January 31, 2024

Leading the news this week: The Department of Education (ED) shared that colleges should anticipate receiving students' federal aid information in the first half of March. This marks a substantial delay compared to the late-January timeline initially conveyed by ED last December, potentially posing significant impacts on students relying on timely financial aid offers

Publishing note: LAW Alerts will be on hiatus next week as we attend the 2024 Community College National Legislative Summit. During this time, ACCT will provide daily NLS recap emails to keep our membership informed. We look forward to connecting with many of you at the summit!

Now let's dive into the latest news in higher education.

RFI on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Needs in Higher Education

ED published a request for information (RFI) in the form of  written comments to gather insights on effectively supporting mental health and substance use needs in higher education. ED is particularly interested in examples of successful strategies, inclusive campus cultures, state agency support, and challenges faced by institutions. The information collected will help inform future work from ED.

The deadline for written comments is February 25, 2024. For more information, click here. 

Upcoming Negotiated Rulemaking Sessions

The next round of rule making session will take place next week. The sessions on Program Integrity and Institutional Quality will take place from February 5-8 and the TRIO Subcommittee will meet on February 9. For more information regarding the sessions or to access session recordings or documents, click here. 

Members of the public who wish to view the sessions can register for the livestream. To request time to comment, please send the name of the speaker, as well as the name of the organization, if applicable, to negreghearing@ed.gov no later than 12:00 p.m. ET on the day of the meeting.

Congressional Update

Appropriations Front -  Congressional leaders reached agreement on the allocations for the 12 funding bills. Subcommittees can now move forward with negotiating their bills with four weeks left before the first funding deadline of March 1^st.

Committee Activity - Today, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a full committee markup on H.R. 6951, College Cost Reduction Act, which was released earlier this month by Chairwoman Virginia Foxx. This bill represents a pivotal step in a series of efforts by the Chairwoman aimed at reauthorizing the long overdue Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). 

Ahead of the markup, Ranking Member Bobby Scott released his own legislative blueprint entitled the Roadmap to College Student Success demonstrating the approach Democrats would take for an HEA reauthorization. 

To watch a recording of the markup, click here. 

• Accepting Applications on a Rolling Basis - CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment

• January 31 - Titles III and V grant designation webinars

• February 2 - Titles III and V grant designation webinars

• February 9 -  Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs Program
• February 25 - RFI on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Needs in Higher Education​​​​​​​
• February 27 - deadline to apply for Career Skills Training program
• April 25 - Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program

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:

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) E-Alert network. To join, simply e-mail publicpolicy@acct.org with 'LAW Alert' in the subject of the e-mail.

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