November 17, 2025

Leading the News this Week

The federal government is now back to work. With a looming government funding deadline of January 30, 2026, the House and the Senate are tasked with passing the 12 appropriations bills, three of which were passed with the Continuing Resolution (CR) that ended the government shutdown. Please read on to the next section for more information.

News in Higher Education

A Second Minibus is in the Works

The Continuing Resolution that officially reopened the government featured a minibus that funds departments covered by the Military Construction and Veterans’ Affairs, Agriculture, and the Legislative Branch appropriations bills through September 30, 2026. It is expected that the Senate will continue its appropriations work upon its return on November 18th, with a second minibus that encompasses five appropriations bills, one of them being the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill. As the Senate moves through this negotiation, it is incumbent that lawmakers hear from community colleges on our advocacy efforts to protect programs that support student success. Continue reading below to learn how you can help advocate!

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.  

Webinar: Preparing for Workforce Pell - The Role of States and Governors in Implementation

On November 20th at 2PM ET join ACCT's Center for Policy and Practice in its multi-webinar series on Preparing for Workforce Pell. This webinar will focus on the state's and governor's role in Workforce Pell implementation.  Click here to register.

Secretary of Education's Reflections of the Government Shutdown

In an opinion piece, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon asserts that the 43-day government shutdown, the longest in United States history, had no impact of education and serves as a proof of concept that the bureaucracy in the Department of Education is inefficient. In this piece, Secretary McMahon highlights the interagency agreement between the Departments of Education and Labor which yielded an "integrated state plan portal and streamlined federal workforce development programs."

Meanwhile, in terms of higher education, the impacts of the government shutdown were felt by stakeholders. College students who are SNAP recipients lost access to their benefits; there are Head Start programs that had to temporarily or permanently close due to lack of funding; and grant recipients were left without assistance or guidance from program officers in the Department of Education.  

FIPSE Under the Second Trump Administration

The Department of Education has opened a grant competition for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) for the FY 2025 competition.

Since FIPSE's funding schedule ends at the end of the calendar year, instead of the end of the fiscal year, September 30th, the Department is able to run a grant competition to spend the Congressionally appropriated funds. 

For this competition, the Department is directing $167 million to cover four of its designated areas of need: Artificial Intelligence, Civil Discourse, Accreditation, and Short-Term Programs. As such, there will not be FY25 funding available to cover other programs such as Basic Needs, the Postsecondary Success Grant, or the Rural Postsecondary Education Development program, to name a few. 

Read the ACCT Now piece, FIPSE Funding Under the Second Trump Administration for more on how the Trump Administration transformed FIPSE.

Institutions wishing to apply for these funds must know that the deadline is December 3, 2025, a tight turnaround time. 

Read the Grant Opportunities section for additional information

Grant Opportunities

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

Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)

The Department of Education opened a new grant opportunity, which features seven priorities that support four areas of need:  expanding the use of artificial intelligence (AI), protecting and promoting civil discourse on college and university campuses, encouraging accreditation reform, and building capacity for high-quality short-term programs. For community colleges, the very likely area of relevance may be the short-term programs, specifically, "the Expansion of Existing High-Quality Short-Term Programs priority" meant to support the expansion of existing short-term programs.  

The Notice Inviting Applications for the FIPSE competition has been published in the Federal Register. The deadline to apply is December 3, 2025. The Department expects to make awards by December 31, 2025. Click here ​​​​​​for additional information.

• November 20, 2025 02:00 PM ET: Preparing for Workforce Pell: The Role of States and Governors in Implementation
• December 3, 2025: Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education Due
• December 5, 01:00 PM ET: LAW Live Webinar
• December 11: Preparing for Workforce Pell: Workforce Alignment
• January 13: Preparing for Workforce Pell: Student Outreach
• February 8-11, 2026: National Legislative Summit

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. 

For more community college news from inside the beltway, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, or like us Facebook.