On Feb. 12, Ohio state representative Tom Young introduced House Bill 698, also known as the S.B. 1 Compliance Supplemental Appropriation Act, to the Ohio House of Representatives. The bill seeks to implement changes to higher education in Ohio.
The proposal builds upon Ohio Senate Bill 1, signed by Governor Mike DeWine in March 2025, which banned diversity, equity and inclusion efforts (DEI) at all public universities across the state. House Bill 698 aims to enforce that law by withholding funds from universities that do not comply with the state’s anti-DEI efforts.
According to Spectrum News Cleveland, a press release from Young’s office stated that “the bill is meant to ‘strengthen transparency, accountability and compliance’ at institutions of higher education within Ohio.”
In an interview with News 5 Cleveland, the executive director of the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors, Jennifer Price, expressed her disapproval of the bill.
“It’s a huge disappointment to see them coming out with another bill that just further undermines and erodes higher education in Ohio,” she said.
After its adoption, Senate Bill 1 met resistance from students, professors and civil rights groups, including the American Historical Association, the American Civil Liberties Union and K-12 unions. The bill also required schools to agree not to influence student opinion on “controversial” topics, implemented a mandatory civics course and banned DEI coursework and initiatives. However, House Bill 698 expands on this legislation further by tying institutional funding directly to universities’ compliance.
Young defended the bill in an interview of his own with News 5 Cleveland.
“Senate Bill 1 sets the expectations, but House Bill 698 ensures that these expectations are verifiable and enforceable,” he stated.
Although House Bill 698 mainly applies to public colleges, private universities also face some financial consequences. If they don’t follow similar terms, they would be ineligible to receive funding tied to the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, which offers up to $5,000 annually to encourage Ohio’s top students to attend in-state colleges. In 2024, the scholarship’s first year, about 20% of recipients enrolled at a private college in Ohio, with Case Western Reserve University enrolling the majority of students. Following the 2024-25 school year, CWRU ended its DEI initiatives, including removing the DEI lecture during first-year orientation.
In response to the bill’s proposal, one male student, who requested anonymity, said he believed withholding state funding is a productive accountability method for schools.
“The concept of DEI makes companies and schools look at people of different races and classes in a different light. They’re treating people differently based on their race, class and sex.” The student claimed that “United Airlines lowered Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) scoring requirements to meet its quota of hiring a certain number of female pilots and pilots of color. It shouldn’t make sense to hire less qualified pilots just so the pilot team can be diverse. If we shouldn’t use it in the workforce, it doesn’t make sense to use it in schools.”
House Bill 698 would require public colleges and universities to formally certify to the Ohio chancellor of higher education that they are complying with the state’s Revised Code—a collection of laws currently in effect in Ohio. If an institution fails to submit this certification, the state would withhold its instructional funding; and if schools submit a false certification, they could also lose funding and face civil penalties. The bill also states that these schools cannot attempt to preserve banned DEI activities under a different name or reorganized departments.
After hearing about the bill’s funding penalties, an anonymous student at American University commented on the legislation.
“I was definitely really disappointed to hear about the recent legislation doubling down on the anti-DEI bill,” they said. “For a lot of people, DEI initiatives are not abstract political ideas; they’re real support systems for students who often feel overlooked and marginalized. College should be a place where we are encouraged to engage with diverse perspectives, learn from each other and prepare to enter a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected.”
As Ohio institutions adjust to the new bill, its long-term effects on campus programs are still developing. In compliance with the bill, public colleges and some private institutions are already changing their DEI initiatives, though the bill’s full impact remains unclear.