[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5768 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5768
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to protect students and
taxpayers by modernizing evaluation and increasing transparency in the
accreditation system, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 6, 2020
Mrs. Trahan (for herself, Ms. Dean, and Mrs. Hayes) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to protect students and
taxpayers by modernizing evaluation and increasing transparency in the
accreditation system, and for other purposes.
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 Reform Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON INSTITUTIONAL QUALITY AND
INTEGRITY.
Paragraph (1) of section 114(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1011c(c)) is amended to read as follows:
``(1) advise the Secretary with respect to--
``(A) the establishment and enforcement of the
standards of accrediting agencies or associations under
subpart 2 of part H of title IV and how such standards
relate to programs under such title;
``(B) participation in Federal recognition reviews
(including on-site inspections and reviews of
institutions of higher education and unannounced site
visits) of accrediting agencies or associations,
including through document requests that are considered
part of the petitions for recognition of such
accrediting agencies or associations under section 496;
and
``(C) whether to recognize an accrediting agency or
association under section 496;''.
SEC. 3. INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF ACCREDITATION SYSTEM.
Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (n)(1)--
(A) in the matter before subparagraph (A), by
inserting ``and data and evidence compiled by the
Department of Education'' before the second period;
(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as
subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively;
(C) by inserting before subparagraph (B), as
redesignated by subparagraph (B), the following:
``(A) prior to the solicitation of third-party
information concerning the performance of the
accrediting agency or association under subparagraph
(B), the public comments received by the Secretary
pursuant to subsection (r)(1) with respect to the
petition of the accrediting agency or association to be
recognized under this section;'';
(D) in subparagraph (C), as redesignated by
subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and
inserting a semicolon; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) any data the Department of Education has
previously collected with respect to the performance of
the institutions of higher education that the
accrediting agency or association accredits,
including--
``(i) any action taken by the accrediting
agency or association to limit an institution
of higher education, such as restrictions on
enrollment or other substantive changes;
``(ii) any action taken by an accrediting
agency or association to address the retention,
course completion, or graduation rates of an
institution of higher education;
``(iii) student achievement data at such
institutions of higher education;
``(iv) findings under completed program and
audit reviews of such institutions of higher
education; and
``(v) a record of such institutions of
higher education that fail to meet the
financial responsibility requirements under
section 486(d)(2)(C)(i);
``(E) a summary record of other actions (including
initial and reaffirmations of accreditation,
substantive changes, monitoring, warning, probation,
show cause, or limits placed on an institution of
higher education accredited by the accrediting agency
or association, such as limits on enrollment) taken by
the accrediting agency or association and an
explanation for such actions; and
``(F) conducted at least once annually, an enhanced
review of the standards of any accrediting agency or
association that accredited an institution of higher
education--
``(i) which was the subject of an
investigation, settlement, or adverse judgement
by a Federal or State authority for a violation
pertaining to fraud or abuse, deceptive
practices, or material harm to students
enrolled or previously enrolled at such
institution of higher education; or
``(ii) that closed without a teach-out
agreement.'';
(2) in subsection (o), by inserting ``(including
limitations on accrediting agencies or associations)'' before
``and for the appeal''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(r) Transparency Requirements.--
``(1) Notice and comment.--The Secretary shall, with
respect to each petition made by an accrediting agency or
association to receive recognition under this section, make
publicly available on the website of the Department of
Education for purposes of public notice and comment, the
following:
``(A) Such petition.
``(B) With respect to each institution of higher
education accredited by the accrediting agency or
association that made such petition, a record of
student complaints received by, or available to, such
accrediting agency or association.
``(C) A record of investigations, lawsuits,
settlements, or adverse judgments by a Federal or State
authority for a violation relating to fraud or abuse,
deceptive practices, or material harm to students
enrolled or previously enrolled at each institution of
higher education accredited by such accrediting agency
or association.
``(D) Any negative action against an institution of
higher education accredited by such accrediting agency
or association.
``(E) Any documents of such accrediting agency or
association requested by the Secretary for purposes of
review by the National Advisory Committee on
Institutional Quality and Integrity under section 114.
``(F) Such other information as the Secretary
determines appropriate.
``(2) Accrediting agency or association documents.--The
Secretary shall establish and maintain on the website of the
Department of Education the following:
``(A) All final documents produced in an
accrediting agency or association review of
institutions of higher education accredited by such
accrediting agency or association, including on-site
inspection and unannounced site visit reports,
substantive change reviews and decisions, decision
letters, and all other final documents that the
Secretary determines appropriate.
``(B) All final documents produced by the Secretary
in determining whether an accrediting agency or
association is recognized under this section,
including--
``(i) a summary of any deficiencies found
with respect to such an accrediting agency or
association; and
``(ii) the rationale for recognition or
denial of such an accrediting agency or
association.
``(C) Aggregate outcome data for institutions of
higher education accredited by each accrediting agency
or association.''.
<all>