April 15, 2025
Senate Bill 1 applies to public universities and community colleges. The law bans diversity initiatives and limits how “controversial topics” can be taught. The law also prohibits faculty strikes and “controversial topics” and weakens faculty from achieving tenure.
The last place you would expect discussion restrictions is at colleges and universities. That’s not the case for Ohio, where Gov. Michael DeWine signed a controversial higher education bill restricting DEI conversations in Ohio universities. Senate Bill 1 goes into effect this summer when most high school students start visiting schools and getting their college applications together. Now, students are thinking twice about applying to Ohio universities.
“DEI and medical education has always been really important to having equitable doctors and equitable healthcare,” Mohan, a Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School junior, told the Ohio Capital Journal.
Mohan wants to be a doctor and is no longer considering attending school in Ohio.
“If that’s not the environment that I’m going to be in when I get to medical school, I don’t want to be here at all in Ohio.”
Mayya Sharma is a sophomore at Cuyahoga Falls High School in Northeast Ohio. She plans to see how the law is implemented, and if it is too restrictive, she will also look at universities in other states.
“Now that this bill is passed, it’s really pushed me to go to colleges and states that have more kinder DEI policies,” Sharma also told the Ohio Capital Journal.
Ohio Bill Restricts DEI Conversations at Universities and Weakens Tenure
Senate Bill 1 applies to public universities and community colleges. The law bans diversity initiatives and limits how “controversial topics” can be taught. However, it goes beyond banning diversity efforts and regulating classroom discussion. The law also prohibits faculty strikes and “controversial topics” and weakens faculty from achieving tenure.
Ohio is home to several leading public institutions. The most well-known include Kent State University, Bowling Green State University, Ohio University, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Toledo.
John O’Keefe, president of Ohio University’s American Association of University Professors chapter, says Ohio’s new law will send students looking for more welcoming institutions.
“This really sends a message to so many potential students that they’re not welcome and this is not a place for them,” he said.
In the meantime, staff from public universities are not backing down. YSU-OEA, the union representing faculty workers at Youngstown State University, is collecting signatures to put Ohio Senate Bill 1 on the ballot, allowing Ohioans to decide whether this law should go into effect.
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