(The Center Square) − Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order this week creating the Governor’s Task Force on Public Higher Education Reform, joining a growing bloc of Southern states seeking to leave traditional university accreditation systems in favor of a new model focused on “merit-based achievement” and reduced oversight from legacy accreditors.

The order signed on Monday positions Louisiana to join the Commission for Public Higher Education, an alternative accrediting organization launched earlier this year by Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and the Texas A&M University System.

CPHE aims to supplant what critics call an “ideologically driven” accreditation monopoly — particularly the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which currently accredits most public institutions in the region.

“This task force will ensure Louisiana’s public universities move away from DEI-driven mandates and toward a system rooted in merit-based achievement,” Landry said in a statement, referring to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that conservatives have targeted as political overreach in higher education.

According to the order, CPHE seeks to streamline the accreditation process, emphasize student outcomes, modernize credentialing standards, and explicitly bar accreditors from imposing “divisive ideological content” on universities.

The group also intends to seek federal recognition from the U.S. Department of Education to qualify as a Title IV gatekeeper — meaning its accreditation would determine eligibility for federal student aid.

Landry’s executive order directs the new task force to explore dual accreditation models, assess legal and administrative steps needed to join CPHE, and make formal recommendations ahead of the 2026 legislative session.

Louisiana’s move follows recent federal shifts under the Trump administration. A 2025 executive order signed by former President Donald Trump instructed the Department of Education to allow new accreditors, ease switching between agencies, and tie federal recognition to academic rigor and the protection of intellectual diversity.

The CPHE effort is led in part by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who described the group as a response to accreditors “beholden to woke ideology.”

“Florida has set an example for the country in reclaiming higher education,” DeSantis said earlier this year. “This accreditor will help ensure the Free State of Florida leads the way in higher education for decades to come.”

Louisiana’s task force will include 13 members, including the state’s higher education commissioner, the chairs of Louisiana’s four public university systems, legislative education leaders and three gubernatorial appointees.

Its first meeting must be held by Aug. 31, and a final report is due by Jan. 30, 2026.

The effort comes amid increasing scrutiny of accreditation bodies, which control access to billions in federal student aid and have been accused by conservative leaders of overstepping their oversight role.

Landry’s order argues Louisiana “stands to benefit from early engagement with CPHE” by helping shape its standards and expanding options for accreditation.

Fifty-five percent of states currently accredited by SACSCOC are now represented on the CPHE board.