Equal Campus Access Act of 2025

Key Points

• This bill would cut off federal funding under the Higher Education Act for any public college or university that denies religious student organizations the same rights, benefits, or privileges given to other student groups on campus.
• Protected rights explicitly include full access to campus facilities and official recognition by the school — both of which are essential for student groups to hold events, recruit members, and receive campus funding.
• The bill specifically shields religious groups from being penalized for their beliefs, practices, speech, leadership standards, or conduct standards. This means a religious group could require its leaders to share the group's faith, even if the school has an "all-comers" nondiscrimination policy.
• The penalty for noncompliance is severe — losing all funding under the Higher Education Act, which includes federal student financial aid like Pell Grants and student loans. Most public universities depend heavily on this money, making it a powerful enforcement tool.
• The bill was introduced by Sen. Lankford with 25 Republican co-sponsors and referred to the Senate HELP Committee. It would amend Part B of Title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965.