Amend the HEA to remove accreditors from the program triad

What has happened

1. Aug 20, 2026 Not started

   Accreditors remain the second leg of the program integrity triad, and both branches are reinforcing the role rather than removing it. The Department's proposed rewrite of 34 CFR part 602 assumes accreditors keep the title IV gatekeeping function and adds duties to it — student outcome and earnings thresholds, transfer-of-credit rules, cost-benefit analysis, a student and faculty complaint channel. No bill in the 119th Congress would strike section 496 or return accreditation to voluntary quality assurance; the six accreditation bills on file all regulate what accreditors may require.

   • ED notice of proposed rulemaking: Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization — the Secretary's Recognition of Accrediting Agencies (34 CFR part 602)

     Primary Executive branch Aug 20, 2026