1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Collegiate Freedom of Association Act . 2. Findings and purposes (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Single-sex social organizations, including sororities, fraternities, and private social clubs, have existed at institutions of higher education for over 200 years, where they have played, and should continue to play, unique roles in the development of young women and men by creating sisterhoods and brotherhoods that foster leadership, promote academic achievement, and encourage civic and campus involvement through philanthropic activities. (2) The freedom of association—that is, the freedom of joining, assembling, and residing with others—is protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, and allows individuals to create spaces that are safe, welcoming, empowering, enabling, uninhibited, and free. (3) Single-sex social sororities, fraternities, and private social clubs meet the requirements for intimate and expressive associations protected by the freedom of association because they are small and selective, are bound together by friendship, common interests, and common purpose, and create safe and empowering spaces for their members. (4) Some institutions of higher education, which stand in positions of power and authority over their students, have increasingly sought to eliminate or restrict access to single-sex social organizations, which are designed to nurture, lift, and empower students. (5) While the history of equal access in higher education includes discriminatory actions taken on the basis of race, religion, national origin, and sex by students, faculty, staff, and social organizations, many members of these same groups have taken, and continue to take actions to make the higher education community more open and inclusive to all. (6) While sex discrimination remains a serious problem in our society, allowing institutions of higher education to sanction members of sororities, fraternities, and private social clubs based