[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2516 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2516
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit political litmus
tests in accreditation of institutions of higher education, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 31, 2025
Mr. Owens (for himself, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Rose,
Mr. Babin, Mr. Onder, Mr. Moore of West Virginia, and Mr. Messmer)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit political litmus
tests in accreditation of institutions of higher education, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Accreditation for College
Excellence Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON POLITICAL LITMUS TESTS IN ACCREDITATION OF
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
(a) Operating Procedures Required.--Section 496(c) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (8);
(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(10) confirms that the standards for accreditation of the
agency or association do not--
``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B)--
``(i) require, encourage, or coerce any
institution to--
``(I) support, oppose, or commit to
supporting or opposing--
``(aa) a specific partisan,
political, or ideological
viewpoint or belief or set of
such viewpoints or beliefs; or
``(bb) a specific viewpoint
or belief or set of viewpoints
or beliefs on social, cultural,
or political issues; or
``(II) support or commit to
supporting the disparate treatment of
any individual or group of individuals
on the basis of any protected class
under Federal civil rights law, except
as required by Federal law or a court
order; or
``(ii) assess an institution's or program
of study's commitment to any ideology, belief,
or viewpoint;
``(B) prohibit an institution--
``(i) from having a religious mission,
operating as a religious institution, or being
controlled by a religious organization (in a
manner described in paragraph (1), (2), (3),
(4), (5), or (6) of section 106.12(c) of title
34, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect
on the date of the enactment of this
paragraph)), or from requiring an applicant,
student, employee, or independent contractor
(such as an adjunct professor) of such an
institution to--
``(I) provide or adhere to a
statement of faith; or
``(II) adhere to a code of conduct
consistent with the stated religious
mission of such institution or the
religious tenets of such organization;
or
``(ii) from requiring an applicant,
student, employee, or contractor to take an
oath to uphold the Constitution of the United
States; or
``(C) require, encourage, or coerce an institution
of higher education to violate any right protected by
the Constitution.''.
(b) Limitation on Scope of Criteria.--Section 496(g) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(g)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(g) Limitation on Scope of Criteria.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall not establish
criteria for accrediting agencies or associations that are not
required by this section.
``(2) Institutional eligibility.--An institution of higher
education shall be eligible for participation in programs under
this title if the institution is in compliance with the
standards of its accrediting agency or association that assess
the institution in accordance with subsection (a)(5),
regardless of any additional standards adopted by the agency or
association for purposes unrelated to participation in programs
under this title.''.
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