119-hr2516

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2516 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

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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