II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3396 

To establish the Office of the Special Inspector General for Unlawful 

Discrimination in Higher Education within the Department of Education. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 5, 2023 

Mr. VANCE (for himself, Mr. BUDD, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. SCHMITT, Mr. RUBIO, 

and Mr. HAWLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish the Office of the Special Inspector General 

for Unlawful Discrimination in Higher Education within 

the Department of Education. 

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 ‘‘College Admissions Ac5 countability Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) 21st century elite college admissions func9 tions as the Nation’s sorting machine for prestige 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 3396 IS

1 and opportunity, allocating a limited number of valu2 able credentials. 

3 (2) For decades American colleges and univer4 sities adopted admissions and policies practices that 

5 rendered special preferences to applicants on the 

6 basis of race. 

7 (3) In Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. 

8 President and Fellows of Harvard College, 143 S. 

9 Ct. 2141 (2023), the Supreme Court of the United 

10 States found race-based admissions policies to be in 

11 violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th 

12 Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 

13 and title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

14 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). The Court further held that 

15 ‘‘universities may not simply establish through appli16 cation essays or other means the regime we hold un17 lawful today’’. 

18 (4) Following the Court’s ruling, several Amer19 ican colleges and universities issued statements or 

20 unveiled new policies at odds with its letter and spir21 it. 

22 (5) Institutions of higher education, including 

23 their offices of admission, must comply with the 

24 Constitution and laws of the United States, as inter25 preted by the judiciary. 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 3396 IS

1 (6) It is the duty of the United States Govern2 ment to protect the civil rights of its citizens and to 

3 enforce the Constitution and laws of the United 

4 States, as interpreted by the judiciary. 

5 SEC. 3. SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR UNLAWFUL 

6 DISCRIMINATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Department of 

8 Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3411 et seq.) is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 221. SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR UNLAWFUL 

11 DISCRIMINATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION. 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON14 GRESS.—The term ‘appropriate committees of Con15 gress’ means— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Health, Education, 

17 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

18 ‘‘(B) the Subcommittee on Labor, Health 

19 and Human Services, Education, and Related 

20 Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of 

21 the Senate; 

22 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Education and the 

23 Workforce of the House of Representatives; and 

24 ‘‘(D) the Subcommittee on Labor, Health 

25 and Human Services, Education of the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Dec 15, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3396.IS S3396

SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 3396 IS

1 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Rep2 resentatives. 

3 ‘‘(2) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘cov4 ered individual’ means any individual who— 

5 ‘‘(A) files an application for admission as 

6 a student at a covered institution; or 

7 ‘‘(B) is enrolled as a student at a covered 

8 institution. 

9 ‘‘(3) COVERED INSTITUTION.—The term ‘cov10 ered institution’ means an institution of higher edu11 cation that receives funds from Federal student as12 sistance or Federal institutional aid under the High13 er Education Act of 1965. 

14 ‘‘(b) OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—There is 

15 hereby established within the Department the Office of the 

16 Special Inspector General for Unlawful Discrimination in 

17 Higher Education. 

18 ‘‘(c) APPOINTMENT OF INSPECTOR GENERAL; RE19 MOVAL; BASIC PAY.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of the Office of 

21 the Special Inspector General for Unlawful Discrimi22 nation in Higher Education shall be the Special In23 spector General for Unlawful Discrimination in 

24 Higher Education (referred to in this section as the 

25 ‘Special Inspector General’), who shall be appointed 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 3396 IS

1 by the President, by and with the advice and consent 

2 of the Senate. 

3 ‘‘(2) NOMINATION.—The nomination of the 

4 Special Inspector General shall be made on the basis 

5 of integrity and demonstrated familiarity with higher 

6 education and admissions, in addition to expertise in 

7 auditing, civil rights, law, academic administration, 

8 education regulation, or investigations. 

9 ‘‘(3) REMOVAL.—The Special Inspector General 

10 shall be removable from office in accordance with 

11 the provisions of section 403(b) of title 5, United 

12 States Code. 

13 ‘‘(4) BASIC PAY.—The annual rate of basic pay 

14 of the Special Inspector General shall be the annual 

15 rate of basic pay for an Inspector General under sec16 tion 403(e) of title 5, United States Code. 

17 ‘‘(d) DUTIES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the duty of the 

19 Special Inspector General to, in accordance with sec20 tion 404(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code— 

21 ‘‘(A) receive, review, and investigate allega22 tions from covered individuals or employees of 

23 covered institutions of admissions decisions, 

24 policies, or practices, or financial aid determinaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Dec 15, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3396.IS S3396

SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 3396 IS

1 tions or academic programs, that are in viola2 tion of— 

3 ‘‘(i) the Equal Protection Clause of 

4 the 14th Amendment to the Constitution 

5 of the United States, pursuant to the hold6 ing in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. 

7 v. President and Fellows of Harvard Col8 lege, 143 S. Ct. 2141 (2023) (referred to 

9 in this subsection as the ‘Equal Protection 

10 Clause)’; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

12 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) (referred 

13 to in this subsection as ‘title VI’); 

14 ‘‘(B) review any Federal policies and pro15 grams that have the effect of incentivizing cov16 ered institutions to violate the Equal Protection 

17 Clause or title VI; and 

18 ‘‘(C) make recommendations to the appli19 cable covered institution, the Secretary, the At20 torney General of the United States, and the 

21 appropriate committees of Congress regard22 ing— 

23 ‘‘(i) measures that the covered institu24 tion should take to remedy any violation 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 3396 IS

1 described in subparagraph (A) through re2 medial or corrective action; 

3 ‘‘(ii) any employee of the covered in4 stitution that the Special Inspector Gen5 eral determines, after a review or inves6 tigation described in subparagraph (A), 

7 should face disciplinary action (including 

8 removal) as a result of a violation de9 scribed in such subparagraph; 

10 ‘‘(iii) eligibility of the covered institu11 tion to receive funds from Federal student 

12 assistance or Federal institutional aid; 

13 ‘‘(iv) further investigation into the 

14 covered institution’s compliance with the 

15 Constitution of the United States, title VI, 

16 and other laws of the United States; and 

17 ‘‘(v) reforms to any Federal policies 

18 and programs that have the effect of 

19 incentivizing covered institutions to violate 

20 the Equal Protection Clause or title VI. 

21 ‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE OF SYSTEMS.—The Special 

22 Inspector General shall establish, maintain, and 

23 oversee such systems, procedures, and controls as 

24 the Special Inspector General considers appropriate 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 3396 IS

1 to discharge the duties of the Special Inspector Gen2 eral under paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBIL4 ITIES.—In addition to the duties described in para5 graphs (1) and (2), the Special Inspector General 

6 shall also have the duties and responsibilities of in7 spectors general under chapter 4 of title 5, United 

8 States Code. 

9 ‘‘(4) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 

10 The Special Inspector General shall maintain the 

11 confidentiality of the identity of any person submit12 ting information to the Special Inspector General for 

13 the purposes of carrying out the duties of the Spe14 cial Inspector General under this section, including 

15 in any report submitted under subsection (g). 

16 ‘‘(e) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the duties 

18 of the Special Inspector General under subsection 

19 (d), the Special Inspector General shall have the au20 thorities provided in section 406 of title 5, United 

21 States Code. 

22 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF OFFICE.—The Office of 

23 the Special Inspector General shall be considered to 

24 be an office described in section 406(f)(3) of title 5, 

25 United States Code. 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 3396 IS

1 ‘‘(f) PERSONNEL, FACILITIES, AND OTHER RE2 SOURCES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS AND EMPLOY4 EES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Special Inspector 

6 General may select, appoint, and employ such 

7 officers and employees as may be necessary for 

8 carrying out the duties of the Special Inspector 

9 General. 

10 ‘‘(B) STATUS.—The positions to which of11 ficers and employees are appointed under sub12 paragraph (A) shall be positions in schedule C 

13 of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of 

14 Federal Regulations, or any successor regula15 tions. 

16 ‘‘(2) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Spe17 cial Inspector General may obtain services as au18 thorized under section 3109 of title 5, United States 

19 Code, at daily rates not to exceed the equivalent rate 

20 prescribed for grade GS–15 of the General Schedule 

21 by section 5332 of that title. 

22 ‘‘(3) CONTRACTS.—The Special Inspector Gen23 eral may enter into contracts and other arrange24 ments for audits, studies, analyses, and other serv25 ices with public agencies and with private persons, 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 3396 IS

1 and make such payments as may be necessary to 

2 carry out the duties of the Special Inspector Gen3 eral. 

4 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) QUARTERLY REPORTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

7 days after the date on which the Special Inspec8 tor General is confirmed, and once every cal9 endar quarter thereafter, the Special Inspector 

10 General shall submit to the appropriate commit11 tees of Congress a report summarizing the ac12 tivities of the Special Inspector General during 

13 the 3-month period ending on the date on which 

14 the Special Inspector General submits the re15 port. 

16 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted 

17 under subparagraph (A) shall include, for the 

18 period covered by the report, the following: 

19 ‘‘(i) A general description of the alle20 gations received and reviewed by the Spe21 cial Inspector General under subsection 

22 (d)(1)(A). 

23 ‘‘(ii) Recommendations of the Special 

24 Inspector General regarding reforms that 

25 the Special Inspector General believes 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 3396 IS

1 should be undertaken with respect to the 

2 authority of the Special Inspector General 

3 and matters within the authority of the 

4 Special Inspector General to review and in5 vestigate, including the authority described 

6 in subsection (d)(1)(B). 

7 ‘‘(iii) For a covered institution with 

8 respect to which an allegation submitted 

9 under this section applies, the steps that 

10 the covered institution has taken, and has 

11 yet to take, to remedy the issues outlined 

12 in the allegation. 

13 ‘‘(iv) Data regarding the number of 

14 allegations received and reviewed by the 

15 Special Inspector General under this sec16 tion that document any legitimate viola17 tion, as determined by the Special Inspec18 tor General, which shall— 

19 ‘‘(I) be disaggregated by the 

20 number of violations committed by 

21 each covered institution; and 

22 ‘‘(II) contain a separate provision 

23 listing the number of those acts that 

24 relate to racial bias, which shall be 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 3396 IS

1 disaggregated as described in sub2 clause (I). 

3 ‘‘(v) Commentary by the Special In4 spector General regarding the level of co5 operation by each covered institution with 

6 respect to reviews and investigations per7 formed by the Special Inspector General, 

8 including, with respect to each covered in9 stitution, whether the covered institution 

10 has implemented recommendations made 

11 by the Special Inspector General and 

12 whether the covered institution has pro13 vided information or access requested by 

14 the Special Inspector General. 

15 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

16 this subsection may be construed to authorize the 

17 public disclosure of information that is— 

18 ‘‘(A) specifically prohibited from disclosure 

19 by any other provision of law; 

20 ‘‘(B) specifically required by Executive 

21 order to be protected from disclosure in the in22 terest of national defense or national security or 

23 in the conduct of foreign affairs; or 

24 ‘‘(C) a part of an ongoing criminal inves25 tigation. 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 3396 IS

1 ‘‘(h) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro2 priated $25,000,000 to carry out this section, which shall 

3 remain available until expended. 

4 ‘‘(i) COUNCIL OF THE INSPECTORS GENERAL ON IN5 TEGRITY AND EFFICIENCY.—The Special Inspector Gen6 eral shall be a member of the Council of the Inspectors 

7 General on Integrity and Efficiency established under sec8 tion 424 of title 5, United States Code. 

9 ‘‘(j) CORRECTIVE RESPONSES TO AUDIT PROB10 LEMS.—A covered institution shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) take action to address deficiencies identi12 fied by a report or investigation of the Special In13 spector General; or 

14 ‘‘(2) with respect to a deficiency identified 

15 under paragraph (1), certify to the Special Inspector 

16 General and the appropriate committees of Congress 

17 that no action is necessary or appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(k) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec19 tion may be construed as limiting the authority of the In20 spector General of the Department. 

21 ‘‘(l) SUNSET.—The Office of the Special Inspector 

22 General for Unlawful Discrimination in Higher Education, 

23 established under this section, shall terminate on the date 

24 that is 12 years after the date of enactment of the College 

25 Admissions Accountability Act of 2023.’’. 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 3396 IS

1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

2 section 1 of the Department of Education Organization 

3 Act (20 U.S.C. 3401 note) is amended by inserting after 

4 the item relating to section 220 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 221. Special Inspector General for Unlawful Discrimination in Higher 

Education.’’. 

5 (c) HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.—Part B of 

6 title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

7 1011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 124. INELIGIBILITY DUE TO DISCRIMINATION ON THE 

10 BASIS OF RACE IN VIOLATION OF EQUAL 

11 PROTECTION CLAUSE OR TITLE VI. 

12 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no in13 stitution of higher education shall be eligible to receive 

14 funds from Federal student assistance or Federal institu15 tional aid under this Act if the Secretary determines that 

16 the institution had an admissions decision, policy, or prac17 tice, or financial aid determination or academic program, 

18 that discriminated on the basis of race in violation of— 

19 ‘‘(1) the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th 

20 Amendment to the Constitution of the United 

21 States, pursuant to the holding in Students for Fair 

22 Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Har23 vard College, 143 S. Ct. 2141 (2023); or 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 3396 IS

1 ‘‘(2) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

2 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.).’’. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS