Legislators are not educators. But new Ohio Senate Bill 83 would dictate how students are taught at the state's public colleges. Designed in part to protect students from “liberal bias,” the “Higher Education Enhancement Act” would prohibit favoritism or discrimination of certain ideas in classrooms; bar “political and ideological litmus tests” in hiring and promoting faculty; ban diversity, equity and inclusion training of employees and students; and require “syllabus transparency” with the public. It would also require a basic American history class in which students would read the Declaration of Independence and other documents, a mission statement that includes five tenets, and specific annual faculty evaluations. “Senate Bill 83 is designed to ensure the very best performance and quality of our higher education institutions,” said sponsor Sen. Jerry Cirino, a Kirtland Republican. Critics say the bill would make it harder to attract top-flight faculty and students, which will ultimately lower the quality of higher education in Ohio. They also say the bill assumes liberal-leaning faculty regularly discriminate against conservative students. At a news conference, Cirino did not name any Ohio examples of discrimination. The 39-page bill would affect mostly Ohio’s 14 public universities and 23 public community colleges, though some aspects would apply to private schools that receive state funding. - Laura |
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Public universities, such as Ohio State University, and community colleges will face a slew of changes if a new bill in the Ohio Senate becomes law. (cleveland.com file photo) |
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Higher ed bill: A new bill in the Ohio Senate seeks to rein in perceived liberal bias at colleges and universities by making sweeping changes to higher education practices, reports Laura Hancock. The move is panned by opponents as an education gag order meant to exploit culture wars. Speed limits: State lawmakers are considering raising the speed limit on two-lane state highways for the first time in a decade, from 55 to 60. Jeremy Pelzer reports that it wasn’t immediately clear which senator submitted the proposal, which was one of many changes made by the committee to the $11.6 million, two-year transportation budget bill passed by the Ohio House. Today in Ohio: The state of Ohio is suing Norfolk Southern over last month’s train derailment in East Palestine. How much money are we talking about? “Lots -- maybe lots and lots.” We discuss it on Today in Ohio. |
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Rail safety: An Ohio Senate committee on Wednesday added new rail safety measures to the state’s two-year transportation budget bill, including a requirement that wayside detectors must generally be installed at regular intervals along railroad tracks. Jeremy Pelzer reports the Senate Transportation Committee also removed language proposed in the Ohio House to use $1 billion for rural highways and added a proposal to raise the speed limit for many two-lane state highways. Pension systems: Several Ohio pension systems lost millions of dollars after their shares in a pair of failed banks tanked over the weekend, but spokesmen for those pension systems said they amounted to a tiny fraction of investments, reports Sabrina Eaton. Banks and trains: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown on Wednesday compared the collapse of Silicon Valley and Signature banks to last month’s Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, arguing that each industry “furiously” lobbied Congress and federal agencies for weaker rules “and look what happened,” reports Sabrina Eaton. Brown, who chairs the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, said he spent the entire weekend on the phone discussing the banks’ pending collapse with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and House Financial Services Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry. Smog standards: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a new rule that will require factories and power plants in Ohio and 22 other states to cut smokestack air pollution that creates smog in neighboring states, Sabrina Eaton reports. The “good neighbor” rule expands clean-air requirements for power plants that were enacted during former President Barack Obama’s administration to other industrial facilities, and requires states to make sure their pollution doesn’t travel to neighboring states. Supreme Court judge: Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan, a Republican, announced Wednesday she will run for the Ohio Supreme Court in 2024, reports Laura Hancock. Shanahan could challenge either Justices Melody Stewart or Michael Donnelly, both Democrats who are up for reelection next year, although it’s unclear whether the Democrats will run again. HB6 civil suit: After more than two years, Attorney General Dave Yost’s civil lawsuit against FirstEnergy, ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, and other figures with ties to the House Bill 6 scandal is once again being allowed to proceed. Jeremy Pelzer reports that Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Chris Brown on Wednesday granted Yost’s motion to lift the stay on proceedings in the case. |
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Homelessness: Cuyahoga County officials on Wednesday pledged a 25% decrease in homelessness by 2027 and unveiled an ambitious – and currently underfunded – Strategic Action Plan for how to accomplish that goal. Kaitlin Durbin reports that in broad terms, the plan includes reducing reliance on emergency shelters, increasing rapid rehousing and permanent housing capacity, connecting residents at risk of homelessness to income and support services, and improving equity in housing. Police buildings: Cleveland’s $90 million plan to renovate an historic Superior Avenue building into a new police headquarters is advancing through City Council -- but it isn’t the only money city officials plan to spend in coming years for new Cleveland police facilities, Courtney Astolfi reports. Plans include roughly $5 million to turn a former high school in the Slavic Village neighborhood into a public safety training center, $6.5 million to relocate Cleveland police’s SWAT team to the former city kennel building, and $13 million to build a new stable facility for the police’s mounted unit. Parking meters: Cleveland has identified the companies it wants to hire to replace coin-operated parking meters with smart meters that can accept credit cards. The switch is expected to cost just over $5 million and would include an estimated 600 meters that would each cover multiple parking spaces, and 100 single-space meters, Courtney Astolfi reports. Cleveland’s Promise: John Whelan has taught for 26 years, while also coaching sports like baseball and basketball. The unyielding push of motivation is perhaps needed most when he’s teaching fifth-grade math at Almira Elementary School, reports Cameron Fields. Fifth-grade math presents more noticeable challenges than what the kids faced in fourth grade. |
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Bank failures: Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse on Friday put millions of dollars deposited by Cleveland-area startups at risk, leading to a long and often sleepless weekend for founders, investors and everyone else tied to startup companies in the area. Sean McDonnell reports the long-term effects of this and Signature Bank’s failure are still playing out, but one thing is clear: When the FDIC stepped in and said it would cover all of the deposits, it avoided the scariest scenario. HoloAnatomy: Students learning anatomy by looking at a hologram sounds like something from a university in the far future. But that’s how it’s done right now at Case Western Reserve University. Julie Washington reports students put on the HoloAnatomy helmetlike display device and a virtual-reality hologram of a human body instantly appears in front of them. |
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Lawyer sentenced: A 70-year-old former attorney who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars belonging to her mostly elderly and special-needs clients was sentenced Wednesday to prison, Cory Shaffer reports. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Saffold told Dorothea Kingsbury that placing her on probation after pleading guilty to second-degree felony theft and other charges for the yearslong scheme would “disrespect all of the truly bad deeds” she had committed. Fraud indictment: A California maker of cannabis-infused water and its top officials were accused Wednesday of raking in more than $10 million in illicit profits by manipulating unsuspecting investors. Adam Ferrise reports a federal indictment says American Premium Water Corp. and its leaders, including CEO and Chairman Alfred Culberth, fleeced more than 200 northern Ohio residents out of some $219,000 in a “pump and dump” scheme. 7-year-old killed: Two adults are facing charges after a 7-year-old boy died Saturday in an apparent accidental shooting. Bryan Irby, 28, and Chartika Mock, 27, both of Cleveland, are charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of Demetrius Dunlap, reports Molly Walsh. Officer shot: Cleveland police officers are continuing their search for four suspects accused in the shooting of an officer on the East Side on Tuesday, reports Molly Walsh. The officer, who has been with the department for approximately four years, was shot twice on the 2800 block of Cedar Avenue. The officer was struck once in the thigh and once in the arm. Slavic Village thefts: A Cleveland man accused of 16 break-ins and theft crimes in Slavic Village last year, including several at a Catholic school, was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison, John Tucker reports. Investigators say Andre Walker, 50, was responsible for last year’s biggest, single-suspect property crime spree in the police division’s busy Fourth District. |
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Kids Film It: Ryan Levine started the Kids Film It Festival in 2017 when he was a seventh-grader at Hawken School as a way to honor his grandmother Jacqueline Bercu, who had Parkinson’s disease, by raising money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. At the same time, it provided young filmmakers a platform to showcase their work. Now, Joey Morona reports, the 19-year-old Pepper Pike native thinks it’s important to keep the festival going even while he's studying data science as a freshman at the University of Michigan. Bracket bets: You think you’ve made some good picks for March Madness to the Final Four and beyond? For the first time you can put a little money on your prowess, since sports betting is legal in Ohio, reports Marc Bona. Wedding caterer: Picking a caterer was a harder task than Jane Morice initially thought. She writes about what to look for, whether you want passed appetizers or stations, plated dinners or buffet. |
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Man fires shot during ‘brazen’ robbery of Dollar General in Akron Read more Lorain County karate instructor found guilty of sexual battery of student, gets 6 years in prison Read more Car smashes into vehicle at red light, killing woman in Akron Read more Tree talk: Pepper Pike Mayor Bain sees tree canopy protected with sale of Beech Brook, says replacement trees to be planted at The Country Club Read more Akron’s Access Shelter sets annual Youth Impact Day for April 29 Read more Orange High School teams excel at Mock Trial state competition Read more Lakewood middle school students’ ‘Dear Ukraine’ poems on display in Washington, D.C. Read more Brooklyn Charter Review Commission to begin work on fall charter amendments Read more Brooklyn City Schools Board of Education member Rob Slattery announces mayoral bid Read more Parma Heights accepts Nathan Hale Park retention basin project bid; work to begin next month Read more |
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