# 119-s-2859: Equal Campus Access Act of 2025

119-s-2859, Equal Campus Access Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-25).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2859
- As of: 2026-07-25
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2859
- Congress: 119
- Title: Equal Campus Access Act of 2025
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-09-18
- Sponsor: Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK)
- Cosponsors: 30
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-25

## Summary

**Guarantees equal access and official recognition for religious student organizations at public institutions of higher education by making that parity a condition of federal higher education funding.** The law says a public college or university cannot deny a religious student group facilities, recognition, or other benefits because of its religious beliefs, practices, speech, leadership rules, or standards of conduct without risking loss of funds under the Act. - Religious student organizations: Receive the same campus facilities, official recognition, and other rights as other student groups when those rights are denied for religious reasons. - Public institutions: Risk becoming ineligible for funds made available under this Act if they deny rights or recognition to religious student organizations for the specified religious reasons. - Federal funding framework: Codifies the protection inside the Higher Education Act funding rules and ties compliance directly to receipt of those funds.

## Cosponsors (30)

- Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC] (R-SC), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (R-LA), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Scott, Rick [R-FL] (R-FL), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND] (R-ND), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hawley, Josh [R-MO] (R-MO), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY] (R-WY), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS] (R-MS), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] (R-AR), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Young, Todd [R-IN] (R-IN), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN] (R-TN), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL] (R-AL), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID] (R-ID), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] (R-MT), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID] (R-ID), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] (R-WV), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC] (R-SC), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD] (R-SD), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE] (R-NE), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] (R-LA), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] (R-TX), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mullin, Markwayne [R-OK-2] (R-OK), 2025-09-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA), 2025-09-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND] (R-ND), 2025-09-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Justice, James C. [R-WV] (R-WV), 2025-12-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT), 2026-06-17T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Religious student groups get equal access: benefit, medium. If enacted, public colleges receiving funds under this Act would have to give religious student groups the same rights as other groups. This includes full access to campus facilities and official campus recognition. It covers denials based on the group's religious beliefs, practices, speech, leader…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2025
- 119-s-6: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-s-128: SAVE Act
- 119-sres-585: A resolution honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
- 119-sres-391: A resolution condemning the assassination of Charlie Kirk and honoring his life and legacy.

## Sources
- [119-s-2859 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2859)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-186)
- [119-s-6: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-6)
- [119-s-128: SAVE Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-128)
- [119-sres-585: A resolution honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Ben Nighthorse Camp…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-585)
- [119-sres-391: A resolution condemning the assassination of Charlie Kirk and honoring his life…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-391)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2859 (as of 2026-07-25).