BY REILLY ACKERMANN
More than 150 opponents flooded an Ohio House committee last week with written and spoken testimony against new legislation that looks to tie college and university funding to the higher education overhaul passed by state lawmakers last year.
Introduced in February, Ohio House Bill 698 — the S.B. 1 Compliance Supplemental Appropriation Act — would link a portion of public higher education funding to institutions’ compliance with the Ohio Senate Bill 1 law that bans diversity efforts, prohibits faculty strikes, regulates classroom discussion of “controversial” topics, and blocks unions from negotiating on tenure.
State Rep. Tom Young, R-Washington Township, is H.B. 698’s primary sponsor, and said in his opening statement to the Ohio House Workforce and HIgher Education Committee that while the bill is not a “reiteration” of SB 1, it intends to strengthen accountability and transparency to ensure institutions’ adherence to the law.
“This bill does not dictate curriculum, it does not eliminate academic freedom, it does not create political litmus tests, and it is not intended to relitigate the debate surrounding SB 1,” Young said. “What it does do is reinforce public accountability for institutions that receive taxpayers dollars and ensure the law passed by this General Assembly is implemented as intended.”
Young said purported efforts at universities to “work around the intent” of SB 1 have been “astounding,” but did not provide any specific examples of institutions working to do so. He praised university presidents and administrators who have moved forward in complying with SB 1.
“I understand that large institutions are complex, with many departments, employees and moving parts, and at times it can be difficult to be sure every individual within a university is operating consistently with the law,” Young said. “That is precisely why the additional provisions in HB 698 are necessary.”
Young’s new bill would require universities to create a “justification report” for university employees who formerly worked in DEI positions as of Jan. 2025, including their names, new salaries, responsibilities, and proof that their reassignment does not include DEI- related initiatives.
The state’s higher education department would be required to review these reports under the bill, leading the reports to become public record.
Last week was the second hearing for the bill, and the first time opponents were allowed to share their opinions on the bill. Seven opponents testified in person, while many more submitted written opposition. Lawmakers capped the session at an hour and a half. The bill is slated to be picked up again by lawmakers this week.
Opposition
Critics raise concerns that the bill will expand government overreach and, strip labor protections for faculty and staff.
Melissa Cropper, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, said during her testimony the bill would have detrimental effects on labor protections for higher education’s faculty and staff.
She said the bill represents a “dangerous escalation” of political interference within the state’s institutions of higher education.
“H.B. 698 is not about accountability; it is about control,” Cropper said. “And to be blunt, this bill is anti-labor, anti-educator, anti-student, and fundamentally anti-education.”
Cropper said the threat of lost funding is causing over-compliance with SB 1, and this supplemental bill would pave the way to broaden state overreach into unions’ collective bargaining process.
“At its core, House Bill 698 attempts to weaponize state funding in order to force conformity onto the highest institutions of higher education,” Cropper said.
She said the bill’s reporting requirements are designed to “intimidate” faculty and staff into “silence and submission.”
“This should concern every worker in Ohio, educators and non-educators alike,” Cropper said. “When the state begins stripping bargaining rights from one sector of workers, it creates a blueprint for broader attacks on organized labor across the state.”
Steve Mockabee, the director of the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Cincinnati, spoke on behalf of the Ohio AAUP, a labor union representing over 6,000 faculty and staff members from Ohio’s institutions of higher education.
Mockabee said the bill’s reporting requirements raised “serious constitutional questions.”
“HB 698 would create a system where Ohioans who were doing perfectly legal jobs in good faith would be placed on a watch list and monitored by the government in perpetuity,” Mockabee said.
Mockabee criticized the bill’s language surrounding retrenchment, and said broad terms such as “organizational restructuring” and “strategic alignment” would enable administrators to shut down programs and terminate faculty at any time.
“After SB 1, job security for Ohio faculty is on life support,” Mockabee said. “HB 698, would pull the plug.”
