May 1, 2025

Leading the News this Week

ACCT is urging you to take action! Last week, along party lines, the House Education and Workforce Committee passed its reconciliation bill. The next step is for this bill to go to the House Budget Committee before making it to the House floor for a full member vote. This means that we are closer to the enactment of dangerous policies for our community colleges. ACCT has authored a section by section breakdown on the House's reconciliation proposal as well as a brief summary on the impacts of this reconciliation plan. Reach out to your members of Congress and let them know that harmful changes to the Pell Grant Program and risk-sharing found in this bill will be detrimental to community colleges and their students. Take action here!

News in Higher Education

President's Skinny Budget Asks for Major Cuts

On Friday, President Trump revealed his "skinny budget," an abbreviated President's budget that does not include funding requests for every government program but does features the main areas he would like to see spending cuts and increases. 

In the higher education and workforce space, President Trump has requested to eliminate funding for:

• Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG), which provides aid to students from the lowest income background
• All seven TRIO Programs, such as Upward Bound (UB), Student Support Services, and Veterans UB
• Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), which prepares students for postsecondary education
• The Strengthening Institutions Programs (SIP), a flexible grant that supports under-resourced institutions, many of them being community colleges
• The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), which houses competitive grants such as the Basic Needs Grant and the Postsecondary Student Success Grant
• Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) Program, which supports parenting students persist and complete postsecondary education programs
• Adult Basic Education, which supports basic literacy and numeracy amongst the adult population.

President Trump has also requested:

• An 80% cut to Federal Workforce Study
• The creation of a Make America Skilled Again block grant, which aims to consolidate Department of Labor workforce training programs, with 10% funding geared towards apprenticeships.  

For a deeper look at both President Trump's "skinny budget" and the potential impacts of the House Reconciliation Bill on higher education, read the latest ACCT NOW article. 

The Department of Education Releases Accreditation Guidance

In the wake of President Trump's executive order, Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education, the Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) with guidance by which institutions of higher education can change their accrediting body(ies) in addition to lifting a Biden-era moratorium on admitting new accreditors. The DCL states that the Department of Education will review applications expeditiously and avoid a "robust or onerous process" for institutions that wish to change their accreditor(s).

Upcoming Webinar on International and Immigrant Students

Last week, President Trump signed the Executive Order, Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens, which takes aim at sanctuary cites. Specifically this order calls the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to identify and stop the enforcement of State and local laws and practices that they deem favor non-citizens over U.S. citizens. This executive order uses the example of immigrant students being charged at in-state tuition rates while their out-of-state citizen counterparts are charged out-of-state tuition.

Join ACCT and our outside counsel partners from Saul Ewing for our May 8th webinar at 2:00PM ET to hear the latest on federal policies impacting international and immigrant students. Register here.

Grant Opportunities

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

Preservation and Access Education and Training: The National Endowment for the Humanities is accepting applications for the Preservation and Access Education and Training program, which supports training that develops knowledge and skills among professionals responsible for preserving and establishing access to humanities collections. NEH will issue awards to organizations that offer national, regional, or statewide education and training programs. Click here for additional information. The closing date for the application is June 17, 2025.

• May 8, 2:00PM ET– Immigration and International Students Webinar

• May 14, 2:00PM ET – Student Loan Cohort Default Rates: How they can negatively impact community colleges

• May 23 - Deadline for ACCT's Leadership Congress Presentation Proposals 

• May 28, 2:00PM ET– New Carnegie Classifications: Community College Impacts and Opportunities
• June 6, 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
• June 17 - Preservation and Access Education and Training Grant closing date
• 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, 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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