Sen. Elizabeth Warren reintroduced the Accreditation Reform and Enhanced Accountability Act of 2026, aiming to raise federal oversight of accreditation and require stronger consideration of student outcomes. The bill would push accreditors to evaluate measures including loan repayment performance, post-college earnings, academic progression, and debt relative to earnings. The proposal also includes mechanisms tied to institutional integrity and oversight, including requirements that accreditors respond to warning signs of financial instability and fraud. It would strengthen conflict-of-interest rules and grant the Education Department more authority to sanction accreditors that fail to meet federal expectations. The bill arrives as federal recognition and oversight of accrediting bodies is already tightening, with programmatic accreditors withdrawing from federal recognition and federal advisory committees recommending denial for particular accreditors. Together, the moves indicate lawmakers are pressing for a more outcomes-focused accreditation system with more enforceable accountability.