Beyond the Box for Higher Education Act of 2026

Core Policy Mechanism Top 1

Guidance on Removing Criminal History from College Applications

Directs the Department of Education to issue guidance recommending colleges remove criminal and juvenile justice questions from admissions applications, and establishes best practices for schools that continue to ask such questions.

• Population Scope High Directly affects all institutions of higher education nationwide and applicants with criminal or juvenile justice histories — a population the bill's own findings estimate at 70 million Americans, well over 25% of the U.S. population.
• Budgetary Magnitude Low No new funds are authorized or appropriated; implementation draws only on existing Department of Education resources.
• Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new statutory duty for the Secretary of Education to issue guidance and provide training, but the underlying obligations on institutions remain recommendatory rather than binding mandates — a procedural constraint on agency conduct, not a substantive legal requirement enforceable against colleges.
• Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Secretary must act ('shall issue guidance') but the guidance itself is explicitly framed as recommendations, leaving institutions broad latitude to determine whether and how to remove or retain criminal history questions.
• Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low No enforcement mechanism, penalty, or compliance requirement is created; the provision's obligations fall solely on Department of Education to issue guidance and maintain a resource center, imposing minimal new administrative load.
• Temporal Commitment High Permanently amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 with no expiration date or reauthorization trigger, binding future Congresses indefinitely unless they act to repeal it.