联邦咨询委员会以9票赞成、3票反对否决了国家职业艺术与科学认证委员会（NACCAS）的重新认证申请，学生资助面临风险
2026年9月9日 美国东部时间下午6:22 / 福克斯新闻
作者：贾斯敏·贝尔
美容学校妈妈们发声，特朗普政府正权衡认证机构的未来
两名佛罗里达女性表示，联邦经济资助让她们得以进入美容学校，而特朗普政府正在考虑是否继续承认一家监管着约1300所院校、超过12万名学生的认证机构。
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特朗普政府正在权衡一家监管约1300所美容与美发学校、超过12万名学生的认证机构的未来，这项决定或将考验总统推动的高等教育认证改革，如何应用于除主导该议题的多元化、公平与包容（DEI）争议之外的领域。
唐纳德·特朗普总统在2024年竞选期间承诺“解雇激进左派认证机构”，并称认证是他对抗那些他认为被政治左派操控的高校的“秘密武器”。
但目前摆在美国教育部（DOE）面前的案件有所不同。
该案并未涉及DEI相关要求的指控，而是围绕国家职业艺术与科学认证委员会（NACCAS）是否遵守联邦规定，以及若未遵守应采取何种后果展开。
麦克马洪告诉众议院委员会：特朗普政府正着手解散“失败的”3万亿美元教育官僚体系
许多美容与美发学校可能会在美国教育部正在进行的审查中失去官方认证资格。（iStock）
这一点对学生来说至关重要，因为学校要参与联邦学生资助项目，通常需要获得教育部认可的认证机构的认证。NACCAS表示，其为美容、美发及相关职业项目的约1300所院校提供认证，服务超过12万名学生。
教育部工作人员指出了NACCAS存在的缺陷，但建议在其努力符合规定的同时，继续给予联邦认证，但附加限制条件、增加报告和监测要求。
国家高等教育质量与诚信咨询委员会（NACIQI）在7月的会议上采取了更强硬的立场，以9票赞成、3票反对的结果建议教育部拒绝NACCAS的重新认证申请。
特朗普政府加大对“幽灵学生”打假行动中学生资助欺诈的打击力度
一名美容专业学生在宾夕法尼亚州雷丁市的一个练习头模上练习烫发技巧。（MediaNews Group via Getty Images，资料图）
教育部尚未做出最终决定。
教育部告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，认证机构的认证每五年通过三步流程进行审查：教育部工作人员提出建议；独立的两党组成的NACIQI提出自己的建议；一名高级部门官员基于两者做出最终裁决。
“我们不会对流程正在进行中的细节置评，”教育部表示。
对一些学生来说，这一联邦程序引发了他们对资金来源的担忧，他们表示如果没有联邦资助，根本无法进入美容学校学习。
特朗普政府呼吁将教育权归还各州，称已花费3万亿美元税款且学生熟练度评分低下
在弗吉尼亚州的一所美容学校里，一名学生正坐在用于练习剪发的头模旁观看教学视频。（AFP via Getty Images，资料图）
阿利亚赫·费尔南德斯是好莱坞美容学院的应届毕业生，也是一名母亲，如今在一家沙龙担任助理。她表示联邦资助让她得以完成学业。
“如果没有联邦经济资助，我根本负担不起美容学校的学费，”费尔南德斯告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。“正是因为有了这笔资助，我才能入学。”
费尔南德斯说，她选择美容行业部分原因是希望拥有一份既能谋生，又能陪伴女儿成长的职业。
“我知道如果朝九晚五做全职工作，我几乎没有时间见证她的成长，”费尔南德斯说。“我真的只想陪在她身边。”
“我想要一个既能在经济上支持她，又能同时陪伴她成长的机会，”她补充道。“我希望两者兼得。”
我是一名大学校长；特朗普让高校为学生提供价值的做法是对的
在宾夕法尼亚州雷丁市的美国理发与美容学院，一名学生正在头模上练习染发。（MediaNews Group via Getty Images，资料图）
布莱斯·菲尔兹是一名准妈妈，她一边在沙龙工作，一边攻读美容专业。她表示自己之前自费就读过美容师学校，花了大约两年时间攒下小费才得以继续深造。
“我自费读完了美容师学校，结果搞得自己负债累累，”菲尔兹告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。
菲尔兹说，她现在白天工作，晚上上学，称自己的日程“ literally 12-hour days”（直译： literally 12小时连轴转）。
她说联邦经济资助让她能够继续学业，而美容行业的灵活性在宝宝出生后会变得更加重要。
“孩子出生的第一年至关重要，我需要能够拥有这种灵活性来抚养孩子，”她说。
费尔南德斯和菲尔兹都表示，她们协助发起了一份请愿书，呼吁教育部不要直接采纳NACIQI的建议。请愿书呼吁实施一段受监督的整改期，让NACCAS在维持认证的同时，解决政府指出的问题。
费尔南德斯说，她理解联邦官员对NACCAS提出的担忧，但认为取消认证过于极端。
福克斯新闻民调：美国民众对高等教育的信任度正在崩塌
在弗吉尼亚州的保罗·米切尔学校，学生们正在头模娃娃头上练习剪发。（AFP via Getty Images，资料图）
“我自己做过调查，完全理解监管方的立场，”费尔南德斯说。“不过，考虑到有这么多人依赖这个认证体系，我认为彻底终止认证并不合理。”
当被问及如果有机会在特朗普政府做出最终决定前向特朗普本人陈述时，菲尔兹的语气更为尖锐。
“我会问他，谁为他剪发、染发，他们又是怎么成为美发师的？”菲尔兹说。
围绕NACCAS的争议焦点在于，联邦审查中发现的缺陷是否足以要求其持续整改，还是应当取消认证。
教育部工作人员建议，在NACCAS证明其符合规定、在12个月内完成整改并向教育部提交额外报告之前，应禁止其认证新的院校。
而NACIQI则建议取消其认证资格。
曾在奥巴马政府时期担任教育部官员的扎基娅·史密斯·埃利斯现任该咨询委员会成员，她提出了拒绝NACCAS重新认证的动议。
迈克尔·波利亚科夫附议了该动议，最终以9票赞成、3票反对获得通过。
教育部告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，认证机构的认证每五年通过三步流程进行审查。（Getty Images for LIM College，资料图）
史密斯·埃利斯在7月的会议上辩称，NACCAS已有机会解决合规问题，并质疑给予其额外时间是否足够。她还对NACCAS认证院校学生的债务和收入情况表示担忧。
三名委员会成员投票反对取消认证，其中包括在特朗普第一任期内曾在教育部任职的罗伯特·艾特尔。
艾特尔辩称，应该要求NACCAS整改其缺陷，而非取消认证，并对其监管的学校和学生可能面临的后果表示担忧。
这一程序也与特朗普在4月的行政命令中强调的认证做法形成了罕见的对比。
该行政命令指示教育部调查认证机构是否要求学校从事非法歧视行为，包括通过与DEI相关的标准。而NACCAS案中涉及的联邦调查结果，与NACCAS强加DEI要求的指控无关，而是围绕合规和监管问题。
该行政命令指示教育部调查认证机构是否要求学校从事非法歧视行为，包括通过与DEI相关的标准。（Kevin Carter/Getty Images，资料图）
与此同时，史密斯·埃利斯公开为DEI政策辩护，此前她曾在奥巴马政府时期担任教育部高级官员。
福克斯新闻数字频道询问史密斯·埃利斯，为何她倾向于拒绝认证，而非采纳教育部工作人员建议的整改措施，以及她会对担心潜在后果的学生说些什么。史密斯·埃利斯没有回应福克斯新闻数字频道的置评请求。
菲尔兹告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，她认为美容行业的职业不像其他技能行业那样受到重视。当被问及同样的斗争是否会在传统上由男性主导的行业，如管道或焊接行业上演时，她表示不会。
点击此处下载福克斯新闻应用程序
“我认为这是因为这些（男性主导的）行业，主要是男性在从事，”菲尔兹说。“他们不会考虑这些。他们只会想，‘哦，她是美发学校毕业的，这很容易。’”
但对菲尔兹来说，这项培训将让她获得梦寐以求的职业，既能谋生，又能抚养孩子。
白宫、NACCAS和好莱坞美容学院均未回应福克斯新闻数字频道的置评请求。
贾斯敏·贝尔是福克斯新闻数字频道的突发新闻撰稿人，报道政治、军事、围绕生命与家庭政策的法律辩论，以及信仰与文化议题。
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404833774112
Beauty school moms caught in accreditation crossfire as Trump administration weighs consequential decision
A federal advisory committee voted 9-3 to deny renewed recognition to NACCAS, putting student aid at risk
September 9, 2026 6:22pm EDT / Fox News
By Jasmine Baehr
Beauty school moms speak out as Trump administration weighs accreditor’s fate
Two Florida women say federal financial aid made cosmetology school possible as the Trump administration considers whether to continue recognizing an accreditor overseeing roughly 1,300 institutions and more than 120,000 students.
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The Trump administration is weighing the future of an accreditor overseeing roughly 1,300 beauty and cosmetology schools and more than 120,000 students, in a decision that could test how the president’s push to overhaul higher education accreditation is applied beyond the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) battles that have dominated the issue.
President Donald Trump promised during the 2024 campaign to “fire the radical left accreditors” and called accreditation his “secret weapon” against colleges and universities he argued had been captured by the political left.
But the case now before the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is different.
Rather than allegations involving DEI requirements, it centers on whether the National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences, or NACCAS, has complied with federal requirements and what consequences should follow if it has not.
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Many beauty and cosmetology schools may lose their official accreditations under a review underway at the U.S. Department of Education.(iStock)
That distinction matters to students because recognition by a DOE-approved accreditor is generally necessary for schools to participate in federal student aid programs. NACCAS says it accredits approximately 1,300 institutions serving more than 120,000 students in cosmetology, beauty and related career programs.
DOE staff identified deficiencies with NACCAS but recommended continuing its federal recognition with restrictions, additional reporting and monitoring while it works to come into compliance.
The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, or NACIQI, took a harder line at its July meeting, voting 9-3 to recommend that the department deny NACCAS renewed recognition.
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A cosmetology student practices a perm technique on a mannequin head in Reading, Pa.(MediaNews Group via Getty Images, File)
The DOE has not made a final decision.
The Department of Education told Fox News Digital that accreditor recognition is reviewed every five years through a three-step process: DOE staff makes a recommendation; the independent bipartisan NACIQI makes its own recommendation; a senior department official makes the final judgment based on both.
“We will not comment on details as the process is ongoing,” the DOE said.
For some students, the federal process has raised concerns about a source of funding they say they could not have attended beauty school without.
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A student watches an instructional video while sitting with mannequin heads used to practice cutting hair at a cosmetology school in Virginia.(AFP via Getty Images, File)
Aliyah Fernandez, a recent Hollywood Institute cosmetology graduate and mother who now works as an assistant in a salon, said federal aid made her education possible.
“I could not have afforded beauty school without federal financial aid,” Fernandez told Fox News Digital. “It was because of that that I could attend at all.”
Fernandez said she chose cosmetology in part because she wanted a career that would allow her to earn a living while remaining present in her daughter’s life.
“I knew that if I worked full-time 9 to 5, I wouldn’t barely have any time to see her grow up,” Fernandez said. “I really just wanted to be there for her.
“I wanted an opportunity to financially support her and be present in her life at the same time,” she added. “I wanted to have both.”
I’M A UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT; TRUMP IS RIGHT TO MAKE COLLEGES DELIVER FOR STUDENTS
A student works with color application on a mannequin head at the American Barber and Beauty Academy in Reading, Pa.(MediaNews Group via Getty Images, File)
Blythe Fields, an expectant mother who is studying cosmetology while working in salons, said she previously paid for esthetician school herself and spent roughly two years saving her tips to continue her education.
“I paid out of pocket for esthetician school, and it made me go broke,” Fields told Fox News Digital.
Fields said she now works during the day and attends school at night, describing her schedule as “literally 12-hour days.”
She said federal financial aid allowed her to continue her education and that the flexibility of cosmetology will become even more important when her baby arrives.
“The first year is so important, and I need to be able to have that flexibility to raise a child,” she said.
Fernandez and Fields both said they helped start a petition asking the DOE not to adopt NACIQI’s recommendation outright. The petition calls instead for a monitored improvement period that would allow NACCAS to address the government’s findings while maintaining recognition.
Fernandez said she understood why federal officials raised concerns about NACCAS but believed denying recognition would go too far.
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Students practice cutting hair on mannequin doll heads at a Paul Mitchell School in Virginia.(AFP via Getty Images, File)
“Having done the research myself, I can completely understand, you know, the side of the board,” Fernandez said. “However, I do not think a full termination of accreditation is reasonable considering how many people rely on this.”
Fields was more pointed when asked what she would tell Trump before his administration makes the final decision.
“I would ask him who cuts and colors his hair and how did they get there?” Fields said.
The disagreement over NACCAS centers on whether the deficiencies identified during its federal review warrant continued oversight or denial of recognition.
Education Department staff recommended that NACCAS be prohibited from accrediting additional institutions until it demonstrates compliance, complete corrective action within 12 months and submits additional reports to the department.
NACIQI instead recommended denial.
Zakiya Smith Ellis, a former Obama administration DOE official who serves on the advisory committee, made the motion to deny NACCAS renewed recognition.
Michael Poliakoff seconded the motion, which passed 9-3.
The Department of Education told Fox News Digital that accreditor recognition is reviewed every five years through a three-step process.(Getty Images for LIM College, File)
Smith Ellis argued during the July meeting that NACCAS had been given opportunities to address compliance problems and questioned whether giving it additional time would be sufficient. She also raised concerns about debt and earnings among students at NACCAS-accredited institutions.
Three committee members voted against denial, including Robert Eitel, who served in the DOE during Trump’s first term.
Eitel argued that NACCAS should be required to correct its deficiencies rather than lose recognition and raised concerns about the potential consequences for the schools and students it oversees.
The proceeding also creates an unusual contrast with the accreditation practices Trump highlighted in his April executive order.
The order directed the DOE to investigate whether accreditors require schools to engage in unlawful discrimination, including through DEI-related standards. The federal findings at issue in the NACCAS proceeding concern compliance and oversight rather than an allegation that NACCAS imposes DEI requirements.
The order directed the DOE to investigate whether accreditors require schools to engage in unlawful discrimination, including through DEI-related standards.(Kevin Carter/Getty Images, File)
Smith Ellis, meanwhile, has publicly defended DEI policies and previously served as a senior DOE official during the Obama administration.
Fox News Digital asked Smith Ellis why she favored denying recognition rather than the corrective measures recommended by DOE staff and what she would say to students concerned about the potential consequences. Smith Ellis did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fields told Fox News Digital she believes beauty careers can be overlooked in ways that other skilled trades are not. Asked whether she thought the same fight would be playing out around traditionally male-dominated trades such as plumbing or welding, she said she did not.
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“I think it’s because they’re like male fields, like mainly men are involved in,” Fields said. “They don’t think about that. They just think, ‘Oh, they went to hair school. It’s easy.’”
For Fields, however, the training will give her the career she hopes will allow her to earn a living while raising her child.
The White House, NACCAS, and the Hollywood Institute of Beauty did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Jasmine Baehr is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital, where she covers politics, the military, legal debates surrounding life and family policy, as well as faith and culture.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404833774112