COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- With Ohio's sweeping anti-diversity, equity and inclusion bill set to go into effect this Friday, public universities like Ohio State are working hard to ensure compliance.
Ohio State University released detailed guidance on how to ensure programs, courses and individuals are following Senate Bill 1. Per the law, OSU's work group for implementation has determined it will remove official options to denote pronouns, alter professional participation guidelines, and discontinue or modify programs to support any identity-based group. See previous coverage of OSU's compliance in the video player above.
“Implementing a new higher education law at an institution with the scale and complexity of Ohio State is no small task," Ravi Bellamkonda, executive vice president and provost, said.
Group aims to stop controversial law banning DEI at Ohio's universities before it takes effectAt Ohio State, diversity is literally etched into the steps of its student union. The law does not prohibit the decorative use of the terms "diversity, equity and inclusion," focusing its ban on DEI programming. However, universities are not allowed to endorse "controversial policies," and the bill does not define DEI.
The steps of the Ohio Union, June 23, 2025.The steps have not been announced as a change, and OSU has its hands full addressing the clearly defined requirements of S.B. 1. Ohio State created an implementation committee of university leaders, faculty, staff and students, which has been developing guidelines since April.
“Every college and regional campus has representation, and students have been in sessions with some workstreams and are being engaged through other facilitated conversations," Bellamkonda said. "Engagements with faculty, staff and students will continue to expand as implementation work continues.”
Many of these new guidelines are now public. Ohio State, in compliance with the law, said activities and programming can no longer be “for” a protected class or encourage a specific group to apply. Registered student organizations can cater to specific groups, but are now required to state on their websites and other communications that membership and activities are open to all.
Bond set for former Ohio State football player charged in fatal Dublin crashEven if a program is compliant, the university also encourages its colleges and programs to avoid words like “diversity,” “underrepresented,” or “antiracism” because those terms could imply noncompliance.
“Simply changing a name or words will not fulfill compliance with the law unless the activities, position or program have been modified to be in compliance with the law," the university said.
Some restrictions are individual. The university said it will not promote or pay for faculty, staff and students to attend DEI-focused conferences, and conferences hosted at Ohio State should not include DEI trainings or subject matter. University staff members are also told not to assist with third-party DEI trainings or conferences unless they are in their area of expertise.
Individual professors’ bios and CVs can feature DEI initiatives they worked on, so long as they are clearly stated as unaffiliated with Ohio State. Previous university-affiliated initiatives should clearly state that they took place before June 27, 2025.
The university is also discontinuing official opportunities to disclose pronouns, but said students and staff are allowed to voluntarily share their pronouns in email signatures or name tags.
Columbus OKs $6 million police helicopter purchase“Formal options in university business operations systems for community members to voluntarily notate preferred pronouns will be discontinued, unless there is an approved clinical or administrative need," the university said.
As for the "diversity" memorialized on the steps, Ohio State did not provide comment, and it is not clearly prohibited under the law. NBC4 reached out to the Department of Higher Education for further guidance for installations like OSU's and those at other universities. The Department said it would seek clarity, but said it could not offer its perspective before publication. The story will be updated when a response is received.
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