I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6615 
To establish the Office of the Special Inspector General for Unlawful 
Discrimination in Higher Education within the Department of Education. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 6, 2023 
Mr. BANKS (for himself, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. WALTZ, and Mrs. HOUCHIN) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To establish the Office of the Special Inspector General 
for Unlawful Discrimination in Higher Education within 
the Department of Education. 
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 ‘‘College Admissions Ac-
countability Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) 21st century elite college admissions func-
tions as the Nation’s sorting machine for prestige 
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and opportunity, allocating a limited number of valu-
able credentials. 
(2) For decades United States colleges and uni-
versities adopted admissions and policies practices 
that rendered special preferences to applicants on 
the basis of race. 
(3) In Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. 
President and Fellows of Harvard College, 143 S. 
Ct. 2141 (2023), the Supreme Court of the United 
States found race-based admissions policies to be in 
violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th 
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
and title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). The Court further held that 
‘‘universities may not simply establish through appli-
cation essays or other means the regime we hold un-
lawful today’’. 
(4) Following the Court’s ruling, several United 
States colleges and universities issued statements or 
unveiled new policies at odds with its letter and spir-
it. 
(5) Institutions of higher education, including 
their offices of admission, must comply with the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, as inter-
preted by the judiciary. 
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(6) It is the duty of the United States Govern-
ment to protect the civil rights of its citizens and to 
enforce the Constitution and laws of the United 
States, as interpreted by the judiciary. 
SEC. 3. SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR UNLAWFUL 
DISCRIMINATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Department of 
Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3411 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 221. SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR UNLAWFUL 
DISCRIMINATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES
OF
CON-
GRESS.—The term ‘appropriate committees of Con-
gress’ means— 
‘‘(A) the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 
‘‘(B) the Subcommittee on Labor, Health 
and Human Services, Education, and Related 
Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of 
the Senate; 
‘‘(C) the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce of the House of Representatives; and 
‘‘(D) the Subcommittee on Labor, Health 
and Human Services, Education of the Com-
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by the President, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate. 
‘‘(2) NOMINATION.—The nomination of the 
Special Inspector General shall be made on the basis 
of integrity and demonstrated familiarity with higher 
education and admissions, in addition to expertise in 
auditing, civil rights, law, academic administration, 
education regulation, or investigations. 
‘‘(3) REMOVAL.—The Special Inspector General 
shall be removable from office in accordance with 
the provisions of section 403(b) of title 5, United 
States Code. 
‘‘(4) BASIC PAY.—The annual rate of basic pay 
of the Special Inspector General shall be the annual 
rate of basic pay for an Inspector General under sec-
tion 403(e) of title 5, United States Code. 
‘‘(d) DUTIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the duty of the 
Special Inspector General to, in accordance with sec-
tion 404(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code— 
‘‘(A) receive, review, and investigate allega-
tions from covered individuals or employees of 
covered institutions of admissions decisions, 
policies, or practices, or financial aid determina-
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tions or academic programs, that are in viola-
tion of— 
‘‘(i) the Equal Protection Clause of 
the 14th Amendment to the Constitution 
of the United States, pursuant to the hold-
ing in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. 
v. President and Fellows of Harvard Col-
lege, 143 S. Ct. 2141 (2023) (referred to 
in this subsection as the ‘Equal Protection 
Clause’); or 
‘‘(ii) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) (referred 
to in this subsection as ‘title VI’); 
‘‘(B) review any Federal policies and pro-
grams that have the effect of incentivizing cov-
ered institutions to violate the Equal Protection 
Clause or title VI; and 
‘‘(C) make recommendations to the appli-
cable covered institution, the Secretary, the At-
torney General of the United States, and the 
appropriate committees of Congress regard-
ing— 
‘‘(i) measures that the covered institu-
tion should take to remedy any violation 
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described in subparagraph (A) through re-
medial or corrective action; 
‘‘(ii) any employee of the covered in-
stitution that the Special Inspector Gen-
eral determines, after a review or inves-
tigation described in subparagraph (A), 
should face disciplinary action (including 
removal) as a result of a violation de-
scribed in such subparagraph; 
‘‘(iii) eligibility of the covered institu-
tion to receive funds from Federal student 
assistance or Federal institutional aid; 
‘‘(iv) further investigation into the 
covered institution’s compliance with the 
Constitution of the United States, title VI, 
and other laws of the United States; and 
‘‘(v) reforms to any Federal policies 
and programs that have the effect of 
incentivizing covered institutions to violate 
the Equal Protection Clause or title VI. 
‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE OF SYSTEMS.—The Special 
Inspector General shall establish, maintain, and 
oversee such systems, procedures, and controls as 
the Special Inspector General considers appropriate 
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to discharge the duties of the Special Inspector Gen-
eral under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL
DUTIES
AND
RESPONSIBIL-
ITIES.—In addition to the duties described in para-
graphs (1) and (2), the Special Inspector General 
shall also have the duties and responsibilities of in-
spectors general under chapter 4 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
‘‘(4) CONFIDENTIALITY
OF
INFORMATION.— 
The Special Inspector General shall maintain the 
confidentiality of the identity of any person submit-
ting information to the Special Inspector General for 
the purposes of carrying out the duties of the Spe-
cial Inspector General under this section, including 
in any report submitted under subsection (g). 
‘‘(e) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the duties 
of the Special Inspector General under subsection 
(d), the Special Inspector General shall have the au-
thorities provided in section 406 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF OFFICE.—The Office of 
the Special Inspector General shall be considered to 
be an office described in section 406(f)(3) of title 5, 
United States Code. 
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‘‘(f) PERSONNEL, FACILITIES, AND OTHER RE-
SOURCES.— 
‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS AND EMPLOY-
EES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Special Inspector 
General may select, appoint, and employ such 
officers and employees as may be necessary for 
carrying out the duties of the Special Inspector 
General. 
‘‘(B) STATUS.—The positions to which of-
ficers and employees are appointed under sub-
paragraph (A) shall be positions in schedule C 
of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of 
Federal Regulations, or any successor regula-
tions. 
‘‘(2) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Spe-
cial Inspector General may obtain services as au-
thorized under section 3109 of title 5, United States 
Code, at daily rates not to exceed the equivalent rate 
prescribed for grade GS–15 of the General Schedule 
by section 5332 of that title. 
‘‘(3) CONTRACTS.—The Special Inspector Gen-
eral may enter into contracts and other arrange-
ments for audits, studies, analyses, and other serv-
ices with public agencies and with private persons, 
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and make such payments as may be necessary to 
carry out the duties of the Special Inspector Gen-
eral. 
‘‘(g) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) QUARTERLY REPORTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 60 
days after the date on which the Special Inspec-
tor General is confirmed, and once every cal-
endar quarter thereafter, the Special Inspector 
General shall submit to the appropriate commit-
tees of Congress a report summarizing the ac-
tivities of the Special Inspector General during 
the 3-month period ending on the date on which 
the Special Inspector General submits the re-
port. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted 
under subparagraph (A) shall include, for the 
period covered by the report, the following: 
‘‘(i) A general description of the alle-
gations received and reviewed by the Spe-
cial Inspector General under subsection 
(d)(1)(A). 
‘‘(ii) Recommendations of the Special 
Inspector General regarding reforms that 
the Special Inspector General believes 
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should be undertaken with respect to the 
authority of the Special Inspector General 
and matters within the authority of the 
Special Inspector General to review and in-
vestigate, including the authority described 
in subsection (d)(1)(B). 
‘‘(iii) For a covered institution with 
respect to which an allegation submitted 
under this section applies, the steps that 
the covered institution has taken, and has 
yet to take, to remedy the issues outlined 
in the allegation. 
‘‘(iv) Data regarding the number of 
allegations received and reviewed by the 
Special Inspector General under this sec-
tion that document any legitimate viola-
tion, as determined by the Special Inspec-
tor General, which shall— 
‘‘(I) be disaggregated by the 
number of violations committed by 
each covered institution; and 
‘‘(II) contain a separate provision 
listing the number of those acts that 
relate to racial bias, which shall be 
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disaggregated as described in sub-
clause (I). 
‘‘(v) Commentary by the Special In-
spector General regarding the level of co-
operation by each covered institution with 
respect to reviews and investigations per-
formed by the Special Inspector General, 
including, with respect to each covered in-
stitution, whether the covered institution 
has implemented recommendations made 
by the Special Inspector General and 
whether the covered institution has pro-
vided information or access requested by 
the Special Inspector General. 
‘‘(2) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection may be construed to authorize the 
public disclosure of information that is— 
‘‘(A) specifically prohibited from disclosure 
by any other provision of law; 
‘‘(B) specifically required by Executive 
order to be protected from disclosure in the in-
terest of national defense or national security or 
in the conduct of foreign affairs; or 
‘‘(C) a part of an ongoing criminal inves-
tigation. 
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‘‘(h) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated $25,000,000 to carry out this section, which shall 
remain available until expended. 
‘‘(i) COUNCIL OF THE INSPECTORS GENERAL ON IN-
TEGRITY AND EFFICIENCY.—The Special Inspector Gen-
eral shall be a member of the Council of the Inspectors 
General on Integrity and Efficiency established under sec-
tion 424 of title 5, United States Code. 
‘‘(j) CORRECTIVE RESPONSES
TO AUDIT PROB-
LEMS.—A covered institution shall— 
‘‘(1) take action to address deficiencies identi-
fied by a report or investigation of the Special In-
spector General; or 
‘‘(2) with respect to a deficiency identified 
under paragraph (1), certify to the Special Inspector 
General and the appropriate committees of Congress 
that no action is necessary or appropriate. 
‘‘(k) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion may be construed as limiting the authority of the In-
spector General of the Department. 
‘‘(l) SUNSET.—The Office of the Special Inspector 
General for Unlawful Discrimination in Higher Education, 
established under this section, shall terminate on the date 
that is 12 years after the date of enactment of the College 
Admissions Accountability Act of 2023.’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 
section 1 of the Department of Education Organization 
Act (20 U.S.C. 3401 note) is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 220 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 221. Special Inspector General for Unlawful Discrimination in Higher 
Education.’’. 
(c) HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.—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 fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 124. INELIGIBILITY DUE TO DISCRIMINATION ON THE 
BASIS OF RACE IN VIOLATION OF EQUAL 
PROTECTION CLAUSE OR TITLE VI. 
‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no in-
stitution of higher education shall be eligible to receive 
funds from Federal student assistance or Federal institu-
tional aid under this Act if the Secretary determines that 
the institution had an admissions decision, policy, or prac-
tice, or financial aid determination or academic program, 
that discriminated on the basis of race in violation of— 
‘‘(1) the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th 
Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States, pursuant to the holding in Students for Fair 
Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Har-
vard College, 143 S. Ct. 2141 (2023); or 
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‘‘(2) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
U.S.C. 2000d et seq.).’’. 
Æ 
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