Ohio State Senator Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, introduced Senate Bill 83, also called the “Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act,” on March 14. Credit: Tom Hanks | Lantern File Photo

A sweeping set of changes proposed in the Ohio General Assembly is leaving those working in the field of higher education concerned for students, faculty and public institutions like Ohio State. 

Ohio State Senator Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, introduced Senate Bill 83, also called the “Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act,” March 14 and said the bill, if passed, will give students a better-valued education and bring more academic freedom to Ohio’s public colleges and universities.

Components of the bill include requiring students to take three credit hours on American history or government, banning the ability for employees to strike, ending diversity training requirements and prohibiting the university from taking public positions on “controversial beliefs or policy.” The full list of changes would subject schools to disciplinary action or funding loss if caught in violation of the bill’s components.

After proposing the bill, Cirino said in a March 15 press release the changes proposed will “teach students how to think not what to think.”

The bill would also ban institutions from starting relationships with Chinese universities or those associated with the country. Ohio State renewed its relationship with Wuhan University in 2021 that includes the exchange of lectures, advanced studies and research. 

Cynthia Peeples, founding director of Honesty for Ohio Education — an organization focused on education advocacy and the rights of students, families and educators — said the bill will restrict academic freedoms and stifle the state’s public colleges and universities.

“[The bill] will have an immediate impact on the delivery of higher education as far as the programming, the courses, what the student experience will look like, and how the faculty and staff are able to engage and teach in their courses,” Peeples said.  

Pranav Jani, president of Ohio State’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors and an associate professor of English, said one main concern is the governmental overreach this bill would permit.   

“They want to conduct state surveillance of education through having all our syllabi published in searchable databases with details about week-to-week teaching schedules. Any teacher knows that that’s almost impossible,” Jani said. 

Peeples said the bill extends to issues deemed “controversial” to the state and may limit faculty’s ability to speak freely about topics. 

“Especially in higher education, when we’re talking about academic freedoms, censoring professors around indisputable facts and evidence — we have a lot of problems with that,” Peeples said.

In a March 31 press release, Cirino said his bill is not censorship, because it “is simply designed to ensure free expression on campus and in the classroom.”

Peeples said while governmental overreach is a concern, the effect the bill would have on education at institutions like Ohio State is one of Honesty for Ohio Education’s top issues.

“We’re always concerned with any attempt to censor honest history and a complete and accurate understanding of our history. Generational trauma continues to inform how we live today and [help] students understand systems of power, civic engagement — so we’re really concerned that that education is going to be censored in this bill,” Peeples said.   

If certain classes on gender studies, systems of power or other courses deemed controversial are censored, Jani said he’s worried how this will affect the university’s standing in the academic world.   

“Nationally, Ohio State would be a laughing stock if we had to remove these classes. We would be out of step with national trends,” Jani said.   

The bill also looks to end the striking ability of public college and university employees, which Peeples said is one of the main tools workers have for protecting themselves and their students. 

“When we’re looking at our unions on higher-ed campuses, this bill specifically targets any kind of strike that can happen for those workers to be able to protect their working conditions, which then go into protecting student learning conditions,” Peeples said.  

Jani said he believes lecturers and graduate students are the “most vulnerable” and “feel the most pressure” from the bill.

Jani said the AAUP is “having much more interest in the last week,” despite the bill’s original intentions.

“A lot of this is about fear mongering, and I think this is part of it. We’re going to tell you what to do and we’re also going to remove the vehicles you have to challenge policy, like strikes, for example,” Jani said.

The official number of AAUP members at Ohio State was not given, but Jani said AAUP is “a small, vocal and growing organization.”   

University spokesperson Chris Booker said in an email Ohio State is “reviewing the legislation” and will be “working with our partners at the Statehouse throughout the legislative process.”

The bill is currently in the Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee and two public debates have already been heard by the Senate.