Plain English summary not yet available
The full original text is available below. Check back soon as we process this bill.
I
116TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 6236
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for certain freedom
of association protections, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 12, 2020
Mr. GALLEGO (for himself, Ms. STEFANIK, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Mr.
STIVERS, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. HUDSON, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. FLO-
RES, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Mr. WOMACK, Ms. SEWELL
of Alabama, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BOST, Mr.
HILL of Arkansas, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. HIMES, Mr. BYRNE, and Mrs.
BROOKS of Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Education and Labor
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide
for certain freedom of association protections, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Collegiate Freedom
4
of Association Act 2.0’’.
5
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:37 Mar 26, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6236.IH
H6236
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2
•HR 6236 IH
SEC. 2. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION PROTECTIONS.
1
Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965
2
(20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
3
the following:
4
‘‘SEC. 124. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION PROTECTIONS.
5
‘‘(a) NON-RETALIATION AGAINST STUDENTS OF SIN-
6
GLE-SEX SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS.—An institution of
7
higher education that receives funds under this Act shall
8
not—
9
‘‘(1) take any action to require or coerce a stu-
10
dent or prospective student who is a member or pro-
11
spective member of a single-sex social organization
12
to waive the requirements of paragraph (2), includ-
13
ing as a condition of enrolling in the institution; or
14
‘‘(2) take any adverse action against a student
15
who is a member or a prospective member of a sin-
16
gle-sex social organization based solely on the mem-
17
bership practice of such organization limiting mem-
18
bership to only individuals of one sex.
19
‘‘(b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this
20
section shall—
21
‘‘(1) require an institution of higher education
22
to officially recognize a single-sex organization;
23
‘‘(2) prohibit an institution of higher education
24
from taking an adverse action against a student who
25
joins a single-sex social organization for a reason in-
26
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:37 Mar 26, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6236.IH
H6236
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3
•HR 6236 IH
cluding academic misconduct or nonacademic mis-
1
conduct, or because the organization’s purpose poses
2
a clear harm to the students or employees, so long
3
as that adverse action is not based solely on the
4
membership practice of the organization of limiting
5
membership to only individuals of one sex; or
6
‘‘(3) inhibit the ability of the faculty of an insti-
7
tution of higher education to express an opinion (ei-
8
ther individually or collectively) about membership in
9
a single-sex social organization, or otherwise inhibit
10
the academic freedom of such faculty to research,
11
write, or publish material about membership in such
12
an organization.
13
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
14
‘‘(1) ADVERSE ACTION.—The term ‘adverse ac-
15
tion’ means any of the following actions taken by an
16
institution of higher education with respect to a
17
member or prospective member of a single-sex social
18
organization:
19
‘‘(A) Expulsion, suspension, probation,
20
censure, condemnation, formal reprimand, or
21
any other disciplinary action, coercive action, or
22
sanction taken by an institution of higher edu-
23
cation or administrative unit of such institution.
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:37 Mar 26, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6236.IH
H6236
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4
•HR 6236 IH
‘‘(B) An oral or written warning with re-
1
spect to an action described in subparagraph
2
(A).
3
‘‘(C) An action to deny participation in
4
any education program or activity.
5
‘‘(D) An action to withhold, in whole or in
6
part, any financial assistance (including schol-
7
arships and on campus employment), or deny-
8
ing the opportunity to apply for financial assist-
9
ance, a scholarship, a graduate fellowship, or
10
on-campus employment.
11
‘‘(E) An action to deny or restrict access
12
to on-campus housing.
13
‘‘(F) An act to deny any certification, en-
14
dorsement, or letter of recommendation that
15
may be required by a student’s current or fu-
16
ture employer, a government agency, a licensing
17
board, an institution of higher education, a
18
scholarship program, or a graduate fellowship
19
to which the student seeks to apply.
20
‘‘(G) An action to deny participation in
21
any sports team, club, or other student organi-
22
zation, including a denial of any leadership po-
23
sition in any sports team, club, or other student
24
organization.
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:37 Mar 26, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6236.IH
H6236
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5
•HR 6236 IH
‘‘(H) An action to require any student to
1
certify that such student is not a member of a
2
single-sex social organization or to disclose the
3
student’s membership in a single-sex social or-
4
ganization.
5
‘‘(2) SINGLE-SEX SOCIAL ORGANIZATION.—The
6
term ‘single-sex social organization’ means a social
7
fraternity or sorority described in section 501(c) of
8
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which is exempt
9
from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code, or
10
an organization that has been historically single-sex,
11
the active membership of which consists primarily of
12
students or alumni of an institution of higher edu-
13
cation.’’.
14
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014
03:37 Mar 26, 2020
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H6236.IH
H6236
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS