This story has been changed from its original version. House Bill 153 would eliminate the faculty workload clause, not uphold it.
The Ohio House of Representatives released a revised version of Gov. John Kasich's budget proposal today.
The altered version, House Bill 153, includes several important changes:
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The chancellor of the Board of Regents, Ohio's top education official, would no longer serve a five-year term. The chancellor would serve the same term as the appointing governor.
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The chancellor must also help colleges and universities start digital textbook pilot programs. The programs will examine the cost savings and academic benefits of using digital textbooks.
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The bill would eliminate the faculty workload clause in Kasich's budget proposal, which would require faculty to teach an additional class every other years.
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A clause prohibits any college or university from denying benefits to a student religious group because the group requires its leaders or voting members to adhere to its religious beliefs or standards of conduct.
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A state could not designate a college or university as a charter school until the General Assembly approves a designation procedure.
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The bill appropriates $80.3 million — $2 million more — to the Ohio College Opportunity Grant and makes students enrolled in private, for-profit institutions eligible for funding.
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Ohio University's Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, Ohio State University's John Glenn School of Public Affairs and the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron would each receive $75,000 in state funding each fiscal year. Kasich's budget eliminated all state funding for these programs.
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People who graduate from an Ohio high school may receive in-state tuition as long as they return to Ohio within 10 years of graduation.
The House upheld Kasich's requirement that colleges and universities submit statements on how to obtain a bachelors' degree in three years for 10 percent of its programs by Oct. 15, 2012.
According to the House's budget bill, the state will still require college and university presidents to create statewide standards in math, science, reading and writing by Dec. 31, 2012.
Check back tomorrow for more updates.
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@ThePostCampus
