S. 4531 Introduced Education

Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act of 2026

A bill to amend section 498A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to prioritize program reviews of institutions of higher education that disburse Federal financial aid under title IV of such Act without verifying the identity of a student whose FAFSA presents a reasonable suspicion of identity fraud.

  1. Introduced
  2. Committee
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Passed House
  5. To President
  6. Became law
Sponsor Sen. Husted, Jon [R-OH] Introduced May 14, 2026 Cosponsors 2 (2 R) Latest action May 14, 2026

Summary

Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act of 2026
This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to prioritize the review of institutions of higher education (IHEs) that disburse federal student aid without verifying the identity of a student whose Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) presents a reasonable suspicion of identity fraud.
Specifically, the bill requires ED to identify each IHE that disburses, on or after October 1, 2026, federal financial aid for an award year to any student whose FAFSA presents a reasonable suspicion of identity fraud, as determined by ED's identity fraud detection system. However, the bill excludes from this identification any IHE that demonstrates to ED, for each student and before disbursing federal financial aid, that the IHE (1) verifies the student's identity in person or by live video, (2) notifies ED of the identify verification, and (3) maintains a record of such identity verification.
ED may use identification information to inform program reviews, audits, investigations, and other oversight activities related to federal student aid.
(On April 26, 2026, ED began implementing a real-time identity fraud detection process within the FAFSA form that places applicants into one of four risk categories. High-risk applicants must confirm their identity by presenting documentation during the online application process, including via a live camera process. Applicants who are rejected via this automated process must then have their identity verified in person by IHEs.)

Summary by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Congress.gov

Actions

  1. May 14, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  2. May 14, 2026 Introduced in Senate

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