September 28, 2022

Leading the news this week: Senate and House appropriators released the text of the continuing resolution, which is a short-term government funding bill, that will keep the government funded at the FY 22 levels until December 16.  To read the section-by-section breakdown click here. This signals that Congress will be able to avoid a government shut down and will return to pass an omnibus spending package for FY 23 after the elections, this will be a crucial time to continue advocating for key education priorities for community colleges.

Student Parent Month Coalition Letter

Last week, ACCT joined a coalition of higher education organizations to thank Senator Duckworth and Senator Moran for their commitment to student parents and congratulate them on passing S.Res.777, National Student Parent Month, to designate September 2022 as “National Student Parent Month.” 

To read the full letter, click here. 

Student Loan Forgiveness Resources

With all of the recent changes and updates regarding student loan forgiveness, our team has put together several resources to keep you and your students up-to-date. We created an easy to follow Do You Qualify For Student Loan Forgiveness? flow chart to help students understand if and for how much forgiveness they qualify for. 

Visit our new Student Loan Forgiveness Resources page for additional information. 

Final Reminder: Basic Needs Grant

The Department of Education recently issued a notice inviting applications for Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program. The deadline to apply is October 3, 2022.

The Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program provides grants to eligible institutions of higher education (IHEs) to support programs that address the basic needs of students and to report on practices that improve outcomes for students.

For more information on required, competitive, and invitation priorities for the proposals and on how to apply, please visit here. Additionally, we have posted our pre-application webinar recording and slide deck here for your convenience.

Feature Spotlight:

The Seldin Haring-Smith Foundation's (SHSF) Public Transit Maps project assessed public transit accessibility at community colleges across the country. Through their research they found that 57% of community college main campuses are transit accessible, but an additional 25% could be made accessible through extending existing bus lines. SHSF is producing interactive maps of each state, and we will be featuring these maps as they are made available.

The third interactive map is Delaware. SHSF found that 100% of Delaware's community and technical colleges have a transit stop within walking distance. To delve deeper into Delaware's accessibility click here. To view the interactive map click here. 

• October 3 - deadline to apply for the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program 
• October 11 - deadline to apply for College Completion Fund for Postsecondary Student Success
• October 25 - deadline to apply for third round of funding for SCCTG 

Outreach Efforts

Is you 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. 

We also put together an outreach toolkit and an advocacy guide to share best practices for meeting with elected officials and set your team up for success.

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:

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. If you no longer wish to receive ACCT's Latest Action in Washington alerts, reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. For more information about ACCT's advocacy services, visit acct.org/advocacy

Spread the Word.

Please encourage your fellow trustees, presidents and colleagues to stay up to date about legislation that affects their community colleges by joining the Latest Action in Washington (LAW) E-Alert network. To join, simply e-mail publicpolicy@acct.org with 'LAW Alert' in the subject of the e-mail.

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