Mel’s Law
Official title: 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, … Show full official titleShow less
Official title: 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.
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Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
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.)
- Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 9857: Mel’s Law. 118th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-9857/
"H.R. 9857: Mel’s Law." 118th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-9857/.
H.R. 9857, 118th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-9857/.
[H.R. 9857: Mel’s Law](https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-9857/)