[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4054 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4054
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
_______________________________________________________________________
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), 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; 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)
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;'';
(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
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
(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 total
price charged to students for a program
of study to the value-added earnings of
students who completed such program
(such as a comparison, with respect to
students who completed the program in
the same award year, of the median
total price charged to such students to
the median value-added earnings of such
students);
``(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''; 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 a process
for resolving complaints received by the institution;
and''; and
(C) in the matter following subparagraph (J), by
striking ``subparagraphs (A), (H), and (J)'' and
inserting ``subparagraph ((J)''.
(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) approve a State's designation of an
entity as an 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, if such plan includes each of the
elements listed in subparagraph (B);
``(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) if a State's designation of an
entity as an accrediting agency or association
is approved pursuant to this subparagraph,
publish in the Federal Register with a 30-day
public comment period--
``(I) the plan submitted by such
State with respect to such designation;
and
``(II) the Secretary's response to
such 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.
``(vii) An assurance that the State will
comply with the monitoring requirements
described in subparagraph (C).
``(C) State monitoring.--
``(i) In general.--A State that has
designated an entity as an accrediting agency
or association for the purposes described in
subsection (a)(2)(D) shall submit to the
Secretary, and to the State authorizing entity,
as appropriate, a report at the end of the 5-
year period for which the entity has received
such designation, which shall include, with
respect to each program of study or institution
that has been accredited by such entity during
such period, and disaggregated by type of
credential, certification, or degree--
``(I) the number and percentage of
students who have successfully obtained
a postsecondary education credential,
certification, or degree offered by
such program or institution;
``(II) the number and percentage of
students who were enrolled and did not
successfully obtain such a credential,
certification, or degree within 150
percent of the program length; and
``(III) the results of the State's
assessment described in subparagraph
(B)(v).
``(ii) Counting transfer students.--For
purposes of clause (i)(I), a student shall be
counted as obtaining a credential,
certification, or degree offered by a program
of study or institution that was accredited by
the entity during the period for which the
report under this subparagraph is being
submitted, if the student obtains such
credential, certification, or degree after
transferring to another institution during such
period.
``(2) Authority to provide an accelerated path to
recognition.--With respect to a prospective accrediting agency
or association that submits to the Secretary an application for
initial recognition under this Act, the Secretary may provide
such recognition to such agency or association within 2 years
after receipt of such application, if such application--
``(A) demonstrates that the agency or association-