WHY WE WORKED SO HARD TO MAKE HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM A REALITY

The Advance Ohio Higher Education Act is now the law of the land in Ohio.

We made history today when Governor Mike DeWine, flanked by Lt. Governor Jim Tressel, signed Senate Bill 1 after passage in the Ohio Senate and House this month.

It was a long, hard road but well worth the effort. 

I believe this is monumentally significant legislation that will allow Ohio’s public universities and community colleges to deal with looming enrollment challenges and usher in a renaissance of academic excellence.

Passage of this landmark legislation took more than two years, as we faced tremendous opposition by those with vested interests in preserving a status quo that was no longer serving our students and was endangering the very survival of our world-class higher education system.

(Click here to watch On The Record's exclusive interview with Senator Cirino, Speaker Matt Huffman, Representative Josh Williams and Representative Tom Young about the positive changes the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act will bring.)

I considered a tremendous amount of input from concerned students and incorporated numerous suggestions.

I listened to more than 20 hours of testimony by opponents and proponents.  

I penned more than 20 editorials explaining and defending the bill.

I did hundreds of hours of interviews with reporters from newspapers, radio, and television.

I believe we prevailed because we simply had the truth on our side.

(Click here to watch Senator Cirino's remarks after the bill signing.)

Critics have focused mostly on the fact this law bans DEI programs on campus.

But the most important element is that it restores free speech on campus.

This bill has always been, first and foremost, about the students.

Through all the twists and turns of the winding road that led to this day, the very first words I said in the very first editorial on this legislation remain the same:

“The purpose of Senate Bill 83 is quite simple: It is to help provide the very best education possible for all students in Ohio’s institutions of higher learning. These students deserve the best preparation available for rewarding careers in exchange for their tuition dollars. It is truly all about the students.”

That editorial was published on April 3, 2023, just one month after the introduction in the last general assembly of Senate Bill 83, the precursor to Senate Bill 1.

What I wrote then about SB 83 is still true about SB 1. 

It will:

• Ensure intellectual diversity in the classroom and among the faculty.
• Provide free speech protections for students, faculty, and staff.
• Allow an education of free, open, and rigorous intellectual inquiry to seek the truth.
• Eliminate requirements for diversity, equity, or inclusion courses or training for students, staff or faculty.
• Require full syllabus transparency.
• Ban political and ideological litmus tests in all hiring, promotion, and admissions decisions.
• Install a number of other worthwhile provisions including eliminating labor strikes by any university or community college staff, establishing post-tenure periodic review, and require full disclosure of any donations made by any affiliate of the People’s Republic of China.

(Click here to see a gallery of photos from today's signing event at the governor's mansion.)

Also still true – is what this law will and won’t do:

True: Ensure free speech and prevent censorship.
False: Censor professors and ban certain subjects.

True: Prevent professors from censoring or punishing opposing views expressed by students.
False: Prevent professors from teaching or discussing certain views or topics, and punish those who do.

True: Ban mandatory DEI courses and training for both staff and students (with minor exceptions.)
False: Ban DEI from the classroom as a topic of study or discussion.

True: Ensure professors can teach whatever they want.
False: Prohibit professors from endorsing or commenting on any controversial belief or policy, including climate change, electoral and foreign politics, DEI, marriage and gender identity.

True: Ensure class syllabi and reading assignments are posted publicly.
False: Prevent professors from assigning certain materials.

True: Enhance academic freedom and ensure students are not exposed to only a monolithic ideology (one point of view) by establishing post-tenure review for professors.
False: Limit academic freedom by establishing post-tenure review for professors.

True: Not tell universities what they must do, but what they cannot do: indoctrinate students with woke ideology and censor opposing views.
False: Micromanage universities.

I sincerely believe all of these changes will help propel Ohio academia into a golden age. I am gratified beyond words to see this legislation become law. And I am so grateful to everyone whose commitment to this purpose made it become a reality.

That includes Governor DeWine, Senate President Rob McColley, House Speaker Matt Huffman, and my 16 senate colleagues who co-sponsored this legislation.

“This positive change to higher education is long overdue,” said McColley. “Education is the mission of our public universities and Ohio’s new law is a watershed moment at ensuring intellectual diversity on campus.”