Committee approves SB 78 requiring postsecondary institutions to review accreditation options; adds conforming amendments

The House Education Committee advanced Senate Bill 78, which would require postsecondary educational institutions in Kansas to review and update accreditation policies and to identify accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education that could accredit the institution or its programs.

Jason, the reviser, told the committee SB 78 creates a new requirement that institutions initially review their accreditation policies by the end of 2025 and identify accrediting agencies or associations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The bill, as explained by Jason, also prohibits any accreditor from compelling an institution to violate state law and provides a cause of action to an institution for violations of that prohibition. The definition of covered institutions as drafted includes Regents institutions, municipal universities, private postsecondary institutions in Kansas and community colleges.

Committee members asked staff whether the bill would change transferability of credits and whether a U.S. Department of Education database of recognized accreditors is likely to exist in perpetuity. Jason said the accrediting agencies are private organizations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and that the requirement is to identify those agencies recognized and listed in the Department’s database; he acknowledged that if the Department of Education were dissolved it could not maintain that database.

Representative McNorton moved to report the bill favorably; Representative Chauncey seconded, and the motion carried. McNorton later asked to reopen the bill to present a clarifying amendment to change specific references to named accreditors in several statutes to the broader descriptive language “an accrediting agency or association recognized by the United States Department of Education.” The committee reconsidered and approved the clarifying amendment. A subsequent voice vote again reported the bill favorably as amended. The transcript records several members voting “no” and asking to be recorded: Representative Featherston was recorded as a no on the first passage, and later Representative Miller, Featherston, Ruiz, Wynne and Stogsdell were recorded as no after amendment.

Supporters said the bill gives institutions flexibility to pursue accreditation by any federally recognized accreditor; opponents warned the change could introduce uncertainty for credit transfer and the higher-education system and raised concerns about potential pressure on institutions and federal uncertainty. The reviser and several members noted the change is intended to replace named accrediting references with broader descriptive language across several statutes as a conforming cleanup.