheduled to take effect in Ohio in 2027. We searched news and web reports and our copy of the Ohio Revised Code, captured July 31, 2026, for the 2025 and 2026 sessions.