Why Accreditors Are Dropping Diversity Standards Under New Federal Rules

Why the pressure on accreditors started

President Trump signed an executive order in 2025 telling the Education Department not to recognize accreditors that keep diversity, equity and inclusion requirements in their standards. The administration argues these standards force colleges to break Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on race in programs that receive federal money. Officials point to the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that struck down race conscious college admissions as the legal basis for the crackdown.

Accreditation is not optional for most colleges. A school loses access to federal financial aid, including Pell Grants and federal student loans, if it loses accreditation from a recognized agency. That gives the Department leverage over accreditors and, through them, over the colleges they review.

Two accreditors got formal warnings in March 2026

Under Secretary Nicholas Kent sent warning letters on March 18, 2026 to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education . Kent wrote that accrediting agencies must not place institutions in a scenario where an institution has to choose between violating federal law or violating the accreditor's standard.

Middle States accredits roughly 500 colleges across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Both agencies had already suspended their diversity standards before the letters arrived. Middle States revised standards take effect July 1, 2026, and CAPTE's board reviews its revised version at its October 2026 meeting. Both must now send the Department two compliance reports over the next year, with the first due within six months.

Law schools and other fields are following the same path

The American Bar Association Council voted in May 2026 to repeal Standard 206, its main diversity and inclusion rule for law schools, after a committee warned that keeping it would put the ABA's status as the federally recognized law school accreditor at risk. The ABA House of Delegates takes up the repeal at its annual meeting in August 2026.

The New England Commission of Higher Education removed diversity, equity and inclusion references from its draft 2026 standards, replacing them with language about students feeling welcomed on campus.

A wider rewrite of accreditation rules is coming

The Education Department's negotiated rulemaking committee on accreditation reached agreement on May 21, 2026 on changes to federal accreditation regulations under 34 CFR Part 602. The proposed rule would stop accrediting agencies from holding standards that force colleges to violate state or federal antidiscrimination law and would require agencies to protect the civil rights and First Amendment rights of faculty. The public comment period opens this summer, closes in early September 2026, and the Department targets a final rule by November 1, 2026, with an effective date of July 1, 2027.

What this means if you are a student

If your school is accredited by Middle States, or you attend a law or physical therapy program, expect diversity offices and DEI tied requirements built into accreditation reviews to shrink or disappear as reviews run through 2026 and 2027. Accreditation status controls your access to federal financial aid, so track updates from your own school's registrar or financial aid office rather than assuming your program is affected before an official announcement.

Sources

• Higher Ed Dive: Education Department official warns 2 accreditors over DEI standards
• Faegre Drinker: Department of Education Proposes Sweeping Changes to Accreditation Regulations