The effort to repeal an anti-DEI law taking effect on Ohio’s public university campuses this summer can begin. Republican Attorney General Dave Yost has certified signatures and language submitted by a group that wants to repeal Senate Bill 1, the law that bans most mandatory diversity, equity, and inclusion programs on Ohio's college campuses. It also prevents faculty from striking and makes a host of additional changes.
Youngtown State University unionized professors have been working on the repeal of SB 1 since last month, gathering the first 1,000 signatures needed to put the issue before voters. Youngstown State University itself is not backing the measure.
Backers must gather signatures from 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. In each of those counties, the number of valid signatures must equal at least 3% of the total votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Statewide, the total number of valid signatures must equal 6% of that same vote total. That's 248,093 valid signatures statewide, and organizers will likely have to gather up to twice that number to ensure they have enough valid signatures. And if backers of the repeal want to get it on the ballot this year, they'll have to collect those by early July.
Putting a repeal on the ballot this year will be tough
A successful repeal effort will take a lot of time and money, with paid petition circulators and volunteers. While some groups had expressed early interest in a possible repeal effort, the state's largest union representing educators is not going to be investing in it.
In a written statement, the Ohio Education Association said last month it’s focusing resources on other challenges, including litigation. OEA Vice President Jeff Wensing wrote in a statement that SB 1 is “bad for Ohio students, bad for higher education, and bad for Ohio.” But he added that because of the time and costs of a repeal effort, “OEA is focusing resources on supporting our partners’ litigation efforts and developing internal support for OEA’s Higher Ed members – including providing guidance, training, and legal services – to help them successfully organize and navigate the new environment created by this law."
State leaders are likely to fight any repeal effort
There was widespread support among supermajority Republican legislators for SB 1. No Democrats voted for the bill, and two Republican senators and three House Republicans joined them. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the law less than 48 hours after receiving it.
Republicans who backed the bill said it was a way to fight against "woke" liberal indoctrination, they insisted was happening on Ohio's college campuses.
SB 1 also requires post-tenure performance reviews, a civics course focused on American history and free market capitalism, and "intellectual diversity" in discussion of issues the law describes as controversial. The law takes effect in June.
READ MORE:
- Opponents of Ohio's anti-DEI higher ed law launch repeal, as big union considers another approach
- With DeWine’s signature, some eye legal action over Ohio anti-DEI higher ed bill
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