Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is pushing new legislation to block accreditors from imposing diversity quotas on colleges, framing the measure as a defense of free speech, academic freedom, and President Donald Trump’s executive order on higher education, Breitbart reported.
The House Republican Conference chair introduced the “Fairness in Higher Education Accreditation Act” on Wednesday, a bill designed to prevent accrediting bodies from pressuring colleges to adopt race- or sex-based quotas. Instead, it would require accreditors to prioritize institutions’ commitments to free expression and academic independence.
The proposal mirrors legislation introduced in May by Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and would codify Trump’s April executive order titled “Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education.” That order criticized accrediting agencies for embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion standards into their requirements, arguing that such practices were discriminatory.
Key provisions of Stefanik’s measure would bar accrediting agencies from demanding identity-based quotas for students or staff, compel them to respect First Amendment rights, and allow institutions to take legal action against accreditors that violate the standards.
Supporters say the legislation would protect colleges, including faith-based institutions, from losing accreditation if they refuse to comply with mandates conflicting with their values.
“Accreditors should not have the tools to coerce colleges into using racial or sex-based quotas as a condition of accreditation. Academic quality should be based on merit and not woke accreditation elites who have a Far Left ideology at odds with freedom of thought,” Stefanik told Breitbart News in a statement.
Rep. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., a cosponsor, called the measure a chance to restore higher education. “In the golden age of common sense, the Fairness in Higher Education Accreditation Act presents a prime opportunity to correct the path of our higher education institutions, which have lost their way in recent years,” he said.
McDowell argued that returning universities to a merit-based model would benefit the nation. “When we commit our universities to excellence over DEI, our country is better for it,” he said. “I’m proud to stand with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and Sen. Jim Banks in our country’s efforts to rid our universities of wokeness.”
Trump’s executive order singled out the American Bar Association’s accrediting arm and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education as examples of agencies requiring schools to demonstrate diversity commitments. The president denounced such requirements as “unlawfully discriminatory practices” that elevate ideology over merit.
Republicans backing the legislation say it reflects a broader effort to ensure higher education maintains intellectual diversity and constitutional protections rather than adopting political mandates. With both House and Senate versions in play, the push to enshrine Trump’s policy into law signals the GOP’s intent to reshape the role of accreditors in American higher education.
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