I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3128 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to uphold freedom of association 
protections, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 5, 2019 
Mr. GALLEGO (for himself, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. STIVERS, Mrs. MURPHY, Mrs. 
BROOKS of Indiana, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. CLEAVER, 
Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Mrs. LAW-
RENCE, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. BYRNE, and Mr. HUDSON) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to uphold 
freedom of association protections, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Collegiate Freedom 
of Association Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Single-sex social organizations, including so-
rorities, fraternities, and private social clubs, have 
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existed at institutions of higher education for over 
200 years, where they have played, and should con-
tinue to play, unique roles in the development of 
young women and men by creating sisterhoods and 
brotherhoods that foster leadership, promote aca-
demic achievement, and encourage civic and campus 
involvement through philanthropic activities. 
(2) The freedom of association—that is, the 
freedom of joining, assembling, and residing with 
others—is protected under the First and Fourteenth 
Amendments to the Constitution, and allows individ-
uals to create spaces that are safe, welcoming, em-
powering, enabling, uninhibited, and free. 
(3) Single-sex social sororities, fraternities, and 
private social clubs meet the requirements for inti-
mate and expressive associations protected by the 
freedom of association because they are small and 
selective, are bound together by friendship, common 
interests, and common purpose, and create safe and 
empowering spaces for their members. 
(4) Some institutions of higher education, which 
stand in positions of power and authority over their 
students, have increasingly sought to eliminate or re-
strict access to single-sex social organizations, which 
are designed to nurture, lift, and empower students. 
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(5) While the history of equal access in higher 
education includes discriminatory actions taken on 
the basis of race, religion, national origin, and sex 
by students, faculty, staff, and social organizations, 
many members of these same groups have taken, 
and continue to take actions to make the higher edu-
cation community more open and inclusive to all. 
(6) While sex discrimination remains a serious 
problem in our society, allowing institutions of high-
er education to sanction members of sororities, fra-
ternities, and private social clubs based solely on the 
single-sex status of the organization that the student 
belongs to will not solve these problems, is counter-
productive, and violates an individual’s constitutional 
right to freedom of association. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol-
lows: 
(1) Protect any student in a single-sex social 
organization or any single-sex social organization 
from any adverse action by an institution of higher 
education based solely on the membership practice of 
such organization of limiting membership to only in-
dividuals of one sex. 
(2) Ensure any student in a single-sex social or-
ganization or any single-sex social organization is 
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treated equitably in comparison to students at an in-
stitution of higher education who do not participate 
in single-sex social organizations, or other social or-
ganizations at an institution of higher education 
that are not single-sex. 
(3) Protect the rights of students to freely asso-
ciate with and participate in social organizations, in-
cluding single-sex social organizations. 
SEC. 3. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION PROTECTIONS FOR 
STUDENTS IN SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 
Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 124. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION PROTECTIONS FOR 
STUDENTS IN SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 
‘‘(a) UPHOLDING FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION PRO-
TECTIONS.—Any student (or group of students) enrolled 
in an institution of higher education shall— 
‘‘(1) have a right to form or apply to join any 
social organization, including any single-sex social 
organization; and 
‘‘(2) if selected for membership by any social 
organization, have a right to join such social organi-
zation and participate in such social organization. 
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