Republican Indiana Sen. Jim Banks and Democratic Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego will introduce a bill Tuesday that would fight back against colleges’ discrimination against Greek life and other single-sex social groups.
Banks and Gallego’s Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2025 would protect college students’ free association rights to form or join single-sex social organizations, including sororities and fraternities, without fear of being singled out for unequal treatment over the organization’s single-sex status. The legislation would also prevent universities that receive federal funding from discriminating against a women’s-only or men’s only group or compel organizations to become co-ed, according to background on the bill obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Students should be free to form and join single-sex organizations like fraternities and sororities without facing punishment,” Banks told the DCNF. “This bill protects students’ freedom to associate, uphold tradition, and choose the communities they want to be a part of.”
“I cannot imagine my college experience without my fraternity brothers,” Gallego told the DCNF. “As a first-generation student in a completely new environment, having a strong community to lean on was essential.I’m proud to support this bill to protect students’ access to Greek life, since no student should be penalized for finding a home away from home.”
Gallego told the New York Times in a February interview that the Democratic Party’s brand is suffering from voters feeling like elected Democrats are focused on “small little niche groups” instead of everyday Americans.Colleges, including Harvard University, have sought to penalize students for joining single-sex social organizations, according to the DCNF’s previous reporting. Harvard’s Delta Gamma sorority chapter became the first single-sex social group at Harvard to disband in 2018 following the school’s decision to discriminate against students who join sororities.
Harvard subsequently rescinded its single-sex social group sanctions as a result of the Supreme Court’s in Bostock ruling, which found that federal law protects employees from discrimination on the basis of sex.
The bill passed the House during the 118th Congress in September 2024 as part of the Woke Campus Act.
Republican House Conference secretary Erin Houchin of Indiana is expected to introduce the House companion in the 119th Congress.
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