Burgess Owens

Say No to Indoctrination Act

This bill prohibits the use of federal elementary and secondary education funds to teach or advance concepts related to gender ideology as defined by Executive Order 14168. This executive order, titled Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, was published on January 20, 2025.

Change of Ownership and Conversion Improvement Act

This bill revises the application and review process for institutions of higher education (IHEs) to change ownership or for a proprietary (i.e., for-profit) IHE to convert to public or other nonprofit status.

Specifically, the bill (1) establishes a pretransaction review application, and (2) requires an IHE to pay an administrative fee to the Department of Education (ED) for change in ownership or conversion transactions or pretransaction reviews. In the case of a for-profit IHE seeking conversion or a pretransaction review for conversion, ED must remit 50% of the administrative fee to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to determine whether the IHE is exempt from tax and is otherwise in compliance with the applicable requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC).

The bill establishes time frames for ED to approve or deny applications. The bill also includes various reporting requirements.

An IHE that has been approved for conversion by ED must be subject to a five-year monitoring period and must also pay an annual fee for this monitoring. ED must remit 50% of the annual fee to the IRS for monitoring the IHE's compliance with the IRC.

The Government Accountability Office must report on the implementation of this bill's provisions.

Ensuring Distance Education Act

This bill treats revenue from distance education programs as nonfederal revenue for purposes of the 90/10 rule.

Generally, the 90/10 rule requires a for-profit institution of higher education (IHE) to derive at least 10% of its revenue from sources other than federal financial aid. Under current Department of Education regulations, for-profit IHEs are prohibited from including revenue from distance education programs (including hybrid distance education programs) as nonfederal revenue that meets this 10% requirement. The bill removes the prohibition and allows for distance education programs to be counted as nonfederal revenue for purposes of the rule.

Reporting on Investments in Foreign Adversaries Act or the RIFA Act

This bill requires private institutions of higher education (IHEs) with specified assets or investments involving foreign countries or entities of concern to file annual investment disclosure reports. The bill applies to a private IHE with (1) assets in excess of $6 billion, or (2) investments of concern in excess of $250 million.

Specifically, the bill requires such a private IHE to file a disclosure report with the Department of Education (ED) for a year in which the IHE purchases, sells, or holds one or more investments of concern. Investment of concern means any specified interest (e.g., stock or debt) with respect to a foreign country of concern (e.g., North Korea, China, Russia, or Iran) or a foreign entity of concern (e.g., a foreign entity that is designated as a foreign terrorist organization).

Additionally, the bill requires ED to establish and maintain a publicly available and searchable database with these disclosure reports.

The bill requires ED to investigate possible violations of this bill and outlines the various penalties for each violation. Penalties may include losing eligibility for federal student financial aid.