Ohio Bill Looks to Ban DEI, Faculty Strikes Among Other Things
Ohio Senate Bill 1 has passed the Senate and will now heads to the House for consideration.
The bill looks to:
- Ban diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and scholarships.
- Prohibit faculty from striking.
- Allow students to reach their own conclusions about all controversial beliefs, including climate change, politics, abortion and immigration. Faculty could not “seek to indoctrinate any social, political or religious point of view.”
- Give universities the power to eliminate degrees and programs if fewer than five students have earned degrees over three years.
- Require annual evaluations for faculty, including those with tenure. Feedback from students and peers would be included. Poor performance could lead to discipline or firing.
- Give university trustees, who are appointed by the governor, more power to decide what happens to faculty jobs when a program is eliminated.
- Require students to complete a three-credit hour course on American civics literacy to graduate
- Require faculty to post their course syllabi online, starting in the 2026-27 school year.
- Reduce the tenure of university trustees from nine years to six years and prevent student trustees from voting. Trustees would be required to complete training on how to do their jobs and current trends in higher education.
- Prohibit universities and colleges from accepting donations and gifts from China. The bill would also prevent new or renewed partnerships with Chinese programs unless the university can prove it has specific safeguards in place.
