Day 16 of the Government Shutdown, Judge Temporarily Overturns Mass Firings by Trump Administration, Accreditation Advisory Committee Delayed its Meeting Again
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October 16, 2025
Publisher's Note: With the upcoming Leadership Congress, ACCT's Latest Action in Washington will take a hiatus the week of October 20th, unless there is pressing news to report. We hope to see you in person in New Orleans, and while you are there, make sure to check out our Federal Update as well as the Federal Funding sessions!
Leading the News this Week
Today is the sixteenth day of the federal government shutdown, and today marks the tenth failed attempt by the Senate to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to reopen the government. Meanwhile, the Senate held a vote on the Defense appropriations bill, which also failed to get the needed 60 votes. Senate Democrats have stated they would be willing to vote on the Defense bill if it were tied together with the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. As such, both parties are still locked in a stalemate over government funding. Please continue to the next section for the latest updates.
News in Higher Education
Judge Temporarily Overturns Mass Firings by Trump Administration
Friday, it was reported that nearly 500 Department of Education employees were laid off. Nearly all staff in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), as well as those who worked on TRIO programming, were terminated. Yesterday, a federal court granted a temporary injunction, which would block the mass terminations of federal employees during the shutdown. Regardless, experts and advocates say that a gutted Department of Education means that grant recipients will have no point of contact at the Department.
Accreditation Advisory Committee Delayed its Meeting Again
The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI), the Department of Education's accreditation advisory committee. has for a second time rescheduled its semiannual meeting. Initially, it was meant to take place in July, then it was pushed to October 21st, and because of the government shutdown, it is now scheduled for December 16. As a result of the delay, it will be another two months before the new six Trump-appointed members are named. Furthermore, until the next meeting, compliance reports will remain unchecked. Moreover, those accreditation agencies that are under compliance review have 12 months to meet the committee's criteria. Failure to do this can put the accreditation body's authorization at risk. NACIQI's meeting delays will cause some accrediting bodies to be unable to prove compliance to the committee by their deadline, making it unclear if they can maintain their recognition.
Join Us in Advocacy
As a reminder, in this appropriations cycle, ACCT is advocating for members of Congress to fund programs such as Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) and the Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP). These programs provide much-needed support for students and institutions.
To move forward with our advocacy and communicate with lawmakers the importance of CCAMPIS and SIP, we need your help! We urge you to please share with us how your campuses have benefited from CCAMPIS and SIP at publicpolicy@acct.org.
Also, we call upon you to participate in our Action Campaign and let your member of Congress know the devastating effects should CCAMPIS and SIP no longer exist.
- October 22 - 25: ACCT Leadership Congress
- November 7, 01:00 PM ET: LAW Live Webinar
- December 5, 01:00 PM ET: LAW Live Webinar
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