Community College Month, Senate Passes Revised Budget, Lawsuit over IES, Earmarks for FY 2026
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April 7, 2025
Leading the News this Week
Welcome to April, Community College Month! This is a time to reach out and remind your elected officials about the importance community colleges have in your communities. Please check out ACCT's Community College Month toolkit to help you advocate for community colleges all month long!
News in Higher Education
Senate Passes Revised Budget, House Isn't Convinced
Amid a series of hurdles, the reconciliation process is still ongoing. Over the weekend, Senate Republicans passed a revised budget resolution and sent it back to the House for approval this week. The lingering question is, will House Republicans accept it? The answer remains dubious as House deficit hawks are reluctant to back a Senate budget that, in their view, does not feature a sufficient amount in spending cuts. In an environment where House Republicans have a slim majority, it is expected Speaker Mike Johnson (LA-04) will lean on President Donald Trump to help him secure the votes he needs to pass this budget resolution. Otherwise, both chambers will have to negotiate to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate plans, an arduous process given the significant differences between the two.
Department of Education Faces a Lawsuit Over Dismantling Institute of Education Sciences
The Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) and the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education to challenge the staff reduction and the cancellation of research contracts at the Institute of Education Science (IES). AEFP and IHEP claim that the 90 percent of staff downsizing at IES has left the institute unable to meet its statutory obligations around conducting congressionally mandated research. The lawsuit is asking for a court order that would end efforts to eliminate IES and restore contracts, staff, and resources.
Anticipated Executive Order on College Accreditation
While there is currently no official language, it is expected that President Trump will sign an executive order on college accreditation. It is predicted that this executive order would include language around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and have features that would encourage new accreditors to enter the market and make it easier for an institution to change its accreditor. Meanwhile, accreditation bodies have already made public statements attesting the lack of DEI in their accreditation standards.
Earmarks for FY 2026
Last Wednesday, House Appropriations Chair, Tom Cole (OK-4), issued guidance to House members on submitting requests for programmatic requests (which are requests for funding support to federal programs) and Community Projects Funding, also known as earmarks, for fiscal year 2026. House members can start submitting their requests on April 14th with most submission deadlines being in May. However, individual House Members will have earlier deadlines for requests from constituents to review and finalize their requests. Request forms should be found on their official website. Please reach out to your member of Congress to submit your community project request(s). ACCT plans to share their FY 26 Appropriations programmatic priorities in the coming week and will urge members to ask for support on those programs as well.
Department of Education Announces Negotiated Rulemaking
Last week, the Department of Education invited the public to offer feedback on higher education regulations and federal assistance programs, as well as provide ideas to improve the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Repayment plan, and the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan.
The Department plans to invite public comment by hosting two public hearings. An in-person meeting will take place on April 29, 2025, and a virtual meeting will be on May 1, 2025. Written comments submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at Regulations. gov will be accepted. Those requiring accommodations can contact regulationshelpdesk@gsa.gov or by phone at 1-866-498-2945. The deadline for public comment is 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. More information can be found here.
- April 29 - Public comment for the Department of Education's Rulemaking Process (In-Person Hearing)
- April 29, 11:59PM ET - Head Start/Early Head Start Grant Application Due
May 1 - Public comment for the Department of Education's Rulemaking Process (Virtual Hearing)
May 2, 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
May 23 - Deadline for ACCT's Leadership Congress Presentation Proposals
- June 6, 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
- June 20 - Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education (FIRE) Grant Application Due
- Jul 11, 2025, 01:00 PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
- Aug 1, 2025, 01:00 PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
- Sep 5, 202,5 01:00 PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
- October 22 - 25 - ACCT Leadership Congress
Outreach Efforts
Is your institution meeting or hosting an event with federal elected officials?
We created a Congressional Contact Form that will help us track outreach efforts of community college leaders across our membership. By filling out the form, you are better informing ACCT's advocacy efforts and our advocacy team is able to continue those conversations with congressional staff in DC.
ACCT NOW is the go-to resource for issues affecting community colleges. Our new website features original reporting and research, as well as of-the-moment legislative updates. ACCT NOW also includes articles, reports, and research from outside sources that benefit the ACCT community. Read the Latest Articles on ACCT NOW:
Would you Like a Federal Update Session for Your Team?
Both this new presidential administration and new Congress have brought with them a flurry of developments in the federal landscape that can make keeping up a monumental task. ACCT's Government Relations team is here to help by offering a 45-minute to an-hour federal update session to community college leadership teams who are ACCT members. To request a session, please email publicpolicy@acct.org with the subject line "Request for Federal Update Session."
Have a Question?
Contact us with any questions or concerns about public policy and ACCT's advocacy on behalf of two-year colleges and two-year college trustees. ACCT's Latest Action in Washington alerts are sent to interested ACCT members to keep you up to date on important legislative activities that impact community colleges.
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