Accreditation for College Excellence Act of 2023 2024-04-23 Reported to House Accreditation for College Excellence Act of 2023

This bill revises the requirements for an accrediting agency to be recognized by the Department of Education as a reliable authority on the quality of education being offered at an institution of higher education (IHE).

Specifically, an accrediting agency must confirm that its standards do not require, encourage, or coerce an IHE to (1) support, oppose, or commit to supporting or opposing specific partisan, political, or ideological viewpoints or beliefs or specific viewpoints or beliefs on social, cultural, or political issues; or (2) support or commit to supporting the disparate treatment of any individual or group on the basis of any protected class under federal civil rights law.

Additionally, an accrediting agency must confirm that its standards do not prohibit an IHE from having a religious mission. The accrediting agency may not prohibit the IHE from requiring an applicant, student, employee, or independent contractor to provide a statement of faith or adhere to a code of conduct.

The bill specifies that an IHE shall be eligible to participate in federal student aid programs if the IHE is in compliance with the standards of the accrediting agency that assesses the IHE in accordance with statute.

]]> 2023-05-25 Introduced in House Accreditation for College Excellence Act of 2023

This bill revises the requirements for an accrediting agency to be recognized by the Department of Education as a reliable authority on the quality of education being offered at an institution of higher education (IHE).

Specifically, an accrediting agency must confirm that its standards do not require, encourage, or coerce an IHE to (1) support or oppose specific partisan or political beliefs or viewpoints on social or political issues; or (2) support the disparate treatment of any individual or group on the basis of sex, race, or ethnicity.

Additionally, an accrediting agency must confirm that its standards do not prohibit an IHE from having a religious mission. The accrediting agency may not prohibit the IHE from requiring an applicant, student, or employee to provide a statement of faith or adhere to a code of conduct.

The bill also prohibits an accrediting agency from adopting additional standards for accreditation that are not specifically authorized by statute.

]]> text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.