Higher Ed Dive
Natalie Schwartz
October 22, 2026
The federal agency is also barring the National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences from granting accreditation to new institutions.
Dive Brief:
- A top U.S. Department of Education official on Wednesday gave a cosmetology school accreditor 12 months to remedy a host of compliance concerns, barring it from granting accreditation to any new institution until it does so.
- U.S. Under Secretary Nicholas Kent’s determination came after Education Department staff released a report earlier this year that found the National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences wasn’t in compliance with over a dozen federal regulatory requirements.
- NACCAS must suspend its review of any institutions or programs that are seeking its accreditation, which numbered roughly 300 in July, until it’s back in compliance, Kent wrote in his determination