The Higher Education Innovation Act creates a new pathway for non-traditional educational providers to access federal student aid by establishing an alternative authorization system outside the traditional accreditation process. Rather than seeking accreditation from established agencies, eligible entities like online programs, career training providers, and certificate programs can be authorized by approved "innovation authorizers" if they meet specific performance outcomes in student learning, completion rates, employment, and affordability. Authorized providers would be eligible to participate in Federal Pell Grant programs, though with caps limiting such providers' annual Pell Grant funding to 0.5 percent of total national Pell Grant spending, with individual eligible entities receiving up to 15 percent of that share. Innovation authorizers must demonstrate financial capacity, conflict-of-interest protections, and strong track records, and they share risk by paying the federal government at least 25 percent of any federal student loans held by their providers' students that go into default. The legislation expires five years after enactment, making it a pilot program to test whether outcomes-based authorization can maintain quality while expanding access to federal aid for innovative education providers.