[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3724 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3724

   To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit recognized 
 accrediting agencies and associations from requiring, encouraging, or 
coercing institutions of higher education to meet any political litmus 
test or violate any right protected by the Constitution as a condition 
                           of accreditation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 2023

  Mr. Owens introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit recognized 
 accrediting agencies and associations from requiring, encouraging, or 
coercing institutions of higher education to meet any political litmus 
test or violate any right protected by the Constitution as a condition 
                           of accreditation.

    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 ``Accreditation for College Excellence 
Act of 2023''.

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--
                    ``(A) the standards for accreditation of the agency 
                or association do not--
                            ``(i) except as provided in clause (ii)--
                                    ``(I) require, encourage, or coerce 
                                any institution to--
                                            ``(aa) support, oppose, or 
                                        commit to supporting or 
                                        opposing--

                                                    ``(AA) a specific 
                                                partisan or political 
                                                belief or set of 
                                                beliefs; or

                                                    ``(BB) a particular 
                                                viewpoint on a social 
                                                or political issue; or

                                            ``(bb) support or commit to 
                                        supporting the disparate 
                                        treatment of any individual or 
                                        group of individuals on the 
                                        basis of sex, race, or 
                                        ethnicity, except as required 
                                        by Federal law; or
                                    ``(II) assess an institution's 
                                commitment to any ideology, belief, or 
                                viewpoint;
                            ``(ii) 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, or employee of such an 
                                institution to--
                                            ``(aa) provide or adhere to 
                                        a statement of faith; or
                                            ``(bb) 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, or employee to take an oath to 
                                uphold the Constitution of the United 
                                States; or
                            ``(iii) require, encourage, or coerce an 
                        institution of higher education to violate any 
                        right protected by the Constitution; and
                    ``(B) no institution of higher education subject to 
                its jurisdiction will--
                            ``(i) be required, encouraged, or coerced 
                        by the agency or association to--
                                    ``(I) support, oppose, or make a 
                                commitment to supporting or opposing 
                                any belief or viewpoint described in 
                                subparagraph (A)(i)(I)(aa); or
                                    ``(II) support or commit to 
                                supporting the treatment described in 
                                subparagraph (A)(i)(I)(bb);
                            ``(ii) be assessed by the agency or 
                        association in the manner described in 
                        subparagraph (A)(i)(II);
                            ``(iii) be prohibited by the agency or 
                        association from--
                                    ``(I) having a religious mission, 
                                operating as a religious institution, 
                                or being controlled by a religious 
                                organization as described in 
                                subparagraph (A)(ii)(I); or
                                    ``(II) requiring an applicant, 
                                student, or employee to take an action, 
                                as described in subparagraph 
                                (A)(ii)(II); or
                            ``(iv) be required, encouraged, or coerced 
                        to commit a violation described in subparagraph 
                        (A)(iii).''.
    (b) Limitation on Scope of Criteria.--Section 496(g) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(g)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``Nothing in'' and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(1) Rules of construction.--Nothing in'';
            (2) by striking the second sentence; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Prohibition.--No accrediting agency or association 
        may adopt standards for accreditation not provided for in this 
        section.''.
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