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Tag: Ohio Senate Bill 113

  • Ohio House lawmakers introduce companion bill that would ban DEI in K-12 schools

    Ohio House lawmakers introduce companion bill that would ban DEI in K-12 schools

     (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

    By:  – Ohio Capital Journal

    Ohio House Republicans are trying to ban diversity and inclusion in K-12 schools.

    House Reps. Beth Lear, R-Galena, and Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Township, recently introduced House Bill 155. This is a companion bill to Ohio Senate Bill 113, which has had two hearings so far in the Senate Education Committee.

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    Both bills would require every local board of education in the state to adopt a policy that would end any current diversity and inclusion offices or departments and ban any diversity, equity, and inclusion orientation or training. It would also prevent the creation of any new such offices or departments and using DEI in job descriptions.

    Lear and Williams recently gave sponsor testimony on their bill to the Ohio House Education Committee.

    “The increasing incorporation of DEI programs has shifted the focus from educational fundamentals to ideological indoctrination,” Lear said. “These initiatives prioritize identity over ability, promote racial preferences over fairness, and undermine the principle of equal opportunity for all students.”

    The pair of Republican lawmakers argued banning DEI would cause less division among students.

    “Through legislation like this, we hope to cultivate an educational environment that promotes unity and harmony among students, focusing on our commonalities rather than differences,” Williams said. “By treating all of our students and staff the same, we can allow our educators to focus on core academic subjects and ensure high-quality outcomes for every student in Ohio.”

    Education committee members — on both sides of the aisle — peppered the lawmakers with questions for about 40 minutes.

    “DEI is toxic,” said state Rep. Kevin Ritter, R-Marietta. “The sooner it’s out of our schools, the better. With that in mind, prohibition without consequences is meaningless.”

    Lear said they plan on adding enforcement measures to the bill in the coming weeks through an amendment.

    Some of the Democratic lawmakers pointed out how the bill doesn’t define DEI.

    “How is a school supposed to figure out what that means?” state Rep. Phil Robinson, Jr., D-Solon, asked.

    Williams said he wouldn’t give a narrow definition of DEI.

    “The easiest way to answer that is to teach the subjects you are supposed to teach,” Williams said when Robinson pressed him on the question. “You don’t need to infuse DEI into the curriculum.”

    State Rep. Sean Brennan, D-Parma, continued to ask for a definition of DEI.

    “If we don’t define what DEI is, how can we expect teachers to not mistakenly break the law?” he asked.

    Williams said it would ultimately be up to the individual school boards to come up with a policy.

    “We’re not trying to make a cookie-cutter system,” he said.

    This bill comes as two federal lawsuits by the ACLU and the National Education Association are challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to ban DEI programs in K-12 schools.

    “How do you craft legislation when it’s a little bit unclear right now from the federal government where things stand?” asked state Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, D-Gahanna.

    Williams, who is a lawyer, said he knows lawsuits can take a while and is “not willing to allow school districts to continue to indoctrinate children for the next four to six years while those lawsuits pend, just because somebody wanted to file a lawsuit.”

    Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky.

    Megan Henry
    Megan Henry

    Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.

    Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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  • Ohio higher ed overhaul to ban diversity efforts and regulate classroom discussion heads to governor

    Ohio higher ed overhaul to ban diversity efforts and regulate classroom discussion heads to governor

    Ohio college students and protesters rally at the Statehouse on March 19, 2025, against Senate Bill 1, a higher education overhaul that bans diversity efforts and faculty strikes, and sets rules around classroom discussion, among other things. (Photo by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.)

    By:  – Ohio Capital Journal

    A controversial bill to overhaul Ohio higher education, ban diversity and inclusion efforts, prohibit faculty from striking, and regulate classroom discussion is heading to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk for his signature.

    The Ohio Senate concurred with changes made to Senate Bill 1 by the Ohio House during Wednesday’s session. The vote was 20-11 with only two Republicans voting against it, state Sens. Louis W. Blessing III, of Colerain Township, and Thomas F. Patton, of Strongsville, voting against it. DeWine has previously said he would sign S.B. 1 into law.

    DeWine will have 10 days to sign the bill into law or veto it once he receives it. If DeWine vetoes the bill, lawmakers would need a 3/5 vote from each chamber to override it.

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    S.B. 1 would set rules around classroom discussion, create post-tenure reviews, put diversity scholarships at risk, create a retrenchment provision that block unions from negotiating on tenure, shorten university board of trustees terms from nine years down to six years, and require students take an American history course, among other things.

    For classroom discussion, the bill would set rules around topics involving “controversial beliefs” such as climate policies, electoral politics, foreign policy, diversity and inclusion programs, immigration policy, marriage, or abortion. S.B. 1 would only affect Ohio’s public universities.

    State Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, introduced S.B. 1, which passed the Ohio Senate last month and the Ohio House last week.

    “I am delighted, of course, as I always believed this is a great bill for the state of Ohio, for students and for higher education, so I’m delighted that we’ve been able to get past this next hurdle and send the bill to the governor’s desk,” Cirino said.

    S.B. 1 has received significant pushback. More than 1,500 people have submitted opponent testimony against the bill. Hundreds of students around the state have protested against the bill. Students and faculty have said they would leave Ohio if the bill becomes law.

    “We decided on a different approach than many, many of them would like,” Cirino said when asked about the bill’s overwhelming opposition. “But this isn’t about how many people show up to protest or to testify in hearings. A lot of those students that were showing up where, I believe, they were being paid or getting extra credit. And we don’t make policy here based on the number of people that show up to protest or testify.”

    Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, said the passing of S.B. 1 is long overdue.

    “It’s something that, frankly, should have been done sooner, but I’m happy we put the work in to get to where we are right now,” he said. “I do think it’s something that’s supported by Ohioans.”

    Before voting to concur on S.B. 1, lawmakers debated the bill for about 35 minutes.

    “Senate Bill 1 will enrich the learning experience of students at our public universities and colleges — places where our best and brightest will be able to learn without prejudice, speak their minds without being canceled, be honest about their positions without fear of faculty retaliation, and consider all sides of an issue and make up their own minds,” said Sen. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson.

    State Sen. Michele Reynolds, R-Canal Winchester, acknowledged that some people are afraid of what will happen if DEI on college campuses is ended through this bill, but said the time has come to remove DEI labels.

    “This is not about censure or erasure,” she said. “It’s not about exclusion. It’s about inclusion that transcends labels, because DEI has become a system that sorts us. It sorts us by race, by gender and by identity, creating a culture where we are defined by our categories instead of our character, where we look at each other’s faces instead of listening to each other’s hearts.”

    State Sen. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, said this bill ends the micromanaging of instruction in higher education.

    “All Ohio college students and parents will now have a more comfortable feeling that their public institution of higher learning will foster an environment of open and free expression for everyone,” he said.

    Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, said not everyone is celebrating the concurrence of S.B. 1.

    “Instead of tackling the real barriers to higher education — skyrocketing tuition costs and student debt — again, the majority are focused on dictating what’s taught in our colleges and universities and who teaches,” she said.

    State Sent. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, said this bill will inhibit Ohio universities from attracting top-tier professors.

    “If Senate Bill 1 becomes law, this legislation is the worst attack on academic freedom in Ohio in modern history,” Smith said.

    Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky.

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    Megan Henry
    Megan Henry

    Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.

    Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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  • Ohio Republican state senator wants to ban diversity and inclusion efforts in public schools

    Ohio Republican state senator wants to ban diversity and inclusion efforts in public schools

    By:  – Ohio Capital Journal

    A new bill proposed by an Ohio Republican lawmaker would ban diversity and inclusion efforts in Ohio K-12 public schools.

    State Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, recently introduced Ohio Senate Bill 113 which would require every local board of education in the state to adopt a policy that would end any current diversity and inclusion offices or departments and ban any diversity, equity, and inclusion orientation or training. It would also prevent the creation of any new such offices or departments and using DEI in job descriptions.

    Under the bill, each board of education would be required to create a complaint process for an alleged violation of the policy and the board would investigate the complaint with a hearing.

    GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

    Ohio teacher unions were quick to critique the bill.

    “This is another petty attempt from this legislature to sidestep local control and micromanage every aspect of how public schools operate,” Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper said in an email. “It is objectively a good thing for students of all races when school districts make an effort to hire a diverse teaching staff.”

    Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro said S.B. 113 is a distraction.

    “Ohio’s General Assembly should be focused on the real issues facing Ohioans and our schools — fully and adequately funding public schools and seeking solutions to help alleviate the economic challenges faced by families and communities,” he said in an email.

    Honesty for Ohio Education Executive Director Christina Collins said this is another example of Ohio lawmakers are going after school curriculum and programming.

    “This bill uses the vilified acronym ‘DEI’ without offering a definition to advance an agenda that harms our public education system,” she said in an email.

    S.B. 113 is not the only bill Ohio lawmakers have introduced that would ban diversity and inclusion efforts in education. Senate Bill 1 would, among other things, ban diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at Ohio’s public universities. The Senate passed the bill earlier this month and is waiting to be heard in the House.

    S.B. 113 comes as President Donald Trump’s executive orders attempt to get rid of diversity and inclusion efforts across federal agencies.

    On Feb. 14, the U.S. Department of Education sent a Dear Colleague letter to schools nationwide threatening to rescind federal funds for schools that use race-conscious practices in admissions, programming, training, hiring, scholarships, and other aspects of student life.

    This would apply to all preschool, elementary, secondary, postsecondary educational institutions and state educational agencies that receive financial assistance. Institutions have until Friday to comply or else they face the “potential loss of federal funding.”

    Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky.

    YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.

    __________
    Megan Henry
    Megan Henry

    Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.

    Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

    MORE FROM AUTHOR