[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5121 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5121
To modify the criteria for recognition of accrediting agencies or
associations for institutions of higher education.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 3, 2025
Ms. Stefanik (for herself, Mr. McDowell, and Mr. Norman) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To modify the criteria for recognition of accrediting agencies or
associations for institutions of higher education.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fairness in Higher Education
Accreditation Act''.
SEC. 2. CRITERIA FOR RECOGNITION OF ACCREDITING AGENCIES OR
ASSOCIATIONS.
Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (5)--
(i) in subparagraph (I), by striking
``and'' after the semicolon;
(ii) in subparagraph (J), by inserting
``and'' after the semicolon; and
(iii) by inserting after subparagraph (J),
and before the flush text, the following:
``(K) except in the case of an institution
described in subsection (r)(2), success in ensuring a
right of free inquiry (as defined in subsection
(r)(1));'';
(B) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(C) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(9) such accrediting agency or association will not
impose requirements, establish standards, conduct
investigations, or make recommendations concerning--
``(A) the race, color, sex, or national origin
composition of the student body, faculty, or staff;
``(B) the race, color, sex, or national origin of
the students, faculty members, or staff members who are
in leadership roles; or
``(C) the race, color, sex, or national origin of
the students, faculty members, or staff members who
receive honors or special commendations;
``(10) such an accrediting agency or association may only
be determined to be a reliable authority as to the quality of
education or training offered for the purposes of this Act or
for other Federal purposes if the agency or association permits
each institution of higher education that the agency or
association accredits (and each component or subpart of each
institution of higher education that the agency or association
accredits) to adopt any lawful policy with regard to the
factors described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph
(9), notwithstanding the particular mission of an institution
of higher education (or component or subpart thereof); and
``(11) as part of the accrediting process, such an
accrediting agency or association may not consider any factor
described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (9).'';
(2) in subsection (p), by striking ``Nothing in subsection
(a)(5)'' and inserting ``Subject to subsection (a)(9), nothing
in subsection (a)(5)''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(r) Free Inquiry.--
``(1) Free inquiry.--In this section, the term `free
inquiry' means--
``(A) in the case of a public institution of higher
education that is legally required to abide by the
First Amendment to the Constitution, compliance with--
``(i) the First Amendment to the
Constitution, including protections for freedom
of speech, association, press, religion,
assembly, and petition; and
``(ii) the institution's own written
policies regarding academic freedom; or
``(B) in the case of a private institution of
higher education, adherence to the institution's
written institutional policies concerning freedom of
speech, association, press, religion, assembly,
petition, and academic freedom.
``(2) Religious exemption.--An institution described in any
of subparagraphs (A) through (F) shall not be subject to the
free inquiry requirements of subsection (a)(5)(K). Such exempt
institutions shall include an institution--
``(A) that is a school or department of divinity;
``(B) that requires its faculty, students, or
employees to be members of, or otherwise engage in
religious practices of, or espouse a personal belief
in, the religion of the organization by which it claims
to be controlled;
``(C) that in its charter or catalog, or other
official publication, contains an explicit statement
that it is controlled by a religious organization or an
organ thereof, or is committed to the doctrines or
practices of a particular religion, and the members of
its governing body are appointed by the controlling
religious organization or an organ thereof, and it
receives a significant amount of financial support from
the controlling religious organization or an organ
thereof;
``(D) that has a doctrinal statement or a statement
of religious practices, along with a statement that
members of the institution community must engage in the
religious practices of, or espouse a personal belief
in, the religion, its practices, or the doctrinal
statement or statement of religious practices;
``(E) that has a published institutional mission
that is approved by the governing body of an
educational institution and that includes, refers to,
or is predicated upon religious tenets, beliefs, or
teachings; or
``(F) with respect to which there is other evidence
sufficient to establish that the institution is
controlled by a religious organization, pursuant to
section 901(a)(3) of the Education Amendments of 1972
(20 U.S.C. 1681(a)(3)).''.
SEC. 3. CIVIL ACTION.
An institution of higher education (as defined in section 102 of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) that is subject to a
denial, withdrawal, or termination, or imminent threat of denial,
withdrawal, or termination, of accreditation as a result of an
accrediting agency or association's violation of the prohibition
established in section 496(a)(10) of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)), as added by section 2 of this Act, may pursue a
civil action in accordance with subsections (e) and (f) of such section
496.
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