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!