House Lawmakers Pass Republican Bill Over Campus Free Speech and Accreditation Policies

The House passed a bill Thursday that would limit restrictions public colleges could place on campus protests and bar accreditation agencies from requiring institutions to comply with diversity, equity and inclusion standards. Praising the End Woke Higher Education Act, Rep. Virginia Foxx, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the House’s education committee, said in a statement that it would safeguard student free speech “from the accreditation process down to the classroom.” However, the bill has drawn criticism from the higher education sector. The American Council on Education and five other higher ed associations argued in a Tuesday letter that the legislation would establish “rigid, highly prescriptive” mandates that would impose high costs on public colleges and undermine the bill’s own goals.