COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio House Republicans have passed a controversial bill that overhauls the higher education system — banning diversity initiatives, limiting how "controversial topics" can be taught and eliminating tenure.
Years of protesting all came down to Wednesday.
"We've manufactured a boogeyman and now we are legislating this 'boogeyman' out of existence," Ohio State University freshman D’Laveance Bert-Sims said.
Senate Bill 1, formerly known as S.B. 83 last General Assembly, was introduced by Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland). It is meant to prevent so-called liberal bias.
"I've been missing a lot of class because of needing to be at the Statehouse to advocate that our university is allowed to continue to exist as it is," Bert-Sims said.
And even on his spring break from OSU, the student has been protesting at the Capitol. He was one of the roughly 1,500 opponents of S.B. 1.
Cirino was one of the about 30 supporters to submit testimony in support.
"It provides for a policy to be established for what I call intellectual diversity, which is very important," Cirino said. "It means openness to all various thoughts about various issues, which is the opposite of indoctrination — indoctrination is when you expose students to only one train of thought, so a monolithic thought environment. That is not good for students."
This massive bill focuses on what Cirino calls “free speech,” banning public universities in Ohio from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, having “bias” in the classroom and limiting how “controversial topics” can and can’t be taught. The elimination of DEI would mean no diversity offices, training or scholarships.
"I believe that will benefit students greatly and produce better students who know how to think and analyze and come to their own conclusions," the lawmaker added.
For Bert-Sims, the House passing S.B. 1 is personal.
"I am actually a recipient of a scholarship that was formerly overseen by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion," he said.
President Donald Trump has ordered all public universities to stop DEI initiatives and programming. This means that, already, diversity offices will cease to exist or be forced to change their names or functions.
"I was very nervous, but I reached out to my scholarship office and asked them what they were planning on doing about this," Bert-Sims said. "They were monitoring the situation."
There is nothing wrong with his education, he said, and that the number of protestors shows that the lawmakers are wrong. House Speaker Matt Huffman disagreed.
"We don't just make decisions in the General Assembly based on who has the ability to show up at the Statehouse," Huffman said. "That's why legislators are elected from all over the state of Ohio."
The bill also prevents faculty members from being able to strike, and it ends tenure.
Labor unions have been fighting against the bill since 2023.
RELATED: Ohio labor unions fight back against bill to ban strikes
For this reason, several Republicans joined the Democrats in voting against it on the House floor. A few others purposely missed session in order not to take the vote, they told me.
State Reps. Cindy Abrams (R-Harrison), Scott Oelslager (R-North Canton) and former House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) voted against it on the floor.
"I was disappointed with the portion of the bill that takes away collective bargaining rights for Ohio workers," Stephens told me. "In my opinion, that language did not need to be in there."
Under Stephens' speakership, S.B. 83 never hit the floor. Last G.A., there were more union-friendly members in the legislature.
"Would you have stayed in Ohio if the scholarship didn't exist?" I asked Bert-Sims.
"No, I would not have," he responded. "I wouldn't be here, and I know that that's gonna be true of a lot of other students."
The Senate will need to concur on the amendments the House made, but Cirino believes they will easily.
Gov. Mike DeWine has said he will sign it once it gets to his desk. It would go into effect after 90 days. Activists told me they want and plan to sue.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
