A bill meant to tighten SB 1 enforcement was introduced on Feb. 12 and could remove state funding from universities found to not be complying with the bill. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor
A bill to tighten Senate Bill 1 enforcement by linking university compliance to state funding was introduced in the state legislature, less than a year after it was signed into law.
Introduced by Rep. Tom Young, R-Dayton, on Feb. 12, the proposal would reinforce SB 1 by creating requirements that would assess universities’ compliance with the bill. If a university isn’t following state law, state funds would be withheld, Young said in a press release.
“SB 1 sets the expectations. [This] ensures that these expectations are verifiable and enforceable in an orderly, transparent way,” Young said.
SB 1 prohibits diversity, equity and inclusion programming, training and offices at Ohio universities. It also requires the schools to commit to teaching intellectual diversity, according to the now-enacted law.
Young said the inspiration for his bill was fear of repercussions for expressing views.
“There’s still this attitude or this feeling in higher education that people are afraid for their jobs,” Young said. “That’s messed up.”
Ohio State removed at least 16 professional staff positions related to DEI before SB 1 took effect, per prior Lantern reporting. Staff were given 60 days to search for other positions at the university, though their names and current employment status are not disclosed.
If the bill passes, state universities and colleges will have to certify compliance with SB 1 with the state chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education once a year, according to the bill.
If found noncompliant, state colleges and universities could lose state funding until changes are made according to the bill. Any funding lost during noncompliance cannot be recovered
“If institutions certify compliance with the law, that certification must be accurate,” Young said. “If there is disagreement, there’s a process. If there is a correction, there is a cure period. Funding action is not automatic, it is procedural.”
State colleges and universities also must generate a list of all staff who previously held DEI roles, including their name, duties, reassignment details and approval from the university’s chief of human resources and general legal counsel, according to the bill.
Other required metrics for each such employee, includes an explanation of reassignment, a side-by-side comparison of roles and a signature from each institution’s general counsel, president and board of trustees, according to the bill.
One key change the bill makes is delegating the authority to terminate staff due to non-performance related circumstances, known as retrenchment, which is currently decided entirely by the university governing boards, according to the bill.
The Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors, a union and membership group representing higher education academic staff, has sponsored a petition to reject the bill.
“When lawmakers in Ohio play political games with colleges and universities, it is not politicians who bear the consequences. It is students, workers, and communities across Ohio who pay the price,” the petition said.
Ohio State is in compliance with SB 1, according to university Spokesperson Chris Booker said in an email.
“We are still reviewing [Young’s proposal] to understand the potential implications and have not yet taken a position on the bill,” Booker said.
