II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4115 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit graduate medical 

schools from receiving Federal financial assistance if such schools adopt 

certain policies and requirements relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 11 (legislative day, APRIL 10), 2024 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mr. SCHMITT) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit 

graduate medical schools from receiving Federal financial 

assistance if such schools adopt certain policies and requirements relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Embracing anti-Dis5 crimination, Unbiased Curricula, and Advancing Truth in 

6 Education Act’’ or the ‘‘EDUCATE Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR CER2 TAIN GRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOLS. 

3 Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

4 (20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 124. LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR 

7 CERTAIN GRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOLS. 

8 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of law, no graduate medical school at an institution 

10 of higher education shall be eligible to receive funds or 

11 any other form of financial assistance under any Federal 

12 program, including participation in any federally funded 

13 or guaranteed student loan program, unless the institution 

14 certifies to the Secretary that the institution does not, and 

15 will not, do any of the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) Direct, compel, or incentivize students, 

17 faculty, or staff of the medical school to personally 

18 state, pledge, recite, affirm, or otherwise adopt any 

19 of the following tenets: 

20 ‘‘(A) That any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, 

21 color, or national origin makes an individual a 

22 member of oppressed or oppressor categories. 

23 ‘‘(B) That individuals should be adversely 

24 treated on the basis of their sex, race, ethnicity, 

25 religion, color, or national origin. 


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1 ‘‘(C) That individuals, by virtue of sex, 

2 race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national ori3 gin, are inherently responsible for actions com4 mitted in the past by other members of the 

5 same sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or na6 tional origin. 

7 ‘‘(D) That the United States is system8 ically, structurally, or institutionally racist, or 

9 that racism is weaved into the ‘ordinary busi10 ness of society’, or that the United States is an 

11 oppressive nation. 

12 ‘‘(2) Take any action that would deprive or 

13 tend to deprive a medical student of educational op14 portunities or otherwise adversely affect their status 

15 as a student, on the basis of race, color, or ethnicity, 

16 including— 

17 ‘‘(A) making a distinction or classification 

18 of medical school students on the basis of race, 

19 color, or ethnicity; 

20 ‘‘(B) establishing a privilege or benefit for 

21 students solely on the basis of race, color, or 

22 ethnicity; 

23 ‘‘(C) providing a course of instruction for 

24 students solely on the basis of race, color, or 

25 ethnicity; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) otherwise distinguishing students by 

2 race, color, or ethnicity. 

3 ‘‘(3) Require a course of instruction or unit of 

4 study at the medical school directing or otherwise 

5 compelling students, faculty, or staff to personally 

6 state, pledge, recite, affirm, or otherwise adopt any 

7 of the tenets specified in paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(4) Establish, maintain, or contract with a di9 versity, equity, and inclusion office, or any other 

10 functional equivalent of such an office, to serve the 

11 medical school. 

12 ‘‘(5) Require or incentivize an individual to 

13 complete a diversity statement professing or adher14 ing to diversity, equity, and inclusion as a condition 

15 of, or benefit in, admission or employment at such 

16 school. 

17 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION OF19 FICE.—The term ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion of20 fice’ means any component of an institution of high21 er education, including any division, unit, or center 

22 of such an institution, that is responsible for compel23 ling individuals to state, pledge, recite, affirm, or 

24 otherwise adopt ideas that are in violation of title IV 

25 or title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 


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1 U.S.C. 2000c et seq.; 2000d et seq.), including the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(A) That individuals of any race, sex, eth4 nicity, color, or national origin are inherently 

5 members of an oppressed or oppressor category. 

6 ‘‘(B) That individuals should be adversely 

7 or advantageously treated on the basis of their 

8 race, sex, ethnicity, color, or national origin. 

9 ‘‘(C) That individuals, by virtue of race, 

10 sex, ethnicity, color, or national origin, bear col11 lective guilt and are inherently responsible for 

12 actions committed in the past or present by 

13 other members of the same race, ethnicity, 

14 color, or national origin. 

15 ‘‘(2) DIVERSITY STATEMENT.—The term ‘diver16 sity statement’ means any written or oral statement 

17 that— 

18 ‘‘(A) discusses the immutable characteris19 tics, including race, sex, color, ethnicity, or 

20 country of origin of any applicant for enroll21 ment, admission, employment, or advancement 

22 at an institution of higher education; 

23 ‘‘(B) affirms that individuals of any race, 

24 sex, ethnicity, color, or national origin are in25 herently superior or inferior; 


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1 ‘‘(C) affirms that individuals should be ad2 versely or advantageously treated on the basis 

3 of their race, sex, ethnicity, color, or national 

4 origin; or 

5 ‘‘(D) affirms that individuals, by virtue of 

6 race, sex, ethnicity, color, or national origin, 

7 bear collective guilt and are inherently respon8 sible for actions committed in the past by other 

9 members of the same race, ethnicity, color, or 

10 national origin. 

11 ‘‘(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

12 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

13 meaning given that term in section 102.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. CONFORMING REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCREDITING 

15 AGENCIES AND ASSOCIATIONS. 

16 Section 496(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

17 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

19 end; 

20 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 

21 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(9) if such agency or association has or seeks 

24 to include within its scope of recognition the evalua25 tion of the quality of institutions or programs offerVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Apr 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4115.IS S4115

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1 ing graduate medical education, such agency or as2 sociation shall, in addition to meeting the other re3 quirements of this subpart, demonstrate to the Sec4 retary that the agency or association does not re5 quire an institution or program to adopt any policies 

6 or other requirements in contravention of section 

7 124 as a condition of receiving accreditation from 

8 the agency or association.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

10 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

11 Act shall be construed— 

12 (1) to prohibit a graduate medical school at an 

13 institution of higher education from— 

14 (A) providing instruction about unique 

15 medical needs or conditions that may be related 

16 to an individual’s sex, race, or other character17 istics; or 

18 (B) collecting and maintaining demo19 graphic data on students solely for informa20 tional purposes; 

21 (2) in the case of an institution with a religious 

22 mission, to require or incentivize the institution to 

23 take any action that is contrary to the tenets of such 

24 religion; or 

25 (3) to restrict or prohibit— 


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1 (A) the exercise of First Amendment 

2 rights by anyone lawfully present on the 

3 grounds of an institution of higher education 

4 (as defined in section 102 of the Higher Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)); 

6 (B) academic instruction at such an insti7 tution, except to the extent required under 

8 paragraphs (2)(C) and (3) of section 124(a) of 

9 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as added by 

10 section 2); 

11 (C) research operations at such an institu12 tion; 

13 (D) the operations of student organizations 

14 at such an institution; 

15 (E) the invitation of lecturers and other 

16 guest speakers to such an institution; or 

17 (F) the ability of an institution to comply 

18 with Federal and State anti-discrimination 

19 laws. 

20 SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY. 

21 If any provision of this Act or an amendment made 

22 by this Act is held invalid, the remainder of this Act and 

23 the amendments made by this Act shall not be affected 

24 thereby. 

Æ 


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