[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4054 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 360
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4054
[Report No. 119-414]
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reform accreditation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 20, 2025
Mr. Fine introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Workforce
December 18, 2025
Additional sponsor: Mr. Messmer
December 18, 2025
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June
20, 2025]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reform accreditation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Accreditation Choice and Innovation
Act''.
SEC. 2. ACCREDITING AGENCY RECOGNITION.
(a) Criteria Required.--Section 496(a) of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)) is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), in the first
sentence, by striking ``or training'' and inserting ``or skills
development'';
(2) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) the accrediting agency or association (other than an
accrediting agency or association described in paragraph
(2)(D)) shall be a State or national agency or association and
shall demonstrate the ability to operate as an institutional or
programmatic accrediting agency or association within the State
or nationally, as appropriate;'';
(3) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) in clause (i), by striking
``principal''; and
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``its
principal'' and inserting ``a''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``or'' at the
end;
(C) in subparagraph (C)--
(i) by striking ``its principal'' and
inserting ``a''; and
(ii) by inserting ``or'' at the end; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) is an entity (such as an industry-specific
quality assurance entity) that has been--
``(i) determined by a State to be a
reliable authority as to the quality of
education or skills development offered in such
State for the purposes of this Act; and
``(ii) designated (in accordance with
subsection (b)(1)) by such State as an
accrediting agency or association with respect
to such State for such purposes;'';
(4) in paragraph (3)--
(A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as
follows:
``(A) subparagraph (A), (C), or (D) of paragraph
(2), then such agency or association is--
``(i) distinctly incorporated or organized;
and
``(ii) both administratively and
financially separate from, and independent of,
any related, associated, or affiliated trade
association or membership organization, by
ensuring that--
``(I) the members of the board or
governing body of the accrediting
agency or association are not elected
or selected by the board or chief
executive officer (or the
representative of such board or
officer) of any related, associated, or
affiliated trade association or
membership organization;
``(II) among the membership of the
board or governing body of the
accrediting agency or association--
``(aa) if such board or
body is comprised of 5 or fewer
members, there is a minimum of
one member who is not also a
member of any related,
associated, or affiliated trade
association or membership
organization (referred to in
this subclause as a `public
member') and who represents
business (such as an owner of a
business (including a small
business), a chief executive or
operating officer of a
business, or another other
business executive or employer
with optimum policymaking or
hiring authority); and
``(bb) if such board or
body is comprised of 6 or more
members, there is a minimum of
2 public members (at least one
of whom represents business (as
described in item (aa))) for
every 6 members;
``(III) guidelines are established
for such members to avoid conflicts of
interest, including specific guidelines
to ensure that no such member is an
employee of any institution accredited
by the agency or association or has a
financial interest in any such
institution;
``(IV) dues to the accrediting
agency or association are paid
separately from any dues paid to any
related, associated, or affiliated
trade association or membership
organization; and
``(V) the budget of the accrediting
agency or association is developed,
determined, and maintained by the
accrediting agency or association
without any review by, consultation
with, or approval by any related,
associated, or affiliated trade
association or membership organization;
or'';
(B) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph
(B); and
(C) by striking subparagraph (C);
(5) in paragraph (4)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by inserting ``(in the manner described
in subparagraph (B))'' after ``religious
missions''; and
(ii) by striking ``and'' at the end; and
(B) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the
following:
``(B) such accrediting agency or association consistently
applies and enforces standards that respect the stated
religious mission of an institution of higher education by--
``(i) basing decisions regarding accreditation and
preaccreditation on the standards of accreditation of
such agency or association; and
``(ii) not using as a negative factor the
institution's religious mission based policies,
decisions, and practices in the areas covered by
subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (E), and (F) of paragraph
(5), except that the agency or association may require
that the institution's or a program of study's
curricula include all core components required by the
agency or association that are not inconsistent with
the institution's religious mission; and
``(C) such agency or association demonstrates the ability
to review, evaluate, and assess the quality of any instruction
delivery model or method such agency or association has or
seeks to include within its scope of recognition, without
giving preference to or differentially treating (such as
through separate standards, procedures, or policies) a
particular instruction delivery model or method offered by an
institution or program, except that in a case in which an
instruction delivery model allows for the separation of the
student from the instructor, the agency or association requires
the institution to have processes--
``(i) through which the institution establishes
that the student who registers in a course or program
with such an instruction delivery model is the same
student who participates in the course or program of
study (including, to the extent practicable, the
testing or other assessments required under the course
or program of study), completes the course or program
of study, and receives the academic credit for such
course or program of study; and
``(ii) which are implemented in a manner that is
minimally burdensome to the student;'';
(6) in paragraph (5)--
(A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as
follows:
``(A) success with respect to student achievement
outcomes in relation to the institution's mission and
to the programs the institution offers, or the mission
of a specific degree, certificate, or credential
program, which may include different standards for
different institutions or programs of study, and which
shall include--
``(i) standards for consideration of
student success outcomes measures, including--
``(I) a comparison of the median
total price charged to students in a
program of study student cohort to the
value-added earnings of such cohort;
``(II) completion rates;
``(III) retention rates; and
``(IV) loan repayment rates;
``(ii) standards for consideration of
learning outcomes measures (such as competency
attainment and licensing examination passage
rates); and
``(iii) standards for consideration of
labor market outcomes measures (such as
employability measures, earnings gains, or
other similar approaches);''; and
(B) by amending subparagraph (I) to read as
follows:
``(I) record of student complaints received by, or
available to, the agency or association, and the
institution's process for resolving complaints against
the institution; and'';
(C) in the matter following subparagraph (J), by
striking ``subparagraphs (A), (H), and (J)'' and
inserting ``subparagraph (J)''; and
(7) in paragraph (6)(A)(ii), by inserting before the
semicolon at the end the following: ``(including any student
complaints received by, or available to, the agency or
association)''.
(b) Secretarial Requirements and Authority.--Subsection (b) of
section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is
amended to read as follows:
``(b) Secretarial Requirements and Authority.--
``(1) State designated accrediting agency.--
``(A) Approval of state plans.--The Secretary
shall--
``(i) if a State's plan with respect to the
State's designation of an entity as an
accrediting agency or association for the
purposes described in subsection (a)(2)(D)
includes each of the elements listed in
subparagraph (B)--
``(I) subject to clause (ii)(I),
approve the State's designation of such
entity as such accrediting agency or
association for the purposes described
in subsection (a)(2)(D) for a 5-year
period, beginning not later than 30
days after receipt of the plan from
such State with respect to such
designation;
``(II) submit to the State and the
authorizing committees, and make
publicly available, the Secretary's
response to the State with respect to
such plan, including whether the plan
includes each of the elements listed in
subparagraph (B); and
``(III) publish in the Federal
Register, with a 30-day public comment
period, the plan submitted by such
State with respect to such designation,
and the Secretary's response to such
plan; and
``(ii) if, not later than 30 days after the
30-day public comment period referred to in
clause (i)(III), a State revises the State's
plan approved under clause (i)(I) to
incorporate one or more of the comments
received during such 30-day comment period, and
such revised plan includes each of the elements
listed in subparagraph (B)--
``(I) revise the 5-year period
described in clause (i)(I) approving
the State's designation of the entity
as an accrediting agency or association
for the purposes described in
subsection (a)(2)(D) to begin not later
than 30 days after receipt of such
revised plan;
``(II) submit to the State and the
authorizing committees, and make
publicly available, the Secretary's
response to the State with respect to
such revised plan, including whether
such revised plan includes each of the
elements listed in subparagraph (B);
and
``(III) publish in the Federal
Register, such revised State plan, and
the Secretary's response to such
revised State plan.
``(B) Required plan elements.--The required
elements of a State plan submitted under subparagraph
(A) with respect to the designation of an entity as an
accrediting agency or association are as follows:
``(i) A description of the process the
State used to select the entity for such
designation.
``(ii) A justification of the State's
decision to select the entity for such
designation.
``(iii) A description of any requirements
(in addition to the requirements of this
section), that the State required the entity to
comply with as a condition of receiving and
maintaining such designation, including a
requirement for the entity to use, to the
extent practicable during such designation, the
common terminology developed pursuant to
paragraph (3).
``(iv) A copy of the standards, policies,
and procedures of the entity that the State
considered in selecting the entity for such
designation.
``(v) The State's assessment of how the
standards for accreditation of the entity will
be effective in meeting the requirements of
subsection (a)(5).
``(vi) Evidence that at least one other
State has determined that such entity is a
reliable authority as to the quality of
education offered for the purposes of this Act