Bill may demand that universities ‘ policies on opposition laws be transparent.
Major House Republicans have introduced a bill to better hold administrators responsible for mayhem following a turbulent spring quarter that saw hundreds of arrests and authorities interventions.
Republicans Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York introduced the” No Tax Dollars for College Encampments Act” on July 1. To be granted national approval, universities would have to make their opposition response policies publicly known.
In a information release, Stefanik stated,” I am committed to ridding colleges of the racist rot that corrupts our students and makes campuses unsafe and hostile to our Hebrew communities.”
The congresswoman stated that” this legislation would stop the appalling crowd protests that we saw spread across campuses, including Columbia University,” and that it would ensure that school leaders are enforcing policies to stop angry college takeovers.
According to a media release from the Bank’s company, the expenses, which seeks to alter the Higher Education Act of 1965, may also require colleges to “observe their own methods and reporting criteria when responding to legal unrest.”
Colleges may be required to send quarterly reports to the Department of Education detailing incidents of civil unrest and the actions school leaders took in reply.
The bill’s purpose is to enhance transparency, improve safety, and ensure accountability on campuses, the Republicans said in their news releases.
The bill has been supported by six other House Republicans and a number of other policy groups, including Parents Defending Education Action and Heritage Action.
Parents Defending Education Action states in a press release that” [W]e cannot sit idle while these college administrations allow these illegal encampments to continue.”
Makeshift encampments were permitted to flourish on campuses across the country last school year, disrupting classes and intimidating Jewish students. This is unacceptable”, Banks said.
He claimed that “my legislation holds these awake universities accountable and ensures that they uphold protest rules fairly and equally when they fit their political agenda.”
Banks ‘ and Stefanik’s offices did not respond to The College Fix’s requests for comment.
Critics of the bill argue it is an effort to “punish pro-Palestine students”.
In a piece for Mondoweiss, Michael Arria claimed that the bill “would strip U.S. schools of their federal accreditation” if” they fail to stop protests in support of Gaza”. He also described it as a “wacky” Republican initiative.
Ohio senator and Trump’s vice presidential running mate, J. D. Vance, introduced similar legislation on May 9, titled the Encampments or Endowments Act.
According to his website, the bill sought to make universities ineligible for five years for financial aid as a result of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which prohibits them from removing encampments from their campuses.
” It’s time to end this national embarrassment”, Vance stated at the time in a news release. We ca n’t tolerate turning campuses into garbage dumps because of our country’s hatred.
Senate Democrats blocked Vance’s legislation.
” In a time where kids are punished for so-called misgendering, it’s despicable that pro-terrorist protests were allowed on college campuses”, Parents Defending Education Action told The College Fix via email.
” Free speech must be protected—but much of the behavior we saw at these encampments went far beyond acceptable speech and instead constituted harassment, discrimination, and threats”, the advocacy group added.
MORE: More than 3, 100 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested in spring— but many charges dropped
IMAGE: Lev Radin / Shutterstock
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