Senator Jim Banks introduces the College Admissions Accountability Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) introduced the College Admissions Accountability Act. The bill would create a Special Inspector General to investigate racial discrimination in college admissions at federally funded schools. It enforces the Supreme Court's 2023 ban on race-based admissions and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Schools found in violation could lose federal funding. Rep. Dave Taylor (OH-2) is leading in the House.

Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.): "Colleges and universities should admit students based on merit and achievement, not the color of their skin. Race-based admissions have deepened divisions in our country, but under President Trump's leadership, we have an opportunity to end racial discrimination in higher education."

Rep. Dave Taylor (OH-2): "The College Admissions Accountability Act will ensure merit-based admission to our Nation's universities and hold our academic institutions accountable for their actions. Universities exist not to enact woke agendas, but instead to provide a robust education to the students who worked hard to study there."

Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) is a cosponsor.

The bill has been endorsed by the National Association of Scholars.

Chance Layton, Director of Communications, National Association of Scholars: "The National Association of Scholars strongly supports the reintroduction of the College Admissions Accountability Act by Senator Jim Banks. No college or university that accepts taxpayer dollars should be allowed to violate the basic civil rights of its students. And yet, our colleges and universities continue to do so in the name of "equity." This willingness to discriminate on the basis of race must end. The CAAA is a good and necessary bill to reverse this malicious practice."

Key Provisions of the College Admissions Accountability Act are:

• Creates a Special Inspector General within the Department of Education to investigate racial discrimination in college admissions, financial aid, and academic programs at federally funded institutions.
• Enforces compliance with the Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, in line with the 2023 Supreme Court ruling banning race-based admissions.
• Grants oversight powers to receive complaints, conduct investigations, recommend corrective actions or penalties-including loss of federal funding-and propose reforms.

Full bill text here.

Background:

Sen. Banks previously introduced the College Admissions Accountability Act in the 118^th Congress as a member of the House of Representatives.

The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees equal protection of the laws, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits race-based discrimination by entities that receive federal assistance.

In Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, the Supreme Court found race-based admissions policies to be in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. The Court further held that "universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today."