1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Accreditation Reform Act of 2020 . 2. National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity Paragraph (1) of section 114(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1011c(c) ) is amended to read as follows: (1) advise the Secretary with respect to— (A) the establishment and enforcement of the standards of accrediting agencies or associations under subpart 2 of part H of title IV and how such standards relate to programs under such title; (B) participation in Federal recognition reviews (including on-site inspections and reviews of institutions of higher education and unannounced site visits) of accrediting agencies or associations, including through document requests that are considered part of the petitions for recognition of such accrediting agencies or associations under section 496; and (C) whether to recognize an accrediting agency or association under section 496; . 3. Independent evaluation of accreditation system Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1099b ) is amended— (1) in subsection (n)(1)— (A) in the matter before subparagraph (A), by inserting and data and evidence compiled by the Department of Education before the second period; (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively; (C) by inserting before subparagraph (B), as redesignated by subparagraph (B), the following: (A) prior to the solicitation of third-party information concerning the performance of the accrediting agency or association under subparagraph (B), the public comments received by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (r)(1) with respect to the petition of the accrediting agency or association to be recognized under this section; ; (D) in subparagraph (C), as redesignated by subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon