colleges and universities
New bill would ban transgender students from using bathroom that matches gender identity
A bill banning transgender students from being able to use the bathroom and locker room that aligns with their gender identity was recently introduced by a pair of Ohio Republican legislators. House Bill 183 — introduced by state Rep. Beth Lear, R-Galena, and state Rep. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond — would require K-12 schools and […]
Ohio Senate passes massive higher education overhaul bill, House version hears opponent testimony
The Ohio Senate passed a massive higher education bill that would significantly alter college campuses. Wednesday’s 21-10 vote comes a week after changes and clarification were made to Senate Bill 83, which was introduced by state Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland in March. SB 83 now moves to the House for committee consideration. Republican state Sen. […]
New versions of identical higher education bills makes changes and adds clarifications
New versions of the identical, massive higher education bills were adopted last week, but the ban on prohibiting university staff and employees from striking remains. Senate Bill 83 was first introduced in March by state Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, and has since drawn significant backlash from students and university staff. House Bill 151 was introduced […]
More than 100 people spoke out against a massive Ohio higher education bill during marathon meeting
Concerned college students, worried university staff, and outraged advocates packed the Ohio Statehouse Wednesday to speak against a massive higher education bill that would significantly change college campuses. More than 500 people submitted opponent testimony to Senate Bill 83, which would, among other things, require American history courses and tenure evaluations based on if the […]
Ohio AG Yost signs on to try to stop billions in student loan debt from being forgiven
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is trying to prevent billions of dollars of student loan debt from being forgiven. Yost filed an amicus brief recently with the U.S. Supreme Court — along with 19 other states — arguing U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel A. Cardona’s plan to wipe away an estimated $6 billion in student […]
Jim Jordan issues sweeping information requests to universities researching disinformation
This story was originally published by ProPublica. House Republicans from a committee led by Ohio U.S. Rep Jim Jordan have sent letters to at least three universities and a think tank requesting a broad range of documents related to what it says are the institutions’ contributions to the Biden administration’s “censorship regime.” The letters are […]
New voter ID requirements put out-of-state college students “between a rock and a hard place”
A new law changing voting ID requirements makes it more challenging for out-of-state college students to vote. House Bill 458 requires a photo ID to vote — meaning an unexpired Ohio driver’s license, a state ID card, U.S. passport or military card — so out-of-state college students must get an Ohio issued ID card if […]
Ohio higher-ed bill would require instructors to teach ‘both sides’ on climate change
Ohio college and university instructors could be barred from teaching climate science without also including false or misleading counterpoints under a sprawling higher education bill that received its first hearing last week. Senate Bill 83, or the Higher Education Enhancement Act, seeks to police classroom speech on a wide range of topics, including climate change, […]
Bill would require Ohio colleges and universities to disclose costs, financial aid and alum income to students
A new higher education bill would require Ohio colleges and universities to be more transparent and forthcoming with costs, financial aid, student loan repayment, and alumni income. House Bill 27 was introduced last month by state Rep. Adam Mathews, R-Lebanon, and state Rep. Jim Thomas, R-Jackson Twp. “This simple common sense bill will help graduating […]
Ohio bill limits, and mandates, what is taught in college in name of free speech
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. In the name of free speech, a massive college overhaul bill would […]
A watchdog says the feds aren’t doing enough to investigate problem colleges
WASHINGTON — Incomplete written guidelines and penalties that had not been updated since 2016. Significant turnover and reductions among staff. Changing agency priorities and department probes put “on hold.” Over the past six years, these problems have stifled the U.S. Department of Education’s investigations team that is supposed to probe colleges that misrepresent themselves to […]
GOP furor over ‘critical race theory’ hits college campuses
Professors say the Republican crusade to root out “critical race theory” is taking a toll on college campuses around the nation — places where academic freedom is supposed to encourage thought, discussion and analysis. Much of the “critical race theory” uproar to date has centered on teaching in K-12 schools. But several high-profile incidents, combined […]