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Proposed Rule2026-07666

Accountability in Higher Education and Access Through Demand-Driven Workforce Pell: Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS) and Earnings Accountability

Primary source

Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.

Published
April 20, 2026

Issuing agencies

Education Department

Abstract

The Secretary of Education (Secretary) proposes to amend the regulations governing institutional eligibility, general provisions regulations, and the William D. Ford Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program under title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended (the title IV, HEA programs). The proposed regulations would implement statutory changes to the title IV, HEA programs included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025. The OBBB made numerous changes to the HEA, including changes to program eligibility requirements for the Direct Loan program and the introduction of an earnings accountability framework that is intended to limit Direct Loan eligibility to programs whose graduates meet certain earnings benchmarks. This document proposes regulations, based on consensus reached during negotiated rulemaking, to implement the provisions of the OBBB related to low-earning outcome programs and the Direct Loan program, and to harmonize those regulations with requirements for programs that are required to lead to gainful employment (GE programs).

Indexed from Federal Register on April 20, 2026.

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