April 21, 2025

Leading the News this Week

April is Community College Month! This is a time to reach out and remind your federal elected officials about the importance of community colleges in your communities. Take action by asking them to join the Congressional Community College Caucus and to cosponsor the Congressional Resolution recognizing the significance of “Community College Month,” which identifies April as Community College Month. Also, please check out ACCT's Community College Month toolkit to help you advocate for community colleges all month long!

News in Higher Education

International Student Visas Revoked

Recently, over 1,550 international students and graduates have had their visas revoked as a result of a legal status change made by the Department of State. Inside Higher Ed has compiled a dataset of colleges and universities that have reported visa revocations of their international students or recent alumni. Inside Higher Ed reports that it is not clear why so many international students have lost this legal status, with a series of lawsuits now emerging. Using their dataset, ACCT has calculated that as of this morning, 60 community and technical college international students have had their visas revoked, a 100 percent increase from last week. ACCT will continue to monitor this development and how it impacts community colleges and their students. We also encourage you to reach out to publicpolicy@acct.org and let us know how policies from the federal government are impacting your institution.

Take Action on Community College Funding

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have begun working on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills. The House and the Senate Appropriations Chairs have released guidance for Members of Congress to submit their funding priorities to the committee. This first step is crucial in ensuring that both community colleges' earmark requests and robust funding for key federal programs make it into the final bill. Members of Congress will have separate deadlines for requests from constituents to review and finalize their priorities. Request forms should be found on their official website.

Meanwhile, ACCT sent both Senate and House Appropriations leaders our FY 26 Appropriations programmatic priorities to advocate for federal programs that support our institutions and students. It is imperative that each community college stakeholder communicates the critical need to fund the various programs that directly affect community colleges. Visit ACCT's Action Center to let your member of Congress know the importance of funding programs that support students and institutions. 

The National Science Foundation Terminates Grants

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has started cancelling grants that are deemed inconsistent with NSF's priorities. These cancelled awards feature diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)  and promote misinformation/disinformation. 

Lawmakers Back in Their Districts

For the rest of this week, Congress will be out of session, which means that lawmakers are working in their districts. This provides an opportunity to invite your Member of Congress to events hosted by your community college or set up meetings at their district office. Members of Congress seek opportunities to learn the latest updates impacting their communities and constituents. If you meet with your lawmaker while they are in town or host them for an event at your institution, please fill out ACCT's Congressional Contact Form to help us best support your advocacy efforts.

Advocacy Update

With the 119th Congress underway, ACCT has met with education policy staffers on Capitol Hill working in member offices and the House and Senate education committees.

While ACCT has an extensive list of priorities, detailed on the Green Sheet, at this time our advocacy has focused on the following:

• Building momentum for reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). One of the functions of this reauthorization would codify into statute the Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants (SCCTG). The December 2024 draft of the Continuing Resolution, a government funding package, included reauthorization language, which was later removed in the final bill in favor of a slimmer funding package.
• Discussing components to include and exclude from the upcoming reconciliation bill. ACCT is advocating against risk-sharing policies that would harm our institutions, and we are advocating for the Tax-Free Pell Grant Act to be included in the final reconciliation package.  
• Addressing the looming Pell Grant shortfall through measures that do not restrict Pell Grant eligibility. Historically, efforts that narrow Pell Grant eligibility have adversely affected community college students in greater numbers. 

ACCT encourages you to also engage in advocacy efforts and take action by visiting ACCT's Action Center. Here we invite you to participate in our two most recent efforts, our appropriations asks and the promotion of the Congressional Community College Caucus, alongside the Resolution declaring April as Community College Month.

To further enhance our advocacy efforts, the Government Relations Team invites you to email publicpolicy@acct.org to share how recent developments at the federal level have impacted your students and your campus.

Grant Opportunities

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

• April 29 - Public comment for the Department of Education's Rulemaking Process (In-Person Hearing)
• April 29, 11:59PM ET - Head Start/Early Head Start Grant Application Due

• May 1 - Public comment for the Department of Education's Rulemaking Process (Virtual Hearing)

• May 2, 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar

• May 23 - Deadline for ACCT's Leadership Congress Presentation Proposals 

• June 6, 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
• June 20 - Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education (FIRE) Grant Application Due
• Jul 11, 2025, 01:00 PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
• Aug 1, 2025, 01:00 PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
• Sep 5, 202,5 01:00 PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
• October 22 - 25 - ACCT Leadership Congress

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. 

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