Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are taking another swing at making colleges more accountable for the debt their students take on. They've reintroduced the Accreditation Reform and Enhanced Accountability Act, a bill first floated back in 2016 that aims to tighten oversight of schools that receive federal student aid.

The idea is pretty straightforward: if colleges want access to federal loan dollars, they should be judged partly on whether their graduates can actually pay those loans back. The bill would require the U.S. Department of Education to set new standards for evaluating schools, including how successfully graduates repay their student loans and whether the debt they take on is reasonable compared with what they earn after graduation.

Accrediting agencies would also have to move faster when state or federal investigations uncover fraud or misconduct, and the whole process would get more transparent.

Focus On Student Outcomes

The legislation is partly a response to a finding by the Biden administration that 1.7 million student loan borrowers were defrauded by accredited schools between 2021 and 2024. Warren and Durbin argue that's a clear sign the accreditation system needs an overhaul.

“We need to overhaul our accreditation system to make sure students get an education that will improve their lives, not leave them jobless and buried in debt,” Warren said, according to Business Insider.

Broader Student Loan Debate

The bill lands in the middle of a much bigger fight over the federal student loan system. Earlier this year, Warren led more than 60 Democratic lawmakers in urging Education Secretary Linda McMahon to cancel debt for borrowers already eligible for existing relief programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness and borrower defense to repayment, warning that millions of borrowers were facing mounting repayment pressures.

It also comes after President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act took effect on July 1, introducing new repayment plans, borrowing limits and other accountability measures across the federal student loan system.

Separately, the Education Department has proposed changes to the accreditation system that would require accrediting agencies to ensure colleges uphold free speech protections on campus. That proposal has drawn criticism from some negotiators who argue First Amendment issues fall outside the traditional role of accreditors.