Â鶹¹û¶³

Aerial shot of campus during the day

was signed into law on March 28, 2025, and took effect on June 27, 2025. The university has been working across several work groups and committees to ensure compliance with the new law and meet the required deadlines. 

 

Statement of Commitment

As required by Ohio Revised Code section 3345.016, Â鶹¹û¶³ will: educate students by means of free, open and rigorous intellectual inquiry to seek the truth; equip students with the opportunity to develop the intellectual skills they need to reach their own informed conclusions; not require, favor, disfavor or prohibit speech or lawful assembly; create a community dedicated to an ethic of civil and free inquiry, which respects the autonomy of each member, supports individual capacities for growth and tolerates differences in opinion; and treat all faculty, staff and students as individuals, hold them to equal standards and provide them equality of opportunity with regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Access the university policy regarding Â鶹¹û¶³â€™s compliance with Senate Bill 1 

 

Resources and Guidance 

Impacts of SB1

Faculty
  1. What is the new policy regarding faculty strikes?
    1. Answer: No longer permitted to strike (full-time faculty).
  2. How has collective bargaining changed for faculty?
    1. Answer: Changes to collective bargaining: specified topics removed from negotiation for new agreements.
  3. Who will develop the new faculty workload standards?
    1. Answer: New faculty workload standards to be developed by the chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education and adopted by Kent State’s Board of Trustees.
  4. What is the minimum weight of student evaluations in annual performance reviews?
    1. Answer: Mandatory student evaluations (minimum 25% weight) in the teaching portion of annual performance reviews.
  5. What new policy will be developed regarding post-tenure review?
    1. Answer: Post-tenure review policy to be developed with specific requirements.
  6. When is the required syllabus content for all undergraduate courses due?
    1. Answer: Required syllabus content for all undergraduate courses by fall 2026.
  7. Are faculty required to make DEI-related statements or declarations?
    1. Answer: Cannot be required to make DEI-related statements or declarations.
  8. Can institutions require faculty to endorse specific ideological or political views?
    1. Answer: Institutions cannot require faculty to endorse specific ideological or political views.
  9. How is academic freedom protected under the new law?
    1. Answer: Academic freedom protected: classroom discussions not intended to be affected.
  10. What is the potential impact on research funding?
    1. Answer: SB1 could have a potential impact on research funding, for example, relating to DEI topics and funding/collaborations with the People’s Republic of China.
  11. What new course must be implemented by fall 2026?
    1. Answer: Must develop a required American civics course by fall 2026.
Administrators & Staff
  1. What must administrators and staff implement regarding DEI programs?
    1. Answer: Must implement prohibitions on DEI programs, offices and initiatives.
  2. What new policies must administrators and staff create and enforce?
    1. Answer: Required to create and enforce intellectual diversity policies.
  3. Can administrators create new DEI offices or use DEI criteria in job descriptions?
    1. Answer: Cannot create new DEI offices or use DEI criteria in job descriptions.
  4. How must administrators respond to complaints about intellectual diversity violations?
    1. Answer: Must respond to complaints about intellectual diversity violations.
  5. What new reporting requirements do administrators and staff have?
    1. Answer: New reporting requirements to the chancellor of the Department of Higher Education on multiple topics.
  6. What programs must administrators review or eliminate?
    1. Answer: Need to review/eliminate low-enrolled degree programs (fewer than five graduates annually).
  7. What new course must be implemented by fall 2026?
    1. Answer: Must develop a required American civics course by fall 2026.
Board of Trustees
  1. What is the new term length for Board of Trustees members?
    1. Answer: Terms set at six years (down from nine).
  2. What are the new annual training requirements for the Board of Trustees?
    1. Answer: Annual training requirements (17 mandatory topics).
  3. What policies must the Board of Trustees adopt?
    1. Answer: Must adopt policies on faculty workload, evaluation, post-tenure review, tenure and retrenchment.
  4. What must the Board of Trustees prohibit regarding DEI?
    1. Answer: Required to prohibit DEI training, offices and activities.
  5. What must the Board of Trustees affirm regarding intellectual diversity?
    1. Answer: Must affirm intellectual diversity requirements.
  6. How often must the Board of Trustees review and update policies?
    1. Answer: Required to review and update policies every five years.
Students
  1. How does SB1 affect identity centers such as the LGBTQ+ Center, the E. Timothy Moore Student Multicultural Center, etc.?
    1. Three centers will be closing effective June 27, 2025, and these closures were explained in a recent email to the campus community.
  2. What new course requirement will be implemented for the fall 2026 entering class?
    1. Answer: New civics course requirement for fall 2026 entering class.
  3. How are student organizations protected under the new law?
    1. Answer: Continued protection for student organizations.
  4. Does the new law intend to restrict classroom discussions?
    1. Answer: Not intended to restrict classroom discussions.
  5. What is the institutional requirement regarding intellectual diversity in educational offerings?
    1. Answer: Institutional requirement to ensure intellectual diversity in educational offerings.
  6. What rights are protected for students under the new law?
    1. Answer: Protection for intellectual diversity rights.
Financial/Research Impact
  1. What is the potential consequence for the university if it fails to comply with DEI prohibitions?
    1. Answer: Potential withholding of state funding if university fails to comply with DEI prohibitions and/or intellectual diversity requirements.
  2. What new reporting requirement is introduced for financial operations?
    1. Answer: New five-year rolling cost summary reporting requirement.
International Relations
  1. What restrictions are placed on partnerships with Chinese institutions?
    1. Answer: Restrictions on partnerships with Chinese institutions.
  2. What new reporting requirements are there for Chinese academic partnerships?
    1. Answer: New reporting requirements for Chinese academic partnerships.
  3. What is the new policy on gifts from the Chinese government or its agents?
    1. Answer: Ban on gifts from Chinese government or its agents.
Scholarships and Philanthropy
  1. Can university scholarships include DEI in any manner?
    1. Answer: New institutional scholarships that use DEI criteria are not permitted, and current scholarships must eliminate these criteria.  
  2. Can donor-funded scholarships with DEI criteria continue? 
    1. Answer: Existing donor-funded scholarships may continue, but the institution cannot accept new funds with DEI requirements. 
  3. Can donors give money to current funds with DEI-related uses or criteria? 
    1. Answer: Donors may support these funds until the law goes into effect on June 27, 2025.  
© 2025 Â鶹¹û¶³ All rights reserved.