State Board rule would allow nonregional accreditations for private postsecondary schools

The State Board of Education presented a proposed rule change that would remove a requirement that proprietary and private postsecondary institutions hold "regional" accreditation and instead allow accreditations approved by the U.S. Department of Education.

Matthew Scribe, a State Board of Education staff member, told the House Education Committee the change is intended to reflect wider variation in accrediting bodies. "We're seeing a lot more and a lot different variability in our accrediting body or accrediting bodies across the nation, all of which are approved by the US Department of Education," Scribe said.

The rule, identified in the docket as O801112401, also removes language that would have allowed the State Board itself to recognize accrediting bodies if the U.S. Department of Education did not. Scribe said the board staff concluded they do not have the expertise to perform federal-style accreditation reviews and prefer to rely on the U.S. Department of Education's recognition processes. "The US Department of Education has teams for this kind of thing," he said.

Committee members asked for background on why the ability to recognize accreditors had been included previously. Scribe said the rule text dates to a 2023 change and that he would follow up with the State Board team to explain the earlier language.

No public testimony or formal action was taken at the meeting; the committee is scheduled to return to the rules docket for further consideration on a later date.