On this page, you'll find proposals that seek to improve institutional quality and/or look to hold institutions or individuals responsible for their actions or performance. In addition, this page includes legislation regarding accreditation and matters related to the Department of Education, including structure and regulatory activity.

H.R.7117 — Fast Track To and Through College Act

Sponsor: Rep. Olszewski [D-MD]
Introduced: 01/15/2026
NASFAA Summary: This bill aims to increase college completion and reduce costs by accelerating time-to-degree, aligning high school and postsecondary education, and improving credit transfer. It establishes competitive grants for states to implement early college and early high school graduation pathways, expand access to advanced coursework, and support historically underrepresented students. The Act allows eligible high school students in these pathways to receive Pell Grants, requires reporting and evaluation of outcomes, and includes provisions to ensure federal funds supplement, not supplant, state funding.

S.3589 — RISE Act

Sponsor: Sen. Banks [R-IN]
Introduced: 01/07/2026
NASFAA Summary: This bill would support students with disabilities by expanding the types of documentation colleges can accept for accommodations, requiring transparent policies and accessible information, authorizing $10 million for a national support center, and mandating aggregate reporting on disability services while protecting student privacy.

S.2990 — Campus Accountability and Safety Act

Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand [D-NY]
Introduced: 10/08/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would expand Clery Act reporting requirements to include additional data on sexual assault cases, such as the number of incidents involving student respondents, reports to Title IX officials, disciplinary outcomes, and sanctions. It would establish uniform definitions for terms such as “complainant,” “respondent,” and “Title IX coordinator,” and require institutions to use consistent federal definitions for sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. The Department of Education would be directed to create a public, searchable campus safety website with school-level data, Title IX contact information, and enforcement details. Colleges would also be required to appoint trained, confidential sexual and interpersonal violence specialists to assist survivors with reporting options and access to resources, and to prohibit retaliation against those who report in good faith.

H.R.4363 — Defend Girls Athletics Act

Sponsor: Rep. Barr [R-KY]
Introduced: 07/14/2025) 
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would require institutions to allow only biological women to compete in women’s sports or risk losing their federal funding, including student loans. Each year by July 1, institutions must certify that they’re following this rule. Failure to certify could result in the loss of federal money and the blocking of future funding.

H.R.1 - One Big Beautiful Bill Act

NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, creates several changes to federal student aid and loan programs. It keeps subsidized loans and existing undergraduate loan limits, ends the Graduate PLUS loan program starting in 2026, and introduces new caps on total federal borrowing. A new income-driven repayment plan (RAP) will replace many current plans for new borrowers, while existing borrowers must transition by 2028. Pell Grant funding is increased, and new rules limit eligibility based on financial support and income. Colleges must also meet new earnings benchmarks to keep access to federal loans. For a more detailed breakdown and analysis, visit NASFAA’s Reconciliation Web Center.

S.2107/H.R.4026 — POST Act of 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Cohen [D-TN]
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin [D-IL] 
Introduced: 06/17/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would repeal the 90/10 rulea and replace it with 85/15 for proprietary institutions by requiring at least 15% of their revenue from non-federal sources to remain eligible for federal student aid programs. The bill expands and clarifies federal versus non-federal revenue, including specific treatment of alternative financing arrangements, institutional loans, and scholarships. It restricts the use of affiliated entities to meet the 15% threshold artificially and outlines detailed accounting and reporting requirements. Institutions that fail to meet the requirement lose eligibility for at least two fiscal years and must demonstrate full compliance to regain it.

H.R.3836 — EO 14282 Act of 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Burchett [R-TN]
Introduced: 06/09/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would give the force of law to Executive Order 14282, which focuses on transparency regarding foreign influence at American universities. The bill would codify the executive order requirements involving disclosing foreign gifts, contracts, or partnerships by higher education institutions. 

H.R.3518/S.1811 — Embracing Anti-Discrimination, Unbiased Curricula, and Advancing Truth in Education Act

Sponsor: Rep. Murphy [R-NC]
Sponsor: Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA]
Introduced: 05/20/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would prohibit graduate medical schools from receiving federal funding—including participation in federal student loan programs—if they adopt certain diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Specifically, it bars schools from requiring students, faculty, or staff to affirm or express DEI-related beliefs, such as acknowledging systemic racism or assigning guilt or privilege based on race or other characteristics. It also prohibits DEI offices, mandatory DEI statements for admission or employment, and race-based benefits or programs. Accrediting agencies for medical programs must also not require DEI policies.

H.R.3345 — Sovereign States Education Restoration Act

Sponsor: Rep. Higgins [R-LA]
Introduced: 05/13/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would abolish the Department of Education and transfer all major federal student aid programs to the Department of the Treasury. The Act creates a postsecondary education block grant program, allowing the Treasury to allocate funds to states based on prior-year enrollment in postsecondary institutions. States could use the funds to support any aspect of postsecondary education, but must comply with federal civil rights laws, submit student data, and complete annual audits. Oversight of civil rights compliance for these programs would be handled by the Department of Justice.

S.1738 — Securing Academia from Foreign Entanglements Act

Sponsor: Sen. Sullivan [R-AK]
Introduced: 05/13/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would prohibit colleges and universities from accepting gifts or entering into contracts with "foreign countries of concern," which include nations deemed a threat to U.S. national security. The bill allows the Secretary of Education, in coordination with national security officials, to determine which countries qualify.

H.R.3281 — To prohibit the reduction, elimination, or suspension of funding for land-grant colleges and universities. [Unnamed]. 

Sponsor: Rep. Figures [D-AL]
Introduced: 05/08/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture, or any other Federal official, from taking any action to reduce, eliminate, or suspend funding for land-grant colleges and universities, unless an Act of Congress authorizes explicitly such reduction, elimination, or suspension.

H.R.3282 — Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campus Act of 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Fine [R-FL]
Introduced: 05/08/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would strengthen protections against religious discrimination, specifically antisemitism, in federally funded programs and institutions of higher education. It explicitly prohibits discrimination based on religion and defines severe, pervasive antisemitic harassment as a form of discrimination. The bill ensures that religious organizations are exempt from these provisions. It also imposes fines on institutions that repeatedly violate Title VI regarding antisemitism, requires institutions to notify students and staff of such violations, and mandates federal monitoring of related lawsuits. 

S.1569 — Fairness in Higher Education Accreditation Act

Sponsor: Sen. Banks [R-IN]
Introduced: 05/01/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would modify the criteria for federal recognition of accrediting agencies for higher education institutions. The bill adds new requirements prohibiting accrediting agencies from considering or mandating standards related to the race, color, sex, or national origin of students, faculty, or staff in any context. It also requires that accrediting agencies respect institutional autonomy by allowing colleges to adopt lawful policies in these areas, regardless of the institution's stated mission. Furthermore, the bill mandates that accreditors assess institutions’ commitment to "free inquiry," defined as adherence to constitutional or institutional free speech and academic freedom policies. However, it exempts religious institutions that meet specific criteria.

H.Con.Res.14 — Concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2025

NASFAA Summary: The resolution includes reconciliation instructions that direct 11 House committees to submit legislation that will increase or decrease the deficit over FY2025-FY2034 and increase the statutory debt limit by specified amounts. The House Education and Workforce Committee submitted their legislation which proposes significantly overhauling federal student aid. This bill would modify the Pell Grant program by defining full-time enrollment as 15 credits, establishing an income cutoff based on the maximum Pell Grant, and introducing Workforce Pell for short-term programs. It would establish a new campus-based "Promise Grant" beginning in the 2028-29 award year, funded through an institutional risk-sharing proposal. The legislation would reinstate the asset protection allowance for family farms and small businesses in the FAFSA need analysis and eventually shift the need calculation to be based on the median cost of a student's program of study. Furthermore, this bill would revise the definition of an eligible student, narrowing eligibility for certain non-citizen categories.

Regarding federal loans, this bill would eliminate new subsidized undergraduate loans and Grad PLUS loans effective July 1, 2026. It would revise annual and aggregate unsubsidized loan limits, tying them primarily to the median cost of the student's program, and restrict Parent PLUS borrowing unless the student borrows the maximum unsubsidized amount. The bill would consolidate loan repayment into two main options, including a new income-based "Repayment Assistance Plan," while limiting deferment and forbearance options for new borrowers. It would implement an institutional accountability framework requiring institutions to remit payments based on their student cohorts' loan repayment performance. Finally, this legislation would repeal the 90/10 rule, Gainful Employment regulations, and other recent regulatory actions, while significantly limiting the Department of Education's authority to issue similar rules in the future.

H.R.2899 — PROTECT Students Act of 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Takano [D-CA]
Introduced: 04/10/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would codify the 2023 Biden Administration's Gainful Employment regulations, requiring career programs at Title IV institutions to demonstrate that graduates earn more than high school graduates in their state and have a reasonable debt-to-earnings ratio. Borrower defense regulations are simplified, allowing students to discharge loans if they were misled by their institutions. The bill ensures closed school discharge eligibility for students enrolled within 180 days of a school’s closure. The bill also includes oversight measures including clarifying that third-party servicers handling federal aid, recruitment, retention, default management, or instructional content development fall under Department of Education regulations. It also establishes a ‘For-Profit Education Oversight Coordination Committee’, involving multiple federal agencies to coordinate investigations and enforcement efforts. A public complaint resolution system would be implemented, requiring institutions and servicers to respond to student and borrower complaints. Transparency measures require institutions to disclose debt-to-earnings rates for all graduate and certificate programs, instructional spending levels, third-party servicer relationships, and online program recruitment expenditures.

H.R.2809 — Fair College Admissions for Students Act

Sponsor: Rep. Kim [R-CA]
Introduced: 04/10/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would prohibit institutions that participate in federal student aid programs from granting preferential treatment in admissions based on an applicant’s relationship to donors or alumni. This ban on legacy and donor-based admissions preferences would become effective at the start of the second federal award year following the bill’s enactment.

S.1402 — Returning Education to Our States Act

Sponsor: Sen. Rounds [R-SD]
Introduced: 04/09/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would abolish the Department of Education within one year of enactment and redistribute its responsibilities across other federal agencies. The bill transfers all Title IV federal student aid programs—including Pell Grants, Direct Loans, and campus-based aid—to the Department of the Treasury, which would also assume control of the Health Education Assistance Loan program. States would receive postsecondary education funding through new block grants administered by Treasury, based on enrollment figures, with conditions including data reporting, audits, and civil rights compliance. While the bill preserves FERPA and civil rights protections, it removes centralized federal oversight of higher education policy and financial aid administration.

H.R.2691 — Unnamed

Sponsor: Rep. Moore [R-AL]
Introduced: 04/07/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would abolish the Department of Education within 30 days of enactment and terminate all of its programs, except for the Federal Pell Grant Program and the Federal Direct Loan Program, which would be transferred to the Department of the Treasury. The bill also establishes a new grant program that allocates federal funds to states for elementary and secondary education based on the proportion of federal income taxes paid by residents of each state.

H.R.2583/S.1253 — College Admissions Accountability Act of 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Taylor [R-OH]
Sponsor: Sen. Banks [R-IN]
Introduced: 04/01/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would create a Special Inspector General for Unlawful Discrimination within the Department of Education to investigate racial discrimination in college admissions. The office would handle complaints, review federal policies, and recommend actions—including loss of federal funding—for institutions found in violation of anti-discrimination laws. It would submit quarterly reports to Congress and operate for 12 years with $25 million in funding. The bill would also make institutions ineligible for federal aid if found to use race in admissions.

H.R.2456 — Orderly Liquidation of the Department of Education Act

Sponsor: Rep. Moran [R-TX]
Introduced: 03/27/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would eliminate the Department of Education by December 31, 2026, and redistribute its functions across several federal agencies. For higher education, the bill would move all federal student aid responsibilities—including Pell Grants, federal loans, servicing, and income-driven repayment—to a new Office of Federal Student Aid within the Department of the Treasury. The Treasury would also take on borrower defense claims and oversight of financial aid operations currently managed by the Department. Civil rights enforcement in education would be transferred to the Department of Justice, and the National Science Foundation would assume control of postsecondary data collection and research, including oversight of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and College Scorecard. Career and technical education programs would shift to the Department of Labor. For elementary and secondary education, Title I and IDEA programs would be moved to the Department of Health and Human Services. The bill would also eliminate Direct PLUS loans. 

H.R.2446/S.1182 — Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act

Sponsor: Rep. Lawler [R-NY]
Sponsor: Sen. Scott [R-SC]
Introduced: 03/27/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would bar colleges and universities from participating in Title IV federal student aid programs if they authorize, fund, or otherwise support events that promote antisemitism.

H.R.2386 — Make Education Great Again Act

Sponsor: Rep. Ogles [TN-5]
Introduced: 03/26/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would restore educational authority to parents, states, and local communities while limiting federal involvement. It directs the Secretary of Education to review and revise regulations that restrict parental rights or local control, promote school choice, reduce federal administrative burdens, and ensure transparency in education. It also grants the Secretary broad authority to reduce federal education spending below appropriated levels, as long as mandatory funding requirements are met.

H.R.2276 — Combating Racist Teaching in Schools Act

Sponsor: Rep. Roy [R-TX]
Introduced: 03/21/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would prohibit the allocation of federal funds to elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools that promote certain race-based theories or compel students or teachers to adopt related beliefs in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The bill defines "race-based theories" to include concepts such as the belief that the U.S. is fundamentally racist, that any race is inherently superior or inferior, or that individuals are inherently racist or bear responsibility for others' actions based on their race.

H.R.2272 — Freeze Aid For Student Assaulters Act of 2025 (FAFSA Act of 2025)

Sponsor: Rep. Pfluger [R-TX]
Introduced: 03/21/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would make individuals convicted of certain criminal offenses ineligible for Title IV federal financial aid. Specifically, those convicted of assaulting a police officer or offenses related to rioting—including inciting, organizing, participating in, committing violence in furtherance of a riot, or aiding and abetting such acts—would lose eligibility for grants, loans, and work-study assistance. Additionally, any grants previously awarded to these individuals would be converted into Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, accruing interest from the date of the original grant award. These converted loans would not be eligible for forgiveness, cancellation, or any other repayment assistance programs.

S.982 — No Tax Dollars for College Encampments Act of 2025

Sponsor: Sen. Banks [R-IN]
Introduced: 03/12/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would require colleges and universities to disclose their policies on responding to civil disturbances, including how they coordinate with law enforcement. It defines "civil disturbance" as activities like protests, riots, or strikes that disrupt the community and require intervention to maintain public safety and prevent learning disruptions.

S.994 — PROTECT Students Act of 2025

Sponsor: Sen. Durbin [D-IL]
Introduced: 03/12/2025 
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would codify the 2023 Biden Administration's Gainful Employment regulations, requiring career programs at Title IV institutions to demonstrate that graduates earn more than high school graduates in their state and have a reasonable debt-to-earnings ratio. Borrower defense regulations are simplified, allowing students to discharge loans if they were misled by their institutions. The bill ensures closed school discharge eligibility for students enrolled within 180 days of a school’s closure. The bill also includes oversight measures including clarifying that third-party servicers handling federal aid, recruitment, retention, default management, or instructional content development fall under Department of Education regulations. It also establishes a ‘For-Profit Education Oversight Coordination Committee’, involving multiple federal agencies to coordinate investigations and enforcement efforts. A public complaint resolution system would be implemented, requiring institutions and servicers to respond to student and borrower complaints. Transparency measures require institutions to disclose debt-to-earnings rates for all graduate and certificate programs, instructional spending levels, third-party servicer relationships, and online program recruitment expenditures.

S.880 — Fair College Admissions for Students Act

Sponsor: Sen. Merkley [D-OR]
Introduced: 03/06/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would prohibit colleges and universities that participate in federal student aid programs from giving preferential treatment in admissions to applicants who are relatives of alumni (legacy students) or donors. The ban would take effect at the start of the second award year after the law is enacted, ensuring a transition period for institutions to comply.

H.R.1282 — Eliminate DEI in Colleges Act

Sponsor: Rep. Bilirakis [R-FL]
Introduced: 02/13/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would prohibit federal funding for institutions of higher education that implement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. To remain eligible for federal financial aid programs, colleges must certify that they do not support, promote, or maintain offices related to DEI. The bill requires institutions to provide documentation upon request and outlines an appeals process for schools that lose funding. The Secretary of Education is tasked with enforcing the policy through regulation.

H.R.899 —To terminate the Department of Education.

Sponsor: Rep. Massie [R-KY]
Introduced: 01/31/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would terminate the Department of Education. 

H.R.713 — Preventing Financial Exploitation in Higher Education Act

Sponsor: Rep. Van Duyne [R-TX]
Introduced: 01/23/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: The bill proposes penalties for institutions based on their cohort default rates, cohort delinquency rates, and cohort underpayment rates. For fiscal year 2025, institutions with a cohort default rate of 11% or higher would face a penalty equal to 30% of the total outstanding balance of principal and interest on affected loans.

H.R.632/S.207— Protecting Life on College Campus Act of 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Roy [R-TX]/Sen. Daines [R-MT]
Introduced: 01/22/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would prohibit federal funding for any higher education institution that hosts or is affiliated with a school-based health clinic providing abortion drugs or performing abortions. To remain eligible for federal funds, such institutions must submit an annual report certifying compliance. The bill specifies that "school-based service sites" include campus health clinics but exclude hospitals.

H.R.542 — No Foreign Gifts Act of 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Torres [D-NY]
Introduced: 01/16/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would amend the Higher Education Act (HEA) and would prohibit institutions from receiving gifts from countries that have provided material support to foreign terrorist organizations, as determined by the Secretary of State. Institutions would also be prohibited from receiving gifts from China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran. Institutions that want to receive funding under the HEA must report to the Secretary of State any instance in which the institution is offered a gift from the entities outlined in the bill.

H.R.455 — Protecting Higher Education from Foreign Threats Act

Sponsor: Rep. Steube [R-FL]
Introduced: 01/15/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would prohibit federal funding for colleges and universities that employ instructors funded by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Under the bill, any institution employing a CCP-funded instructor—defined as anyone teaching students while receiving direct or indirect financial support from the CCP—would be ineligible for federal financial assistance.

H.R.369 — States’ Education Reclamation Act of 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Rouzer [R-NC]
Introduced: 01/13/2025
NASFAA Summary & Analysis: This bill would eliminate the Department of Education, asserting that educational authority should reside with states and local communities. The bill outlines the transfer of existing federal education programs to other departments: job training programs to the Department of Labor, special education grants to the Department of Health and Human Services, Indian education programs to the Department of the Interior, Impact Aid programs to the Department of Defense, and federal student aid programs to the Department of the Treasury. Within 90 days of enactment, the Government Accountability Office is required to evaluate the feasibility of enhancing state and local education funding by reducing federal taxes and eliminating federal education grants.

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