S. 5116
Introduced in Senate · August 4, 2026July 23, 2026
Mr. Young (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Warnock, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Kim) 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 require the standards for accreditation of an institution of higher education to assess the institution’s adoption of admissions practices that refrain from preferential treatment in admissions based on an applicant’s relationship to alumni of, or donors to, the institution, to authorize a feasibility study on data collection, and for other purposes.
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 “Merit-based Educational Reforms and Institutional Transparency Act” or the “MERIT Act”.