CSU and Ohio House Bill 327 – The Cauldron

Cleveland State University Rhodes Tower. Photo courtesy of Molly Bregar

Introduced to the state in May, Ohio House Bill 327 will enforce a conservative stance on education by “indefinitely limiting the teachings of divisive concepts” throughout the state at primary and secondary education levels if it is passed.

While the bill would have a stronger affect on underdeveloped students at the primary level, collegiate professors probably will no longer teach in depth about such concepts referred to in the legislation text.

The primary sponsors of this bill are Ohio House of Representatives members Diane V. Grendell of District 76 and Sarah Fowler Arthur of District 99.

Both are active republican representatives. Grendell is serving her fifth term for Geauga and northern Portage counties, while Fowler Arthur serves portions of Ashtabula and Geauga counties.

The bill’s legislation states that the main target for the act is, “to amend sections 3314.03 and 3326.11 and to enact sections 3313.6027 and 4113.35 of the Revised Code to prohibit school districts, community schools, STEM schools, and state agencies from teaching, advocating, or promoting divisive concepts.”

This means that state agencies, who often play a role in organizing curriculum, would be prohibited from promoting teachings of “divisive” concepts such as Critical Race Theory, sex education, feminist movements and more.

Many argue that the elimination of these teaching points from state curriculum may take away large portions of important American history, while others approach the situation with an argument defending patriotism.

CSU, which ranked in the top 20% in diversity records, may stand with pushback as the bill makes its way through committee hearings. The campus also features a department of black studies, which inevitably covers critical race theory within many courses.

As the University level will be least affected by the elimination of such concepts due to the wide range of studies accessible for college level students, there is still a looming discussion about how knowledgeable students will be in entering college without previously soaking up information that the bill looks to take away.

The latest update on the bill listed was its referral to the Ohio state committee of lawmakers, Jun. 10.

For more information about the bill as it awaits hearing results, click here.