On the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for the Ohio Capital Journal. Only repost photo with original story.)
Ohio’s fresh university centers created by Republican lawmakers to combat “liberal bias” are unpopular with students, so now the Republican state lawmaker who authored the law that created them wants to require attendance.
In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, the Republican majority in the Ohio Legislature wants to expand civics education in colleges and universities. This wasn’t met with the warmest of welcomes on campuses.
For years, students across the state, especially Ohio State, have opposed GOP higher education reform.
“It ignores some realities of what higher education is and what it means,” Ohio State student D’Laveance Bert-Sims told us.
Students say they want real education, not what Sabrina Estevez calls propaganda.
“I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding of what indoctrination actually is,” Estevez said.
In 2025, Senate Finance Chairman Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, passed legislation that would dramatically change higher education.
SB 1 focuses on what Cirino calls “freedom of speech,” prohibiting Ohio public universities from pursuing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, “bias” in the classroom and limiting opportunities to teach “controversial topics.”
“Controversial” under Ohio law includes “belief policies that are the subject of political controversy, including issues such as climate policy, electoral policy, foreign policy, diversity, equity and inclusion programs, immigration policy, marriage or abortion.”
The legislation also requires students to complete a civics course.
“Higher education in Ohio is in a really difficult situation,” Cirino said at a June news conference. “I think the left wokeness took over for a long time.”
Before SB 1, Cirino created five “intellectual diversity” civic centers on college campuses to teach American history and political science. They aim to combat what he calls “liberal prejudices.”
Centers currently exist at Ohio State, Cleveland, Miami University, University of Toledo and Wright State.
“We have to change people’s minds and hearts,” he said.
But these conservative centers are not popular among students.
In 2025, only 159 Ohio State students out of more than 67,000 attended the Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society, according to state data. That’s 0.2% of campus.
Cirino is sponsoring a bill requiring attendance.
“This requires every student at a university that has a center to take classes through that center,” he said.
Professors’ union president Jennifer Tisone Price is shocked by this and calls the Republican education mandates the definition of indoctrination.
“This attempt to create these ideological centers and ensure that only one point of view is presented is wrong,” Price said.
The bill would also require the school to spend state funds and tuition dollars on these centers. It also gives them more freedom, stating that they would have the same rights and privileges as an “independent university college.”
The bill would provide greater independence for Ohio civic centers one year after Senate Bill 1 becomes law
“This requires that centers receive all tuition and revenue from course offerings to ensure financial fairness and integrity,” Cirino said.
Cirino says the attendance issue will be resolved next semester, saying the Ohio State center expects to enroll more than 800 students.
This would represent 1% of the total student population. He also added that the University of Miami expects 3,000 students (13%), Cleveland State will grow from 28 to 1,400 (10%), Toledo will grow from 250 (1.9%), and Wright State will grow from 600 (5%).
“The reason why some of them are still a little low is because they are in different stages of getting started,” Cirino said. “Toledo and Ohio State obviously got off to a fast start.”
Under its Act, center directors have exclusive, exclusive and unlimited authority to supervise, develop and approve the center’s curriculum. They would also have full control over hiring and seniority.
According to them, Ohio State’s human resources department recommended that the Chase Center fire a professor from the civic center after he attacked a cameraman. WOSU. The incident was made public by a political blogger Cockand the professor pleaded not guilty to assault in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
The legislation would also create the Ohio Citizens Council, a fresh statewide body composed of directors of existing centers. They would receive exclusive approval for “American civics skills courses established under this section, including course modes, curricula, class sizes, instructors, and course content.”
For universities that do not have a civic center, they must run a course approved by the Citizens’ Council.
“They are taking money out of colleges and universities that could be spent on classroom activities,” Price said.
Cirino argued that the centers are designated as independent. However, a quick analysis reveals that most of Ohio’s “250 Years of Freedom” speakers are conservatives, affiliated with the Republican Party, or support right-wing policies.
“We should focus on and invest in making college accessible and affordable, rather than investing in ideological pursuits and efforts to change hearts, minds and cultures,” Price said.
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This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
