{"bill":{"id":"119-hr-468","congress":119,"type":"HR","number":468,"title":"Mel’s Law","originChamber":"House","introducedDate":"2025-01-15","sponsors":[{"bioguideId":"V000081","fullName":"Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7]","party":"D","state":"NY","district":7}],"cosponsorsCount":6,"latestAction":{"actionDate":"2025-01-15","text":"Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce."},"policyArea":"Education","subjects":["Higher education","School administration","Student records"],"actions":[{"date":"2025-01-15","text":"Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.","type":"IntroReferral","chamber":"House floor actions","hasVote":false},{"date":"2025-01-15","text":"Introduced in House","type":"IntroReferral","chamber":"Library of Congress","hasVote":false},{"date":"2025-01-15","text":"Introduced in House","type":"IntroReferral","chamber":"Library of Congress","hasVote":false}],"summary":"<p><strong>Mel's Law</strong></p><p>This bill requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student aid programs to establish policies for awarding posthumous degrees.</p><p>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).</p><p>The bill prohibits accrediting agencies from taking into consideration the number of posthumous degrees awarded to deceased students by the&nbsp;IHE. (Under current law, an IHE must be accredited by an accrediting agency to participate in federal student aid programs.)</p>","updateDate":"2026-09-19T23:07:25Z"},"markets":[],"stateBills":[],"meta":{"sources":["congress.gov"],"latencyMs":1151,"ts":"2026-10-13T03:20:48.383Z"},"nextActions":{"inspect":[],"related":[{"description":"Search related legislation","method":"GET","url":"https://simplefunctions.dev/api/public/query-gov?q=Mel%E2%80%99s%20Law"}]}}