U.S. House of Representatives passes “anti-woke” bill aimed at diversity and equity
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a Republican measure that would ban accrediting organizations from requiring colleges and universities to adopt diversity, equity and inclusion policies as a condition of accreditation, although the measure’s fate appears slim.
this Ending Woke Higher Education Act ——Succeeded 213-201 — mark one of them Some so-called anti-woke initiatives Republican lawmakers’ information bill will be introduced in the House of Representatives this week.
The higher education measure has faced strong opposition from the Biden administration and major college and university associations. Government shutdown deadline looms and the intensity of the 2024 campaign.
Incorporated into the legislation are two bills introduced by Republican members of the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee – the College Excellence Accreditation Act and the Respect the First Amendment on Campus Act.
Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, introduced College Excellence Accreditation Act In May 2023, New York State Representative Brandon Williams introduced Respect the First Amendment to Campus Laws March.
“House Republicans passed the Ending Woke Higher Education Act to preserve academic freedom, defend students’ constitutional rights, and ensure that colleges and universities are not forced to succumb to radicalization,” Owens said in a statement to The State Newsroom. The political agenda of accrediting agencies as a condition of federal funding.
“The Biden-Harris administration has infused its far-left ideology — diversity, equity, inclusion and critical race theory — into every aspect of American life, including our higher education system,” the Utah Republican said.
The Owens Act states that accreditation standards may not require, encourage, or compel an institution to support or oppose “a particular partisan, political, or ideological view or belief” or “a set of views or beliefs concerning social, cultural, or political issues” or support a “concern for Treat any individual or group differently.
Williams’ Respect the First Amendment on Campus, meanwhile, forces schools to disclose their free speech policies to students and faculty as a condition of receiving Title IV funding.
Title IV of the Higher Education Act 1965 includes Federal Student Financial Aid Programs.
But the legislation is unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate.
The Biden administration also strongly opposes the move, saying in a statement statement This week, the legislation will “micromanage public and private institutions, undermining their ability to recognize and promote diversity.”
The legislation “will go beyond Congress’s traditional role in higher education and introduce a confusing and unprecedented set of new mandates,” the administration added.
Rep. Bobby Scott, the ranking member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, called the measure a “baseless attempt to inject the culture wars into a vital certification process” during Thursday’s debate.
The Virginia Democrat said the legislation “seeks to circumvent the First Amendment and create an entirely new scheme to regulate speech and association rights on campus outside of established precedent and practice.”
The Republican measure also drew the ire of major college and university associations, which individually and collectively opposed the legislation.
In a joint letter this week to Louisiana House Speaker Mike Johnson and New York House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Six major associations The committee, led by the American Council on Education, targeted Williams’ portion of the legislation, saying it “would undermine efforts to protect free speech on campuses and provide a safe learning environment free from discrimination.”
