State of Florida v. Secretary, U.S. Department of Education

Holding: The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Florida's suit, holding that private educational accreditors do not exercise governmental power and that the accreditation requirement is a constitutionally permissible, ascertainable condition on federal funds.
Standard: De novo review of dismissal for failure to state a claim
Vote: Affirmed by a panel of three judges.
Practical effect: The ruling preserves the current federal student aid system, allowing the Department of Education to continue relying on private accrediting agencies to determine institutional eligibility for Title IV funds without appointing accreditors as federal officers.

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Florida's constitutional challenge to the federal government's reliance on private educational accreditors for disbursing student aid. The court held that private accreditors do not exercise governmental power and that the accreditation requirement is an ascertainable condition under the Spending Clause.

Background

The State of Florida sued the Secretary of Education and other officials, arguing that the Higher Education Act unconstitutionally delegates government power to private accreditors and imposes an unascertainable condition on federal funds. Florida claimed this violated the nondelegation doctrine, the Appointments Clause, and the Spending Clause. The district court dismissed the suit, ruling that accreditors do not exercise government authority and the condition is clear.

The court’s reasoning

The court analyzed Florida’s nondelegation and Appointments Clause arguments, concluding that private accreditors preexisted the Higher Education Act and derive their authority from voluntary membership, not federal delegation. Accreditors do not make generally applicable rules or adjudicate public rights, so they are not executive officers. Regarding the Spending Clause, the court found the accreditation requirement ascertainable because it is a well-understood system where institutions know whether they are accredited, unlike the vague conditions in West Virginia ex rel. Morrisey v. U.S. Department of the Treasury.

What it means going forward

The ruling preserves the current federal student aid system, allowing the Department of Education to continue relying on private accrediting agencies to determine institutional eligibility for Title IV funds without appointing accreditors as federal officers.