H.R. 9203 · Where this bill is now
Waiting for a House vote
Approved by committee Sep 8, 2026; no House vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryStrengthens civil rights protections at colleges
This bill makes colleges that receive federal student aid create clear procedures for handling complaints about discrimination based on race, color, or national origin. Each college would have to assign someone as a Title VI coordinator to handle these complaints and keep records of them. The Department of Education's civil rights office would also have to report to Congress every two months about discrimination complaints it receives and how it's investigating them.
How it affects you
If you're a student or parent at a college that gets federal student aid, this affects you directly. Colleges would have to clearly explain how to file a discrimination complaint and keep track of those complaints in an organized way. Colleges that repeatedly fail to follow these rules could lose their access to federal student aid, which could change their financial aid offerings. The bill aims to make sure discrimination complaints are taken seriously and investigated properly.
Read the official summary (Reported to House, Sep 8, 2026)
Student Protection and University Accountability Act
This bill requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) participating in federal student aid programs and the Department of Education (ED) to take certain actions to investigate alleged violations of civil rights under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs or activities.)
Specifically, the bill requires an IHE to develop specific procedures for investigating Title VI complaints and widely distribute those procedures to students and their families. Among these procedures, an IHE must designate at least one Title VI coordinator and have a system for maintaining records of complaints.
The bill makes an IHE that fails to meet the bill's requirements for two consecutive award years ineligible to participate in federal student aid programs for at least two subsequent award years. However, the IHE may regain eligibility if it demonstrates compliance with the bill's requirements.
ED's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) must give bimonthly congressional briefings on (1) the number of complaints filed with OCR, (2) how OCR plans to address those complaints and the investigations being carried out in response to those complaints, and (3) data about the length of those investigations.
The bill revises the process through which OCR investigates Title VI complaints, including by prohibiting OCR from closing a complaint due to the filing of another complaint involving the same allegations against the same IHE under certain circumstances.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
2nd SessionH. R. 9203
A BILL
Student Protection and University Accountability Act
Sponsor: Rep. Elise M. Stefanik (R-NY-21) · Introduced Jun 8, 2026 · Education · 2 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Sep 8, 2026: “Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 700.”