SB 1 Updates
SB 1 signed into law
Despite massive opposition from Ohioans, SB 1, the Higher Ed Destruction Act, was signed into law by Governor DeWine on March 28, 2025. It will take effect in late June.
What’s Next?
Referendum effort: A grassroots campaign to overturn SB1 has been started by faculty union members at Youngstown State University. They’ve submitted the signatures required to start the petition drive phase. This is currently under review. If approved by the state, the petition drive will need to secure more than 250,000 signatures to land on the ballot.
Share your story: The fight is not over. Have you or someone you know benefited from diversity, equity and inclusion-related programs or initiatives? Individual stories will be key to fighting back in the courts and in the media. Share your story via Honesty for Ohio Education’s survey.
SB1 Resource List
- Senate Bill 1 —
- Bill as signed by the governor on March 28, 2025
- Legislation page
- Bill synopsis:
- SB1 Testimony submitted
- 1,728 opposed to 39 in favor.
The Issues with SB1
What is in SB 1? Here is a synopsis of the bills, grouped by issue with page numbers so that you can read it yourself!
Retrenchment: The bills retain overly broad definitions of retrenchment, which would allow for retrenchment to be invoked at nearly any time.
SB1 = SB83+unfunded mandates: The new bills are nearly identical to SB 83 with extra mandates added. There are 25 issue areas in the bills including:
Faculty strikes banned and prohibited subjects for bargaining: The bill would not only prohibit faculty from striking, but inserts language on course load policies, post-tenure review, retrenchment, and evaluations — then prohibits them as topics we can even bargain on!
Complete ban on DEI: All diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities, including scholarships, would all be prohibited. The bill not only prohibits renaming programs, but requires snitching and discipline if anyone continues DEI practices.
Intellectual diversity: The bills contain contradictory and confusing language about ensuring “intellectual diversity,” which raises serious academic freedom concerns and would open faculty to unsubstantiated complaints.
Protecting Higher Education Toolkits
- Defending Our Campus and Community Toolkit: The AFT and the AAUP created this amazing advocacy and resistance toolkit for higher education! Topics include immigration, science and research, diversity-equity-inclusion, funding, student loans, accreditation, and anticipatory obedience.
- Defending Higher Education in 2025 additional links from AFT
- Toolkit: Protect Higher Education from Innovation Ohio
FAQs
What should I do if ICE or other federal agents come to my class?
Faculty should send any ICE or other federal agent to the Office of General Counsel for guidance. Faculty are not to give information to ICE or other federal agents directly. You are not required to speak to them other than to send them to General Counsel.
Miami has no way of tracking the immigration status of any of our students. Miami does not keep such records. You can tell that to an ICE agent: “I don’t know; we don’t track immigration status.”
This information was provided by the University.
What resources can I share with students and colleagues facing immigration concerns?
We encourage you to share out the immigration resources on AFT/AAUP’s Defending Higher Education web page, including this resource on free or nearly free immigration legal services from the National Immigration Legal Services.
What should I do if I am a faculty member experiencing targeted harassment?
Here is an AAUP-sponsored site, Faculty First Responders, with advice on steps to take. As soon as you can, contact FAM at info@famiami.org and report to University Counsel.
Ohio Legislation Resources
Legislation tracking from Honesty in Ohio Education.
- Statehouse News Outlets
- Statehouse Advocacy Organizations
- Ohio Student Association for student organizing.