The Democratic-controlled Senate has no plans to consider the Higher Education Repeal Act, which the House recently passed with moderate bipartisan support, but observers believe it will pass some form of higher education reform. He is optimistic that the effort will ultimately be successful. session.
The End Wake Higher Education Act was approved by the House of Representatives in September by a vote of 213-201. Four Democrats joined Republicans in voting in favor of the bill.
However, higher education expert Adam Kissel told College Fix that he predicts, “As long as Sen. Schumer is running the Senate, this bill will not pass the Senate.”
But he added, “There are a lot of Democrats who support free speech, and it’s not at all far-fetched to think that this bill could be introduced next time if it has enough Democratic support to pass in both chambers.” Ta.
“Things may look different for everyone in both the executive and legislative branches after November,” said Kissel, a visiting fellow for higher education reform at the Heritage Foundation. We’ll see if we can’t do it.” Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education.
Congressman Burgess Owens, chairman of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, said this bill is desperately needed and that’s why he spearheaded the House passage.・Told Fix.
“When accreditors force universities to implement DEI programs, they narrow the scope of permissible speech, research, and debate to the arbitrary views of the far left,” he said in an emailed statement. “This has created an environment where both faculty and students fear upsetting them with statements that could hurt the opinions of the DEI crowd. To refocus academic excellence, I led the House passage of the End Wake Higher Education Act.”
The bill, a combination of bills, has won praise from both the right-wing Heritage Foundation and the classically liberal Heterodox Academy for its efforts to protect universities, faculty, students, protesters, and student organizations from a wide range of crimes. I am receiving it. A political litmus test.
The first part of the bill, the Distinguished College Recognition Act of 2024, seeks to establish “.[p]Banning political litmus tests in the accreditation of higher education institutions. ”
The second part, the Respect for the First Amendment on Campus Act, prohibits political litmus tests in college admissions and some job processes.
It also requires recipients of Title IV funds, such as Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, to disclose their freedom of expression and freedom of association policies to ensure that protesters and student organizations are treated fairly, regardless of ideology. It is a non-binding appeal to non-denominational people. Institutions should adopt principles that emphasize a “commitment to freedom of speech and expression.”
“Advancing this policy would be a modest first step toward accreditation reform,” Kissel said. “For years, higher education observers have seen abuses of power by institutional accreditors.”
“This bill advances a policy we have advocated to prevent accrediting agencies from imposing DEI requirements on institutions as a condition of certification by the Department of Education for federal student aid purposes,” he said. ”.
“The beauty of this bill in terms of freedom of speech is that it strikes a precise balance between full freedom of speech and actions that go beyond the scope of freedom of expression,” Kissel added. .
However, despite the positive changes in higher education that the bill seeks to enact, the expert consensus is that the bill will likely die in the Senate at the end of this session.
“The Democratic-controlled House and Senate leadership has no intention of introducing a bill called the ‘End Woke Higher Education Act,'” Kissel said.
Heterodox Academy’s Joe Cohn agreed, saying in a webinar, “Whether or not you agree with the content of the bill, the title ‘End Wake Higher Education Act’ itself is a political statement.” He said that it has become difficult for the Democratic Party to support it.
“As a Democrat, it’s hard to add your name to the branding and framing of issues,” he said.
But beyond branding and framing, Kissel said, “Whatever the name…the left has a disregard for free speech today.”
As an example, Kissel noted that John Kerry recently made headlines for criticizing the First Amendment as an impediment to regulating disinformation.
Without having to speculate about the motives of individual senators, Cohn said in a Heterodox Academy webinar that Democrats believe the First Amendment already provides the kind of protections this bill provides. He noted that there may be some Democrats who say free speech in higher education is under attack. is greatly exaggerated.
He added that party politics could simply occur in an election year.
But neither Mr. Kissel nor Mr. Cohn believe the reforms sought by the bill are completely lost.
Kissel said that given that the bill is a consolidation of various bills proposed by different members of Congress, certain parts of the bill could change depending on who is still in power and which bills they support. He pointed out that they may be resubmitted separately.
Additionally, Cohn said the bill is not perfect. In a September article, he discussed how he and the Heterodox Academy believe it can provide additional protections for academic freedom, as well as the academy’s proposed enforcement mechanisms, which link eligibility and compliance with Title IV funds. ) could become overly aggressive given consistent non-compliance. Some institutions may be destroyed, leaving many students without financial aid.
Cohn argued that with additional time, some of these perceived problems could be remedied.
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