Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2026
Latest action · Aug 27, 2026 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 682.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 1, 2025
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
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.
Cosponsors 43
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 17, 2025 to Aug 10, 2026.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-SD | Dusty Johnson | Apr 17, 2025 | |
| R-OH | Mike Carey | Apr 17, 2025 | |
| R-KS | Tracey Mann | Apr 17, 2025 | |
| R-WI | Glenn Grothman | Apr 30, 2025 | |
| R-AZ | Abraham J. Hamadeh | May 19, 2025 | |
| R-SC | Russell Fry | Jul 22, 2025 | |
| R-IA | Ashley Hinson | Aug 26, 2025 | |
| R-UT | Blake D. Moore | Oct 24, 2025 | |
| D-VA | James R. Walkinshaw | Dec 11, 2025 | |
| R-AL | Mike Rogers | Jan 12, 2026 | |
| R-NC | Richard Hudson | Feb 11, 2026 | |
| R-TX | Beth Van Duyne | Mar 27, 2026 | |
| R-NY | Claudia Tenney | Apr 15, 2026 | |
| R-TN | Tim Burchett | Apr 15, 2026 | |
| R-NC | Virginia Foxx | Apr 15, 2026 | |
| R-OH | David J. Taylor | Apr 16, 2026 | |
| R-NY | Elise M. Stefanik | Apr 16, 2026 | |
| R-VA | Jennifer A. Kiggans | Apr 16, 2026 | |
| D-NJ | Josh Gottheimer | Apr 20, 2026 | |
| R-SC | Ralph Norman | Apr 20, 2026 | |
| R-TX | Roger Williams | Apr 20, 2026 | |
| D-AZ | Adelita S. Grijalva | Apr 21, 2026 | |
| R-IN | Jefferson Shreve | Apr 21, 2026 | |
| R-GA | Austin Scott | Apr 23, 2026 | |
| R-NY | Nick LaLota | Apr 27, 2026 | |
| R-FL | W. Gregory Steube | Apr 27, 2026 | |
| D-KS | Sharice Davids | Apr 28, 2026 | |
| D-NC | Alma S. Adams | Apr 29, 2026 | |
| R-WI | Derrick Van Orden | Apr 29, 2026 | |
| R-TX | Pete Sessions | Apr 29, 2026 | |
| R-FL | Randy Fine | Apr 29, 2026 | |
| D-GA | Lucy McBath | Apr 30, 2026 | |
| D-MD | April McClain Delaney | May 11, 2026 | |
| D-FL | Frederica S. Wilson | May 11, 2026 | |
| R-NC | Mark Harris | May 14, 2026 | |
| R-OK | Stephanie I. Bice | May 14, 2026 | |
| R-WA | Dan Newhouse | May 15, 2026 | |
| R-TN | John W. Rose | May 19, 2026 | |
| R-MS | Michael Guest | Jun 4, 2026 | |
| R-KS | Derek Schmidt | Jun 8, 2026 | |
| R-PA | Glenn Thompson | Jun 10, 2026 | |
| R-VA | Robert J. Wittman | Jun 10, 2026 | |
| R-AR | J. French Hill | Aug 10, 2026 |
Withdrew 3 Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. D-GA Apr 20, 2026·Robert Garcia D-CA Jun 25, 2026·Greg Landsman D-OH Jun 30, 2026
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Apr 1, 2025Markup Jun 25, 2026Reported Aug 27, 2026 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 27, 2026Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and Workforce. H. Rept. 119-781.
- Aug 27, 2026Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 682.
- Jun 25, 2026Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Jun 25, 2026Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 18 - 15.
- Apr 1, 2025Introduced in House
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Sep 30, 2026H.R. 2555, Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2026As reported by the House Committee on Education and Workforce on August 27, 2026
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 58, April 1, 2025, page H1405.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1225 | Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2025 | Identical bill | Apr 1, 2025 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for certain freedom of association protections, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2025
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2026
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Aug 27, 2026Reported in House
- Apr 1, 2025Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
