The sweeping higher education changes that didn't come to pass

Watch an earlier report on the passage of the state budget in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio’s higher education system is not getting the overhaul some lawmakers promised it would in the state’s operating budget.

A slew of last-minute provisions drafted by legislators did not make the budget’s final cut, whether they were eliminated in conference proceedings or by gubernatorial veto. Some legislation, including a ban on faculty strikes at public universities, were struck from the appropriations bill, while other provisions protecting "intellectual diversity" and college tuition made their way into the $5.8 billion Department of Higher Education budget.

A senator’s higher education bills receive mixed results

While a pair of Sen. Jerry Cirino’s "course correction" bills were folded into the Senate’s version of the budget in mid-June, only one made it to the governor’s desk.

Senate Bill 117, originally meant to establish American civics centers at Ohio State University and the University of Toledo, now prescribes similar academic units at Miami University, Cleveland State University and the University of Cincinnati. 

Despite passing the Senate in June, the bill had yet to receive a hearing in the House when the Senate added it to the budget. 

Under the bill, universities’ American civics programs would focus on the "historical ideas, traditions, and texts that have shaped the American constitutional order and society." Most centers must have a minimum number of tenure-track positions, and all faculty appointments must be approved by the Senate.

Ohio State will receive $5 million each year for the center, which must have appointed faculty by Nov. 20. Toledo will receive $1 million each year and other universities will receive $2 million.

SB117 is part of Cirino’s package of proposals to preserve "intellectual diversity" on college campuses through counteracting diversity-oriented programs and philosophies. When Gov. Mike DeWine signed off the SB117’s inclusion in the budget on Friday, the Republican lawmaker from Kirtland lauded the move as “historic.”

"Leftist ideology has a monopoly on most college campuses that is squashing intellectual diversity and punishing wrong-think and anti-woke dogma," Cirino said. "But I do not believe the way to cure the leftist bias on campus is by foisting conservative ideology on academia. I believe the real fix is to ensure neutrality on the part of the instructors and administrators."

The sentiment also inspired Cirino’s flagship higher education bill, Senate Bill 83. The “Higher Education Enhancement Act” seeks to ban mandatory DEI training, faculty strikes and most donations from China. It also establishes metrics by which students can evaluate faculty based on their commitment to forwarding free expression of thought in the classroom.

Both pieces of legislation have been denounced by professors, students and staff from every corner of Ohio’s public universities as the state needlessly embedding itself into academia. Other opponents – who came out in droves during committee hearings – view the bills as reactionary policy against progressive ideology.

The Higher Education Enhancement Act was folded into the budget by the Senate, but it was cut from the final proposal. Cirino said he is now "focused" on SB83, which he hopes will pass in the fall.

The Governor’s veto

In DeWine’s 44 line-item vetoes, he nixed two provisions impacting higher education.

The first, added in the 11th hour by the Senate, would have stripped the voting rights from Ohio State’s two student trustees. The university’s student trustees are the only ones in the state with voting powers and executive committee privileges, rights they earned after years of advocacy by lawmakers. 

In explaining the veto, DeWine said Ohio State’s board of trustees is in the "best position" to decide whether its student members should vote.

"The Board already has the authority to revoke the student members’ voting power if it determines that it is in the best interest of the university, and that decision is best left with the Board," DeWine wrote.

DeWine also vetoed a provision exempting post-secondary students from their universities’ vaccine requirements on medical, moral or religious grounds. He called the item "overly broad" and a potential threat to public health.

College and affordability and accessibility

The budget appropriates millions over the next two years toward programs to make college more affordable.

Originally cut by the Senate, the House-born Grow Your Own Teacher Program allots $15 million through 2025 to provide grants to low-income high school seniors who commit to teaching in a qualifying, high-needs school for at least four years after graduating. Program participants can receive up to $7,500 a year for four years, a grant that will turn into an interest-free loan if the student does not graduate in six years.

The budget similarly allocates funds to the Ohio Work Ready Grant program, which gives students in career-technical programs up to six semesters of financial support while they pursue industry-recognized credentials in high-demand jobs.

For adults returning to higher education to finish uncompleted degrees, the maximum amount under the Second Chance Grant Program increased from $2,000 to $3,000. DeWine’s version of the increase would have waived the one-time limit on grant recipients, instead allowing the Chancellor of Higher Education to determine if subsequent grants would boost degree completion. The Senate eliminated that waiver.

To combat rising college costs, the Senate also added a clause blocking universities from raising tuition more than 3% year over year through 2025. 

Other DeWine-proposed programs, including a statewide program promoting textbook affordability and the use of open-source educational material, were eliminated by the Senate. DeWine also would have distributed funds to colleges to incentivize the enrollment and retainment of underrepresented students.