By Brandon Anderson
The Senate Bill One, also known as the SB1 Bill, was passed into Ohio’s legislation March 28th, 2025, This bill was signed off by Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine. Important details for Tri-C students to know from this 42-page document involves changes in school funding (FAFSA), curriculum, scholarships, union employees in public education systems. Once fully implemented in schools, these changes impact faculties who teach subjects like history and gender studies, along with the removal of programs aligning with DEl initiatives.
According to the Ohio House of Representatives, the state claims that by eliminating DEl program, it aims to reform higher education by aligning with Ohio’s workforce needs, seemingly encouraging “institutional stability.” In conjunction with their standards, they call all colleges in Ohio to enlighten students on “multiple, divergent, and varied perspectives.” The bill features punishments, outlining state funding cuts to over “14 public universities and 23 public community colleges if violated.”
The bill’s addition of neutral perspectives is unknown. In Tri-C’s communities, feedback is mostly negative. A professor who desires to be anonymous states “It sucks.” And was “nervous” about the implications of the bill that has not been disclosed. “It’s taking away money from schools that need it, from people that need it.”
This uneasiness extends to Tri-C students. Slader Moss-Coleman, an award-winning student ambassador in Student Government speaks on the matter; “It sounds like they’re trying to minimize the stories of the oppressed by highlighting the perspectives of the oppressors, their motivations will justify their cruelty. Many of these perspectives demonize the people they oppressed, which allowed them to justify their own actions as righteous. For example, by claiming that the Native Americans were violent, primitive people, they justified kidnapping and indoctrinating them in the name of education and salvation.”
The Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs for Cuyahoga Community College Dr. English also offered her perspective. “We will follow the law. The SB1 prohibits us from requiring DEI orientation or training sessions of staff.” She goes on to say “Senate Bill 1 hasn’t changed our curriculum.”
Another concern for students is the potential impact on financial aid the bill could have. On this matter, English states “Senate Bill 1 does not address scholarship and federal aid… I can tell you that Tri-C is trying hard to stay current and understand the implications of federal and state laws might have for our students for funding.”
However, there are discrepancies with her answer. All-inclusive race scholarships are blacklisted from Tri-C’s scholarship programs as they removed scholarships prioritized for marginalized communities. Previous scholarships from The Black American Counsel Scholarship program, the Hispanic Heritage Association, the Al Lopez Academic and are no longer accessible for students to apply. Hyperlinks in reference to these scholarship organizations will greet internet users with the message “We’re sorry the page you were looking for may have moved or no longer exists.” With that said, despite the bill making funding and scholarship changes for students who need extra support, Dr. English did offer that Tri-C students can still take advantage of federal grants and work-study opportunities.
