AAUP Ohio Conference

American Association of University Professors

SB 1 Opponent Hearing in House

SB 1 Opponent Hearing: March 11 at 9:00 am
The opponent hearing for Senate Bill 1 in the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11 at 9:00 am in Room 017 (basement) of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.

We encourage you to resubmit your Senate testimony to the House (simply send the new witness slip and update the committee information at the top of your testimony). There ended up being over 1,000 opponent testimonies in the Senate, and we need to have a strong showing in the House, too.

Testimony Submission Instructions and Resources
In order to submit your testimony, you must fill out the committee witness slip and send it with your testimony file to the committee chair’s office no later than Monday, March 10 at 9:00 am.

–Committee Witness Slip

–Testimony Template (This is a shared document. Go to File, Download to create and save your own document.)

-Email: OHRWorkforceAndHigherEducationCommittee@ohiohouse.gov

–SB 1 Toolkit

Send the witness slip and testimony as separate PDF files.

In-Person Testimony Will Be Limited
Chair Tom Young announced that witnesses will be limited to three (3) minutes of verbal testimony, and that the hearing will last for no more than three (3) hours. This means that there will be a limited number of witnesses who will have the opportunity to speak before the committee.

Other Actions
Visit our SB 1 toolkit for links to our Action Network pages, as well as a list of State Representatives to target with phone calls and social media action.

Over the next two weeks, it is especially important to call the Republican members of the committee (listed below) and voice your concerns about the ways the bill would erode union rights, academic freedom, tenure and other job protections, as well as scholarships and programs for under-represented students.

Tom Young, Chair (R) (614) 466-6504

Kevin Ritter, Vice Chair (R) (614) 466-2158

Michael Dovilla (R) (614) 466-4895

Marilyn John (R) (614) 466-5802

Gayle Manning (R) (614) 644-5076

Tracy Richardson (R) (614) 466-8147

Nick Santucci (R) (614) 466-5441

Josh Williams (R) (614) 466-1418

Heidi Workman (R) (614) 466-2004

Thank you to the many faculty who organized and participated in our March 4 Day of Action! It was a huge success with thousands of faculty, students, staff, and community members participating in the various activities that occurred across the state, including the huge speak out event at Ohio State University (pictured below).

Let’s keep on fighting the good fight!

Wins at Miami

Finally, some good news! This week, the bargaining units that represent full-time faculty and librarians at Miami University both reached tentative agreements (TAs) with the university administration. The collective bargaining agreements have to be approved by the board of trustees before taking effect.

The TAs are incredible achievements that represent many years of intensive organizing and negotiating. Not only were there economic gains made, but the agreements also contain important protections for academic freedom and job security, which are especially important as SB 1 looms.

Congratulations to the Faculty Alliance of Miami (FAM)!

OU Update: We want to take this opportunity to mention that Ohio University faculty are in the midst of their union election. We encourage all eligible OU faculty to mail those completed ballots ASAP. The vote count at the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) will take place on March 17. Union Yes!

SB 1 Updates

What is the status of SB 1?

As we shared in our last email update, SB 1 passed the Ohio Senate on February 12, despite bipartisan opposition. The bill was officially introduced in the Ohio House on February 18, and was referred to the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee on February 26.

What is the timeline in the House?

The House of Representatives is still primarily focused on HB 96, the state operating budget bill. In fact, OCAAUP submitted testimony on HB 96 this week.

SB 1 is slated to be taken up as budget subcommittee deliberations conclude. We are anticipating that the first hearing on the bill (for sponsor testimony and possibly also for proponent testimony) could occur as early as next week.

We will send another message when we know the hearing schedule. There ended up being 999 opponent testimonies in the Senate, and we need to have a strong showing in the House, too.

Once hearings begin on SB 1 in the House, we believe it will be another expedited process, and that the House could pass it within a one or two-week time frame. This is why it is so critical to take actions over the next week. We need a lot of calls and emails into House members’ offices to express opposition.

Visit our SB 1 toolkit for links to our Action Network pages, as well as a list of State Representatives to target with phone calls and social media action.

What happens if the bill passes the Ohio House?

If SB 1 passes the Ohio House with no changes, the bill will head straight to the governor to be signed or vetoed. However, if there are any amendments adopted in the House, the Senate will have to concur on the changes or the bill will be sent to a conference committee so that the chambers can reach an agreement on the final version. Then the bill would be sent to the governor.

Unfortunately, the political realities we are facing suggest that SB 1 will pass the legislature in some form. This is why we have been encouraging messages to Gov. DeWine to ask him to veto the bill (link also available in our toolkit).

OCAAUP has continued to be active by having conversations with State Representatives and pushing specific amendments to the bill. We are exhausting all efforts to ameliorate the worst parts of the bill, but it is an uphill battle. Unfortunately, this is a bill driven by culture war politics instead of good policy.

Advocacy & Defense Fund

As you may have noticed in previous email messages, we have established a new fund to which AAUP members and anyone else who supports our efforts can donate. All of the money collected in this fund will be used to fight political attacks and fund potential legal challenges to SB 1.

You can make a secure donation online. Thank you for the generous contributions that have already been made! Please note: the Ohio Conference AAUP is a 501(c)(6) organization; as a result, donations are not tax deductible. 

March 4: SB 1 Day of Action

On Tuesday, March 4, AAUP chapters across the state will engage in various activities to raise awareness about and push back on SB 1, “The Higher Education Destruction Act.” Look for information from your AAUP local to see how you can get involved.

We realize that some of you will be on spring break, but there will be actions you can take from the comfort of wherever you may be! OCAAUP will have a strong social media presence on Facebook, Bluesky, and X throughout the day: @OHaaup.

We also now have an SB 1 toolkit on our website. It contains information about the bill as well as links to contact members of the Ohio House of Representatives and Gov. DeWine.

Let’s work together and make our voices heard on March 4 to demonstrate strong statewide opposition to SB 1!

AAUP’s Big Legal Victory (and About That “Dear Colleague” Letter)

AAUP Helps to Stop Anti-DEI Executive Orders
Last Friday, the national AAUP won a legal battle against President Donald Trump’s effort in two executive orders to roll back diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility nationwide. The AAUP was one of four plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by Democracy Forward in the US District Court of Maryland. In Friday’s decision, a judge granted a preliminary national injunction against key pieces of the executive orders. 

Our organization is proud to have stood up to unconstitutional threats to federal funding and to basic free speech rights in colleges, universities, and other arenas. AAUP will continue to fight this fight to make this legal pause a permanent one on behalf of all faculty, students, and workers in higher education. Read more about the case here.

We Can Fight the “Dear Colleague” Letter 
Many of you have heard about the “Dear Colleague” letter issued by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on February 14, 2025, in which the Trump administration threatens federal funding if colleges do not roll back race-based programs and activities. The letter is a sweeping attack on decades-old practices that ensure that everyone on college campuses can thrive and succeed, no matter their background. It targets activities ranging from hiring, admissions, and scholarships to student organizations, graduation ceremonies, and housing. Moreover, the letter sets a dangerous precedent of federal overreach into college curricula, in implying that all teaching about race is itself discriminatory.

As we want to clarify, this “Dear Colleague” letter does not enact new law. Rather, it is an interpretation of existing law, and it is being actively challenged in the courts. Like the Ohio legislature’s overreach in SB 1, this letter demands a vigorous response and defense of existing programs, teaching, and research. And that response is already happening. 

In particular, we want to call attention to this powerful memo authored by several law faculty, “DEI Programs Are Lawful Under Federal Civil Rights Laws and Supreme Court Precedent.” Its specific focus is a January 21st Executive Order, or “J21 EO,” which is closely related to the “Dear Colleague” letter. The memo argues that even by the federal government’s own admission, there is no legal ground for curtailing DEI programs and activities. The memo makes the following four points:

  1. The J21 EO itself recognizes the right of institutions to engage in their First Amendment-protected speech, and it does not apply to academic programs or classroom teaching. 
  2. Common DEI initiatives are lawful under federal civil rights laws and Supreme Court precedent. 
  3. The J21 EO itself concedes that DEI initiatives are not inherently unlawful.
  4. The J21 EO is constitutionally suspect because it appears to rest on pernicious stereotypes that presume the intellectual inferiority of women and Black people.

We’re grateful for the forcefulness of point #4. In a twisted logic, the “Dear Colleague” letter compares race-based programs and activities to Jim Crow laws. We find that comparison repulsive and welcome all efforts to shore up true histories and equal rights. 

Colleges and Universities Should Not Obey in Advance
Finally, we are concerned that colleges and universities are rushing to comply with current political will—both state efforts like SB 1 and federal efforts such as the “Dear Colleague” letter—preemptively and unnecessarily. We hope you’ll use the information here to help us fight this anticipatory obedience and that you’ll find ways to speak out in faculty and other spaces.