Accountability in Higher Education and Access Through Demand- Driven Workforce Pell: Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS) and Earnings Accountability
Built by the Tribune's code from the Federal Register. No AI wrote this page. Published in the Federal Register July 1, 2026. Document 2026-13286. Updated Nov. 9, 2026.
- What it does
The Secretary of Education (Secretary) amends the regulations governing institutional eligibility, general provisions, and the William D. Ford Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program under title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended (the title IV, HEA programs) to implement statutory changes to the title IV, HEA programs included in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (WFTCA) signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025. These changes include revisions to program eligibility requirements for the Direct Loan program and the introduction of an earnings accountability framework that limits Direct Loan eligibility to programs whose graduates meet certain earnings benchmarks. This action finalizes regulations to implement the provisions of the WFTCA related to low-earning outcome programs and the Direct Loan program, and to harmonize those regulations with requirements for programs that are required to lead to gainful employment (GE programs).
The Education Department's summary, as published in the Federal Register.
- What changed in the regulation
3 parts of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations:
- Compared with
The Education Department has published 16 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 13 in all of 2025.
Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.
- Before this
1 earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 1840-AE06 since Jan. 1, 2025.
- What happens next and when
Effective dates: This rule is effective July 1, 2027, except for instructions 13 and 14, which are effective August 31, 2026.
The agency's dates, word for word.
The record as published
| Document number | 2026-13286 |
|---|---|
| Action | Final rule. |
| Agencies | Education Department |
| Published | July 1, 2026 |
| Effective date | July 1, 2027 |
| Regulation identifier (RIN) | 1840-AE06 |
| Docket | ED-2026-OPE-0100 |
Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register