Federal Appeals Court Dismisses Florida Challenge to College Accreditation System

NOCATEE, Florida — A federal appeals court has affirmed the dismissal of Florida's lawsuit challenging the college accreditation system, rejecting Governor Ron DeSantis's argument that private accrediting agencies exercise unconstitutionally delegated government power.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that existing accrediting bodies do not wield legislative or executive authority when they evaluate universities, a finding that upholds a lower court's earlier decision. The opinion, reported July 6, closes a legal avenue Florida had pursued since 2023.

Judge Andrew Brasher wrote that "a wall of precedent establishes that accreditors exercise neither kind of authority" that Florida claimed they held. Brasher, a Trump appointee, was joined by Judges William Pryor and Nancy Abudu. The panel heard oral arguments in April.

DeSantis filed the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education in 2023, arguing that accrediting agencies held unchecked power to overrule Florida's policy decisions about how its public universities operate. He complained at the time that "a totally unaccountable, unappointed, unelected accrediting agency can trump what the state of Florida is doing."

The legal fight grew out of a 2023 state law, SB 266, that prohibited Florida universities from advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. That law included an exception allowing universities to deviate if compliance would jeopardize their accreditation, since federal funding is contingent on maintaining accredited status.

Then-Attorney General Ashley Moody argued the system violated the U.S. Constitution by delegating too much authority to private agencies.

The court found that while accreditation affects eligibility for federal student aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, that connection does not mean accreditors are exercising Congress's spending power.

DeSantis announced last year that Florida was working to create a new university accrediting agency to, in his words, "upend" what he called "woke accreditation cartels." That effort remains in development, and new accrediting agencies require federal approval.

Nocatee is an unincorporated master-planned community in St. Johns County with roughly 40,000 residents, about 20 miles southeast of Jacksonville in the Jacksonville metropolitan area. The ruling affects how Florida's public universities, including institutions serving residents across the Jacksonville metropolitan area, maintain accreditation and access to federal student aid.