Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday signed a sweeping higher education expenses that forbids diversity, equity and inclusion plans and workshops, bans university strikes, and requires students pass a program on American political education to receive a diploma.
The new laws also requires public institutions maintain administrative independence, and not weigh in on questionable political or social issues not related to their main goal. It furthermore enacts career assessment, which will enable administrators to flame poor-performing professors. And it bans DEI claims for admittance, hiring and promotion choices.
What’s more, it requires courses to “demonstrate academic diversity” for authorization, as well as to be included in colleges ‘ public education requirements.
” One of the objectives of this act 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 class or whether that be someplace else on campus”, DeWine said Wednesday, prior to signing the legislation Friday, the Columbus Dispatch reported. ” That should be part of what we’re doing in higher knowledge”.
The restrictions on university strikes had been one of the president’s most questionable aspects, but it just adds professors to the list of state employees who may reach, along with jail guards and officers officers, the Dispatch reported.
The “intellectual diversity” requirement had also prompted outrage and protests among faculty, with many arguing the state legislature is controlling the classroom, but the bill states universities have discretion and leeway on how to ensure that provision is met.
Under the law, the new American civic literacy requirement must be implemented before the 2029-30 academic year. The course’s required reading list will include:
( 1 ) The entire Constitution of the United States,
( 2 ) The entire Declaration of Independence,
( 3 ) A minimum of five essays in their entirety from the Federalist Papers,
( 4 ) The entire Emancipation Proclamation,
( 5 ) The entire Gettysburg Address,
( 6 ) The entire Letter from Birmingham Jail written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr,
( 7 ) The writings of Adam Smith, including a study of the principles written in The Wealth of Nations.
Three additional aspects of the bill include, the Dispatch reported, are the elimination of undergraduate degrees if fewer than five students obtain degrees over three years, a ban on donations from and partnerships with the Chinese government, and a requirement that faculty post syllabi online starting with the 2026-27 school year.
As the bill wound its way through the statehouse, it faced heavy opposition.
” The bill received overwhelming opposition from college students and professors. More than 1, 500 people have submitted opponent testimony against the bill. Hundreds of students around the state have protested against the bill. Students and faculty have said they would leave Ohio if the bill becomes law”, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.
S. B. 1 is now expected to quickly face legal challenges.
MORE: Ohio universities ditch DEI as bill to ban it progresses
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: A graphic of the state of Ohio, Explore and Record, Shutterstock. jpg
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