October 14, 2025

Publisher's Note: With the upcoming Leadership Congress, ACCT's Latest Action in Washington will take a hiatus the week of October 20th. We hope to see you in person in New Orleans!

Leading the News this Week

Today is the fourteenth day of the federal government shutdown, and tomorrow marks the first day federal employees will experience either partial pay or a lack of pay entirely. As a reminder, the longer a shutdown lasts, the more programs and federal agencies that may be impacted by the closures, and the more likely it could impact our colleges and students.  Please continue to the next section for the latest updates.

News in Higher Education

Mass Firings at the Department of Education

The Trump administration indicated, since the start of the government shutdown, that mass terminations of federal agency employees would take place. 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. The Department has stated that it does not intend to lay off employees in the Financial Student Aid office. Nonetheless, ACCT is closely monitoring shifts in the Department.

FAFSA Rollout Complicates Scholarship Disbursement

Scholarship providers have reported that changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) have created delays in distributing funds due to changes in information sharing. Updates to the FAFSA allow information from the IRS to be directly input into the form. As a result, there are components to the form that are subject to the IRS's privacy rules, creating barriers to and confusion over the information that financial aid offices can share with scholarship providers and other parties. Recently, the Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague Letter, which provides guidance on the use of federal tax information, FAFSA data, and Non-FAFSA data. However, experts state that this guidance does not address the issues scholarship providers are experiencing in not being able to obtain FAFSA data directly, and thus must resort to working with institutions and obtaining student authorization to perform their work. 

HAPPENING TOMORROW: Webinar- California's Bridge to Opportunity: Investments in Dual Credit Pathways

Join ACCT's Center for Policy and Practice on October 15th, 2 PM ET, as they launch the second brief that looks at California's efforts to increase access to this pathway through significant investments to expand dual enrollment to more high school students, both directly and by building dual enrollment into workforce, economic development, and Covid-recovery policies. Hear insights from the brief and key stakeholders in the efforts. Register here. 

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.  

Grant Opportunities

Please review the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education's Community College webpage for new grants community colleges are eligible for.

• October 15, 2:00 PM ET: California's Bridge to Opportunity: Investments in Dual Credit Pathways
• October 22 - 25: ACCT Leadership Congress
• November 7, 01:00 PM ET: LAW Live Webinar
• December 5, 01:00 PM ET: LAW Live Webinar

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, fill out this form and please email publicpolicy@acct.org with any questions.

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) Alert network. To join, simply register here. 

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