,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #eaaf ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #bc1 #bjbf,mr4 ,young 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,south ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,warnock1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 and ,mr4 ,kim7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife to require the standards for accreditation of an institution of higher education to assess the institution's adoption of admissions practices that refrain from preferential treatment in admissions based on an applicant's relationship to alumni of1 or donors to1 the institution1 to authorize a feasibility study on data collection1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,merit-based ,educational ,reforms and ,institutional ,transparency ,act or the ,,merit ,act4 #b4 ,assessment of admissions practices 7a7 ,in general 7#a7 ,standards for accreditation ,section #dif7;a77#e7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajii;b7a77#e77 is amended-- 7,a7 by redesignating subparagraphs 7,g71 7,h71 7,i71 and 7,j71 as subparagraphs 7,h71 7,i71 7,j71 and 7,k71 respectively2 7,b7 by inserting after subparagraph 7,f7 the following3 7,g7 adoption of admissions practices that refrain from any manner of preferential treatment in the admission process to applicants on the basis of the applicant's relationship to-- 7i7 alumni of the institution2 or 7ii7 donors to the institution2 2 7,c7 in subparagraph 7,h71 as redesignated under subparagraph 7,a71 by striking and admissions2 and 7,d7 in the flush matter at the end1 by striking subparagraphs 7,a71 7,h71 and 7,j7 and inserting subparagraphs 7,a71 7,i71 and 7,k74 7#b7 ,preferential treatment definition ,section #dif of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajii;b7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7r7 ,preferential treatment ,for the purpose of subsection 7a77#e77;,g71 the term preferential treatment means making an admissions decision or awarding tangible education benefits where an applicant's relationship with an alumni of1 or donor to1 the deciding institution serves as the determinative factor4 4 7b7 ,rule of construction ,section #dif7p7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajii;b7p77 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 as subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b71 respectively1 and moving the margins of such subparagraphs 7as so redesignated7 #b ems to the right2 7#b7 by striking ,nothing in subsection 7a77#e7 shall be construed to restrict the ability of and inserting the following3 7#a7 ,in general ,nothing in subsection 7a77#e7 shall be construed to restrict the ability of 2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end of the following3 7#b7 ,demonstrated interest ,nothing in subparagraph 7,g7 of subsection 7a77#e7 shall be construed to prevent institutions from considering the demonstrated interest of an applicant as a factor in admissions decisions if-- 7,a7 the criteria for assessing demonstrated interest are clearly defined and made publicly available2 7,b7 the applicant is provided the opportunity to explain why they have a demonstrated interest in the institution1 which may be informed by lived experiences1 values1 attributes1 and faith2 and 7,c7 the opportunities to demonstrate interest are equally accessible to all applicants1 regardless of their financial resources1 alumni affiliation1 or donor affiliation4 7#c7 ,faith-based institutions ,nothing in subparagraph 7,g7 of subsection 7a77#e7 shall be construed to inhibit the right of a religious institution to make admissions decisions consistent with the institution's faith-based values4 4 7c7 ,report 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of completion of the negotiated rulemaking process under section #dib of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajih;a7 with respect to the amendments made by this section1 and biennially thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,education shall submit to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,education and ,workforce of the ,house of ,representatives a report that identifies the efforts taken to ensure compliance with the requirements of this section and the amendments made by this section1 including-- 7,a7 any technical assistance the ,secretary has provided2 7,b7 any regulatory guidance the ,secretary has issued2 and 7,c7 any compliance monitoring the ,secretary has conducted4 7#b7 ,public availability ,each report described under paragraph 7#a7 shall be made available to the public4 #c4 ,feasibility study to improve data collection 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,education shall explore the feasibility of working with the ,national ,student ,clearinghouse to establish a third-party method to collect and produce institution-level analysis of data on the impact of an admissions decision based on an applicant's relationship with an alumni of1 or donor to1 the deciding institution1 and how such data reported to the ,national ,student ,clearinghouse could be secured1 while considering the following3 7#a7 ,whether data reported to the ,national ,student ,clearinghouse can accurately capture the impact and prevalence of admitting students with alumni or donor affiliations at various institutions4 7#b7 ,whether institutions have clear and defined policies regarding admitting students with alumni or donor affiliations that can be transparently reported to the ,national ,student ,clearinghouse4 7#c7 ,whether this new data stream can be integrated with reporting to the ,integrated ,postsecondary ,education ,data ,system 7,,ipeds7 while ensuring that the quality of data remains consistent or improves compared to the data provided through ,,ipeds4 7#d7 ,whether reporting this new data might alter the current interaction between institutions and the ,national ,student ,clearinghouse4 7#e7 ,whether reporting such data can maintain confidentiality1 especially regarding private donations and donor identities1 while still producing accurate measures of institutional practices4 7#f7 ,whether the ,national ,student ,clearinghouse can satisfy data reporting requirements without transferring any disaggregated data that would be personally identifiable to the ,department of ,education4 7#g7 ,whether the data can be reported in such a way that it separates students with familial ties to alumni from those admitted due to direct donor affiliations4 7#h7 ,whether there's a distinction in admissions criteria for legacy and donor-affiliated applicants compared to traditional applicants4 7b7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the development of a nationwide database of personally identifiable information on individuals involved in studies or other collections of data under this ,act or an amendment made by this ,act4