The debate continues concerning diversity and inclusion training requirements in Ohio’s public colleges and universities.

An Ohio House committee clears a contentious higher education bill that would eliminate nearly all diversity and inclusion training requirements in Ohio’s public colleges and universities, and bar them from taking stances on “controversial topics. Republican House Speaker, Jason Stephens says the measure didn’t have enough support in the GOP-dominated House and that he had no intentions of pushing it to a floor vote. Even so, the House Higher Education Committee voted out the legislation, which is known to be a high priority for Senate President Matt Huffman. The Republican is expected to run for a seat in the House once his time in the Senate ends in 2025 because of term limits, and if elected, Huffman is poised to challenge Stephens for the speaker position. The measure previously passed in the Senate with a majority Republican vote, although three GOP members broke away from their party to join Democrats in voting against it. Supporters of the measure have called it necessary to rid higher education of bias, promote “intellectual diversity” and help protect conservative speech on campuses. It comes alongside other Republican-led states targeting diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education this year.