What This Bill Does · Plain English
Summary · Congress.gov
Mel's Law This bill requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student aid programs to establish policies for awarding posthumous degrees. Specifically, the IHE must certify that it has a policy to award a posthumous degree to a deceased student who (1) was enrolled in a degree program at the IHE; (2) died prior to completing such program; and (3) at the time of death, was in academic standing consistent with the requirements for graduation from such program (as determined by the IHE). The bill prohibits accrediting agencies from taking into consideration the number of posthumous degrees awarded to deceased students by the IHE. (Under current law, an IHE must be accredited by an accrediting agency to participate in federal student aid programs.)
Action Timeline
2025-01-15
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
2025-01-15
Introduced in House
2025-01-15
Introduced in House
Frequently Asked Questions
Did HR.468 pass?
HR.468 is still alive. Current stage: COMMITTEE. Pass likelihood: 29%.
What does HR.468 do?
Mel's Law This bill requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student aid programs to establish policies for awarding posthumous degrees. Specifically, the IHE must certify that it has a policy to award a posthumous degree to a deceased student who (1) was enrolled in a degree program at the IHE; (2) died prior to completing such program; and (3) at the time of death, was in academic standing consistent with the requirements for graduation from such program (as determined by the IHE). The bill prohibits accrediting agencies from taking into consideration the …
Who sponsored HR.468?
HR.468 was sponsored by Nydia M. Velázquez (D-New York).
Full Bill Text
119 HR 468 IH: Mel’s Law U.S. House of Representatives 2025-01-15 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. I 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 468 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 15, 2025 Ms. Velázquez (for herself, Ms. Malliotakis , Mr. Espaillat , Mr. Tonko , Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick , and Mrs. McIver ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education, as a condition of participation in programs under title IV of such Act, to establish a policy to award posthumous degrees to certain deceased students, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as Mel’s Law . 2. Requirement to award posthumous degrees (a) Posthumous degrees Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1094(a) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (30) The institution certifies that the institution has established a policy to award posthumous degrees to deceased students who— (A) had been enrolled in a degree program at the institution; (B) died prior to completing such program; and (C) at the time of death, were in academic standing consistent with the requirements for graduation from such program, as determined by the institution. . (b) Accreditation criteria Section 496(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1099b(a) ) is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (8) as paragraphs (7) through (9), respectively; and (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following: (6) the standards for accreditation of the agency or association do not take into consideration the number of posthumous degrees awarded by the institution to deceased students; . (c) Effective date The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
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