HF 295 Iowa House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

A bill for an act relating to accreditation of postsecondary educational institutions, prohibiting adverse action by accrediting agencies against certain postsecondary educational institutions for compliance with state law, providing remedies, and including effective date provisions.

This bill, known as the "Accreditation Autonomy Act," primarily affects Iowa's public colleges and universities and their accrediting agencies. It updates several state laws to recognize any federally recognized accreditor for various educational programs and institutions, rather than just a specific commission. The bill prohibits accrediting agencies from taking negative actions against public institutions for complying with Iowa state law or refusing to violate it. If an accrediting agency violates this provision, the affected institution, with the Attorney General's authorization, can pursue a civil lawsuit for injunctive relief and financial damages.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Feb 10, 2025 Signed May 6, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Enrolled with Governor's Action · 1 edit · May 6, 2025
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted from a vertical, line-by-line layout to a standard horizontal paragraph format for readability. The substantive policy content, including definitions, requirements, and enforcement mechanisms, remains unchanged. Minor formatting inconsistencies in the original vertical text were corrected in the new version.
TECHNICAL

Changed the layout from vertical line-by-line text to standard horizontal paragraph format for improved readability.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 17, 2025 · House Mar 18, 2025

How they voted

3115
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 49
Apr 17, 2025
D Democratic16
15 Nay 1
93% Nay
R Republican33
31 Yea 2
93% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
17
Key actions
7
Committee
4
May 6, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by Governor.
lower
Apr 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate, yeas 32, nays 15.
upper
Apr 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report, recommending passage.
upper
Apr 1, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Subcommittee recommends passage.
legislature
Mar 31, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Subcommittee Meeting: 04/01/2025 8:30AM Room 315.
legislature
Mar 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
Subcommittee: Gruenhagen, Taylor, and Winckler.
upper
Mar 18, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed House, yeas 65, nays 32.
lower
Feb 10, 2025
Introduced
Introduced, placed on calendar.
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.