Smith Condemns Passage of Higher Education Destruction Act

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) issued the following statement after the Ohio Senate voted to pass the highly controversial Senate Bill 1:

"Fringe Republicans have taken over the Ohio Senate GOP,” said Smith. “The very first piece of legislation that was passed by the Ohio Senate in the 136th Ohio General Assembly was this radical reworking of Ohio's higher education system that no university solicited, no professor requested and no student wanted.  

Based on who submitted committee testimony about Senate Bill 1, it had over 800 opponents and only 14 supporters. It is confounding why Ohio Senate Republicans would believe that this should be their highest priority.”

Senate Bill 1 contains several provisions that would drastically change Ohio’s higher education landscape, including prohibiting university faculty members from striking; banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; and forbidding institutions of higher education from taking positions on “controversial beliefs or policies.”

According to U.S. News, Ohio has nine schools in the top 200 public institutions in the United States, the fourth most in the country. Critics argue the passage of S.B. 1 would jeopardize the quality of Ohio’s higher education by driving away students, faculty, and critical business partnerships.

Senate Bill 1 now goes to the Ohio House of Representatives for consideration.