Senator Banks Introduces Legislation to Expand Classical Learning Test to Service Academies, Federal SchoolsWednesday, May 14, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C,– Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) introduced thePromote Classical Learning Act. The bill requires U.S. military service academies to accept the CLT in addition to the SAT and ACT for admissions for admissions. It also mandates that federally-run secondary schools, including Department of Defense and Bureau of Indian Education schools, administer the CLT to all 11th-grade students.
Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.):“The Classical Learning Test is the standard for academic excellence, and our service academies should accept nothing less. My bill ensures we recruit the brightest, most well-rounded young Americans to lead and defend our nation.”
Jeremy Wayne Tate, Founder and CEO, the Classical Learning Test:“Applicants to the United States service academies should have the opportunity to demonstrate their academic aptitude through an admissions assessment grounded in the classical tradition—a tradition that has historically underpinned the intellectual rigor and excellence of these institutions. We are grateful to Senator Banks and his commitment to restoring academics excellence and merit at our nations service academies.”
Robert P. George, Professor of Politics, Princeton University:“To put the matter simply, the CLT is superior in every way to its competitors. It provides an assessment of knowledge and aptitude, not ideology. Nowhere does this matter more than in our Nation’s service academies.”
Key Provisions of thePromoting Classical Learning Actare:
Full bill text can be foundhere.
Background:
Secretary Hegsethtweetedlast week that the service academies would begin accepting the CLT for admission. In the same tweet, Secretary Hegseth referred to the CLT as the “gold standard.”
Read more about thePromoting Classical Learning Acthere.