SB1 took effect last week. Here's how Ohio universities have responded

A controversial higher education bill went into effect last Friday. Senate Bill 1, or the Advance Higher Education Act, prohibits diversity and equity programming, bans faculty strikes and regulates classroom discussion at Ohio's public universities and community colleges.

The expansive bill introduces student evaluations of faculty to determine bias, adds post-tenure reviews, reduces board trustees' terms of office, among many other measures that lawmakers say are designed to protect free speech.

"No student should ever be ostracized, cancelled, or have to worry about a failing grade for merely daring to have a difference of opinion with classmates or a professor," said the bill's sponsor Jerry Cirino ( R-Kirtland) upon its passage.

Critics say the measure is a direct attack against academic independence, curtailing collective bargaining and threatening the quality of higher education in the state.

In response to the bill going into effect, the state's 14 public universities have shuttered Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programming and adopted policies to ensure "nondiscrimination and intellectual diversity". It's sparked numerous university protests and a statewide effort to repeal the law.

Executive director of the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors Sara Kilpatrick said there's been an unseen impact as well: a difficulty in recruiting faculty and graduate students to the state's higher ed institutions

"Candidates have declined recruitment. They've withdrawn their names," Kilpatrick said. "And they are citing SB1 as the reason."

Closure of identity centers

Universities across the state have confirmed the closure of 24 so-called identity centers and DEI offices across the state. These institutions provided support to specific student populations or advanced diversity efforts more generally.

OSU's Center for Belonging and Social Change, the University of Cincinnati's Women's Center and Kent State's LGBTQ Center have all closed, among many others.

"We understand these centers … have been powerful sources of connection, support and growth, and we acknowledge the emotional and personal impact this change may have on many members of our community. It is a loss. However, we are the same community. These closings do not change who we are," Kent State University spokesperson said in a statement to the Ohio Newsroom.

Some universities, like Youngstown State, Wright State and Shawnee State, did not respond to the Ohio Newsroom's request for information about its diversity offices. But, their websites to those offices are defunct or redirect to a different student support center.

New mechanism for compliance

While resources around DEI are disappearing from university sites, resources to monitor compliance to SB1 are popping up.

The University of Toledo added forms for reporting "Intellectual Diversity" complaints. Bowling Green State University has added a new Office of State and Federal Compliance and Non-Discrimination to "avoid extensive penalties for noncompliance."

"I believe this bill is a direct reflection of the declining trust in higher education and creates additional layers of oversight across a broad spectrum of the work happening in Ohio's public universities," said BGSU president Rodney Rogers, in an open letter to students, faculty and staff.

Impact on academic offerings

In April, the University of Toledo announced cuts to academic programs, due to SB1.

The northwest Ohio institution has eliminated nine undergraduate programs, including Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy, Religious Studies, Women and Gender Studies, Asian studies, Africana studies, Data Analytics, Disability Studies, Middle East Studies and Spanish.

These sparsely populated programs didn't meet SB1's new enrollment standards which require undergrad programs to have an average of at least five graduates annually over any three year period.

Opposition's referendum fails

Since SB1 was signed into law in March, Ohio higher ed faculty members have been organizing against it. A statewide coalition led by unionized faculty at Youngstown State University collected nearly 195,000 voter signatures opposing SB1, as of last Thursday.

That number fell short of the 248,000 they needed to place the measure on the ballot as a referendum. With the bill now in effect, it can't be challenged through a referendum.

As of now, no legal challenges have been filed in court, either, according to reporting from the Statehouse News Bureau.

But, Kilpatrick, with the UUAP, said the fight isn't over. Their organization is consulting with attorneys to monitor whether universities actions go beyond compliance with SB1 to break the law.

"The ramifications of SB1 are not going to be seen and felt immediately, but rather unfold over a matter of years," Kilpatrick said. "There will come a day when the many shortfalls of higher education will be traced back to SB1."

More changes to come

Not all of SB1's provisions went into effect last week. Some major changes won't be enacted until next school year.

By the fall of 2026, all universities are required to offer a mandatory U.S. civics course, focused on the free market. At the same time, universities will have to make the syllabi for all their courses public and provide training for trustee members.

These additions come at a cost to universities. In a statement to the Ohio Newsroom, Kent State University estimated that implementing SB1 will cost 1.5 to 2 million dollars annually.