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Trump’s Accreditation Overhaul Advances

Inside Higher Ed

Josh Moody
May 22, 2026
The administration proposed sweeping changes to how accreditors evaluate institutions that officials say will lower the cost of college. Critics are skeptical.
fter four days of dense and occasionally contentious discussions over the Trump administration’s proposed overhaul of accreditation, an advisory committee tasked with reviewing the plan reached consensus on the slate of changes.
Now, the Education Department can move forward on the next steps to finalize the regulatory changes, which include receiving and reviewing public feedback. If the department issues the final accreditation rule by Nov. 1, the overhaul will take effect July 1 of next year.
Negotiators on the Accreditation, Innovation and Modernization Committee spent the better part of four days this week in a windowless room at the U.S. Department of Education hammering out the proposal.

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DOL rescinds Biden-era overtime rule, formalizing return to 2019 salary threshold

Higher Ed Dive

Caroline Colvin
May 19, 2026
The salary threshold is only part of the exemption test, one attorney reminded HR leads.
Dive Brief:
  • The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced Thursday it was rescinding the embattled Biden-era overtime rule, more than a year after federal courts vacated the 2024 regulations. The rule took effect Friday.
  • The 2024 rule raised the earnings threshold to qualify for overtime to $844 per week in July 2024, from the 2019-issued threshold of $684 per week. It was then set to increase again to $1,128 per week on Jan. 1, 2025, and would have increased periodically from then on.
  • In late 2024, two Texas district courts vacated that year’s final rule. After DOL dropped its appeals of the decisions earlier this month, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the cases and the orders remain final judgments, DOL said.

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California community colleges crack down on fake students stealing financial aid

Cal Matters

Adam Echelman
May 19, 2026
California’s community colleges have been battling fraudulent students for years, trying to prevent scammers from stealing financial aid money.
Recent data shows the colleges’ efforts finally may be working.
Last spring, CalMatters reported that colleges were seeing unprecedented reports of fraud, with scammers stealing millions more dollars of student aid than in any previous period, according to reports submitted by colleges to California’s Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.
Now fewer scammers are bypassing colleges’ vetting systems, according to monthly reports, and school administrators say they’re better, though still not perfect, at detecting and preventing fraud.
After CalMatters reported on the rise in fraud last year, Republican U.S. Congress members called for a federal investigation, a Democratic state legislator launched a state audit and later, California’s Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office approved a new ID verification policy for students. Colleges now are more vigilant about policing fraud, said Jory Hadsell, an executive in technology initiatives for the chancellor’s office, who pointed to better filtering practices and new software to detect fraud.

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U.S. Department of Education Announces Additional Measures to Reduce Federal Burden on States

U.S. Department of Education

May 19, 2026
Under President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, the Department of Education (ED) is advancing its commitment to return education to the states by expanding access to longstanding federal flexibilities.
Today, ED announced it has approved Florida and Illinois’ Ed-Flex applications, marking a record high number of 18 states now utilizing Ed-Flex authority. Ed-Flex allows states to waive certain federal requirements that could hinder local efforts to improve education. Under this authority, state education agencies (SEAs) can waive select statutory or regulatory requirements for districts and schools without first having to submit those waivers to the U.S. Department of Education for review and approval. For example, Ed-Flex states can allow districts flexibility on how to spend their Student Support and Academic Enrichment funds, releasing them from rigid spending caps.
ED also sent two pieces of guidance today to all chief state school officers encouraging them to implement existing Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibilities, which: 1) allow states and districts to transfer funds between eligible programs and 2) allow small, rural school districts to use certain federal funds more freely.

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