Ohio State calls out Senate Bill 83

SANDUSKY — Officials at Ohio's largest public university called out legislation they say would harm higher education. In a recent public statement, Ohio State University's board of trustees condemned Senate Bill 83, a "rare" move, according to the Columbus Dispatch. The bill, also known as the Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act, has been criticized by dozens of university staff, leaders and students since it was introduced in March. Opponents say Senate Bill 83 would radically change campus life across Ohio and could devastate the state's higher education ecosystem. "We acknowledge the issues raised by this proposal but believe there are alternative solutions that will not undermine the shared governance model of universities, risk weakened academic rigor or impose extensive and expensive new reporting mandates," the trustees' statement said. "Trustees will seek to continue to engage with the members of the legislature to address the fundamental flaws in this current version that diminish Ohio State's ability to fulfill its educational and research missions and negatively impact the state's economic future," the statement read. The Dispatch reported that, in their statement, trustees cited eight issues with Senate Bill 83. Among them: • Trustees said that the bill "threatens to impair it by proposing limitations on faculty speech not 'favoring or disfavoring' controversial views," which would hurt academic rigor. "Limiting challenging classroom dialogue will diminish the rigor of teaching when, to the contrary, the university should strive to appoint faculty who challenge students to think deeply and analytically," it read. Enforcement for violating Senate Bill 83 could push faculty to avoid difficult classroom discussions altogether out of fear of complaints. • Senate Bill 83's mandated state-approval process for diversity, equity and inclusion commitments could hurt universities' opportunities to apply for highly competitive federal research grants and "unintentionally place Ohio at a key disadvantage compared to other states and universities," trustees said. • The role of faculty, students, staff, administration and trustees in the shared governance of universities is "the hallmark of American higher education," according to the statement. "Our faculty bring expertise to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge," it continued. "State mandates regarding course requirements and content as well as statutory faculty review processes and legislatively suggested changes to tenure eligibility, usurp the important role of faculty in the partnership, which has created the world's finest system of higher education." In April, more than 100 people testified against Senate Bill 83 for more than seven hours during a marathon Senate Workforce and Higher Education committee meeting. Recent action Shortly after Ohio State trustees spoke out, the Ohio Senate approved Senate Bill 83, which is now in the House for committee consideration. The 21-10 vote comes after changes and clarifications were made to Senate Bill 83, which was introduced by state Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland in March. Republican state Sen. Louis W. Blessing, III, Sen. Nathan Manning and Sen. Michele Reynolds joined the seven Senate Democrats in voting against the bill. Reynolds flipped her vote after voting in support of SB 83 during the Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee meeting. "This legislation is an urgently needed course correction," Cirino said. "If you desire an education that involves learning analytic skills, evaluating many ideas and many sides of issues and how to think better, not what to think, this bill is for you." If Senate Bill 83 is approved by the GOP-supermajority House, university staff and employees would be banned from striking, college students would be required to take certain American history courses, professor tenure would be based around "bias," and board of trustees terms would be reduced from nine years down to four. The bill, before its Senate approval, was revised to include clarifying the segregation of faculty and staff based on someone's race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression is only prohibited in classroom settings, orientations and graduations; allowing mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion training for certain exemptions; and existing college programs with Chinese institutions can remain as long as there are specific requirements in place. Other changes would require university trustees to create policies on tenure and update those policies every five years, and shorten a trustee's tenure — something Ohio Senate president Matt Huffman likes. "When someone is appointed to a nine year-term there is almost no accountability," he said. "A governor could get elected two times and never replace that appointment." Senate Bill 83's original version would have mainly impacted public schools and, among other things, ban programs with Chinese schools, ban mandatory diversity training, prohibit university staff and employees from striking, require American history courses and mandate tenure evaluations based on if the educator showed bias or taught with bias. Area colleges don't respond In recent months, the Register has repeatedly reached out to Bowling Green State University and Terra State Community College for comment on Senate Bill 83, but they have not answered questions on the proposed legislation. The Register sent these questions to both schools: • Does your institution believe that what students and professors discuss in college classrooms — in terms of topics like climate change, abortion, immigration and diversity, equity and inclusion — should be monitored and policed by state lawmakers? Please explain. • Are diversity, equity and inclusion a part of your institution's daily operations, and how do they affect students, faculty and staff? Please explain. • Does your institution inculcate its students with any specific social, political or religious point of view? Please explain. • Does your institution believe Ohio lawmakers should control what topics are taught and discussed in public college classrooms? Please explain. • Does your institution have concerns about Senate Bill 83? If so, what are they? Please explain. Editor's note: The Ohio Capital Journal contributed to this article. _ Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com and follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood