The "Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2026" aims to protect students and single-sex social organizations from adverse actions by institutions of higher education based on membership practices. The bill grants students in single-sex social organizations the right to form, join, and lead such organizations, regardless of institutional recognition. It prohibits institutions from coercing students to waive these protections and from imposing adverse actions based on membership practices. The bill also outlines rules of construction and provides definitions for terms such as adverse action, single-sex social organizations, and sex. Overall, it aims to safeguard the freedom of association for students in single-sex social organizations within higher education institutions.
Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2025
This bill establishes freedom of association protections for college students in single-sex social organizations.
Specifically, the bill gives students (or groups of students) enrolled at institutions of higher education (IHEs) the right to form or join social organizations, including single-sex social organizations.
Additionally, the bill prohibits IHEs that participate in federal student aid programs from
- taking adverse actions against single-sex social organizations or students who are members or prospective members of such organizations based solely on the practice of limiting membership to only individuals of one sex;
- taking actions that require or coerce members or prospective members of such organizations to waive protections provided under the bill, including as a condition of enrolling in the IHE; or
- imposing a recruitment restriction on a single-sex social organization that is not imposed upon other student organizations, unless the organization and IHE have entered into a written agreement allowing the restriction.