, the new extensive law overhauling programs and practices at Ohio institutions of higher education, went into effect Friday without challenge.
It鈥檚 a letdown for a cohort of grassroots volunteers who had been collecting signatures to try and overturn the law through a ballot referendum this year.
Led by unionized faculty at Youngstown State University, more than 1,700 volunteers collected nearly 195,000 signatures following Gov. Mike DeWine鈥檚 signature of SB 1, said Amanda Fehlbaum, director of the Department of Women鈥檚 Gender and Studies. They needed more than 248,000 valid signatures to qualify for the fall 2025 election.
鈥淲e raised over $43,000. Our largest donation was $1,000. Small dollar donations. There鈥檚 no dark money here,鈥� Fehlbaum said Thursday at a news conference. 鈥淚t was just a matter of not having enough time.鈥�
With 90 days between the governor鈥檚 signature and the bill鈥檚 effective date, and students off for the summer, the timeline was tough. Cryshanna Jackson Leftwich, a professor of public affairs and politics, said she knew they were going to face formidable hurdles.
鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 take millions of dollars to fight democracy. It shouldn鈥檛 take millions of dollars to consultants and lawyers for average voting citizens to say, 鈥楬ey, this is an unjust bill and we know that,鈥欌�� Jackson Leftwich said Thursday.
SB 1 gets rid of most mandatory diversity, equity, and inclusion鈥攃olloquially, DEI鈥攖raining at public universities and colleges, requires so-called 鈥渋ntellectual diversity鈥� on certain subjects, and slashes university trustee terms. It also bans faculty strikes, mandates their post-tenure performance reviews and requires a civics course focused on United States history and the free market, among other measures.
Its passage came at the protest of Democratic lawmakers and hundreds of opponents, who turned out in droves to testify and demonstrate against the bill and its earlier iterations. Some begged DeWine to veto SB 1, but he signed it within 48 hours of receiving it.
Controversial state laws often face challenges in court, but so far, nobody has sued over SB 1 either.