Beefier DEI Ban Back on the Menu for Ohio Colleges, Universities

This post was originally posted here
BY MATT URBAS
STATEWIDE - Senator Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) announced the introduction of Senate Bill 1 on Wednesday, renewing efforts to reform Ohio’s public college and universities that were scuttled by House leadership late last term.
Cirino’s Senate Bill 83 from the prior General Assembly did not make it across the finish line, with former Jason Stephens claiming the bill did not have the votes to pass. This term’s “Advance Higher Education Act”, brings back some provisions that were amended out of last year’s version, and creates more robust reforms than were seen in SB83:
- A ban on strikes by faculty, which was removed by the House Higher Education Committee last year, is back on the table with SB1. SB1 also contains more specific language regarding what cannot be collectively bargained.
- SB83 required universities to adopt policies prohibiting mandatory training programs and courses regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), the new SB1 goes further, explicitly prohibiting:
- Any orientation or training course regarding DEI,
- The continuation or establishment of DEI offices or departments,
- Using DEI in job descriptions,
- Contracting with consultants or third-parties whose role would be to “promote admissions, hiring, or promotion on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression
- SB1 adds a mandatory American civic literacy course
- SB1 adds sections prohibiting gifts from the People’s Republic of China
SB1 retains prior language stressing the importance of “intellectual diversity”, prohibiting practices that favor or disfavor certain ideologies or political views in academic contexts.
“No student should ever be ostracized, cancelled, or have to worry about a failing grade for merely daring to have a difference of opinion with classmates or a professor," said Cirino in a statement. "It is essential for students to learn how to think rather than what to think, and how to listen to opposing views with a respectful but critical ear.”
The bill was assigned to the Senate Higher Education Committee. Committee chair Senator Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson), indicated that hearings could be held as early as next week. It was also reported by media outlets that Representative Tom Young (R-Dayton) plans to introduce companion legislation in the House.