Ohio House Bill Could Stop Colleges From Requesting Preferred Pronouns on Applications
A new state house bill in Ohio, House Bill 686, seeks to prohibit public universities from asking prospective students for their preferred pronouns on college applications. Introduced by Rep. Gail Pavliga (R-Portage County), the bill would prevent state higher education institutions from using applications that ask for or provide a field where applicants can indicate their pronouns, such as he/him, she/her, they/them, or write-in options.
The bill also applies to employment applications at public universities, banning any request for an applicant’s pronouns. Currently, some Ohio public universities, including Ohio State University, use the Common App, an online portal that allows students to apply to multiple institutions. The Common App includes an optional question on pronouns. Other institutions, such as Bowling Green State University, have added questions about gender identity, while the University of Cincinnati asks whether applicants identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Pavliga’s bill comes in response to recent legal battles over pronoun use in Ohio schools. In 2022, a former Ohio middle school teacher filed a lawsuit after allegedly being forced to resign for refusing to use the preferred names and pronouns of transgender students. The case was ruled by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in August, with the court finding that forcing the teacher to use the students’ preferred names could amount to “compelled speech.” However, the case is still set to go to trial to determine whether the teacher’s refusal is protected by the First Amendment.
In addition, a decision by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July rejected an argument that a central Ohio school district violated First Amendment rights by banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, particularly in its policy against misgendering. Misgendering refers to the act of using pronouns or terms that do not align with a person’s gender identity.
House Bill 686 has been assigned to the Ohio House Higher Education Committee, where it could soon be reviewed in hearings that are open to public testimony.
