June 15, 2026

Leading the News this Week

There is only about a week left for colleges to apply for the latest batch of U.S. Department of Education competitive grants, with the fast-approaching deadlines of June 23 and 29. 

If asked, most members of Congress will send a letter of support for their constituents pursuing a federal grant. Whether or not this letter helps sway the competitive grant behind the scenes, the letter can help build your relationship with the congressional office, and helps build congressional support for funding the overall program in the long run. Click here to view this new resource developed by ACCT's Government Relations team, including a sample message to members of Congress and a sample draft letter of support they can send to the federal agency on your behalf.

Please scroll below to the Grant Opportunities section for additional information

News in Higher Education

Higher Education Groups and States Sue the Trump Administration over Anti-DEI Executive Order

In a lawsuit ​​​​​​led by the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the plaintiffs argue that President Trump's March 2026 executive order,  directing departments and agencies to require federal contractors and subcontractors to agree that they will not engage in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work, would force contractors to give up their free speech and freedom of association, thus causing harm. 

The plaintiffs asked the U.S. District Court of Maryland for a preliminary injunction to block this executive order.  This lawsuit is in addition to the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education's suit on President Trump's January 2025 executive orders, which also aim to target DEI.

Meanwhile, a group of twenty attorneys general ​​​​​​filed a lawsuit challenging the same March 2026 executive order. They argue that the executive order limits each state's ability to prevent racial discrimination while also lacking clarity on what it prohibits. 

Updates in House Education Funding Bill

The full House Appropriations Committee passed its Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-ED) funding bill on a party-line vote on June 9. During the House Appropriations Committee markup, the bill was amended to designate advanced nursing degrees as professional instead of graduate. If this bill is signed into law, those seeking such a master's degree would have access to a higher loan cap of $200,000 instead of the $100,000 for degrees categorized as graduate. For community colleges, this would impact the pool of nursing instructors who need at least a master's degree to teach coursework and remain compliant with accreditation standards. This bill would also require the Department of Education to maintain the structure of TRIO grants to award two- and four-year colleges, nonprofits, and agencies doing the work of supporting first-generation and low-income students.

To read more on the latest updates to the bill, click here.

Despite the updates to the bill, we are still concerned over the following:

• Elimination of Adult Basic Education (ABE) funding
• Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG): $364 million decrease 
• Federal Work Study (FWS): $322 million decrease 

It is critical that you reach out to your U.S. House Representatives to both thank them for their support of Pell Grants and other programs that receive an increase, and to also share that ABE, SEOG, and FWS are vital for community colleges to perform the work of being engines of workforce development across the country and have a great impact on student success and affordability.

***TAKE ACTION NOW! CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLE EMAIL TO SEND TO YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS. Please email publicpolicy@acct.org with any questions.

While this bill still needs to be voted on by the full House chamber, we are tracking the Senate's actions on funding. Currently, U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee leadership on both sides of the aisle is negotiating top-line funding levels for defense and nondefense spending, a preliminary step before working on their version of the Labor-HHS-ED bill. 

Community Colleges Raise Concerns About Changes in the National Science Foundation 

Like their four-year counterparts, community colleges have also benefited from National Science Foundation (NSF) support amounting to $1.6 billion over the course of NSF's 32-year lifespan. Specifically, community colleges are looking at the health of NSF's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program, which they leverage to conduct training on cybersecurity, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. President Trump's FY27 budget proposed cutting NSF overall by $4.8 billion, but the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science proposed legislation that would reduce the agency’s funding by only about $1.75 billion. ACCT and the American Association of Community Colleges urged Congress to provide a $10 million increase for ATE specifically.

Grant Opportunities

Please view ACCT's new resource highlighting top competitive grant opportunities for community colleges. These below are the top highlights:

Strengthening Institutions Program

The Office of Postsecondary Education opened the FY 2026 Strengthening Institutions Program competition to help eligible institutions improve academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability for institutions with a large share of low-income students and low expenditures per student. To be eligible, institutions must have completed the eligibility application by April 23. The SIP competition itself will provide nearly $366 million, providing an estimated 600 grants of $3-$5 million for five years each. Congress enacted $102,070,000 for SIP in FY26. 

The Department of Education (ED) deems that Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) programs are unconstitutional. ED appears to be using a one-time congressional flexibility to move funds from MSI programs to SIP, although it is currently unclear how much funding will be drawn from each MSI program.

ACCT strongly encourages all eligible community colleges -- including MSIs-- to apply for SIP 

This year, applicants may earn up to five points from one of these competitive preference priorities:

1. Career Pathways and Workforce Readiness,
2. Developing high-quality short-term programs that meet Workforce Pell Grant requirements, or
3. Advancing Artificial Intelligence in Education.

Applicants may also earn 0 or 10 points for serving a rural population.

The deadline to apply is June 23, 2026, 11:59 PM ET. 

Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) Office of Postsecondary Education released released $10 million for the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program competition. ED expects to make 10 awards ranging from $1 million to $5 million to support programs that address students’ basic needs and improve postsecondary success outcomes. This year's competitive preference provides 0 or 10 points to state agencies or Native American tribes. Thus, community colleges may wish to partner with these entities to increase their chances of winning funds. The deadline to apply is June 23, 2026, 11:59 PM ET. 

Rural Postsecondary and Economic Development Grant Program

The Office of Postsecondary Education announced $45 million is available for the Rural Postsecondary and Economic Development Grant Program. The purpose of this grant is to "improve rates of postsecondary enrollment, persistence, and completion among rural students through development of career pathways aligned to high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand industry sectors and occupations in the region." The Department of Education expects to make 300 awards through this initiative. Entities identified, designated, or endorsed by a Governor or chief State education official to implement the project can earn 0 or 10 points for this year's competitive preference priority. The deadline to apply is June 23, 2026, 11:59 PM ET.

Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success (CEVSS) Program

The Office of Postsecondary Education announced $9 million is available for the Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success (CEVSS) Program. The aim of this grant is to encourage institutions of higher education to develop model programs to support veteran student success. The Department of Education expects to make 4 awards through this initiative. Projects that promote workforce development programs, offer career and college advising, and/or provide opportunities for students to use financial tools to compare the costs and benefits of career opportunities can earn up to 10 points for this year's competitive preference priority. The deadline to apply is June 23, 2026, 11:59 PM ET.

Transitioning Gang-Involved Youth to Higher Education (TGIY) Program 

The Office of Postsecondary Education announced $5 million are available for the FY 2026 Transitioning Gang-Involved Youth to Higher Education (TGIY) Program competition. The Department of Education expects to make four awards through this initiative, which supports programs helping gang-involved youth transition into higher education opportunities.  Applicants can earn 0 or 10 points for this year's competitive preference priority: "Projects or proposals that will be carried out by entities identified, designated, or endorsed by a Governor or chief State education official for purposes of implementing the project or proposal." The deadline to apply is June 23, 2026, 11:59 PM ET.

Open Textbook Pilot Program

The Office of Postsecondary Education announced $7 million is available for the Open Textbook Pilot Program. The goal of this program is to support recipients with projects that "create new open textbooks and expand the use of open textbooks and course materials in courses that are part of a degree-granting program, particularly those with high enrollments. This pilot program emphasizes the development of projects that demonstrate the greatest potential to achieve the highest level of savings for students through sustainable, expanded use of open textbooks in high-enrollment courses or in programs that prepare individuals for in-demand fields." The Department of Education expects to make four awards through this initiative.  Projects carried out by state higher education agencies can earn 0 or 10 points for this year's competitive preference priority, and proposals that advance artificial intelligence can earn up to 10 points. The deadline to apply is June 23, 2026, 11:59 PM ET.

Postsecondary Student Success Grants (PSSG)

PSSG provides a total of $45 million this year in grants to evidence-based strategies to increase student persistence and college completion. Community colleges have won many of the grants in the first several rounds of the competition. Learn more here. The deadline is June 29, 2026.

AI Upskill Accelerator Pilot Grant Opportunity

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced a grant aimed at strengthening workforce development and artificial intelligence training initiatives. Higher education advocates note these programs could provide important funding opportunities for community colleges seeking to expand student support services and workforce training programs. The deadline to submit an application is July 10, 2026, 4:59 PM ET via the EDGE submission portal. 

• June 16, 2026, 3–4 p.m. ET - ED Office Hours
• June 18, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET - ED Office Hours
• June 20, 11 AM to 12:30 PM ET - ED Webinar: Loan Limits and Reductions
• June 22, 2026, 3–4 p.m. ET - ED Office Hours
• June 23, 11:59 PM ET 
  • Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP)
  • Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program
  • Rural Postsecondary and Economic Development Grant Program
  • Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success (CEVSS) Program
  • Transitioning Gang-Involved Youth to Higher Education (TGIY) Program
  • Open Textbook Pilot Program
• June 24, 11 AM to 12:30 PM ET - ED Webinar: Workforce Pell: Program Eligibility, Awarding, and Accountability
• June 26, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET - ED Office Hours
• June 30, 2026, 3–4 p.m. ET - ED Office Hours
• July 8, 11 AM to 12:30 PM ET - ED Webinar: STATS and Earnings Accountability: Reporting, Metric Calculation, and Appeals
• July 2, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET - ED Office Hours
• July 6, 2026, 3–4 p.m. ET - ED Office Hours
• July 10, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET - ED Office Hours
• July 10, 1-2 PM ET LAW Live
• July 10, 4:59 PM ET AI Upskill Accelerator Pilot Program Application Closes
• 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:

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.

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