Ending diversity and inclusion training requirements, banning affiliations with Chinese universities and requiring courses on American history are all wrapped up in a multifaceted GOP higher education law introduced in Ohio’s Republican-dominated Senate on Wednesday.
The proposal, dubbed the Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act, could significantly change the way professors and students experience the state’s public universities and colleges.
Both students and staff are not required to undergo diversity, equity, or inclusion training at their institutions, or be subjected to “political or ideological litmus tests” as part of hiring or admission decisions. Institutions should also include concepts of freedom of expression in their mission statements.
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Senate Bill 83 would also require professors, both tenured and non-tenured, to have stricter evaluation processes, which would include assessing whether or not they provide a learning environment free of “political, racial, gender and religious biases.”
Bill sponsor, Republican Sen. Jerry Cirino, of Kirtland, said the provisions are part of a “course correction” to redirect higher education toward “genuine intellectual diversity” rather than a focus on “social change.”
A sweeping higher education reform bill was introduced in the Ohio Senate on Wednesday.
Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio Democrat of Cleveland said she is concerned about the legislature’s “micromanagement” of higher education. She also noted that bias is often subjective and wondered who will be in charge of defining the biases mentioned in the proposal.
In addition, the bill would require course syllabuses to be posted online, with assignments and required reading materials to be made public, as well as background information about the professor teaching the course. Teachers may also be prohibited from striking during contract negotiations.
Students would have to pass a U.S. government or history class to graduate, with a required reading list: the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, and the Letter from Birmingham Jail.
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The proposal would also ban academic and financial relationships between Ohio’s higher education institutions and those in China, including funding for research and study abroad programs. Cirino cited national security concerns as the reasoning behind the provision, but noted that the ban does not include admission, and that Chinese students would still be free to attend Ohio colleges and universities without additional barriers.
Pushback to diversity-focused training and programs in higher education was also seen in Florida this year, when GOP Governor Ron DeSantis announced plans in February to ban programs at state colleges on diversity, justice, and inclusion.
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Ohio’s bill will be considered in the Senate Judiciary Committee in the coming weeks.