Exclusive: Sen. Jim Banks Unveils ‘Promoting Classical Learning Act,’ Requiring Military Academies to Accept Alternative Admissions Test

Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) unveiled legislation on Wednesday that would require American military service academies to accept the Classical Learning Test (CLT) as an admissions option.

“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,” Banks said in a written statement to Breitbart News.

The Promoting Classical Learning Act would mandate that military academies such as West Point and the Naval Academy accept the CLT alongside the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT).

The legislation also stipulates that federally run secondary schools, including the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense and the Bureau of Indian Education Schools, administer the CLT to all 11th-grade students. There are 161 schools operated by the Defense Department.

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Banks’ office said in a release that the College Board, which administers the SAT, acts as a taxpayer-funded monopoly that dictates curriculum for students nationwide despite being unelected and unaccountable. Even though the College Board has claimed to be politically neutral, it has pressured students to adopt leftist curricula while censoring right-leaning learning material.

Jeremy Tate started the CLT in 2015 to provide an alternative to the established standardized tests, and it is rooted in academic tradition. The CLT tests for math and reading comprehension as well as knowledge of classical learning texts.

David Coleman, the CEO of the College Board, said nearly a decade ago that “teachers will teach towards the test. There is no force on this earth strong enough to prevent that.”

“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,” Tate said in a written statement to Breitbart News.

Now, more than 280 institutes of higher education (IHEs) accept the CLT as an entrance exam. Arkansas and Florida have passed legislation approved the CLT for use in public schools. Classical schools, religious schools, and homeschoolers are tailoring their curricula toward preparing students for the CLT.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in early May said that he would direct the military academies to accept the CLT. Banks’ legislation would codify this move by Hegseth.

The Heritage Foundation has noted that there are now more than 1,000 classical schools. Since September 2023, there are now more than 120,000 Florida students who have taken the CLT college exam.

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.