# 119-hr-2516: Accreditation for College Excellence Act of 2025

119-hr-2516, Accreditation for College Excellence Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Owens, Burgess [R-UT-4] (R-UT); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2516
- As of: 2026-06-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-2516
- Congress: 119
- Title: Accreditation for College Excellence Act of 2025
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-03-31
- Sponsor: Rep. Owens, Burgess [R-UT-4] (R-UT)
- Cosponsors: 12
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-06-12

## Summary

**This bill would ban political litmus tests in accreditation** for colleges and universities. It would also limit the Secretary of Education's authority to add accreditation criteria beyond what the Higher Education Act requires. - Colleges and universities: Would not be forced by accrediting standards to support, oppose, or be rated on specific political or ideological viewpoints. Institutions could not be assessed on an alleged commitment to an ideology as a condition of accreditation. - Accrediting agencies and the Secretary of Education: Could not impose extraneous accreditation criteria unrelated to federal program participation. Meeting an agency's core standards that satisfy the statute would be enough for federal recognition even if the agency adopted extra rules for other purposes. - Religious institutions and religious accreditors: Retains the ability for faith-based accreditors to set and enforce religious standards and for institutions to have a religious mission, codes of conduct, or faith statements where allowed by law.

## Cosponsors (12)

- Rep. Guthrie, Brett [R-KY-2] (R-KY), 2025-08-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] (R-NY), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Murphy, Gregory F. [R-NC-3] (R-NC), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grothman, Glenn [R-WI-6] (R-WI), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rose, John W. [R-TN-6] (R-TN), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Babin, Brian [R-TX-36] (R-TX), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Onder, Robert F. [R-MO-3] (R-MO), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Riley M. [R-WV-2] (R-WV), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Messmer, Mark B. [R-IN-8] (R-IN), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Finstad, Brad [R-MN-1] (R-MN), 2025-05-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17] (R-FL), 2025-07-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fine, Randy [R-FL-6] (R-FL), 2025-07-15T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Ban on ideological litmus tests: benefit, medium. This bill would prohibit accrediting standards from requiring, encouraging, or coercing a school to support or oppose a partisan, political, or ideological view. It would bar accreditors from assessing a school's commitment to any ideology or forcing a school to violate constitutional rights. Stude…
- Limits on Secretary's accreditation rules: benefit, medium. This bill would stop the Education Secretary from setting accreditation criteria that are not required by this part of the Higher Education Act. If a college meets its accreditor's core standards that assess the institution under subsection (a)(5), the college would still qualify for federal certif…
- Protections for religious schools' standards: mixed, medium. This bill would prevent accrediting standards from forbidding a school from having a religious mission or being controlled by a religious organization. It would let religious schools require statements of faith, codes of conduct, or oaths consistent with their mission. The bill would also say relig…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act
- 119-hr-45: FIND Act
- 119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025
- 119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-hr-404: Hearing Protection Act
- 119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-2516 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2516)

## Related
- [119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-425)
- [119-hr-45: FIND Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-45)
- [119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-38)
- [119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-21)
- [119-hr-404: Hearing Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-404)
- [119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1422)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2516 (as of 2026-06-12).