Why Reject Culture War Legislation?

We oppose the culture war attempts to prevent public schools from eliminating racism and homophobia because we believe public schools must serve every child in our communities.

Ohio Senate Bill 83 - The Higher Education DESTRUCTION Act

• Sponsor of Controversial Higher Ed Bill Doesn’t Want to Discuss It with Ohio House Speaker, Megan Henry,  Ohio Capital Journal (June 27, 2024). 

• Sweeping Ohio College Overhaul on Pause Until a ‘More Favorable Environment,’ Sponsor Says, Laura Hancock, cleveland.com (June 26, 2024).

• Massive Higher Education Bill Is Not on the Last Ohio House Agenda Before Summer Break, Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal (June 26, 2024). 

• Republicans Considering Forcing House Vote on “Intellectual Diversity” Bill to Overhaul Higher Ed, Jo Ingles, Statehouse News Bureau (June 20, 2024).

• Ohio’s Gerrymandered, Supermajority Republican Senate Wields Intimidation to Impose Its Will, Jan Resseger’s Blog (February 8, 2024).

• As Lawmakers Craft State Building Budget, Ohio University Presidents Must Justify Spending for DEI, Laura Hancock, The Plain Dealer (January 31, 2024).

• Ohio Higher Education Overhaul Won’t Pass This Year.  What Could Happen Next?, Jessie Balmert, Columbus Dispatch and Cincinnati Enquirer (December 13, 2023).

• Will Senate Bill 83, Ohio’s Higher Education Destruction Act, Be Enacted?, Jan Resseger’s blog (December 7, 2023).

• Controversial Higher Ed Bill Gets Close Vote, but Republicans Say It Can Pass the Full Ohio House, Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau (December 6, 2023).

• Ohio Higher Ed Bill Cracking Down on Perceived Liberal Bias Moves Closer to Passing, Andrew J. Tobias, Plain Dealer (December 6, 2023).

• Honesty Coalition Condemns Committee’s Passage of Higher Education Destruction Act, Honesty for Ohio Education (December 6, 2023).

• Ohio House Blocks Controversial Higher Education Overhaul Bill, Morgan Trau, Ohio Capital Journal (November, 29, 2023). 

• Senate Bill 83 Does Little to Benefit Students at Ohio Colleges, Senator Catherine D. Ingram, Cincinnati Enquirer (November 26, 2023).

• Republican Senator Faces Many Questions Over New Version of Ohio Higher Education Overhaul Bill, Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal (November 6, 2023).

• Ohio Deserves Better Than 'Copycat' Senator's Threat to Colleges, Knowledge, Jill Galvin, Opinion, Columbus Dispatch (September 7, 2023).

• Ohio Higher Education Overhaul Would Chill Speech and Academic Freedom with Threats of Discipline,  Opinion, Steve Rissing, Ohio Capital Journal (August 30, 2023).

• Staff at Ohio Universities Can Strike But Not Faculty Under New Changes to Higher Ed Bill, Anna Staver, Columbus Dispatch (August 20, 2023).

• From Banning DEI to Professor Evaluations: How Ohio’s Sweeping Higher Education Bill Borrows from Conservative Organizations, Laura Hancock, The Plain Dealer (July 23, 2023).

• Ohio Republican Education Assaults Are a Travesty, Wrapped in Unthinking, Immature, Petty Grievance, David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal (May 25, 2023).

• Ohio Senate Passes Sweeping Higher Ed Bill Focused on Perceived Liberal Bias, Diversity, China, Laura Hancock, Cleveland Plain Dealer (May 17, 2023)

Ohio House Bill 103 Would Revise the State Social Studies Standards.

• Ohio K-12 Social Studies Curriculum Goes Under the Microscope, Susan Tebben, Ohio Capital Journal (May 17, 2023)

• Ohio House Lawmakers Proposing Extremist Right-Wing Rewrite of State Social Studies Curriculum, Jeanne Melvin, Ohio Capital Journal (May 17, 2023)

• Bill Could Put Appointees of Ohio Lawmakers, Governor in Charge of K-12 Social Studies Standards, Karen Kasler, Ohio Statehouse News (May 15, 2023)

Ohio House Bill 68  would ban gender-affirming mental and physical healthcare for minors and bans transgender athletes from teams aligning with gender identity.

• ACLU Sues Over Ohio’s Law to Ban Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Minors, Laura Hancock, The Plain Dealer (March 27, 2024).

• Ohio House Votes to Override Gov. DeWine’s Veto on Transgender Bill; Senate Next, Laura Hancock, The Plain Dealer (January 10, 2024).

• Why Ohio lawmakers Should Agree with Gov. DeWine’s Veto of House Bill 68, Akron Beacon Journal Editorial Board (January 4, 2024).

• Ohio House Plans to Override Gov. DeWine’s Veto of Bill Banning Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth, Morgan Trau, ABC News 5, Cleveland (January 2, 2024).

• Ohio Governor Vetoes Bill Banning Transgender Medical Care for Young People, Jan Resseger’s Blog (January 2, 2024).

• Former President Trump: 'I'm finished with this stiff.' DeWine After Veto of House Bill 68, Haley BeMiller, Columbus Dispatch (December 30, 2023).

• Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Vetoes Bill that Would’ve Banned Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth, Morgan Trau, Ohio Capital Journal (December 29, 2023).

• Ohio Gov. DeWine Vetoes House Bill 68 on Transgender Medical Care, Sports, Haley BeMiller and Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch (December 29, 2023).

• Ohio Governor Blocks Bill Banning Transition Care for Minors, Amy Harmon, NY Times (December 29, 2023).

• Legislature Sends Gov. DeWine Bill Combining Bans on Transgender Sports and Health Care, Laura Hancock, Plain Dealer (December 13, 2023).

• Ohio Legislators Pass Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors, Sending Bill to Governor, Anumita Kaur and Annys Shin, Washington Post (December 13, 2023).

• Ohio House Passes Bill Blocking Gender-Affirming Care and Trans Athletes, Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal (June 22, 2023).

HB 445

HB 445 would establish a right to religious release time programs. It would change one word from “A school district board of education MAY adopt a policy that authorizes a student to be excused from school to attend a released time course in religious instruction…” to “SHALL adopt a policy.”

• Prayer, Bible Lessons and a Big Red Bus: How an Ohio Group Is Bringing God to Public School, Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News (April 2, 2024).

• LifeWise Academy Offers Off-site Bible Instruction at Various School Districts Across Ohio, Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal (February 29, 2024).

• Attorney General Reaffirms Right to School Released Time for Religious Instruction, Center for Christian Virtue, (November 23, 2023).

• More Than 300 Public Schools Nationwide Will Learn from the Bible This Year, Chris Pandolfo, Fox News (September 1, 2023).

Some Background on the Critical Race Theory Controversy

• Culture Wars Taking Aim on Ohio Education (backgrounder), Honesty for Ohio Education.

• The 1619 Project and the Long Battle Over U.S. History, New York Times Magazine (November 9, 2021)

• A Landmark Reckoning With America’s Racial Past and Present, Adam Hochschild, New York Times Book Review (November 15, 2021)

• Understanding the Attacks on Critical Race Theory, policy brief from the National Education Policy Center (September 23, 2021)

• Joint Statement on Legislative Efforts to Restrict Education about Racism in American History, American Historical Association (June 2021)

• What is critical race theory, and why do Republicans want to ban it in schools? Marisa lati, The Washington Post (May 29, 2021)

• Critical Race Theory is a Lens, Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN (May 27, 2021)

• What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack?, Stephen Sawchuk, Education Week (May 18, 2021)

Press Coverage of Critical Race Theory Controversy

• Protecting Public Education to Protect Democracy: A Challenge for Our Times, Jan Resseger’s blog (September 28, 2023).

• Ohio Governor, Education Groups at Odds Over Board of Ed District Deadlines , Susan Tebben in the Ohio Capital Journal (July 21, 2022).

• Ohioans Demand that Illegal and Racially Biased Districts for State Board of Education Be Redrawn , Jan Resseger’s Blog (July 19, 2022)

• From libraries to police training: Controversial Ohio education bill goes beyond classroom, Anna Staver in The Columbus Dispatch (March 21, 2022)

• Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman Seizes Control of the State Board of Education, Jan Resseger’s blog (November 1, 2021)

• Dark money and unprecedented amounts of campaign cash fueling Northeast Ohio’s culture-war laden school board races, Cleveland Plain Dealer (October 20, 2021)

• Mob Rule Is Un-American—at the Capitol on January 6 and at Your Local School Board Meeting, Jan Resseger’s blog (October 29, 2021)

• The History of Public Education Demonstrates the Importance of Understanding the Implications of Racism, Jan Resseger’s blog (July 21, 2021)

• Educate yourself: It's not anti-CRT, it's anti-diversity and anti-inclusion, Jeanne Melvin’s letter to the editor, Columbus Dispatch (July 15, 2021)

• The Obscure Foundation Funding “Critical Race Theory “ Hysteria, Judd Legum and Tesnim Zekena, Popular Information (July 13, 2021)

• While Statehouses Try to Legislate Against Teaching about Racism, Educators and Historians Fight to Protect Students from Censorship, Jan Resseger’s Blog (July 12, 2021)

Please consult the website of Honesty for Ohio Education for up-to-date resources on these bills and pending legislative action. The mission of Honesty for Ohio Organization is to track these culture war bills along with press reporting and advocacy resources.