Over the past week, The Pennant received several notices about a concerning program being conducted at an Ohio middle school. Those notices came in the form of Facebook messages and letters to the editor from concerned parents and community members. What we found raises serious questions for schools across the entire state.
Ohio has been moving in a clear direction on DEI. In 2023, Governor Mike DeWine signed Executive Order 2023-04D, banning DEI programs in state agencies. In 2024, the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 7, removing DEI requirements from public colleges and universities. Now, a bill currently working its way through the Ohio General Assembly could close the door on DEI in K-12 schools as well.
Senate Bill 113 would require every public school board to adopt a policy within 90 days that bans DEI programs, offices, training courses, and job descriptions. The bill would prohibit schools from hiring outside consultants to promote hiring or admissions based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, or sexual orientation. Perhaps most significantly, Senate Bill 113 would explicitly close the loophole of rebranding banned DEI activities under a different name. Ohio lawmakers appear to have seen that trick coming. If it passes, the message will be unmistakable. Schools are for learning, not social experiments.
The timing could not be more relevant. Right now, with Senate Bill 113 still working through the legislature, a DEI training program is showing up in Ohio middle school classrooms with little to stop it.
It is called BaFa BaFa. It is a game where students are split into made-up cultures and made to feel like outsiders. The people who sell it say it teaches kids about diversity and inclusion. Sound familiar? It should. That is exactly what Ohio has been working to move away from in its schools. When the publishers recently updated the game to remove parts that were getting pushback, they did precisely what Senate Bill 113 is designed to prevent. They rebranded a banned activity and sent it back into classrooms with a new name.
Here is what makes this even harder to understand. Third-grade reading proficiency in Ohio is down about five points compared to last year, with only about 60% of third graders reading at grade level. In middle school, nearly 38.5% of eighth graders scored at the lowest performance level on math exams. Ohio kids are struggling with the basics. This is not the time to pull classroom hours away from reading and math to play a 50-year-old culture simulation game.
Ohio parents should also know this is a product someone is selling for profit. That taxpayer money should go toward math books, reading programs, and teacher pay. Not a repackaged DEI program shipped in a box.
If Senate Bill 113 passes, it would give parents a formal complaint process that triggers a mandatory investigation and hearing by the school board. Until then, parents are not without options. Call the principal. Ask what programs are being used in the classroom and why. Opt your kids out. Attend your school board meeting. Ask questions. Demand answers.
Ohio students need better reading scores and stronger math skills. Senate Bill 113 has not passed yet. But the problem it is designed to fix is already sitting in an Ohio classroom right now.