Executive Order: Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education

Date Issued: April 23, 2025

Executive Summary

This executive order aims to reform the accreditation system for universities and higher education institutions. The order cites the accreditors reviewing undergraduate, law schools and medical schools as the three large accreditation processes that violate discrimination policies.

The order authorizes the U.S. Department of Education secretary to increase accountability of accreditors through denial, monitoring, suspension or termination of accreditation recognition. The order specifically targets diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) requirements, stating that an accreditor's status will be suspended or revoked if such policies continue.

The order also introduces new principles for a student-centered accreditation system. These include promoting intellectual diversity, addressing credential inflation and eliminating barriers that prevent institutions from adopting practices that improve degree completion and support innovative education models. The secretary will resume recognizing new accreditors and require them to ensure member institutions use program-level student outcome data without referencing race, ethnicity or sex. The process will also be streamlined to reduce administrative burden and allow institutions to change accreditors more easily.

Policy Actions

• The education secretary will hold accreditors accountable who fail to remove DEI initiatives and violate federal law by denying, monitoring, suspending or terminating accreditation recognition.
• The U.S. Attorney General and education secretary will investigate and remove unlawful discrimination in law schools, including DEI requirements in accreditation standards.
• The education secretary will assess whether to suspend or terminate the American Bar Association’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.
• The Attorney General, education secretary and U.S. Department of Health and Human (HHS) Services secretary will investigate and terminate any discrimination by American medical schools or graduate medical education entities, including DEI requirements in accreditation standards.
• The education secretary will assess whether to suspend or terminate the Liaison Committee on Medical Education or the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education status as an accrediting agency.
• The education secretary will ensure that the following principles are implemented in accreditation standards:
• Requiring higher education institutions to provide high-quality, high-value academic programs free from unlawful discrimination or any federal law violations
• Reducing barriers that limit institutions from adopting practices that advance credential and degree completion and spur new models of education
• Ensuring that institutions support the accreditation and prioritize intellectual diversity amongst faculty
• Prohibiting accreditors from engaging in practices that result in credential inflation
• The education secretary will resume recognizing new accreditors and mandate that accreditors require member institutions to use data on program-level student outcomes to improve such outcomes, without reference to race, ethnicity or sex.
• The education secretary will provide to accreditors any noncompliance findings related to member institutions issued after an investigation conducted by the Office for Civil Rights or Title IX.
• The education secretary will increase efficiency and streamline the process of accreditor recognition review and for higher education institutions to change accreditors.
• The education secretary will update the Accreditation Handbook to ensure that the accreditor recognition and reauthorization process is transparent, efficient and not unduly burdensome.

Trump's 2025 Executive Orders: Updates and Summaries

Holland & Knight's Public Policy & Regulation Group is reviewing President Trump's 2025 Executive Orders and other actions. To read all Executive Order Updates and Summaries, visit our landing page.