,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cabh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #e1 #bjai,mr4  
,gallego 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,stefanik1  
,mr4 ,stivers1 ,mrs4 ,murphy1 ,mrs4     
,brooks of ,indiana1 ,mr4 ,gottheimer1  
,mr4 ,shimkus1 ,mr4 ,cleaver1 ,mrs4     
,kirkpatrick1 ,ms4 ,kendra ,s4 ,horn of 
,oklahoma1 ,mrs4 ,lawrence1 ,ms4 ,fudge1
 ,mr4 ,byrne1 and ,mr4 ,hudson7         
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on          
,education and ,labor  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
amend the ,higher ,education ,act of    
#aife to uphold freedom of association  
protections1 and for other purposes4    
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,collegiate ,freedom of         
,association ,act4  #b4 ,findings and   
purposes  7a7 ,findings ,congress finds 
the following3  7#a7 ,single-sex social 
organizations1 including sororities1    
fraternities1 and private social clubs1 
have existed at institutions of higher  
education for over #bjj years1 where    

they have played1 and should continue to
 play1 unique roles in the development  
of young women and men by creating      
sisterhoods and brotherhoods that foster
 leadership1 promote academic           
achievement1 and encourage civic and    
campus involvement through philanthropic
 activities4  7#b7 ,the freedom of      
association--that is1 the freedom of    
joining1 assembling1 and residing with  
others--is protected under the ,first   
and ,fourteenth ,amendments to the      
,constitution1 and allows individuals to
 create spaces that are safe1 welcoming1
 empowering1 enabling1 uninhibited1 and 
free4  7#c7 ,single-sex social          
sororities1 fraternities1 and private   
social clubs meet the requirements for  
intimate and expressive associations    
protected by the freedom of association 
because they are small and selective1   
are bound together by friendship1 common
 interests1 and common purpose1 and     
create safe and empowering spaces for   
their members4  7#d7 ,some institutions 

of higher education1 which stand in     
positions of power and authority over   
their students1 have increasingly sought
 to eliminate or restrict access to     
single-sex social organizations1 which  
are designed to nurture1 lift1 and      
empower students4  7#e7 ,while the      
history of equal access in higher       
education includes discriminatory       
actions taken on the basis of race1     
religion1 national origin1 and sex by   
students1 faculty1 staff1 and social    
organizations1 many members of these    
same groups have taken1 and continue to 
take actions to make the higher         
education community more open and       
inclusive to all4  7#f7 ,while sex      
discrimination remains a serious problem
 in our society1 allowing institutions  
of higher education to sanction members 
of sororities1 fraternities1 and private
 social clubs based solely on the       
single-sex status of the organization   
that the student belongs to will not    
solve these problems1 is                

counterproductive1 and violates an      
individual's constitutional right to    
freedom of association4  7b7 ,purposes  
,the purposes of this ,act are as       
follows3 7#a7 ,protect any student in a 
single-sex social organization or any   
single-sex social organization from any 
adverse action by an institution of     
higher education based solely on the    
membership practice of such organization
 of limiting membership to only         
individuals of one sex4  7#b7 ,ensure   
any student in a single-sex social      
organization or any single-sex social   
organization is treated equitably in    
comparison to students at an institution
 of higher education who do not         
participate in single-sex social        
organizations1 or other social          
organizations at an institution of      
higher education that are not           
single-sex4  7#c7 ,protect the rights of
 students to freely associate with and  
participate in social organizations1    
including single-sex social             

organizations4  #c4 ,freedom of         
association protections for students in 
social organizations ,part ,b of title  
,i of the ,higher ,education ,act of    
#aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajaa et seq47 is  
amended by adding at the end the        
following3  #abd4 ,freedom of           
association protections for students in 
social organizations  7a7 ,upholding    
freedom of association protections ,any 
student 7or group of students7 enrolled 
in an institution of higher education   
shall-- 7#a7 have a right to form or    
apply to join any social organization1  
including any single-sex social         
organization2 and  7#b7 if selected for 
membership by any social organization1  
have a right to join such social        
organization and participate in such    
social organization4  7b7               
,non-,retaliation against members of    
single-,sex social organizations ,an    
institution of higher education that    
receives funds under this ,act shall    
not-- 7#a7 take any action to require or

 coerce a student or social organization
 to waive the rights of the student or  
organization1 respectively1 under this  
section2  7#b7 take any adverse action  
against a student who is a member of a  
single-sex social organization1 or a    
single-sex social organization1 based   
solely on the membership practice of    
such organization of limiting membership
 to only individuals of one sex2 or     
7#c7 impose a recruitment restriction   
7including a recruitment restriction    
relating to the schedule for membership 
recruitment7 on a single-sex social     
organization recognized by the          
institution1 which is not imposed upon  
other student organizations by the      
institution1 unless the organization and
 the institution have entered into a    
mutually agreed-upon written agreement  
that allows the institution to impose   
such restriction4  7c7 ,rules of        
construction ,nothing in this section   
shall-- 7#a7 require an institution of  
higher education to officially          

recognize1 or enter into a mutually     
agreed-upon written agreement with1 a   
social organization 7such as a social   
organization whose purpose is           
incompatible with the religious or      
cultural mission of the institution of  
higher education72  7#b7 prohibit an    
institution of higher education from    
taking an adverse action1 which is not  
based solely on the membership practice 
of a social organization of limiting    
membership to only individuals of one   
sex1 against a student who joins such   
social organization or such social      
organization--  7,a7 whose purpose is   
incompatible with the religious or      
cultural mission of the institution of  
higher education2 or  7,b7 for another  
reason 7such as academic or nonacademic 
misconduct72  7#c7 subject to subsection
 7b77#c71 prevent a social organization 
from regulating its own membership2     
7#d7 inhibit the ability of the faculty 
of an institution of higher education to
 express an opinion 7either individually

 or collectively7 on a single-sex social
 organization1 or otherwise inhibit the 
academic freedom of such faculty to     
research1 write1 or publish material on 
such an organization2 or  7#e7 create   
enforceable rights against a social     
organization or against an institution  
of higher education due to the decision 
of such social organization to deny     
membership to an individual student4    
7d7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 
,adverse action ,the term adverse action
 includes the following with respect to 
a single-sex social organization or a   
member of such organization3  7,a7      
,expulsion1 suspension1 probation1      
censure1 condemnation1 reprimand1 or any
 other disciplinary1 coercive1 or       
sanction taken by an institution of     
higher education or administrative unit 
of such institution4  7,b7 ,an oral or  
written warning with respect to an      
action described in subparagraph 7,a7   
made by an official of an institution of
 higher education acting in the official

 capacity of the official4  7,c7 ,an    
action to deny participation in any     
education program or activity1 including
 the withholding of any rights1         
privileges1 or opportunities4  7,d7 ,an 
action to withhold1 in whole or in part1
 any financial assistance 7including    
scholarships and on campus employment71 
or denying the opportunity to apply for 
financial assistance1 a scholarship1 a  
graduate fellowship1 or on-campus       
employment4  7,e7 ,an action to deny or 
restrict access to on-campus housing4   
7,f7 ,an action to deny any             
certification1 endorsement1 or letter of
 recommendation that may be required by 
a student's current or future employer1 
a government agency1 a licensing board1 
an institution of higher education1 a   
scholarship program1 or a graduate      
fellowship to which the student seeks to
 apply4  7,g7 ,an action to deny        
participation in any sports team1 club1 
or other student organization1 including
 a denial of any leadership position in 

any sports team1 club1 or other student 
organization4  7,h7 ,an action to       
withdraw official recognition by an     
institution of higher education4  7,i7  
,an action to require any student to    
certify that such student is not a      
member of a single-sex social           
organization or to disclose the         
student's membership in a single-sex    
social organization4  7,j7 ,an action by
 an institution of higher education to  
interject its own criteria into the     
membership practices of the organization
 in any manner that conflicts with the  
rights of such organization under title 
,,ix of the ,education ,amendments of   
#aigb 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #afha et seq47 or  
this section4  7,k7 ,an action to impose
 any operational policy or restriction  
that is in violation of this section4   
7#b7 ,single-sex social organization    
,the term single-sex social organization
 means--  7,a7 a social fraternity or   
sorority that is an organization        
described in section #eja7;c7 of the    

,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf which 
is exempt from taxation under section   
#eja7;a7 of such ,code1 the active      
membership of which consists primarily  
of students in attendance at an         
institution of higher education2  7,b7  
the ,young ,men's ,christian            
,association1 ,young ,women's ,christian
 ,association1 ,girl ,scouts1 ,boy      
,scouts1 ,camp ,fire ,girls1 and        
voluntary youth service organizations   
which are so exempt1 the membership of  
which has traditionally been limited to 
persons of one sex and principally to   
persons of less than nineteen years of  
age2 or  7,c7 a single-sex private      
social club 7including an independent   
organization located off-campus7 that   
consists primarily of students or alumni
 of an institution of higher education4 
4