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Monday, January 6, 2025

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U.S. House of Representatives Passes ‘Anti-Woke’ Bill to Ensure Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education

WASHINGTON — A Republican bill barring accrediting organizations from requiring colleges and universities to adopt diversity, equity and inclusion policies as a condition of accreditation passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week, though its fate is unclear.

This Act on Completion of Higher Education – what was successful 213-201 — means one of several so-called anti-woke initiatives and bills from Republican lawmakers scheduled to go before the House of Representatives this week.

The higher education measure, which has drawn fierce opposition from the Biden administration and major associations of colleges and universities, was introduced amid a climate of The upcoming government shutdown and in the heat of the 2024 campaign.

Four House Democrats voted for the GOP measure, including Reps. Don Davis of North Carolina, Jared Golden of Maine, Mary Peltola of Alaska and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington.

The legislation included two bills introduced by Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce — the College Excellence Accreditation Act and the First Amendment Upholding on Campuses Act.

Utah State Representative Burgess Owens, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, presented College Excellence Accreditation Act in May 2023, when New York Representative Brandon Williams introduced Respect for the First Amendment to the Campus Law in March.

In a statement to States Newsroom, Owens said, “House Republicans passed the End Woke Higher Education Act to stand up for academic freedom, defend students’ constitutional rights, and ensure that colleges and universities are not forced to bend the knee to accreditation activists who push political agendas as a condition for receiving federal funding.”

The Utah Republican said the “Biden-Harris administration has injected its far-left ideology — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Critical Race Theory — into every aspect of American life, including our higher education system.”

Owens’ bill states that accreditation standards cannot require, encourage, or coerce institutions to support or oppose “a particular partisan, political, or ideological view or belief” or “set of views or beliefs on social, cultural, or political issues” or support “disparate treatment of any person or group of persons.”

Meanwhile, the Williams Respect for the First Amendment on Campus Act forces schools to disclose their free speech policies to students and faculty as a condition of receiving Title IV funds.

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 includes: federal student financial aid programs.

Strong opposition

However, the bill is unlikely to pass in the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority.

The Biden administration has also strongly opposed the measure, stating in statement this week that the rules “will micromanage both public and private institutions, undermining their ability to recognize and promote diversity.”

The administration added that the legislation “would go beyond Congress’s traditional role in higher education by introducing a broad array of new, vague, and unprecedented responsibilities.”

Rep. Bobby Scott, a ranking member of the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee, called the decision a “baseless attempt to inject culture wars into the critically important accreditation process” during a floor debate Thursday.

The Virginia Democrat said the bill “attempts to circumvent the First Amendment to establish an entirely new regime for regulating the rights of free speech and association on campus that goes beyond established precedents and practices.”

The GOP bill also drew the ire of leading college and university associations, which opposed it both individually and collectively.

In a joint letter sent this week to House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, six main associations led by the American Council on Education criticized parts of Williams’ legislation, saying it “would undermine efforts to protect free speech on campus and ensure a safe educational environment free from discrimination.”

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