XPost: oh.general, soc.college, alt.politics.republicans   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   From: noreply@mixmin.net   
      
   COLUMBUS — New legislation in the Ohio House would require that public   
   colleges and universities automatically lose their portion of state   
   funding for a fiscal year if the Ohio Department of Higher Education   
   finds the institution is out of compliance with anti-DEI law Senate Bill   
   1.   
      
   State Rep. Tom Young (R., Centerville) said his House Bill 698 is   
   necessary because there is no structured enforcement mechanism in S.B.   
   1, which was signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in March. Mr. Young’s bill   
   received its first hearing in the Ohio House Workforce and Higher   
   Education Committee on Tuesday.   
      
   Under S.B. 1, the Ohio General Assembly is permitted — but not required   
   — to withhold or reduce state funding if lawmakers determine an   
   institution has failed to comply with the act’s requirements related to   
   the policy on diversity, equity, and inclusion and other concepts.   
      
   Mr. Young’s legislation would require the chancellor of the Ohio   
   Department of Higher Education to withhold a fiscal year’s worth of   
   state funding from any public institution that fails to comply with H.B.   
   698’s provisions regarding S.B. 1 compliance certifications, employee   
   reassignment, and retrenchment policies in that year. The Ohio   
   Department of Higher Education would be prohibited from ever releasing   
   those funds, regardless of whether the institution begins to comply with   
   the law during that fiscal year.   
      
   authority, it creates verifiable compliance, and it attaches prospective   
   funding consequences to non-compliance,” Mr. Young said.   
      
   Under S.B. 1, institutions are required to submit certifications of   
   compliance, but litigation would likely be required to hold a school   
   financially accountable for non-compliance, he said.   
      
   “That gap creates an environment where technical compliance can   
   substitute for actual compliance, and where enforcement becomes binary —   
   either ignore deficiencies or escalate into legal conflict,” Mr. Young   
   said. “This bill creates a middle ground.”   
      
   Additionally, H.B. 698 requires public universities to provide the state   
   an inventory of all employees who performed DEI functions on Jan. 1,   
   2025, and who were reassigned on or before Sept. 25, 2025. For each   
   employee, a “justification report” is required to detail the employee’s   
   reassignment. Public universities are prohibited from reclassifying or   
   “otherwise disguising” any position to continue DEI functions banned by   
   S.B. 1.   
      
   The bill also includes provisions on retrenchment and faculty workload   
   policies, which were criticized by Democrats during the committee   
   hearing.   
      
   Mr. Young wouldn’t provide any specific examples of universities failing   
   to comply with the law but said he’s received complaints from students,   
   administrators, professors, and others that some schools are ignoring   
   portions of the law. He also stressed his belief that university leaders   
   are working hard to comply with the law and that he is looking forward   
   to seeing the results of the first S.B. 1 State Share of Instruction   
   compliance reports, which universities are required to submit to the   
   state by Sunday.   
      
   Jeff Robinson, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Higher Education,   
   said all public universities have already submitted their compliance   
   reports to the department, and state officials are currently reviewing   
   them.   
      
   House leaders weigh in   
      
   Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R., Lima) said he believes H.B. 698 is   
   necessary.   
      
   “Some universities are simply ignoring the law,” Mr. Huffman said. “If   
   they simply say, ‘That may be what the law says, but I’m not going to do   
   that,’ something needs to happen to incentivize complying with the law.”   
      
   Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D., Cincinnati) said   
   lawmakers shouldn’t be dealing with culture war issues when there are   
   real problems to address in the state.   
      
   “Single-party rule has gotten to their heads. They are trying to take   
   all of their ideological and cultural niche issues and impose it on   
   everyone else,” Mr. Isaacsohn said. “The supermajority is out of touch   
   with where most people are. This is not an issue that most Ohioans want   
   us to be focused on.”   
      
   University officials respond   
      
      
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