Federal News on Higher Education
Congressional Activity
The Senate is inching closer to having a finalized reconciliation package. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released its version of the budget reconciliation bill as related to higher education. The House and Senate higher education reconciliation provisions each detail a different layout in Pell eligibility and accountability, while both chambers feature shoring up the Pell shortfall and Workforce Pell in their proposals. The Senate's new higher education reconciliation bill marks a major win for community colleges by rejecting harmful Pell Grant eligibility changes and risk-sharing proposals from the House, while expanding access to short-term Workforce Pell Grants and implementing a more favorable accountability framework. As the Senate is working on the provisions in the reconciliation bill, Senate leadership is currently working to secure several Republican holdouts to pass this bill by their deadline of July 4th. In the latest development of the Senate budget reconciliation bill, the Senate Finance Committee is expected to unveil the tax pieces of its proposal, yet it is expected that there will be placeholders in the unfinished sections of the tax component.
The House Appropriations Committee is moving along with drafting, marking up, and voting on the 12 individual appropriations bills that, when conferenced with the Senate versions, passed in each chamber, and signed by the President, collectively fund the federal government and its programs. House Appropriators will hold a Labor, Health and Human Serivces, Education, and Related Agencies subcommittee and full committee markup on July 21st and 24th, respectively.
The Trump Administration released its full Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 26) budget request, with requested funding amounts for all discretionary programs. The proposal includes the elimination of funding for the following programs:
- Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG)
- All seven TRIO Programs, such as Upward Bound (UB), Student Support Services, and Veterans UB
- Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP)
- The Strengthening Institutions Programs (SIP)
- The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)
- Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) Program
- Adult Basic Education
Additionally, the Strengthening Community College Training Grant would be eliminated as part of consolidating workforce training programs under the Make America Skilled Again block grant.
Now that the House Education and Workforce Committee no longer has reconciliation on their to-do list, ACCT is reaching out to committee staff and staffers from members' offices to orient their focus on reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). One feature of this reauthorization would be the codification of the Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants (SCCTG). The December 2024 draft of the Continuing Resolution, a government funding package, included reauthorization language, which was later removed in the final bill in favor of a slimmer funding package.
Administration Updates
Student loan payments were paused in March 2020 due to the economic fall out from the Covid 19 pandemic. Last week, the Department of Education announced that it will not garnish Social Security benefits of borrowers who defaulted on their student loans. Recently, over 1,550 international students and graduates have had their visas revoked as a result of a legal status change made by the Department of State. In the wake of President Trump's executive order, Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education, the Department of Education offered guidance by which institutions of higher education can change their accrediting body(ies) in addition to lifting a Biden-era moratorium on admitting new accreditors. During the Biden Administration, colleges were previously exempt from tracking work hours and providing overtime pay to employees with salaries at or above $35,568. Last month, the Department of Education (ED) announced Secretary McMahon's grant priorities. Two community colleges received notices that their TRIO Upward Bound programs would not be continued.
The Department of Education issued an Electronic Announcement (EA) detailing a new effort to combat fraudulent Title IV applicants. On June 6th, the Department of Education announced it will temporarily require institutions of higher education to verify the identities of an estimated 125,000 new federal financial aid applicants enrolling for the summer 2025 term until it develops a permanent screening process for Fall 2025.
Grant Opportunities
The Department of Education is issuing a notice inviting applications for fiscal year 2025 for the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program. This program provides grants to eligible institutions of higher education to expand educational opportunities for, and improve the academic attainment of, Hispanic students; and expand and enhance the academic offerings, program quality, and institutional stability of colleges and universities that are educating the majority of Hispanic college students. The closing date for this opportunity is July 3, 2025.
The Department of Education (ED) has agreed to send $2.7 billion to the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) so it can manage numerous education grants.
The Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) has opened several grants in which grantees, such as institutions of higher education, are to award at least 65 percent of project funds as scholarships to students enrolled in the Rehabilitation Long-Term Training (RLTT) program.
Court Proceedings
The feature of checks and balances facilitates a conversation between the three branches of government. On May 22nd, a U.S. District Judge ruled that the Trump administration's reduction of force (RIF) of the Department of Education was an effort to eliminate the Department of Education, an action that cannot be carried out without Congressional approval. On June 3rd, a Washington, D.C., federal judge ruled against four education research trade associations, the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP), the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), the National Academy of Education (NAEd) and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME), who requested a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration that would be reinstated fired employees and canceled contracts within the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the Department of Education.
ACCT joined the American Council on Education and 26 other higher education organizations in supporting Harvard University's motion for summary judgment (i.e., requesting the court to find in favor of Harvard University without a full trial based on the law) in President and Fellows of Harvard College v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, et al. Civil Action. On June 11th, the state of Tennessee and Students for Fair Admissions filed a lawsuit to declare the current requirements for receiving Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) funding as discriminatory and unconstitutional.
Webinars
Join ACCT's Center for Policy and Practice and Trellis Strategies on June 18th at 2pm ET as they unpack key findings from the latest Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS), highlighting the experiences of nearly 27,000 two-year students across 55 community colleges in 15 states.
Several 2026 Campaign Announcements Have Been Made
J.D. Scholten, a two term Democrat in the Iowa House, declared he was running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. Eddie Andrews, a three term GOP State Representative, announced he would be seeking the GOP nomination for Governor. Julie Stauch, a Democratic campaign operative from West Des Moines, announced on Tuesday that she would seek the Democratic nomination for Governor. Jim Carlin, a trial attorney from Sioux City, has declared he will take on incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Joni Ernst in the June 2026 GOP Primary.
Title IX Team Compliance
Given the federal reversion to the 2020 Title IX regulations, institutions must ensure that their Title IX personnel are trained in accordance with those standards. The ACSA/F3 Law Training will cover key components of the 2020 regulations and provide practical guidance for compliance. These are live trainings done virtually on Wednesday, August 13, from 9am-1pm and Tuesday, September 30, from 9am-1pm. To enroll now, click here. For technical questions about logging in or general questions about the program, please contact Semi Yohanes at syohanes@f3law.com.
2025 Legislative Session Summary Report
We are excited to unveil our newly enhanced Legislative Summary Report, designed to provide a more comprehensive and user-friendly overview of key legislative developments impacting Iowa’s 15 community colleges. This updated report features clearer formatting, concise summaries, and expanded analysis to help stakeholders quickly understand policy changes and their implications for students, educators, and local communities. Explore the new page here: Legislative Summary Reports (Draft) | Community Colleges for Iowa
DEI Prohibitions Taking Immediate Effect
House File 856 was signed by the Governor on May 27, 2025, and a large portion of the bill became effective upon signing. The new law defines "diversity, equity, and inclusion" ("DEI") for purposes of the law's restrictions, as well as DEI "office" and "officer." A DEI "office" is any department, or other organizational component of a public entity, responsible for creating, planning, implementing, or promoting policies, procedures, programming, training, practices, or other activities "related to" DEI. HF 856 contains a number of exclusions which permit some work or activities that would otherwise qualify as DEI acts to receive public money. The law also includes enforcement mechanisms for claims of violations. Finally, HF 856 requires also amended Iowa Code 261J, which previously applied to the public universities governed by the Board of Regents.
HF 706 - New Open Records and Open Meetings Training Requirement for Members of Governmental Bodies
Beginning on July 1, 2025, newly elected or appointed public officials, who are members of governmental bodies, will be required to complete a training course regarding the Open Meetings and Open Records law within 90 days of taking office. House File 706 also makes changes to the Open Meetings Law, Iowa Code Chapter 21. The Public Information Board will be offering a quarterly open meetings training that meets the requirements of this law, but we don't yet know the schedule for those. CCforIowa may offer our own, but it would have to be approved by IPIB in advance. We are hoping to offer one in August, but the process for getting approval has not yet been outlined. We will share more information as soon as we have it.
Rural Health Care Workforce Update: New Healthcare Workforce Strategy Webinar Series!
As part of the Iowa Rural Healthcare Workforce Initiative, there will be launched an Iowa Healthcare Workforce Strategies: a Webinar Series, an initiative focused on building a stronger, more resilient healthcare workforce for the future by telling the stories of successful tactics around our state. The series is beginning with the release of the first two videos: Video 1 (Floyd Valley Healthcare - Child Care Center Partnership) shows Floyd Valley Healthcare CEO, Dustin Wright, discussing the successful and local effort to come together to open the Crittenton Childcare Development Center in Le Mars, IA. This initiative now serves over 100 children in their community and provides necessary support growing to new families; Video 2 (Sunrise Retirement Community - University Partnership) shows Mindee Knudson, Director of Nursing, and Courtney Hudelson, Director of HR for Sunrise Retirement Community, partnering with a university to create accessible, career-aligned learning pathways for frontline workers, nurses, and support staff. If interested in partnering with Grand Canyon University, call Jill Madsen at 712-422-1470. Watch now and stay tuned for upcoming sessions that will dive deeper into recruitment, retention, education, and training, and sustainability practices that have been successfully implemented around the state. The webinar series is just one component of a comprehensive effort that includes quarterly Task Force meetings, Town Hall events across the state, and a soon-to-be released statewide Healthcare Workforce Summit Report.