September 15, 2025

Leading the News this Week

September is Student Parent Month, where we recognize that more than 3 million undergraduate students are parenting students. At ACCT, we advocate for programs such as Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) that aim to provide much-needed supports for parenting students along their higher education journeys. Currently, however, ACCT is concerned with the House Appropriations proposal to eliminate funding for CCAMPIS, and we call upon you to participate in our Action Campaign and let your member of Congress know the disadvantages parenting students would face should this program no longer exist.  

News in Higher Education

UPDATE: Termination of Funding for Minority Serving Institutions

Last week, the Department of Education announced that it would end discretionary funding for Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), with the justification that these grants are racially and ethnically discriminatory. Funding for new 2025 awards and non-competing continuations will end for:

• Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions
• Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions
• Strengthening Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions
• Strengthening Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions
• Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions

In the latest update, the Department said that it will “reprogram” these funds to grants for charter schools, American history and civics grants, and a one-time allocation to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). Meanwhile, mandatory funds that cannot be reprogrammed will be dispersed as stated by statute.

Relevantly, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) requested to intervene as a defender in the case after the Department of Justice (DOJ) had opted out of defending the Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) program in the lawsuit filed by the Students for Fair Admissions and the state of Tennessee. 

$660 Million in TRIO Funding is Frozen

At the end of August, colleges and nonprofit recipients of TRIO grant funds were given a "no-cost extension," which permits them to continue with TRIO programming but without funding from the federal government. This amounts to roughly $660 million worth of withheld funds, which impacts over 2,000 TRIO programs. Specifically, Veterans Upward Bound, Educational Opportunity Centers, and Talent Search are the TRIO programs impacted by this funding freeze. Federal funds not disbursed by the end of the fiscal year will return to the  Treasury Department, and thus not reach the grant recipients. With about two weeks left in the fiscal year, there is limited time for these funds to go out. Given that community colleges make up about half of TRIO grant recipients, the administration's funding policies could have a disastrous impact on our sector.

In the Know: Hope Starts Here: Creating an Atmosphere of Empowerment for Student Parents and Their Kids

In celebration of Student Parent Month, ACCT's Kids on Campus Director, Miya Simpson, sits down with the founder and CEO of Generation Hope to discuss barriers to student-parent success on college campuses. In this season premiere episode, Nicole Lynn Lewis details her journey through college as a single mother, highlighting the roadblocks she faced in securing adequate childcare and the two-generation approach her organization is taking to drive systemic change nationwide. Check out this latest episode of ACCT's podcast, In the Know.

As a reminder, we know that parents in school need the support of their institutions and the federal government to enroll, persist, and succeed in postsecondary education, which is why ACCT urges all community college supporters to contact your Members of Congress, asking them to reject the elimination of programs that support our students. Programs like CCAMPIS, Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP), Adult Basic Education (ABE), and others are critical to fulfill the mission of community colleges.

Grant Opportunities

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

• September 17: Public Comment Period for New Rules on PSLF Deadline
• October 3, 01:00 PM ET: LAW Live Webinar
• October 22 - 25: ACCT Leadership Congress
• November 7, 01:00 PM ET: LAW Live Webinar
• December 5, 01:00 PM ET: LAW Live Webinar

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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