Good for Ohio. Other states should look at this strategy and try to replicate it.
The Enquirer reports:
Ohio private universities could lose scholarship money if they keep DEI programsOhio’s sweeping higher education law, Senate Bill 1, didn’t touch private universities. But a change added to the state budget would penalize private institutions that don’t ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs.Under the proposed change, students couldn’t use a popular scholarship at a private university unless that institution complies with portions of the higher education overhaul and accepts the top 10% of high school graduates.Lawmakers are using the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, awarded to Ohio high school students in the top 5% of their class, as a carrot and a stick. Private universities aren’t required to make the changes in Senate Bill 1. But those that don’t risk losing scholarship students to other universities.About 21% of Governor’s Merit Scholarship recipients in the class of 2024 attended a private university or college, according to the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Each student receives $5,000 per year to spend on in-state tuition.The Association of Independent Colleges & Universities of Ohio, which represents 50 private higher education institutions, quickly condemned the new strings attached to the scholarship.“AICUO is disappointed that Ohio House leadership is telling Ohio’s best and brightest students that their only choice for higher education will be a public university by placing unrealistic burdens for participation on Ohio’s independent colleges,” the association wrote in a statement.
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