COLUMBUS — Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday wasted little time signing into law a bill that supporters contend will foster free speech on public college and university campuses but opponents argue will have the opposite effect.
Critics had urged the Republican governor to veto Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Sen. Jerry Cirino (R., Kirtland).
It would prohibit diversity, equity, and inclusion programs on campus, bar faculty strikes, and prohibit institutions and professors from taking formal policy positions on controversial subjects like climate, foreign policy, electoral politics, immigration, marriage, and abortion.
It was the Senate's top priority this year, as reflected in its bill number. The measure, dubbed the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, passed both the House and Senate solely with Republican votes, clearing its last hurdle on Wednesday.
A similar measure passed last session only to stall in the House.
The bill's supporters argue the new law will push back against liberal "indoctrination" on campus.
“Critics have focused mostly on the fact this law bans DEI programs on campus, but the most important element is that it restores free speech on campus,” Mr. Cirino said. “This bill has always been, first and foremost, about the students.”
Opponents have contended it will stifle open debate and represents the biggest attack on collective bargaining since Senate Bill 5, the 2011 measure affecting public employees that voters ultimately repealed.
“Governor DeWine failed the people of Ohio by signing S.B. 1 into law,” House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D. Upper Arlington) said. “The governor now has to live with the consequences that will haunt his legacy because signing S.B. 1 into law begins the inevitable destruction of Ohio’s cherished higher education system by legalizing state-sponsored censorship and discrimination, it will damage our economy and future by making Ohio an extremely undesirable place to learn and work, and it radically undermines the collective bargaining rights of workers.
“It’s Republican policies exactly like this that are ripping people off and failing to address the issues that matter most to working families,” she said.
Some elements of the bill, particularly those involving collective bargaining, could face court challenge.
The new law, which will take effect in 90 days, would also:
• Subject faculty to performance evaluations by students and peers, the results of which could be used to dismiss employees, even if they have tenure.
• Include in their evaluations of professors a question on whether students considered the classroom atmosphere to be free of bias.
• Prohibit political and ideological litmus tests in hiring, promotion, and admission.
• Cut the length of terms of boards of trustee members from nine years to six.
• Require study of possible three-year bachelor degrees.
• Mandate completion of a three-hour course in civic literary, with a focus on specific constitutional and other key documents, in order to get a bachelor's degree.
• Generally prohibit a school from accepting gifts or donations from China or an entity suspected of acting on behalf of China.
First Published March 28, 2025, 8:40 p.m.
