S. B. No. 24 As Introduced

Senators Mumper, Jordan, Cates, Wachtmann

A BILL
To enact sections 3345.80 and 3345.81 of the Revised 1
Code to establish the academic bill of rights for 2
higher education. 3

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That sections 3345.80 and 3345.81 of the Revised 4
Code be enacted to read as follows: 5

       Sec. 3345.80. The board of trustees of each state 6
institution of higher education, as defined in section 3345.011 of 7
the Revised Code, and the board of trustees or other governing 8
authority of each private institution of higher education that 9
holds a certificate of authorization issued under section 1713.02 10
of the Revised Code shall adopt a policy recognizing that the 11
students, faculty, and instructors of the institution have the 12
following rights: 13

       (A) The institution shall provide its students with a 14
learning environment in which the students have access to a broad 15
range of serious scholarly opinion pertaining to the subjects they 16
study. In the humanities, the social sciences, and the arts, the 17
fostering of a plurality of serious scholarly methodologies and 18
perspectives shall be a significant institutional purpose. In 19
addition, curricula and reading lists in the humanities and social 20
studies shall respect all human knowledge in these areas and 21
provide students with dissenting sources and viewpoints. 22

       (B) Students shall be graded solely on the basis of their 23
reasoned answers and appropriate knowledge of the subjects and 24
disciplines they study and shall not be discriminated against on 25
the basis of their political, ideological, or religious beliefs. 26
Faculty and instructors shall not use their courses or their 27
positions for the purpose of political, ideological, religious, or 28
antireligious indoctrination. 29

       (C) Faculty and instructors shall not infringe the academic 30
freedom and quality of education of their students by persistently 31
introducing controversial matter into the classroom or coursework 32
that has no relation to their subject of study and that serves no 33
legitimate pedagogical purpose. 34

       (D) University administrators, student government 35
organizations, and institutional policies, rules, or procedures 36
shall not infringe the freedom of speech, freedom of expression, 37
freedom of assembly, and freedom of conscience of students and 38
student organizations. 39

       (E) The institution shall distribute student fee funds on a 40
viewpoint-neutral basis and shall maintain a posture of neutrality 41
with respect to substantive political and religious disagreements, 42
differences, and opinions. The selection of speakers, allocation 43
of funds for speakers' programs, and other student activities 44
shall observe the principles of academic freedom and promote the 45
presentation of a diversity of opinions on intellectual matters. 46
Except as provided by law, the institution shall not permit the 47
obstruction of invited campus speakers, the destruction of campus 48
literature, or other efforts to obstruct a civil exchange of 49
ideas. 50

       (F) Faculty and instructors shall be free to pursue and 51
discuss their own findings and perspectives in presenting their 52
views, but they shall make their students aware of serious 53
scholarly viewpoints other than their own through classroom 54
discussion or dissemination of written materials, and they shall 55
encourage intellectual honesty, civil debate, and the critical 56
analysis of ideas in the pursuit of knowledge and truth. 57

       (G) Faculty and instructors shall be hired, fired, promoted, 58
and granted tenure on the basis of their competence and 59
appropriate knowledge in their field of expertise and shall not be 60
hired, fired, promoted, granted tenure, or denied promotion or 61
tenure on the basis of their political, ideological, or religious 62
beliefs. 63

       (H) Faculty and instructors shall not be excluded from 64
tenure, search, and hiring committees on the basis of their 65
political, ideological, or religious beliefs. 66

       (I) The institution and its professional societies shall 67
maintain a posture of organizational neutrality with respect to 68
the substantive disagreements that divide researchers on questions 69
within, or outside, their fields of inquiry recognizing that: 70

       (1) Knowledge advances when individual scholars are left free 71
to reach their own conclusions about which methods, facts, and 72
theories have been validated by research; 73

       (2) Academic institutions and professional societies formed 74
to advance knowledge within an area of research, maintain the 75
integrity of the research process, and organize the professional 76
lives of related researchers serve as indispensable venues within 77
which scholars circulate research findings and debate their 78
interpretations. 79

       Sec. 3345.81. The board of trustees of each state institution 80
of higher education, as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised 81
Code, and the board of trustees or other governing authority of 82
each private institution of higher education that holds a 83
certificate of authorization issued under section 1713.02 of the 84
Revised Code, shall adopt a grievance procedure by which a 85
student, faculty member, or instructor may seek redress for an 86
alleged violation of any of the rights specified by the 87
institution's policy adopted under section 3345.80 of the Revised 88
Code. Each board of trustees or other governing authority shall 89
provide students, faculty, and instructors with notice of the 90
rights and grievance procedure by publication in the institution's 91
course catalog, student handbook, and web site. 92

Section 1. That sections 3345.80 and 3345.81 of the Revised	4
Code be enacted to read as follows:	5

Sec. 3345.80. The board of trustees of each state	6
institution of higher education, as defined in section 3345.011 of	7
the Revised Code, and the board of trustees or other governing	8
authority of each private institution of higher education that	9
holds a certificate of authorization issued under section 1713.02	10
of the Revised Code shall adopt a policy recognizing that the	11
students, faculty, and instructors of the institution have the	12
following rights:	13

(A) The institution shall provide its students with a	14
learning environment in which the students have access to a broad	15
range of serious scholarly opinion pertaining to the subjects they	16
study. In the humanities, the social sciences, and the arts, the	17
fostering of a plurality of serious scholarly methodologies and	18
perspectives shall be a significant institutional purpose. In	19
addition, curricula and reading lists in the humanities and social	20
studies shall respect all human knowledge in these areas and	21
provide students with dissenting sources and viewpoints.	22

(B) Students shall be graded solely on the basis of their	23
reasoned answers and appropriate knowledge of the subjects and	24
disciplines they study and shall not be discriminated against on	25
the basis of their political, ideological, or religious beliefs.	26
Faculty and instructors shall not use their courses or their	27
positions for the purpose of political, ideological, religious, or	28
antireligious indoctrination.	29

(C) Faculty and instructors shall not infringe the academic	30
freedom and quality of education of their students by persistently	31
introducing controversial matter into the classroom or coursework	32
that has no relation to their subject of study and that serves no	33
legitimate pedagogical purpose.	34

(D) University administrators, student government	35
organizations, and institutional policies, rules, or procedures	36
shall not infringe the freedom of speech, freedom of expression,	37
freedom of assembly, and freedom of conscience of students and	38
student organizations.	39

(E) The institution shall distribute student fee funds on a	40
viewpoint-neutral basis and shall maintain a posture of neutrality	41
with respect to substantive political and religious disagreements,	42
differences, and opinions. The selection of speakers, allocation	43
of funds for speakers' programs, and other student activities	44
shall observe the principles of academic freedom and promote the	45
presentation of a diversity of opinions on intellectual matters.	46
Except as provided by law, the institution shall not permit the	47
obstruction of invited campus speakers, the destruction of campus	48
literature, or other efforts to obstruct a civil exchange of	49
ideas.	50

(F) Faculty and instructors shall be free to pursue and	51
discuss their own findings and perspectives in presenting their	52
views, but they shall make their students aware of serious	53
scholarly viewpoints other than their own through classroom	54
discussion or dissemination of written materials, and they shall	55
encourage intellectual honesty, civil debate, and the critical	56
analysis of ideas in the pursuit of knowledge and truth.	57

(G) Faculty and instructors shall be hired, fired, promoted,	58
and granted tenure on the basis of their competence and	59
appropriate knowledge in their field of expertise and shall not be	60
hired, fired, promoted, granted tenure, or denied promotion or	61
tenure on the basis of their political, ideological, or religious	62
beliefs.	63

(H) Faculty and instructors shall not be excluded from	64
tenure, search, and hiring committees on the basis of their	65
political, ideological, or religious beliefs.	66

(I) The institution and its professional societies shall	67
maintain a posture of organizational neutrality with respect to	68
the substantive disagreements that divide researchers on questions	69
within, or outside, their fields of inquiry recognizing that:	70

(1) Knowledge advances when individual scholars are left free	71
to reach their own conclusions about which methods, facts, and	72
theories have been validated by research;	73

(2) Academic institutions and professional societies formed	74
to advance knowledge within an area of research, maintain the	75
integrity of the research process, and organize the professional	76
lives of related researchers serve as indispensable venues within	77
which scholars circulate research findings and debate their	78
interpretations.	79

Sec. 3345.81. The board of trustees of each state institution	80
of higher education, as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised	81
Code, and the board of trustees or other governing authority of	82
each private institution of higher education that holds a	83
certificate of authorization issued under section 1713.02 of the	84
Revised Code, shall adopt a grievance procedure by which a	85
student, faculty member, or instructor may seek redress for an	86
alleged violation of any of the rights specified by the	87
institution's policy adopted under section 3345.80 of the Revised	88
Code. Each board of trustees or other governing authority shall	89
provide students, faculty, and instructors with notice of the	90
rights and grievance procedure by publication in the institution's	91
course catalog, student handbook, and web site.	92