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S1225FEDERALin_committee
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Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2025

April 1, 2025

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Where This Stands

Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Signed

Currently in_committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.

Last action
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.Apr 1, 2025

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Finance Connection

Notable money activity
$31,370across 20 reported contributions
Trace money trail →
CandidateDonorAmountIndustryDate
BANKS VICTORY FUNDHERTOG, ROGER$5,000RETIREDMar 2026
Cece Gallegos for Mayor 2024Fred Fagundes$2,500FarmerOct 2024
Cece Gallegos for Supervisor 2024Michele Lasgoity$2,000FarmerNov 2023
Cece Gallegos for Mayor 2024John Duarte$2,000BusinessmanNov 2024
Cece Gallegos for Supervisor 2024Michele Lasgoity$2,000FarmerNov 2023
Committee to Re-Elect Cece Gallegos 2022Greenbrier Holding LLC$2,000-Sep 2022
Cece Gallegos for Supervisor 2024Clay Daulton$1,500RancherFeb 2024
Cece Gallegos for Supervisor 2024DBA California United water coalition$1,500-Apr 2024
Cece Gallegos for Mayor 2024Samantha Mascorro$1,500CounselorAug 2024
Dwayne Eubanks for Antioch City Clerk 2020Dwayne Eubanks$1,370Senior Business AnalystOct 2020
Doug BanksonCHARTER SCHOOLS USA INC.$1,000SCHOOL OPERATORDec 2025
Doug BanksonHONEST LEADERSHIP$1,000POLITICAL COMMITTEEJan 2025
Doug BanksonKOCHER BOB$1,000ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCHJul 2025
Doug BanksonYEAGER INSURANCE AGENCY INC$1,000INSURANCE COMPANYAug 2025
Doug BanksonFL CHAMBER OF COMM PAC$1,000POLITICAL COMMITTEEAug 2025
Doug BanksonFLORIDA HEALTH CARE EXECUTIVE PAC$1,000POLITICAL COMMITTEEDec 2025
Doug BanksonFLORIDA JUSTICE PC$1,000POLITICAL COMMITTEEDec 2025
Doug BanksonCOMMITTEE OF FLORIDA AGENTS$1,000POLITICAL COMMITTEEAug 2025
Cece Gallegos for Supervisor 2024California Custom Processing$1,000-Feb 2024
Doug BanksonAGENTS FOR A BETTER FLORIDA$1,000POLITICAL COMMITTEEAug 2025

Reported financial relationships and timing signals. This does not prove motive or influence. Readers draw their own conclusions.

The Frame

What this does

If passed, this bill would prohibit colleges receiving federal funds from punishing students or withholding campus services, housing, or financial aid based on their membership in single-sex social organizations.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Students

Students gain federal protections against institutional penalties for participating in single-sex social organizations.

Colleges and Universities

Institutions receiving federal funds must change their policies to ensure they do not penalize students or groups based on single-sex membership criteria.

Single-sex social organizations

These organizations gain protections against institutional recruitment restrictions and retaliatory actions by their host universities.

What changed

Current stage: in_committee.

What's next

Floor Vote.

Summary

This bill proposes to prevent colleges and universities that receive federal funding from penalizing students or organizations solely because they limit membership to one sex. It establishes protections for students to join single-sex social groups, such as fraternities and sororities, without facing institutional retaliation or loss of campus privileges.

Key Facts

  • Prohibits institutions receiving federal funds from taking 'adverse action' against students or organizations based solely on single-sex membership policies.
  • Defines 'adverse action' to include expulsion, suspension, withholding of financial aid, denial of campus housing, or denial of letters of recommendation.
  • Prevents institutions from requiring students to waive their right to join single-sex organizations as a condition of enrollment.
  • Prohibits institutions from imposing recruitment restrictions on single-sex organizations that are not applied to other student groups, unless a written agreement exists.
  • Protects the right of students to form or join both recognized and unrecognized social organizations.
  • Clarifies that institutions are not required to officially recognize any social organization.
  • Allows institutions to take disciplinary action against students for academic or non-academic misconduct, provided the action is not based solely on the organization's single-sex status.
  • Protects the academic freedom of faculty to research, write, or express opinions regarding single-sex social organizations.
  • Specifies that the bill does not create enforceable rights against a social organization for its own membership decisions.
  • Defines 'single-sex social organization' to include tax-exempt fraternities, sororities, and historically single-sex private social clubs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this bill force colleges to recognize fraternities or sororities?
No. The bill explicitly states that nothing in the section requires an institution of higher education to officially recognize any social organization.
Can a college still punish a student in a single-sex club for bad behavior?
Yes. Institutions may still take for academic or non-academic misconduct, or if the organization poses a clear harm to students or employees, as long as the action is not based solely on the organization's single-sex membership policy.
What counts as an 'adverse action' under this bill?
s include disciplinary measures like suspension or expulsion, withholding financial aid or scholarships, denying access to campus housing, or refusing to provide letters of recommendation.

Why It Matters

If passed, this bill would prohibit colleges receiving federal funds from punishing students or withholding campus services, housing, or financial aid based on their membership in single-sex social organizations.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Sponsors

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Federal Preemption of Campus Policy

The bill represents a significant federal effort to limit the ability of universities to regulate student social life based on membership criteria, potentially overriding local institutional policies.

Connected Entities

personBanksSenator who introduced the bill.Map →
organizationCommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsThe Senate committee to which the bill was referred.Map →
personGallegoSenator who co-sponsored the bill.Map →

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance65
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy75
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment20
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz40
    Current news / social attention level

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