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United States · Bill · S

S. 559 (114th)

Supporting Academic Freedom through Regulatory Relief Act

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

25 February 2015

Last action

25 February 2015 · Introduced

Status

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Sponsors

Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC], Chuck Grassley, Sen. Isakson, Johnny [R-GA], Thomas Tillis, Tom Cotton, Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT], Sen. Alexander, Lamar [R-TN], Rep. Roberts, Pat [R-KS-1], Deb Fischer, Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ], Tim Scott, Bill Cassidy, Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH], John Cornyn, Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL], Sen. Enzi, Michael B. [R-WY], Lisa Murkowski, Sen. McCain, John [R-AZ], Shelley Capito, Steve Daines, Sen. Toomey, Patrick [R-PA], Sen. Blunt, Roy [R-MO], Rand Paul, Sen. Coats, Daniel [R-IN], Sen. Perdue, David [R-GA], John Thune, Sen. Kirk, Mark Steven [R-IL], Roger Wicker, Sen. Gardner, Cory [R-CO]

Subjects

Taxation, Education

Source updated

5 December 2025

Taxation · Education

Official sourceDownload fileView documentsShare

Summary

Supporting Academic Freedom through Regulatory Relief Act Repeals certain Department of Education (ED) regulations that for purposes of determining whether a school is eligible to participate in programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA): (1) require institutions of higher education (IHEs) and postsecondary vocational institutions (except religious schools) to be legally authorized by the state in which they are situated, (2) delineate what such legal authorization requires of states and schools, (3) impose standards and disclosure requirements on programs that prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation, and (4) define "credit hour." Prohibits ED from promulgating or enforcing any regulation or rule not in effect on the date of this Act's enactment regarding: (1) the state authorization for IHEs to operate within a state, (2) the definition or application of the term "gainful employment," or (3) a teacher preparation program accountability system. Ends that prohibition when a law is enacted that extends by at least two fiscal years the authorization or duration of one or more programs under the HEA. Prohibits ED from promulgating or enforcing any regulation or rule that defines "credit hour" for any purpose under the HEA. Prohibits ED from carrying out, developing, refining, promulgating, publishing, implementing, administering, or enforcing a postsecondary institution ratings system or any other performance system to rate IHEs. Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the HEA to authorize nonprofit IHEs to make payments to third-party entities for services that include student recruitment and are based on the amount of tuition that the IHE generates from student enrollment if the third-party entity: (1) is not affiliated with the IHE, (2) does not provide incentive payments to its employees for their success in enrolling students or securing financial aid for them, (3) is not paid by the IHE solely or separately for student recruitment services, and (4) will not make student recruitment information available to any other person or entity.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 25 February 2015

    Introduced

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 25 February 2015

    Introduced

    Introduced in Senate

    Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Documents

3 official files

Sponsors

Related records

Sources

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