Welcome to the homepage of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). OHA provides an independent forum for the fair, impartial, equitable, and timely resolution of certain disputes involving the U.S. Department of Education. Such disputes might concern higher education, elementary and secondary education, or education funding for individuals with disabilities. This website publishes decisions issued by OHA and by the Secretary of Education.

OHA does not resolve debt collections against individual students. If you are a student or individual recipient of student aid and have questions regarding your student aid including appealing any debt collection measures initiated against you by the U.S. Department of Education, please select this link.

The Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) is part of OHA. The OALJ is responsible for the adjudication of cases involving Federal impact aid, recovery of funds, civil rights, and any other matter delegated by the Secretary of Education. These actions are instituted by State agencies, educational institutions, or other recipients seeking to contest an adverse preliminary finding by the U.S. Department of Education. A typical proceeding before the Office of Administrative Law Judges is an appeal by a State agency of a preliminary departmental decision issued by the U.S. Department of Education which proposes the recovery of funds for failure to administer a State grant in a manner consistent with the governing statute and the regulations thereunder.

Higher Education Appeals

The Office of Hearings and Appeals hears cases arising under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). These cases include actions initiated by the U.S. Department of Education to terminate the eligibility of institutions to participate in the Title IV, HEA programs; actions to fine institutions; audit and program review actions to recover allegedly misspent funds; emergency actions to immediately suspend funding of such institutions; and actions to debar certain individuals from participating in various programs government-wide.