Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the “Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2026”.

(a) Purposes.— The purposes of this Act are as follows:

(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 on the membership practice of such organization of limiting membership only to individuals of one sex.

(2) Ensure—

(A) any student at an institution of higher education in a single-sex social organization is treated without bias in comparison to students who do not participate in single-sex social organizations; and

(B) any single-sex social organization is treated by an institution of higher education without bias in comparison to other social organizations that are not single-sex.

(3) Protect the rights of students to freely associate with and participate in single-sex 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:

“124. Freedom of association protections for students in single-sex social organizations.—

(a) 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—

(1) be able to form, apply to join, join, participate in, or lead a single-sex social organization of the student’s sex, whether or not such organization is officially recognized by the institution; and

(2) if selected for membership by any single-sex social organization, be able to join, participate in, or lead such single-sex social organization, subject to the standards of such organization for regulating its own membership.

(b) Nonretaliation against students of single-sex social organizations.— An institution of higher education that receives funds under this Act, including through an institution’s participation in any program under title IV, shall not—

(1) take any action to require or coerce a student or prospective student who is a member or prospective member of a single-sex social organization to waive the protections provided under subsection (a), including as a condition of enrolling in the institution;

(2) take any adverse action against a single-sex social organization, or a student who is a member or a prospective member of a single-sex social organization, based on the membership practice of such organization limiting membership only to individuals of one sex; or

(3) impose a recruitment restriction (including a recruitment restriction relating to the schedule for membership recruitment) on a single-sex social organization recognized by the institution, which is not imposed upon other social organizations by the institution, unless the single-sex social organization (or a council of similar organizations) and the institution have entered into a mutually agreed upon written agreement that allows the institution to impose such restriction.

(c) Rules of construction.— Nothing in this section shall be construed to—

(1) require an institution of higher education to officially recognize a single-sex social organization;

(2) prohibit an institution of higher education from taking an adverse action against a student who forms, applies to join, joins, participates in, or leads a single-sex social organization— provided that the adverse action is not based on the membership practice of the organization of limiting membership only to individuals of one sex;

(A) due to academic or nonacademic misconduct;

(B) because the stated purpose of such organization is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action; or

(C) in the case of private institutions, because the institution determines that the purpose of such organization is incompatible with the religious mission of the institution,

(3) prevent a single-sex social organization from regulating its own membership;

(4) 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 material about membership in such an organization; or

(5) create enforceable rights against a single-sex social organization or against an institution of higher education due to the decision of such organization to deny membership to an individual student.

(d) Definitions.— In this section:

(1) Adverse action.— The term adverse action includes the following actions taken by an institution of higher education with respect to a single-sex social organization or a member or prospective member of a single-sex social organization:

(A) Expulsion, suspension, probation, censure, condemnation, formal reprimand, or any other disciplinary action, coercive action, or sanction taken by an institution of higher education or an administrative unit of such institution.

(B) An oral or written warning with respect to an action described in subparagraph (A) made by an official of an institution of higher education acting in their official capacity.

(C) An action to deny participation in any education program or activity, including the withholding of any rights, privileges, or opportunities afforded other students on campus.

(D) An action to withhold, in whole or in part, any financial assistance (including scholarships and on-campus employment), or denying the opportunity to apply for financial assistance, a scholarship, a graduate fellowship, or on-campus employment.

(E) An action to deny or restrict access to on-campus housing.

(F) An action to deny any certification, endorsement, or letter of recommendation that may be required by a student’s current or future employer, a government agency, a licensing board, an institution of higher education, a scholarship program, or a graduate fellowship to which the student applies or seeks to apply.

(G) 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.

(H) An action to withdraw the institution’s official recognition of such organization.

(I) An action to require any student to certify that such student is not a member of a single-sex social organization or to disclose the student’s membership in a single-sex social organization in a manner that is different from disclosure of a student’s membership in a social organization that is not a single-sex social organization.

(J) An action to interject an institution’s own criteria into the membership practices of the organization in any manner that conflicts with the rights of such organization under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) or this section.

(K) An action to impose additional requirements on or with respect to advisors serving a single-sex social organization that are not imposed on social organizations that are not single-sex social organizations.

(2) Single-sex social organization.— The term single-sex social organization means—

(A) a social fraternity or sorority described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code, or a social organization that has been historically single-sex, the active membership of which consists primarily of students or alumni of an institution of higher education; or

(B) a single-sex private social club (including an independent organization located off-campus) that consists primarily of students or alumni of an institution of higher education.

(3) Sex.— The term sex means the biological sex of an individual, either male or female.

(A) Female.— The term ‘female’ means an individual who has, had, will have, or would have, but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fertilization.

(B) Male.— The term ‘male’ means an individual who has, had, will have, or would have, but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fertilization.”.