Education Department Moves To Break Up Accreditor Power With New Proposed Rule

The College Investor Audio Show · Aug 28, 2026 · 8m

The U.S. Department of Education released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on August 19, 2026 that would rewrite the rules governing how college accreditors are recognized. Accreditors are the private organizations that decide which schools can access federal student aid.

The proposal has a 30-day comment window, half the 60 days the Department often allows, which puts the deadline around late September. If you’ve followed how Education Department rulemaking works, you’ll notice the compressed timeline as a signal the Department wants this finished fast.

The urgency is because this rule is one…