Session 2 of the AHEAD Committee's Negotiated Rulemaking, Garnishing of Wages Resumes This Week, Department of Justice Memo Calls Grants for MSIs Unconstitutional
No images? Click here
January 5, 2026
Leading the News this Week
Welcome to 2026! The Department of Education is kicking off the year with the 2nd session of negotiated rulemaking, in which the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee is to discuss accountability metrics for institutions participating in federal loan programs. Also, this week, the Department is resuming garnishing wages from student loan borrowers in default. Read on to the next section for additional information.
News in Higher Education
Session 2 of the AHEAD Committee's Negotiated Rulemaking
Starting today to January 9th, the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee will engage in the second session of negotiated rulemaking. This second session is focused on the accountability provisions in H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) for institutions that participate in the federal loan programs. "The Department of Education's proposal aims to revise the existing Financial Value Transparency /Gainful Employment regulations to align with the OBBB requirements and to provide a simplified transparency and accountability framework."
Garnishing of Wages Resumes This Week
The Trump administration announced that starting the week of January 7th, about 1,000 student loan borrowers in default will receive 30-day wage garnishment notices. The Department of Education said that notices will increase on a monthly basis. Wage garnishment can take the form of the Department of Education seizing tax refunds, Social Security benefits, or having an employer withhold up to 15 percent of the borrower's pay. Currently, about 5.5 million borrowers are in default.
Department of Justice Memo Calls Grants for MSIs Unconstitutional
In a memo from last month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) identified grants to minority serving institutions (MSIs) as unconstitutional. The justification from the DOJ is that these grants are discriminatory because institutions must have a certain share of their student population belonging to a racial or ethnic group to be eligible. This comes in the wake of the Department of Education's September announcement in which $350 million for MSIs was reprogrammed to support charter schools, American history and civics grants, and a one-time allocation to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs).
The memo lists the following grant programs as unconstitutional, for which the funds are to be repurposed:
- Hispanic-serving institutions
- Alaska Native and Native-Hawaiian-serving institutions
- Native American-serving, nontribal institutions
- Grants for community-based organizations that primarily provide career and technical education for Native-Hawaiian students
- Formula-based grants for predominantly-Black institutions, which are intended to be used to improve the colleges’ ability to serve low- and middle-income Black students.
The DOJ determined that the Department of Education can continue the following programs as long as they are race-neutral:
- The Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program
- The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program
- Competitive grant programs for predominantly-Black institutions, which has included funding for several types of initiatives, including establishing STEM programs and improving educational outcomes of African American men.
- Student Services Support Program
Data-Informed Trusteeship: A New Learning Opportunity To Strengthen Board Leadership
To support that critical work, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and Achieving the Dream (ATD) have partnered to launch a new asynchronous online course: Data-Informed Policy and Decision-Making for College Trustees. Designed specifically for trustees who wish to deepen their dialogue with their senior leadership team, the course offers practical tools to interpret data, ask sharper questions, and make decisions that advance student and community success. Read ACCT Now's post for more information.
Preparing for NLS
With the Community College National Legislative Summit (NLS) happening from February 8 to 11, now is the time to start thinking about how to best prepare. To assist you in this process, visit ACCT's website, where you can find resources that include a timeline of steps to take each month leading up to NLS, a short video guide on how to set up a meeting with members of Congress on Capitol Hill, and a federal funds worksheet that assists with narrowing down the key data points to collect for your Hill meetings.
Finally, join the Government Relations teams from both ACCT and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) on January 22, 2026 at 2 PM ET as we unveil the 2026 legislative priorities, known as the Green Sheet. Register here for the webinar.
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.
- January 13: Preparing for Workforce Pell: Student Outreach
- January 22: NLS Webinar - Green Sheet Launch
- January 26: Deadline to submit comments for the request for information to update the Accreditation Handbook
- 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.
