HR 2516
· 119th Congress
· Education
Accreditation for College Excellence Act of 2025
Sponsor
Latest action
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 380.
Action timeline
Every recorded action on this bill, newest first. Stage badges color-code the legislative path.
Jan 13, 2026
committee
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and Workforce. H. Rept. 119-444.
Education and Workforce Committee
Jan 13, 2026
other
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 380.
Jun 25, 2025
committee
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Education and Workforce Committee
Jun 25, 2025
committee
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 21 - 15.
Education and Workforce Committee
Mar 31, 2025
introduced
Introduced in House
Mar 31, 2025
introduced
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Education and Workforce Committee
Text versions
Each stage of the bill — official text published by GPO. Click any format to read on congress.gov / govinfo.
Changelog
ⓘ
How a bill moves through Congress. Each stage produces a new official text. The diff between them shows what changed at that step.
ih / is — Introduced in House / Senate. First filed version.rfh / rfs — Referred to a committee for review.rh / rs — Reported back by the committee to the floor (often with amendments — this is where most language changes happen).pcs / pch — Placed on Calendar for floor consideration.eh / es — Engrossed. Passed by the originating chamber. Text is now what was actually voted on.rdh / rds — Received by the other chamber.eah / eas — Engrossed Amendment. The other chamber passed an amended version.ath / ats — Agreed to. Both chambers settled on the same text.enr — Enrolled. Final reconciled text, sent to the President.pl — Public Law. Signed by the President. It's now law.pp — Public Print. Official printing post-enactment.
Most bills die before eh/es. Going from pcs → enr is the full path through both chambers.
ⓘ
How a bill moves through Congress. Each stage produces a new official text. The diff between them shows what changed at that step.
ih/is— Introduced in House / Senate. First filed version.rfh/rfs— Referred to a committee for review.rh/rs— Reported back by the committee to the floor (often with amendments — this is where most language changes happen).pcs/pch— Placed on Calendar for floor consideration.eh/es— Engrossed. Passed by the originating chamber. Text is now what was actually voted on.rdh/rds— Received by the other chamber.eah/eas— Engrossed Amendment. The other chamber passed an amended version.ath/ats— Agreed to. Both chambers settled on the same text.enr— Enrolled. Final reconciled text, sent to the President.pl— Public Law. Signed by the President. It's now law.pp— Public Print. Official printing post-enactment.
Most bills die before eh/es. Going from pcs → enr is the full path through both chambers.
Line-level diff between text versions of this bill — what actually changed at each legislative stage.
+63
−17
34 unchanged
--- Introduced (House)
+++ Reported (House)
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
-[H.R. 2516 Introduced in House (IH)]
+[H.R. 2516 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
+Union Calendar No. 380
119th CONGRESS
-1st Session
+2d Session
H. R. 2516
+
+[Report No. 119-444]
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit political litmus
tests in accreditation of institutions of higher education, and for
@@ -22,6 +25,19 @@
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and Workforce
+January 13, 2026
+
+Additional sponsors: Mr. Finstad, Mr. Steube, Mr. Fine, and Mr. Guthrie
+
+January 13, 2026
+
+Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
+House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
+[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
+in italic]
+[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March
+31, 2025]
+
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
@@ -35,15 +51,15 @@
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
-This title may be cited as the ``Accreditation for College
-Excellence Act of 2025''.
+This Act may be cited as the ``Accreditation for College Excellence
+Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON POLITICAL LITMUS TESTS IN ACCREDITATION OF
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
(a) Operating Procedures Required.--Section 496(c) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)) is amended--
-(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (8);
+(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
@@ -98,19 +114,49 @@
``(C) require, encourage, or coerce an institution
of higher education to violate any right protected by
the Constitution.''.
-(b) Limitation on Scope of Criteria.--Section 496(g) of the Higher
-Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(g)) is amended to read as
-follows:
+(b) Limitation on Scope of Criteria.--Section 496 of the Higher
+Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is further amended by amending
+subsection (g) to read as follows:
``(g) Limitation on Scope of Criteria.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall not establish
criteria for accrediting agencies or associations that are not
required by this section.
-``(2) Institutional eligibility.--An institution of higher
-education shall be eligible for participation in programs under
-this title if the institution is in compliance with the
-standards of its accrediting agency or association that assess
-the institution in accordance with subsection (a)(5),
-regardless of any additional standards adopted by the agency or
-association for purposes unrelated to participation in programs
-under this title.''.
-<all>
+``(2) Institutional eligibility.--An institution that is in
+compliance with the standards of its accrediting agency or
+association that assess the institution in accordance with
+subsection (a)(5) shall meet the accreditation requirements for
+certification as an institution of higher education under
+section 102 and subpart 3 of this part, regardless of any
+additional standards adopted by the agency or association for
+purposes unrelated to participation in programs under this
+Act.''.
+
+SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
+
+Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be
+construed to prevent religious accreditors from holding and enforcing
+religious standards on institutions they choose to accredit.
+Union Calendar No. 380
+
+119th CONGRESS
+
+2d Session
+
+H. R. 2516
+
+[Report No. 119-444]
+
+_______________________________________________________________________
+
+A BILL
+
+To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit political litmus
+tests in accreditation of institutions of higher education, and for
+other purposes.
+
+_______________________________________________________________________
+
+January 13, 2026
+
+Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
+House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
Lobbying activity
Organizations whose LDA filings reference this bill, ranked by filing count. Position not disclosed — LDA does not require lobbyists to report support / oppose / monitor. Bill-number references can be stale (lobbyists sometimes copy text year-over-year), so verify against the filing description.
via Senate LDA · self-reported quarterly. Filing count = filings mentioning this bill (no position required), not money spent on it. Click a client to see all bills they've filed on.
Cosponsors (12)
Members who signed on to support this bill.