Lankford, Cruz Introduce Bill to Protect Students Pursuing Ministry From Losing Federal Student Aid

WASHINGTON, DC — US Senator James Lankford (R-OK), chairman of the Senate Values Action Team, and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the Religious Education Fairness Act , legislation that would protect students studying for ministry and other religious vocations from losing access to federal student aid under a new earnings test. The bill protects programs classified as Theology and Religious Vocations or Philosophy and Religious Studies at eligible educational institutions from the Working Families Tax Cut Act ’s “Do No Harm” provision, which puts federal student aid at risk based on graduates’ earnings. “A student who feels called to pastor a church or serve as a missionary should not lose access to student aid because Washington measures the value of that calling by a paycheck,” said Lankford. “The Religious Education Fairness Act protects those students pursuing ministry from a test that was never designed for them. Groups supporting the bill are Alliance Defending Freedom, the Association for Biblical Higher Education, the Orthodox Union, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges & Schools, the International Alliance for Christian Education, and the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities. Background The Working Families Tax Cut Act enacted an earnings-based accountability measure, known as the “Do No Harm” (DNH) provision. Under the statute, post-graduation earnings data will be used to determine whether certain programs remain eligible for federal Direct Loans. On July 1, 2026, the Department of Education finalized its rule implementing the earnings-based accountability measure. The rule also established a new administrative capability requirement that threatens programmatic and institutional eligibility for other Higher Education Act Title IV programs, such as Pell Grants and Federal Work-Study. Given that many religious vocations are service-oriented rather than high-paying careers, the DNH provision and the final rule could disproportionately impact students pursuing ministry and other religious vocations. Applying the earnings test to these programs would substantially burden religious exercise and violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act . The Religious Education Fairness Act uses the existing Title IX religious exemption framework to identify eligible institutions and protects covered programs from losing Direct Loan eligibility under the “Do No Harm” earnings test and other Title IV eligibility under the rule’s administrative capability requirement. ###