Official Summaries

Fair College Admissions for Students Act

This bill prohibits an institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in federal student aid programs from giving preferential treatment in the admissions process to applicants based on their relationships to donors or alumni of the IHE.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 880 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 880

 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit institutions of 
 higher education participating in Federal student assistance programs 
from giving preferential treatment in the admissions process to legacy 
                          students or donors.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 6, 2025

Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Padilla) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit institutions of 
 higher education participating in Federal student assistance programs 
from giving preferential treatment in the admissions process to legacy 
                          students or donors.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair College Admissions for Students 
Act''.

SEC. 2. BAN ON LEGACY OR DONOR PREFERENCES IN ADMISSIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(30) The institution will not provide any manner of 
        preferential treatment in the admission process to applicants 
        on the basis of their relationships to--
                    ``(A) donors to the institution; or
                    ``(B) alumni of the institution.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on the first day of the second award year (as defined in 
section 481(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088(a))) 
that begins after the date of enactment of this Act.
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