Speaker Stephens Comments & Senators React
On the eve of another hearing on Senate Bill 83 in the House Higher Education Committee, House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) told reporters that SB 83 “doesn’t have the votes.” When asked if the bill was dead or if he was going to keep trying, he laughed and said, “I don’t know that I’m trying.” The Speaker has said for months that the bill needs work, and clearly, the latest version of the bill has not moved him to give the greenlight.

In response to these comments from the Speaker, SB 83 sponsor, Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland), as well as Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima), said that they will not compromise any further on the bill and also threatened to pass the bill in worse form if given the chance at a future time. Sen. Cirino even accused Speaker Stephens of not knowing what’s in the bill and made other remarks that likely won’t enhance his bill’s chances with the Speaker.

We find this reaction from the senators deeply troubling, but not terribly surprising. Policymaking should involve bringing together stakeholders to find common ground, not to impose a single narrow-minded viewpoint. Clearly, this bill hasn’t passed because of its vast opposition; instead of offering to collaborate, they have dug in their heels. We appreciate that Speaker Stephens and members of the House Higher Education Committee have given the thoughtful consideration that a bill of this magnitude deserves.

Today’s SB 83 Committee Hearing
Earlier today, the House Higher Education Committee held a hearing for opponents and proponents of SB 83. There were 135 opponent testimonies submitted compared to just 14 proponent testimonies. You can find all of the submitted testimonies here on the committee website. Individual oral testimonies were limited to five minutes, and because Chair Tom Young (R-Washington Twp.) imposed time constraints on total opponent testimony, only eight witnesses had the opportunity to speak and answer questions. You can watch the hearing here on The Ohio Channel.

Prof. Steve Mockabee from the University of Cincinnati, who serves as OCAAUP’s Government Relations Committee Chair, delivered compelling testimony on our behalf that touched upon the problems of the bill as it pertains to academic freedom, tenure, and collective bargaining rights. Other AAUP members including Prof. Matthew Kraus (also from UC), as well as Prof. Angela May Mergenthaler and Prof. Christopher Nichols (both from Ohio State) also had the opportunity to give powerful testimonies about the problematic nature this bill poses for classroom discussions as well as recruitment.

We appreciate that John Plecnik, Cleveland State law faculty member and self-described “most conservative professor in Ohio,” made a persuasive statement about how the speech portions of the bill are very likely unconstitutional, and that the attacks on unions do not behoove the Republican Party. Excellent student representatives called attention to the fact that SB 83 is simply out of touch with what is actually happening on college campuses and raised concerns that the bill threatens the quality of their education.

The supporters of the bill almost exclusively attacked diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, most pointedly at Ohio State, in their defense of the bill, but there was not much discussion about the other facets of the legislation during the proponent portion of the hearing. Today’s hearing once again demonstrated that there is a miniscule amount of support for a miniscule portion of this legislation.

As Prof. Mockabee noted in his testimony, “Despite multiple offers to collaborate, we have not been invited to the table to discuss this bill outside of formal committee meetings. We are puzzled by the sponsor saying repeatedly that he isn’t anti-union, but then failing to engage the unions that would be most impacted by the bill.” The AAUP has made it known from the beginning that we are willing to discuss these issues and try to find common ground, but the legislators pushing the bill have not been willing to sit down with us.

Given Speaker Stephens’ comments this week, we think that we can breathe a sigh of relief for now. However, we have a two-year legislative cycle in Ohio, which means that SB 83 will still be a pending bill until the legislature adjourns in December 2024. Anything can happen, and we will continue to monitor the bill closely and provide any updates.

Once again, we cannot thank our members enough for your activism. We also owe a debt of gratitude to our coalition partners and union colleagues for standing side-by-side with us throughout this process. This has been a hard-fought battle under nearly impossible circumstances, and we have managed to stave off this grave threat to higher education to date. Happy holidays!

SB 83 Hearing Next Week

Next Wednesday, November 29 at 9:30 am in Room 017 of the Ohio Statehouse, the Ohio House Higher Education Committee will be holding a second hearing on Substitute Senate Bill 83. According to the committee notice, the bill is not slated for a vote at this time.

The committee will hear a total of one hour and 15 minutes of opponent testimony, as well as one hour and 15 minutes of proponent testimony. Oral testimony will be limited to five minutes. We highly encourage members to submit testimony and to show up if you can be there. We must continue to convey that there is widespread opposition to this latest version of SB 83.

Here are links to help with testimony preparation:

Full Bill Text of SB 83 -11

Comparison Document (changes between Senate-passed and -11 versions)

OCAAUP Synopsis

Committee Notice for November 29 Hearing

Witness Slip (must accompany your testimony submission)

Testimony Template

Testimony and witness slip must be submitted to OHRHigherEducationCommittee@ohiohouse.gov at least 24 hours in advance of the hearing, so no later than Tuesday, November 28 at 9:30 am.

According to the committee notice, if you already submitted testimony for the cancelled hearing last week, you do not have to resubmit your testimony. However, we strongly recommend that anyone planning to testify in person resubmits their testimony with an updated witness slip indicating that they will be present at the hearing. This will help avoid confusion.

If you are able to testify in person, please email OCAAUP Executive Director Sara Kilpatrick at sara@ocaaup.org so that she knows who will be there. Due to the imposed time constraints, we do not know how many people will be able to address the committee, but we will do our best to help facilitate in-person witnesses so that as many people as possible have the opportunity to speak. You can also email Sara with any questions.

Call Key Republicans This Week and Next Week

In addition to testimony submissions, please call Speaker Stephens and the Republican members of the House Higher Education Committee to ask them to stop the bill. The starred (*) representatives are the most important to contact, but calling the full list is especially helpful.

Here is a sample script: “Hello, I am calling to ask Representative [last name] to oppose Senate Bill 83. SB 83 is an attack on academic freedom and collective bargaining and will undermine quality higher education for Ohio’s students. It will hurt Ohio’s ability to compete economically. The bill must be stopped.” Keep your comments short and courteous.

*Speaker Jason Stephens: (614) 466-1366

*Chair Tom Young: (614) 466-6504

*Rep. Gayle Manning: (614) 644-5076

*Rep. Gail Pavliga: (614) 466-2004

*Rep. Justin Pizzulli: (614) 466-2124

Rep. Adam Bird: (614) 644-6034

Rep. Bill Dean: (614) 466-1470

Rep. Derek Merrin: (614) 466-1731

Rep. Nick Santucci: (614) 466-5441

Rep. Josh Williams: (614) 466-1418

Rep. Bernard Willis: (614) 466-2038

We also want to start calls into Gov. DeWine’s office should the bill manage to advance in the waning days of this calendar year. The script for Gov. DeWine should be something along the lines of: “Hello, I want to make sure that Gov. DeWine is aware of Senate Bill 83, which threatens quality higher education and Ohio’s economic competitiveness. Should this bill reach his desk, I sincerely hope that the governor will exercise his veto power.”

Gov. Mike DeWine: (614) 644-4357

We appreciate the ongoing activism, and we can’t let up now! Please be at the Statehouse next Wednesday, if you can. Let’s pack the hearing room. Please consider submitting testimony, even if written only, and make some calls from the comfort of your home. We must continue to send the message that SB 83 is bad for students, bad for higher education, and bad for Ohio!

The House Higher Education Committee sent out a notice this morning that the meeting for this Wednesday is now CANCELLED. As such, there will be no testimony accepted on Senate Bill 83 this week.

We know that this is frustrating for those who already have submitted testimony, are working on testimony, or may have made arrangements to be at the Statehouse on Wednesday. The good news is that this further delays any potential action on the legislation.

Despite the fact that the bill was not marked for a possible vote on the initial committee notice, it may have been the intent to call for a vote after the testimonies were heard. The meeting cancellation may indicate that there continues to be insufficient support among committee members for the latest version. We also have heard that the bill sponsor, Sen. Cirino, is trying to arrange for out-of-state parties to travel to Ohio to testify as proponents, another obvious sign that Ohioans don’t want this legislation.

After this week, the Ohio House of Representatives has five more session days scheduled for the rest of the calendar year: November 29 and December 5, 6, 12, 13. We believe there is going to be a big push from Sen. Cirino and House Higher Education Committee Chair, Rep. Young, to vote SB 83 out of committee and try to force the Speaker to put it on the House floor during one of those session dates, even though Speaker Stephens has remained leery of the bill.

If you already submitted testimony, hang onto it for the next time. You will have to resubmit it for the next hearing, if there is one. If you haven’t worked on testimony yet, now you have even more time to compose your statement.

Click here to read about the latest version of SB 83, as well as ways that you can help as we await further action. We will keep you apprised of additional details when we have them. Thank you for your continued engagement and activism!

SB 83 Hearing Next Week

Next Wednesday, November 15 at 10:00 am in Room 017 of the Ohio Statehouse, the Ohio House Higher Education Committee will be holding a second hearing on Substitute Senate Bill 83. As of right now, the bill is not slated to be voted upon at this hearing.

The committee will hear a total of one hour of opponent testimony, as well as one hour of proponent testimony. Oral testimony will be limited to five minutes. We highly encourage members to submit testimony and to show up if you can be there. We must continue to convey that there is still widespread opposition to this latest version of SB 83.

Here are several links to help with testimony preparation:

Full Bill Text of SB 83 -11

Comparison Document (changes between Senate-passed and -11 versions)

OCAAUP Synopsis

Committee Notice for November 15 Hearing

Witness Slip (must accompany your testimony submission)

Testimony Template

Testimony and witness slip must be submitted to OHRHigherEducationCommittee@ohiohouse.gov 24 hours in advance of the hearing, so no later than Tuesday, November 14 at 10:00 am.

If you are able to testify in person on Wednesday, please email OCAAUP Executive Director Sara Kilpatrick at sara@ocaaup.org so that she knows who will be there. Due to the imposed time constraints, we do not know how many people will be able to address the committee, but we will do our best to help facilitate the hearing so that as many people as possible have the opportunity to speak. You can also email Sara with any questions.

Testimony Workshop This Sunday

This Sunday, November 12 at 3:00 pm, we are holding a workshop in conjunction with the Honesty for Ohio Education coalition to discuss the latest version of SB 83 and to provide a testimony training. This is a great opportunity to get up to speed on the bill and learn how to write and present effective testimony.

You can register here for the workshop.

We can’t take our foot off the gas now! Our unrelenting activism has halted a bill that most people thought would be a slam dunk. Please consider submitting testimony, even if written only, so that we can continue to show that SB 83 is bad for students, bad for higher education, and bad for Ohio!

Yesterday, Ohio Senate Bill 83 received a second hearing in the House Higher Education Committee. During this hearing, the committee formally adopted an 11th iteration of the legislation.

In what is a variation on the usual practice, bill sponsor Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland), gave another round of sponsor testimony, defending this new version of the bill with support from Chair Tom Young (R-Washington Twp.), who specifically defended the retrenchment language in the bill.

You can view the full bill text, as well as the comparison document for this -11 (“dash 11”) version. You can also view the committee hearing on The Ohio Channel.

Since we so rarely get to share positive news about the legislation, let’s start with the positive changes to the bill:

• Completely eliminates the no-strike provision. All campus unions would maintain the right to strike.
• Removes the development of the American government/history course from the purview of the chancellor and instead allows institutions to develop the course–assuaging accreditation concerns.
• Removes references to “specified concepts” and “specified ideologies,” which were essentially blacklisted topics. However, the bill still contains language about “controversial beliefs or policies,” which it describes as, but does not limit to, the topics of climate policies, electoral politics, foreign policy, immigration policy, marriage, abortion, or diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The bill restricts institutional speech and contains unclear, broad language about ensuring that faculty allow students to reach their own conclusions on such topics.

Here are the most concerning pieces that remain unchanged and therefore render the bill completely unacceptable from the AAUP perspective:

• Maintains that faculty unions cannot bargain over retrenchment, evaluations, and tenure. The intent is to make all faculty at-will employees without any real job protections. The bill provides an overly broad definition of retrenchment that essentially would give carte blanche to boards of trustees and administrations to shutter programs and terminate faculty positions.
• Maintains annual faculty evaluations for all full-time faculty and specific, weighted parameters for those evaluations. This is unnecessary micromanagement, given that institutions already have their own tailored systems of evaluations.
• Mandates post-tenure review and would give broad authority to administrators to call for post-tenure review at any time, which would effectively eliminate meaningful tenure in Ohio.
• Opens faculty to unsubstantiated complaints about restricting “intellectual diversity” in their classrooms.
• Eases public syllabi requirements for community colleges, but maintains that detailed syllabi and instructor contact information and course schedules be easily accessible and searchable on university websites. This proposed requirement is intended to intimidate faculty and would open up faculty to harassment by off-campus trolls.

As you can glean, while the new bill draft makes a few steps in the right direction, it still is unyielding on threats to academic freedom, faculty job security, and union rights. The de facto elimination of tenure protections and job security makes bargaining over any other matters a much more hazardous proposition. Moreover, the de facto elimination of job security eliminates any meaningful academic freedom because it effectively removes meaningful standards for teaching and grading.

If you watch the hearing, you will see that Sen. Cirino struggles to answer important questions about many pieces of the bill. He resorts to claiming that his bill is well-intentioned and being misrepresented by his critics–and that he is relying on good administrators and trustees to do the right things. But, as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Scalia once said, “We are governed by laws, not by the intentions of legislators.”

Despite multiple attempts to communicate with Sen. Cirino and Rep. Young on this bill, they have failed to engage at all with OCAAUP or the other two major education unions in Ohio–the Ohio Federation of Teachers and Ohio Education Association. Sen. Cirino and Rep. Young are intent on hearing from only those within their echo chambers, and the small changes we have seen from each iteration of the bill to the next have been made begrudgingly because they knew they did not yet have the necessary votes in the House.

As of now, it is expected that the committee will meet again on November 15, which is also a session day for the House of Representatives. Rep. Young was reported to have said that the committee may allow for proponent and opponent testimony on that day. Conceivably, the committee could pass the bill and send it to the full House floor for a vote all in the same day. However, at this time, it is our understanding that the bill still does not have sufficient support from the requisite number of committee members or from House leadership. We will keep you posted as we obtain more information.

What actions can members and allies take?

1) Sign on to the We Are Ohio union coalition’s letter opposing SB 83. We are Ohio sent this letter–now signed by more than 100 Ohio unions–to State Representatives on September 11, but the sign-on version is an opportunity for individuals and other organizations to add their names and show even greater and more unified opposition. Feel free to share!

2) Focus calls and emails on Speaker Stephens and the Republican committee members who we believe are most open to hearing our objections to the bill:

Rep. Justin Pizzulli: 614-466-2124 or Rep90@OhioHouse.gov
Rep. Gail Pavliga: 614-466-2004 or Rep72@OhioHouse.gov
Rep. Gayle Manning: 614-644-5076 or Rep52@OhioHouse.gov
Rep. Nick Santucci: 614-466-5441 or Rep64@OhioHouse.gov
House Speaker Stephens: 614-466-1366 or Rep93@OhioHouse.gov

Let them know that the “dash 11” version of SB 83 is still unacceptable–that it would harm academic freedom, union rights, job protections, quality education, and the ability to attract and keep the best and brightest students and faculty. Feel free to share personal experiences about your teaching and your institution.

3) Talk to your colleagues, write op-eds, and show your opposition in any other manner that is personally meaningful and professional.

Thank you for your continued activism! It has undoubtedly made a difference!

Something that the late, great John McNay wrote to the Senate about SB 83 in May remains true today: “This bill can’t be salvaged, deserves to be killed, and we need to start over to make a genuine effort to address the real problems in higher education.”