Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2025

This bill ties some federal college funding to how schools treat academic ties with key U.S. partners, like Israel. Each year by July 31, colleges must promise not to take part in certain commercial boycotts against a major U.S. strategic partner. The Education Department will post a public list soon after that date naming schools that did not file this promise.

To receive another set of federal education funds, colleges must also promise not to block students or faculty from taking part in academic programs in that partner country, and to host students and scholars from that country on the same terms as those from other countries. If a school misses the July 31 filing, it loses eligibility for those funds in the next fiscal year, even for money from earlier grants that would have been paid in that year. The bill also says that limiting cooperation with such partners does not help U.S. security, stability, or economic strength.

• Who is affected: U.S. colleges and universities; students and faculty involved in study abroad, exchanges, and joint research, including programs linked to Israel .
• What changes: Annual no-boycott certification; public listing of non-filers; equal access to programs in the partner country; risk of losing certain federal funds if requirements are not met .
• When: Certification due every year by July 31; the public list appears within seven business days after that; funding loss applies in the first fiscal year that begins after July 31 .