Nicholas Kent, the Education Department’s under secretary for higher education, laid out a plan to overhaul the U.S. accreditation system — prioritizing student outcomes, easier approval for new accreditors, and lower administrative burdens. Kent told The Chronicle that the department will push negotiated rulemaking in April and May to convert the executive order on accreditation into formal regulations. The department’s agenda follows President Trump’s directive to challenge accreditors’ use of diversity, equity and inclusion standards and to promote “competition” among quality‑assurance providers. The proposal would change how institutions qualify for federal student aid and could alter campus compliance, reporting, and institutional strategy. In a related development, the chair of Florida’s Board of Governors pressed the Liaison Committee on Medical Education to explain how medical schools endorsing gender‑affirming care for minors could retain accreditation, challenging accreditor standards on clinical practice. Florida’s request signals state governing boards may increasingly test accreditors’ norms — a dynamic that could force medical schools and other professional programs to navigate divergent state and national expectations.