I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7683 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of 
higher education to adopt and adhere to principles of free speech, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 15, 2024 
Mr. WILLIAMS of New York (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, and 
Ms. FOXX) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require 
institutions of higher education to adopt and adhere to 
principles of free speech, 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 ‘‘Respecting the First 
Amendment on Campus Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 112 the fol-
lowing new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 112A. SENSE OF CONGRESS; CONSTRUCTION; DEFINI-
TION. 
‘‘(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.— 
‘‘(1) ADOPTION OF CHICAGO PRINCIPLES.—The 
Congress— 
‘‘(A) recognizes that free expression, open 
inquiry, and the honest exchange of ideas are 
fundamental to higher education; 
‘‘(B) acknowledges the profound contribu-
tion of the Chicago Principles to the freedom of 
speech and expression; and 
‘‘(C) calls on nonsectarian institutions of 
higher education to adopt the Chicago Prin-
ciples or substantially similar principles with re-
spect to institutional mission that emphasizes a 
commitment to freedom of speech and expres-
sion on university campuses and to develop and 
consistently implement policies accordingly. 
‘‘(2) POLITICAL
LITMUS
TESTS.—The Con-
gress— 
‘‘(A) condemns public institutions of high-
er education for conditioning admission to any 
student applicant, or the hiring, reappointment, 
or promotion of any faculty member, on the ap-
plicant or faculty member pledging allegiance to 
or making a statement of personal support for 
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or opposition to any political ideology or move-
ment, including a pledge or statement regarding 
diversity, equity, and inclusion, or related top-
ics; and 
‘‘(B) discourages any institution from re-
questing or requiring any such pledge or state-
ment from an applicant or faculty member, as 
such actions are antithetical to the freedom of 
speech protected by the First Amendment to 
the Constitution. 
‘‘(b) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sections 112B 
through 112E shall be construed to infringe upon, or oth-
erwise impact, the protections provided to individuals 
under titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
(42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). 
‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of sections 112C, 
112D, and 112E, the term ‘covered public institution’ 
means an institution of higher education that is— 
‘‘(1) a public institution; and 
‘‘(2) participating in a program authorized 
under title IV.’’. 
SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF FREE SPEECH POLICIES. 
The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 
et seq.), as amended by section 2 of this Act, is further 
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amended by inserting after section 112A the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 112B. DISCLOSURE OF POLICIES RELATED TO FREE-
DOM OF SPEECH, ASSOCIATION, AND RELI-
GION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No institution of higher edu-
cation shall be eligible to participate in any program under 
title IV unless the institution certifies to the Secretary 
that the institution has annually disclosed to current and 
prospective students and faculty— 
‘‘(1) any policies held by the institutions related 
to— 
‘‘(A) speech on campus, including policies 
limiting— 
‘‘(i) the time when such speech may 
occur; 
‘‘(ii) the place where such speech may 
occur; or 
‘‘(iii) the manner in which such 
speech may occur; 
‘‘(B) freedom of association, if applicable; 
and 
‘‘(C) freedom of religion, if applicable; and 
‘‘(2) the right to a cause of action under section 
112E, if the institution is a public institution. 
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‘‘(b) INTENDED BENEFICIARIES.—The certification 
specified in subsection (a) shall include an acknowledg-
ment from the institution that the students and faculty 
are the intended beneficiaries of the policies disclosed in 
the certification.’’. 
SEC. 4. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND RELIGION. 
The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 
et seq.), as amended by section 3 of this Act, is further 
amended by inserting after section 112B the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 112C. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND RELIGION. 
‘‘(a) STUDENTS’ BILL
OF RIGHTS TO FURTHER 
PROTECT SPEECH AND ASSOCIATION.— 
‘‘(1) PROTECTED RIGHTS.—A covered public in-
stitution shall comply with the following require-
ments: 
‘‘(A) RECOGNIZED
STUDENT
ORGANIZA-
TIONS.—A covered public institution that has 
recognized student organizations shall comply 
with the following requirements: 
‘‘(i) FACULTY ADVISORS.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—A covered 
public institution may not deny rec-
ognition to a student organization be-
cause the organization is unable to ob-
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tain a faculty advisor or sponsor, if 
the organization meets each of the 
other content- and viewpoint-neutral 
institutional requirements for such 
recognition. 
‘‘(II) ALTERNATIVE.—An institu-
tion described in subclause (I) shall 
ensure that any policy or practice re-
lated to the recognition of a student 
organization— 
‘‘(aa) in the case of an orga-
nization that meets each of the 
other content- and viewpoint-neu-
tral institutional requirements for 
such recognition but is unable to 
obtain a faculty advisor or spon-
sor, provides for an alternative to 
any requirement that a faculty or 
staff member serve as the faculty 
advisor or sponsor as a condition 
for recognition of the student or-
ganization, which alternative may 
include— 
‘‘(AA) waiver of such 
requirement; or 
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‘‘(aa) require the covered 
public institution to provide a 
written explanation for the basis 
for the denial of recognition in a 
timely manner, which shall in-
clude a copy of all policies relied 
upon by the institution as a basis 
for the denial; 
‘‘(bb) require the covered 
public institution to provide writ-
ten notice to the students seeking 
recognition of the appeal process 
and the timeline for hearing and 
resolving the appeal; 
‘‘(cc) allow the students 
seeking recognition to obtain out-
side counsel to represent them 
during the appeal; and 
‘‘(dd) ensure that such ap-
pellate entity did not participate 
in any prior proceeding related to 
the denial of recognition to the 
student organization. 
‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION
OF
FUNDS
TO
STU-
DENT ORGANIZATIONS.—A covered public insti-
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tution that collects a mandatory fee from stu-
dents for the costs of student activities or 
events (or both), and provides funds generated 
from such student fees to one or more recog-
nized student organizations of the institution, 
shall— 
‘‘(i) establish and make publicly avail-
able clear, objective, content- and view-
point-neutral, and exhaustive standards to 
be used by the institution to determine— 
‘‘(I) the total amount of funds 
made available for allocations to the 
recognized student organizations; and 
‘‘(II) the allocations of such total 
amount to individual recognized stu-
dent organizations; 
‘‘(ii) ensure that allocations are made 
to the recognized student organizations in 
accordance with the standards established 
pursuant to clause (i); 
‘‘(iii) upon the request of a recognized 
student organization that has been denied 
all or a portion of an allocation described 
in clause (ii), provide to the organization, 
in writing (which may include electronic 
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communication) and in a timely manner, 
the specific reasons for such denial, copies 
of all policies relied upon by the institution 
as basis for the denial, and information of 
the appeals process described in clause 
(iv); and 
‘‘(iv) provide an appeals process by 
which a recognized student organization 
that has been denied all or a portion of an 
allocation described in clause (ii) may ap-
peal to an institutional appellate entity for 
reconsideration, which appeals process— 
‘‘(I) shall require the covered 
public institution to provide written 
notice to the students seeking an allo-
cation through the appeal process and 
the timeline for hearing and resolving 
the appeal; 
‘‘(II) allow the students seeking 
an allocation to obtain outside counsel 
to represent them during the appeal; 
and 
‘‘(III) require the institution to 
ensure that such appellate entity did 
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not participate in any prior pro-
ceeding related to such allocation. 
‘‘(C) ASSESSMENT OF SECURITY FEES FOR 
EVENTS.—A covered public institution shall es-
tablish and make publicly available clear, objec-
tive, content- and viewpoint-neutral, and ex-
haustive standards to be used by the institution 
to— 
‘‘(i) determine the amount of any se-
curity fee for an event or activity organized 
by a student or student organization; and 
‘‘(ii) ensure that a determination of 
such an amount may not be based, in 
whole or in part, on— 
‘‘(I) the content of expression or 
viewpoint of the student or student 
organization; 
‘‘(II) the content of expression of 
the event or activity organized by the 
student or student organization; 
‘‘(III) the content of expression 
or viewpoint of an invited guest of the 
student or student organization; or 
‘‘(IV) an anticipated reaction by 
students or the public to the event. 
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‘‘(D) PROTECTIONS FOR INVITED GUESTS 
AND SPEAKERS.—A covered public institution 
shall establish and make publicly available 
clear, objective, content- and viewpoint-neutral, 
and exhaustive standards to be used by the in-
stitution related to the safety and protection of 
speakers and guests who are invited to the in-
stitution by a student or student organization. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) RECOGNIZED
STUDENT
ORGANIZA-
TION.—The term ‘recognized student organiza-
tion’ means a student organization that has 
been determined by a covered public institution 
to meet institutional requirements to qualify for 
certain privileges granted by the institution, 
such as use of institutional venues, resources, 
and funding. 
‘‘(B) SECURITY FEE.—The term ‘security 
fee’ means a fee charged to a student or stu-
dent organization for an event or activity orga-
nized by the student or student organization on 
the campus of the institution that is intended to 
cover some or all of the costs incurred by the 
institution for additional security measures 
needed to ensure the security of the institution, 
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students, faculty, staff, or surrounding commu-
nity as a result of such event or activity. 
‘‘(b) EQUAL CAMPUS ACCESS.—A covered public in-
stitution shall not deny to a religious student organization 
any right, benefit, or privilege that is otherwise afforded 
to other student organizations at the institution (including 
full access to the facilities of the institution and official 
recognition of the organization by the institution) because 
of the religious beliefs, practices, speech, leadership stand-
ards, or standards of conduct of the religious student or-
ganization. 
‘‘(c) FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION.— 
‘‘(1) UPHOLDING
FREEDOM
OF
ASSOCIATION 
PROTECTIONS.—Any student (or group of students) 
enrolled in an institution of higher education that 
receives funds under this Act, including through an 
institution’s participation in any program under title 
IV, shall— 
‘‘(A) subject to paragraph (3)(A), be able 
to form a single-sex social organization, whether 
recognized by the institution or not; 
‘‘(B) be able to apply to join any single-sex 
social organization; and 
‘‘(C) if selected for membership by any sin-
gle-sex social organization, be able to join, and 
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participate in, such single-sex organization, sub-
ject to its standards for regulating its own 
membership, as provided under paragraph 
(3)(C). 
‘‘(2) NON-RETALIATION AGAINST STUDENTS OF 
SINGLE-SEX
SOCIAL
ORGANIZATIONS.—An institu-
tion of higher education that receives funds under 
this Act, including through an institution’s partici-
pation in any program under title IV, shall not— 
‘‘(A) take any action to require or coerce 
a student or prospective student who is a mem-
ber or prospective member of a single-sex social 
organization to waive the protections provided 
under paragraph (1), including as a condition 
of enrolling in the institution; 
‘‘(B) take any adverse action against a sin-
gle-sex social organization, or a student who is 
a member or a prospective member of a single- 
sex social organization, based on the member-
ship practice of such organization limiting 
membership only to individuals of one sex; or 
‘‘(C) impose a recruitment restriction (in-
cluding a recruitment restriction relating to the 
schedule for membership recruitment) on a sin-
gle-sex social organization recognized by the in-
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stitution, which is not imposed upon other stu-
dent organizations by the institution, unless the 
organization (or a council of similar organiza-
tions) and the institution have entered into a 
mutually agreed-upon written agreement that 
allows the institution to impose such restriction. 
‘‘(3) RULES
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection shall— 
‘‘(A) require an institution of higher edu-
cation to officially recognize a single-sex social 
organization; 
‘‘(B) prohibit an institution of higher edu-
cation from taking an adverse action against a 
student who organizes, leads, or joins a single- 
sex social organization— 
‘‘(i) due to academic or nonacademic 
misconduct; or 
‘‘(ii)(I) for public institutions, because 
the organization’s purpose is directed to 
inciting or producing imminent lawless ac-
tion and likely to incite or produce such 
action; or 
‘‘(II) for private institutions, because 
the organization’s purpose is incompatible 
with the religious mission of the institu-
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tion, so long as that adverse action is not 
based on the membership practice of the 
organization of limiting membership only 
to individuals of one sex; 
‘‘(C) prevent a single-sex social organiza-
tion from regulating its own membership; 
‘‘(D) inhibit the ability of the faculty of an 
institution of higher education to express an 
opinion (either individually or collectively) about 
membership in a single-sex social organization, 
or otherwise inhibit the academic freedom of 
such faculty to research, write, or publish mate-
rial about membership in such an organization; 
or 
‘‘(E) create enforceable rights against a 
single-sex social organization or against an in-
stitution of higher education due to the decision 
of the organization to deny membership to an 
individual student. 
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) ADVERSE
ACTION.—The term ‘ad-
verse action’ includes the following actions 
taken by an institution of higher education with 
respect to a single-sex social organization or a 
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member or prospective member of a single-sex 
social organization: 
‘‘(i) Expulsion, suspension, probation, 
censure, condemnation, formal reprimand, 
or any other disciplinary action, coercive 
action, or sanction taken by an institution 
of higher education or administrative unit 
of such institution. 
‘‘(ii) An oral or written warning with 
respect to an action described in clause (i) 
made by an official of an institution of 
higher education acting in their official ca-
pacity. 
‘‘(iii) An action to deny participation 
in any education program or activity, in-
cluding the withholding of any rights, 
privileges, or opportunities afforded other 
students on campus. 
‘‘(iv) An action to withhold, in whole 
or in part, any financial assistance (includ-
ing scholarships and on-campus employ-
ment), or denying the opportunity to apply 
for financial assistance, a scholarship, a 
graduate fellowship, or on-campus employ-
ment. 
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‘‘(v) An action to deny or restrict ac-
cess to on-campus housing. 
‘‘(vi) An act to deny any certification, 
endorsement, or letter of recommendation 
that may be required by a student’s cur-
rent or future employer, a government 
agency, a licensing board, an institution of 
higher education, a scholarship program, 
or a graduate fellowship to which the stu-
dent applies or seeks to apply. 
‘‘(vii) An action to deny participation 
in any sports team, club, or other student 
organization, including a denial of any 
leadership position in any sports team, 
club, or other student organization. 
‘‘(viii) An action to withdraw the in-
stitution’s official recognition of such orga-
nization. 
‘‘(ix) An action to require any student 
to certify that such student is not a mem-
ber of a single-sex social organization or to 
disclose the student’s membership in a sin-
gle-sex social organization. 
‘‘(x) An action to interject an institu-
tion’s own criteria into the membership 
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practices of the organization in any man-
ner that conflicts with the rights of such 
organization under title IX of the Edu-
cation Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 
1681 et seq.) or this subsection. 
‘‘(xi) An action to impose additional 
requirements on advisors serving a single- 
sex social organization that are not im-
posed on all other student organizations. 
‘‘(B) 
SINGLE-SEX
SOCIAL
ORGANIZA-
TION.—The term ‘single-sex social organization’ 
means— 
‘‘(i) a social fraternity or sorority de-
scribed in section 501(c) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 which is exempt 
from taxation under section 501(a) of such 
Code, or an organization that has been his-
torically single-sex, the active membership 
of which consists primarily of students or 
alumni of an institution of higher edu-
cation; or 
‘‘(ii) a single-sex private social club 
(including an independent organization lo-
cated off-campus) that consists primarily 
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