Last week, the Ohio House of Representatives passed a highly controversial state operating budget bill (Sub. HB 96), mostly along party lines.

The bill includes an earmark of $600 million in bonds to fund a new stadium for the Cleveland Browns–money that K-12 public school advocates argue is being siphoned away from the previously agreed-to, bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan.

If you’d like to contact lawmakers about supporting public schools and the Fair School Funding Plan, you can use this online action tool from the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT).

In terms of higher education in the budget, the only significant change since we last reported to you about the budget bill is an amendment that would require private colleges and universities to comply with SB 1, if they want to be eligible to receive funding from the Governor’s Merit Scholarship (GMS). The GMS is a $5,000 annual (up to four years) award available to students who graduate in the top 5% of their high school classes. It can be used at public or private institutions in Ohio. Currently, about 20% of GMS recipients attend a private institution.

The General Assembly is currently on “legislative spring break,” but the Senate will return at the end of April to begin budget deliberations. OCAAUP will provide testimony to the Senate Higher Education Committee when there is an opportunity for public testimony in May. We will address the continuous underfunding of public higher education, the provision that attempts to sideline meaningful faculty input into curricular matters, and other problematic pieces of Sub. HB 96.

OCAAUP Elections

On Monday, electronic ballots were sent to all eligible Ohio AAUP members to vote in this year’s statewide elections. While there is only one candidate for each position, we encourage you to take the time to vote. If you did not receive a ballot, first check your spam folder. If it isn’t in your spam folder, email sara@ocaaup.org to request a ballot.

We want to thank Professors Allison Hammond (University of Cincinnati), Cynthia Nitz Ris (University of Cincinnati), and Naykishia Darby (Central State University) for running for Vice President, Treasurer, and At-Large Member, respectively. We appreciate their willingness to serve in these important roles.

STRS Elections

The State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) elections are underway. This year, there are three open seats. One of those seats is a retired member position currently occupied by former AAUP President Rudy Fichtenbaum. Prof. Fichtenbaum ran again, and because he did not face an opponent, he automatically will serve another term. Congratulations, Prof. Fichtenbaum!

There are also two contributing member positions up for election. Active educators can vote in these elections. STRS mailed ballots to active members this week. Ballots have to be cast/received by May 5. You can vote online or via phone or mail. We recommend voting online or by phone to avoid any potential mail issues.

While the Ohio Conference AAUP did not make endorsements in these races, our partner organization, the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT), has recommended Mike Harkness and Chad Smith for the contributing member seats. STRS sends candidate statements with the ballots, which we encourage you to review before voting. No matter who you vote for, we hope you will participate!

On April 1, Ohio House Republicans unveiled Substitute House Bill 96 (Sub. HB 96), which is their revised version of the state operating budget bill. The legislation makes appropriations for the next biennium: Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027. There are a number of financial and policy changes within this substitute budget bill that deviate from the governor’s executive budget. You can view the comparison document here.

In terms of funding, the governor had proposed flat appropriations for State Share of Instruction (SSI–the main funding stream from the state to public colleges and universities), but the new House version of the bill contains roughly 2% increases to SSI in each fiscal year.

It was reported in March that the Inter-University Council (IUC–the consortium of Ohio’s public university presidents) decided to remain silent on SB 1 in hopes that the legislature would be more inclined to increase SSI. However, there are legitimate questions as to whether this funding increase would even adequately cover SB 1 compliance costs. SB 1 includes over 100 new, unfunded mandates.

Sub. HB 96 would place a 3% cap on tuition increases. It also would require each state university to establish an accelerated 90-hour degree program that is aligned to an in-demand career area. SB 1 required the chancellor to study the feasibility of three-year degree programs, but this budget bill would jump to requiring them under certain circumstances.

The legislation also takes a swipe at shared governance, attempting to sideline faculty over matters that are typically within the faculty purview. The language states:

Grants the board of trustees of a state institution of higher education unilateral and ultimate authority to establish new academic programs, schools, colleges, institutes, departments, and centers at the institution.

Prohibits a board from delegating its authority to adopt a curricular approval process or to approve or reject academic programs.

Requires the board to adopt a curricular approval process for the establishment and modification of academic programs, curricula, courses, general education requirements, and degree programs. Requires that approval process to (1) grant the faculty senate, or a comparable representative body, the opportunity to provide advice on the establishment and modification of each of those subjects, (2) clarify that all faculty feedback and recommendations is advisory in nature, and (3) retain the board’s final, overriding authority to establish or reject establishment or modification of any of those subjects.

The bill would require boards of trustees to update and submit its curricular approval process to the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) every five years.

Sub. HB 96 would eliminate funding support for mental health services. In the previous state budget and in the governor’s proposed budget, there had been $10 million allotted to ODHE for mental health support in each fiscal year. Mental health resources have been seen as key to academic success, as an increasing number of students have reported mental health issues in recent years.

Additionally, there is an allocation of $800,000 in each fiscal year for Cleveland State University to maintain its men’s wrestling program and establish and maintain a women’s wrestling program. Never before have we seen a specific appropriation for athletic programs in a state budget bill. At the beginning of the year, Cleveland State had announced it was cutting its wrestling program, as well as softball and women’s golf, in order to address budgetary concerns.

We encourage you to review the comparison document shared above for more information about how the budget bill will impact higher education. Please note that Sub. HB 96 still must pass the full House, and then it will move to the Senate for further consideration. There will almost assuredly be a conference committee between the chambers to reconcile their differences before sending a final version to the governor. Due to the fact that this is a bill containing appropriations, the governor has line-item veto power.

We will provide further updates on the budget as the process unfolds.

On March 28, Gov. DeWine signed SB 1 into law. The bill will take effect 90 days from the signing date, which will be June 25.

While we are not surprised by the outcome, we are disappointed that, in the face of such massive opposition, the Republican majority ignored the will of the people and pushed through a bill that is intended to undermine Ohio’s public system of higher education. We are deeply concerned about how this bill will destabilize our colleges and universities, drive away top talent, and ultimately hurt Ohio’s economic future.

We fought the good fight. We did everything in our power. Unfortunately, with a gerrymandered legislature that is more interested in scoring political points than passing good policy, the odds were stacked against us. Still, we managed to keep the bill at bay within supermajority Republican legislatures for more than two years. The good news is that we have increased AAUP membership and developed an incredible coalition of faculty, students, labor unions, and community partners, which will collaborate for years to come.

The work does not stop here. We already are exploring potential legal challenges to various facets of the bill. In addition, we will be holding a statewide meeting for AAUP members next month to discuss the implementation of SB 1. We also have to be prepared for more legislative challenges that may come our way.

We wish we had better news heading into the weekend; nevertheless, everyone who participated in this process should be proud. Our students, academic freedom, and collective bargaining rights are always worth protecting, and we will continue to fight back against the authoritarian actions coming from the state and federal governments.

Solidarity!

Congratulations to the faculty at Ohio University, who officially won their union election on March 24! The State Employment Relations Board (SERB) certified that more than 70% of the faculty voted in favor of unionization.

OU faculty began their union campaign at the height of the pandemic. Over the course of the last five years, they built a strong organization from the ground up to fight for job security, academic freedom, shared governance, and fair compensation.

This unionization campaign was a joint effort between the AAUP and AFT, which provided the framework and organizing resources for OU faculty to succeed. The AAUP and AFT will continue to provide support as the faculty union now prepares to negotiate its first collective bargaining agreement.

Pat yourselves on the back, OU professors! This was a long time in the making and a well-deserved victory.