Rule 3344-2-10 | DEI Prohibitions.
DEI prohibitions policy
(A) In accordance with SB 1, the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, section 3345.0217 of the Revised Code, Cleveland state university (CSU) will prohibit the following:
(1) Any orientation or training course regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion. The institution may submit a written request for an exception to the chancellor of higher education because the institution determines the orientation or training course is exempt because all aspects of the orientation or course are required to do any of the following:
(a) Comply with state and federal laws or regulations;
(b) Comply with state or federal professional licensure requirements; or
(c) Obtain or retain accreditation.
(2) The continuation of existing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or departments.
(3) Establishing new diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or departments.
(4) Using diversity, equity, and inclusion in job descriptions.
(5) Contracting with consultants or third parties whose role is or would be to promote admissions, hiring, or promotion on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
(6) The establishment of any new institutional scholarships that use diversity, equity, and inclusion in any manner. For any institutional scholarships existing on the effective date of this section, Cleveland state shall, to the extent possible, eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements. If Cleveland state is unable to do so because of donor requirements, the institution may continue to offer those institutional scholarships. However, Cleveland state shall not accept any additional funds for the operation of institutional scholarships that have diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements.
(7) The use of political and ideological litmus tests in all hiring, promotion, and admissions decisions, including diversity statements and any other requirement that applicants describe their commitment to any ideology, principle, concept, or formulation that requires commitment to any controversial belief or policy.
(B) Cleveland state university affirms and declares the following:
(1) CSU's primary function is to practice, or support the practice, discovery, improvement, transmission, and dissemination of knowledge and citizenship education by means of research, teaching, discussion, and debate.
(2) CSU shall ensure the fullest degree of intellectual diversity.
(3) Faculty and staff shall of CSU shall allow and encourage students to reach their own conclusions about all controversial beliefs or policies and shall not seek to indoctrinate any social, political, or religious point of view.
(4) CSU will not encourage, discourage, require, or forbid students, faculty, or administrators to endorse, assent to, or publicly express a given ideology, political stance, or view of a social policy, nor will the institution require students to do any of those things to obtain an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.
(5) No CSU hiring, promotion, or admissions process or decision shall encourage, discourage, require, or forbid students, faculty, or administrators to endorse, assent to, or publicly express a given ideology or political stance.
(6) CSU will not use a diversity statement or any other assessment of an applicant's political ideological views in any hiring, promotions, or admissions process or decision.
(7) No CSU process or decision regulating conditions of work or study, such as committee assignments, course scheduling, or workload adjustment policies, shall encourage, discourage, require, or forbid students, faculty, or administrators to endorse, assent to, or publicly express a given ideology or political stance.
(8) CSU will seek out invited speakers who have diverse ideological or political views.
(C) Cleveland state declares that it will not endorse or oppose, as an institution, any controversial belief or policy, except on matters that directly impact the institution's funding or mission of discovery, improvement, and dissemination of knowledge.
(D) Cleveland state will demonstrate intellectual diversity for course approval, approval of courses to satisfy general education requirements, student course evaluations, common reading programs, annual reviews, strategic goals for each department, and student learning outcomes.
(E) Essential to the atmosphere of a university is academic freedom, the freedom of speech, freedom to teach, to learn, and to conduct inquiry in a spirit of openness necessary to the acceptance of criticism, the expression of differing opinions, and the pursuit of truth. Nothing in this policy prohibits faculty or students from classroom instruction, discussion, or debate, so long as faculty members allow students to express intellectual diversity.
(1) Nothing in paragraphs (B)(1) to (B)(3) and (D) of this policy applies to the exercise of professional judgment about how to accomplish intellectual diversity within an academic discipline, unless that exercise is misused to constrict intellectual diversity.
(2) Nothing in paragraphs (B)(4) and (C) of this policy applies to the exercise of professional judgment about whether to endorse the consensus or foundational beliefs of an academic discipline, unless that exercise is misused to take an action prohibited in paragraph (C) of this policy.
(F) Definitions
(1) "Controversial belief or policy" means any belief or policy that is the subject of political controversy, including issues such as climate policies, electoral politics, electoral politics, foreign policy, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, immigration policy, marriage, or abortion.
(2) "Intellectual diversity" means multiple, divergent, and varied perspectives on an extensive range of public policy issues.
Last updated October 16, 2025 at 7:28 AM
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