LAW Update: TODAY at 1pm Eastern! Will you join in time for Congress's deadlines?

March 6, 2026

Leading the News this Week

This year, the U.S. House has a much shorter window to submit funding requests for critical programs supporting community colleges. Some members of Congress have deadlines as early as today COB!

Join ACCT TODAY, Friday, March 6, 1-2 PM ET for a special LAW Live - An insider's look at critical steps to advocate for community college funding. Register here

Please invite your college's senior leaders and government relations staff.

Right now, members of Congress are asking their constituents which programs and projects to fund in the annual spending process for fiscal year 2027 (FY27). This is a critical time for the community college community to make our voices heard and advocate for critical programs supporting student success and workforce development.

During today's webinar, we will go inside the federal funding process in Congress and share the critical steps to take to advocate for community college funding - including national programmatic requests and earmarks for individual local projects. Click here to register.

Read on to the next section for additional information.

News in Higher Education

Have you asked your Member of Congress for their funding request form?

Please contact your local members of Congress to request their appropriations request submission form and to learn their offices' specific deadlines. Click here to find your members of Congress. A template email is here.

New resource: You can use this to complete individual congressional office programmatic request forms: FY27 CC Federal Funding Priorities - Guide for Congressional Forms

If you receive a congressional appropriations request form and would like support completing it, please contact PublicPolicy@acct.org

For fiscal year 2027, ACCT and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) sent a letter to the leadership of the House Committees on Appropriations and Education and Workforce, asking Congress to sustain or increase investment for the Pell Grant Program, Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP), Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS), Career and Technical Education, and other top priorities.

Below are deadlines for members of Congress to receive constituent requests, then to compile and submit their priorities to the Appropriations Committee.

Deadlines March 6 and onward: Your Representative's Individual Office Deadline for Constituent Requests

Deadlines Friday, March 13 and onward: Deadline for Members of Congress to sign Group Programmatic Requests (also known as "Dear Colleague Letters") supporting priority programs.

***Please ask your Representative to sign onto these group requests for top community college priorities here.***

Deadlines Friday, March 13, 6:00 PM ET for Representatives to Compile and Submit their Priorities to these Appropriations Subcommittees:

Commerce, Justice, and Science
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration
Financial Services and General Government
Legislative Branch
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
National Security and Department of State

Deadlines Friday, March 20, 6:00 PM ET for Representatives to Compile and Submit their Priorities to these Appropriations Subcommittees:

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Defense
Transportation and Housing and Urban Development
Energy and Water Development
Homeland Security
Interior and Environment

New ACCT FY27 Appropriations Resources:

Congressional Hearing on Community Colleges: Highlights

The House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Subcommittee held a hearing yesterday titled Preparing for the Future: America's Community Colleges. The witnesses included Dr. Patricia G. Sims, President of Drake State Community and Technical College, Dr. Brad Hall, President of Blackfeet Community College, Shawn M. Morgan, Vice President of Workforce and Strategic Initiatives of Bevill State Community College, and Shalin Jyotishi, Founder and Managing Director of Future of Work and Innovation Economy Initiative at New America.

Both top leaders of the subcommittee, Chair Robert Aderholt (AL-04) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), expressed support for community and technical colleges and reconzied a community college education as a flexible and affordable pathway to economic mobility. The hearing covered topics around the maximum Pell, Workforce Pell, and the Strengthening Community College Training Grant. Click here to watch the hearing on-demand.

While it is positive to see support from members of Congress for community colleges, advocacy is still necessary to achieve the community college federal priorities.

Federal Funding for Community Colleges: What to Know As You Plan for FY26 Grants

In a brief published by ACCT, Amanda Fuchs Miller, president of Seventh Street Strategies, provided an overview of the different federal grant programs community colleges leverage that yield institutional and student support. This brief dives into particular considerations community colleges should make when applying for these federal grants, such as shorter submission windows, new rules for drawing down funds, and new processes for grants administered by more than one federal agency.

Tune in to ACCT's LAW Live TODAY, March 6, 1-2 PM ET

The ACCT Government Relations Team's Federal Update Webinar, Latest Action in Washington (LAW) Live, will return TODAY, March 6, 1-2pm ET.

Right now, members of Congress are asking their constituents which programs and projects to fund in the annual spending process for fiscal year 2027 (FY27). This is a critical time for the community college community to make our voices heard and advocate for critical programs supporting student success and workforce development.

During this webinar, we will go inside the federal funding process in Congress and share the critical steps to take to advocate for community college funding. Click here to register.

Grant Opportunities

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

Strengthening Community College Training Grants

In this 6th round, the objective of the Strengthening Community College Training Grant (SCCTG) competitionis to fund community colleges aiming to build "program and system capacity for implementing and scaling access to short-term training opportunities through Workforce Pell Grants—i.e., promoting industry-driven strategies, worker mobility, and integration with the larger state workforce system (e.g., Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) partners) for statewide impact."

The closing date for this grant opportunity is May 20, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET.

March 6, 1-2 PM ET LAW Live
March 20, 6:00 PM LHHS Programmatic and Language and Community Project Funding Request Deadline
March 30, 11:59 PM ET Public comment period closes for the proposed revision on certifications that recipients of federal funding must submit.
April 3, 1-2 PM ET LAW Live
April 14 FAFSA Form 2027-28 comment period closes
May 1, 1-2 PM ET LAW Live
May 20, 11:59 PM ET. Strengthening Community College Training Grant Closes
June 5, 1-2 PM ET LAW Live
July 10, 1-2 PM ET LAW Live
August 7, 1-2 PM ET LAW Live
September 4, 1-2 PM ET LAW Live
October 2, 1-2 PM ET LAW Live
October 21-24 ACCT Leadership Congress
November 6, 1-2 PM ET LAW Live
December 4, 1-2 PM ET LAW Live

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:

Federal Funding for Community Colleges: What to Know As You Plan for FY26 Grants

Bipartisan Education and Labor Spending Bill Protects Nearly All Critical Community College Programs for FY26

Transatlantic Exchange Expands as U.S. and U.K. Students Drive Sustainability and Workforce Innovation

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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