State: The end of the 2026 Iowa Legislative Session
The 2026 Legislative Session adjourned sine die on Sunday, May 3, at 7:07 pm after an almost 36-hour long marathon session. The chambers worked around the clock, in negotiations and floor debate, to finalize agreements on property taxes, budgets, and a few outstanding policy issues.
The session upheld the value of community colleges in Iowa’s education and workforce landscape while reshaping service delivery and increasing compliance requirements. Thanks to widespread advocacy, Community Colleges for Iowa and our network of partners helped shape legislation that impacts funding, governance, and regulatory expectations for all 15 institutions.
With the conclusion of session, the Governor has until June 2, 2026, to act on bills that were passed by the legislature. During this window, the Governor and her office will have to review bills and decide whether to sign them into law, veto the entire bill, or line-item veto portions of an appropriations bill.
As bills are signed into law, some will require immediate institutional attention - we’re committed to supporting colleges through these transitions and advocating for the resources and flexibility they need to serve Iowans throughout the state.
Make sure you are signed up for Quorum to get updates on where things are during session and how they ended. Thank you for your strong support and engagement throughout this legislative session. Your advocacy ensured that the voice of community colleges was heard.
Federal: Final Workforce Pell Grant Rules
Earlier this week, on Tuesday May 19, the U.S. Department of Education announced the final rules for the implementation of the Workforce Pell Grant program. This program, as well as the rules, will start on July 1, 2026, allowing students to receive grants for enrollment in high-quality, short-term education programs that prepare them for high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand jobs.
This means that a program must show that it is between 8-15 weeks, be 150-199 clock hours, and get approved by the state governor and Secretary of Education to be eligible. Additionally, the programs must show a 70 percent job completion and job placement rate and have a higher Value-Added Earnings than comparable low-wage workers.
An important rule change that occurred thanks to strong advocacy from many community college leaders, trustees, and advocates was excluding students who complete a Workforce Pell Grant and remain enrolled in higher education from the value-added earnings metric. Meaning future students enrolled in these programs won’t get punished for past-enrollees not immediately entering the workforce.
Unfortunately, the updated rules still require programs to meet the above-mentioned requirements for 12-months prior to approval – instead of existing for 12-months and proving they meet the requirements at the time of application. Meaning fewer programs will likely start on July 1, but we will hopefully see more programs get added as they gradually meet the requirements for the 12-months.