S. 1123 — College Employment Accountability Act

This section establishes ineligibility for Federal student assistance (e.g., Pell Grants) or Federal institutional aid under the Higher Education Act of 1965 for any institution of higher education found to have violated section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a). Section 274A prohibits knowingly hiring or continuing to employ unauthorized aliens or failing to complete employment eligibility verification (Form I-9) for hires.

This section requires institutions of higher education to participate in the E-Verify program (i.e., the federal electronic system administered by DHS and SSA to confirm the employment eligibility of new hires) as a condition of entering into a program participation agreement for federal student financial assistance programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. (Thus, nonparticipation in E-Verify disqualifies an institution from Title IV eligibility.)

This section directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to monitor every six months whether institutions of higher education are participating in E-Verify (i.e., the federal electronic system for employers to verify new hires' employment eligibility) and to notify the Secretary of Education within 10 days of finding that an institution has violated employment verification requirements under section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) or is not participating in E-Verify.