Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 1 into law on April 4, a bill that transforms Ohio’s higher education system through a new “intellectual diversity” mandate.
Formally known as Senate Bill 83 with the alternative title, “Enact Advance Ohio Higher Education Act,” S.B. 1 eliminates diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, faculty strikes, negotiations on tenure for unions, relationships with Chinese universities and “political, racial, gender and religious” bias in the classroom.
Other provisions of the bill are as follows:
- colleges and universities cannot take stances on “any controversial belief or policy,” such as climate change, immigration policy and abortion;
- tenured professors can be disciplined or fired due to poor reviews;
- undergraduate programs with fewer than five graduates over three years will face elimination;
- tenure of university trustees is reduced from nine to six years;
- faculty are required to post all course syllabi online, beginning 2026; and
- a new American civic literacy course is mandatory for all undergraduate students seeking bachelor’s degrees.
DeWine had shown support for the bill’s previous iteration, Senate Bill 83, which failed to pass the House in the last Ohio General Assembly. The sponsor of S.B. 1/83, Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland), gave up all previous compromises to garner Democratic support after the bill failed to pass in its first round. The bill is signed into law in its most extreme form.
“One of the goals of [S.B. 1] is to make sure that we do everything that we can so that a student feels free to express their point of view, whether that be in a classroom or whether that be someplace else on campus,” shared DeWine in a conversation at the Columbus Metropolitan Club last Wednesday. “That should be part of what we’re doing in higher education.”
S.B. 1 passed the Ohio House of Representatives Wednesday March 26, along party lines despite overwhelming community opposition from students, professors and parents, including Cleveland State University community members.
CSU Student Government Association, CSU chapter of the American Association of University Professors, CSU Faculty Senate and several CSU student organizations have advocated against the bill’s passage since its introduction as S.B. 83 in 2023.
The CSU chapter of the Ohio Student Association previously dubbed the bill the “Higher Education Destruction Act,” a play on its former name, “Higher Education Enhancement Act.”
Earlier this year, CSU administration expressed uncertainty amid the imminent passage of S.B. 1 into law, while attempting to alleviate concern by advising the community to shift focus to more positive news.
“I have not heard many calls for me to address this terrible scourge of D.E.I and how it’s derailing our focus on students,” CSU President Laura Bloomberg, Ph.D., shared during a faculty senate meeting on Jan. 22. “Those are just not the calls I get. Those are not the things that I’m asked to focus on or I’m asked to urge this campus to focus on. [Rather] it is advancing our mission. It is about access and excellence. It is about helping students get ready for graduation. It is about enhancing our community partnerships and our research agenda.”
S.B. 1 will go into effect 90 days after DeWine’s signature.
This is a developing story. Updates will be posted as they become available.
Ele Solovyov 
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