December 18, 2024

Publisher's Note: LAW Alert will take a hiatus for the week of December 23rd  and will resume the first week of January 2025 but will be at the ready to share any breaking news in Washington during the hiatus.  

Leading the news this week: 

The Workforce and Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) was seeing bright prospects for reauthorization. The House incorporated WIOA reauthorization language, known as A Stronger Workforce for America Act (ASWAA), into the Continuing Resolution (CR), a funding package that will avert a government shut down and keep government funded until March 14, 2025. Currently, however, the Republican Conference is divided between this package or a clean CR that continues to fund government at the current levels. A clean CR therefore means no disaster aid, no Farm Bill extension, and no ASWAA. ACCT celebrates the ASWAA inclusion in the CR as it authorizes  the Strengthening Community College Workforce Development grants. ACCT prepared a Fact Sheet that further dives into the features of ASWAA. As the CR approaches floor consideration, we urge all our readers to contact your members of Congress and ask them to support the inclusion of ASWAA in the CR and passage of the bill to avoid a government shutdown at the end of this week.

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

New Leadership in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Congressman Tim Walberg (MI) obtained the needed support from his Republican colleagues to chair the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for the 119th Congress. His predecessor, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC) congratulated Walberg by saying, "He’s been a collaborative, effective, and hardworking member of the Committee for 16 years...Tim has been a lifelong fighter for education and literacy and truly believes in helping every American reach his or her God-given potential." While it remains to be seen what Chair Walberg's agenda will be for the Committee, we are optimistic that he will bring up subjects such as short-term Pell and workforce training. On the Democratic side, Representative Bobby Scott (VA) was selected as the Ranking Member for the minority, his sixth stint as democratic leader of the committee.

The Higher Education Community Asks for an Extension

The deadline for institutions of higher education to submit their completer's list is January 15, 2025 which is part of compliance with Biden's Gainful Employment (GE) and Financial Value Transparency (FVT) rule. The intention behind GE/FVT rule is to amass data which will help prospective students determine the value of obtaining a higher education degree in their state. ACCT among others in the higher education space have signed on to a letter authored by the American Council on Education (ACE) urging the Secretary of Education to provide an extension to July 2025.

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden's Final Class

After nearly a 50 year career in education, 15 of which took place teaching at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), first lady Dr. Jill Biden taught her final class last week. ACCT wishes to both congratulate and take this opportunity to thank Dr. Biden for her consistent and unwavering support for community colleges and their students.  

Department of Education Releases Resources on Protecting Students with Disabilities

The Department of Education has released Fact Sheets on protecting students with: Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Migraine, Narcolepsy, and those who stutter. These protections are part of Section 504 which prohibits discrimination against students with disabilities by institutions that accept federal financial assistance; this includes public schools and almost all public and private institutions of higher education. These resources detail the steps institutions can take to remain compliant with Section 504 protections.  

Innovative Approaches to Expand Non-Credit Learning Webinar

ACCT and guest speakers from the Department of Education will host the Innovative Approaches to Expand Non-Credit Learning Webinar. Register and mark your calendars for January 14, 2025 2:00PM EST where we will engage in a fruitful conversation on how institutions are enhancing student learning through non-credit programs.

ICYMI: Preparing for NLS Webinar 

On December 10th, ACCT's Government Relations team held a webinar which both provided a federal update focusing on the transition to the 119th Congress as well as tips and recommendations on how to best prepare for the 2025 Community College National Legislative Summit. Here is a recording of the webinar.  

Grant Opportunities

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

Higher Ed Dive has been tracking college closings and mergers since 2016 of non-profit public and private institutions. What is notable is that most of their reported closed or merged institutions are not community colleges but instead are private colleges and universities.

• December 19 - Ethiopia Rapid Response Mechanism Grant closing date
• December 20 - National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program Advanced Packaging Research and Development
• January 4, 2025 - Institutes for Higher Education Faculty and K-12 Educators
• January 6, 2025 11:59PM EST - Head Start/ Early Head Start Recipient, Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership Grants
• January 14, 2025 2:00PM EST- Innovative Approaches to Expand Non-Credit Learning Webinar
• January 15, 2025 - Accurate Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment Completers List due to ED
• January 16, 2025 - Ports for the Future Partnerships Grant Closing Date
• January 21, 2025 - Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program—Short-Term Projects
• January 21, 2025 11:59 PM EST - American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Expansion, Early Head Start Expansion, and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership Grants
• January 22, 2025 - Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams Grant Closing Date
• February 3, 2025 - Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) Partnership Grants Closing Date
• February 12, 2025 - Institutes for Higher Education Faculty and K-12 Educators
• February 9-12, 2025 - 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:

Have a Question?

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