Ohio Republican lawmakers are looking to turn the state's new campus civics centers from low-enrollment experiments into something students cannot avoid. A fresh proposal from Sen. Jerry Cirino would funnel tuition revenue to the centers, hand their directors sweeping authority over hiring and curriculum, and require students at participating universities to complete a civics course run by the centers. Faculty groups and students are already sounding alarms that the plan could hard-wire politics into required coursework.
What the bill would do
Senate Bill 461, which Cirino has dubbed the "Strengthening Ohio Civics Act," would grant the five taxpayer-funded civics centers the "rights and privileges of an independent college of the university." Directors would gain the power to set and approve curriculum and to control hiring and tenure. As reported by Ohio Capital Journal, the legislation would also require that the centers receive tuition and other revenues from the courses they offer and would create a statewide Ohio Civics Board, made up of the center directors, to sign off on course content.
The bill text on the Ohio Legislature site updates multiple sections of the Revised Code to define standards for "American civics literacy" courses and to govern how academic civic centers operate. It would convert some centers into full schools, with the Chase Center at Ohio State and the University of Toledo's center slated to become schools with deans on Jan. 1, 2027. The proposed language hands the centers control over course modality, syllabi, class size and faculty selection, centralizing authority that typically belongs to departments and campus curriculum committees, according to the Ohio Legislature.
Small enrollment, big expectations
So far, students have not exactly been flocking to Ohio's new civics hubs. State data show that only 159 Ohio State students were enrolled at the Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society in 2025, which is about 0.2% of the university's student body. Critics say those modest numbers poke a hole in the argument for mandatory classes.
Cirino is betting that will change. He has brushed off the low early interest, telling reporters he expects the Chase Center to enroll more than 800 students next semester and predicting thousands of students across Miami University, Cleveland State, the University of Toledo and Wright State, according to News 5 Cleveland.
Campus critics say that is the point
Faculty leaders and unions are warning that the bill would concentrate power in the hands of a few politically appointed directors and chip away at shared governance. "This absolutely drives up tuition costs for every other student at that university," Jennifer Tisone Price, executive director of the Ohio Conference of the AAUP, said in a statement reported by Ohio Capital Journal.
Students are not sounding thrilled either. Those interviewed by News 5 Cleveland described the centers as unappealing or even "propaganda" and warned that forcing students into the courses would feel like indoctrination rather than open inquiry.
A campus incident underscores tensions
The political and academic fight over the civics centers has been unfolding alongside a headline-grabbing episode at Ohio State. An assistant professor affiliated with the university's Chase Center was accused of tackling an independent filmmaker after a February class, and a university committee later recommended firing the professor. Inside Higher Ed reported on the committee's finding, while local coverage by The Columbus Dispatch detailed the assault charge and the university's administrative response.
What comes next
Cirino's bill, SB 461, has been introduced but not advanced. Lawmakers are on break and would have to take it up when the legislature returns after November, otherwise, the proposal would have to be reintroduced in the next session. Cirino and his allies argue that the civics centers expand civic education and "foster open debate," echoing language in materials from his office about the plan, according to an Ohio Senate release.
What it means
If it passes, the bill would revamp who writes syllabi, who hires faculty and how tuition revenue is distributed, with ripple effects on course content, shared governance and campus budgets. The fight traces back to the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, also known as SB 1, which reshaped public university policy last year. Universities have been updating compliance plans and course requirements in response, according to guidance on SB 1 from Ohio State University.
