118th Congress Education
H.R. 3803: Fairness in Higher Education Accreditation Act
Introduced
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed House (not reached)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
This bill establishes additional requirements for an accrediting agency to be recognized by the Department of Education as a reliable authority on the quality of education being offered at an institution of higher education (IHE).
Specifically, the bill prohibits an accrediting agency from considering (1) the diversity, equity, and inclusion policies of an IHE; and (2) the racial composition of the accepted applicants, students, or the faculty or staff of an IHE. An IHE that is subject to a denial, withdrawal, or termination of accreditation as a result of an accrediting agency's violation of this prohibition may pursue a civil action.
The bill also requires an accrediting agency to assess the IHE's success in ensuring a right of free inquiry (with an exception for religious IHEs).
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In the case of a public IHE that is legally required to abide by the First Amendment, the bill defines free inquiry as compliance with (1) the First Amendment, including protections for freedom of speech, association, press, religion, assembly, and petition; and (2) the IHE's own written policies regarding academic freedom.
In the case of a private IHE, free inquiry refers to adherence to the IHE's written institutional policies concerning freedom of speech, association, press, religion, assembly, petition, and academic freedom.
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- W. Steube R-FLOriginal
- Russ Fulcher R-ID
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Other bills by Jim Banks
History
- Introduced in the House by Jim Banks.
Show the full action history (2 actions)
- Introduced in House
- Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.