June 25, 2026

Leading the News this Week

Publisher's Note: The next edition of the Latest Action in Washington (LAW) Update will publish on Thursday, July 2.  

On June 23, 2026, the Pell Grant turned 54 years old. The Pell grant has been a critical program for low-income students to access higher education. After 54 years, policymakers still recognize the power of the program and endeavor to continue improving it to expand access and effectiveness. Continue reading for the latest bill to support the Pell grant.

News in Higher Education

Federal Judge Rules on "Professional" Definition for Nursing, Physician Assistants, and Other Professions

This week a federal judge ruled to pause  a part of the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) new regulations that limit advanced nursing, physician assistant, and other degrees as "graduate" degrees (subject to new lower $100,000 loan limits) rather than "professional" (subject to new $200,000 limits). The judge stated the new regulations are likely inconsistent with Congress's intent in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act it enacted last year, and that ED's rulemaking process likely violated the Administrative Procedures Act. The judge's ruling pauses new action while litigation continues. ACCT urged the Department of Education (ED) in February that ED’s regulation to impose the lower loan caps on advanced nursing and other advanced degree programs as “graduate” instead of “professional” degrees would harm community colleges’ ability to train the workforce. 

Senate and House Reintroduce Bill to Double the Pell Grant

ACCT has again endorsed the Pell Grant Protection and Expansion Act. U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (HI), Patty Murray (WA), Jack Reed (RI), and Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), and U.S. Representatives Mark Pocan (WI-02) and Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) reintroduced the bill on the Pell Grant's birthday this week. Key provisions of this bill include:

• Double the maximum Pell grant amount from $7,395 to $15,000 to restore the purchasing power of the program. This bill would then index the award for inflation to maintain the purchasing power of Pell.  
• Shifting the Pell program from annual discretionary funding to guaranteed mandatory funding, like Social Security. Instead of subjecting the Pell Grant to the appropriations process, it would instead be funded automatically.
• Extend the Pell Grant lifetime eligibility from 12 to 18 semesters.  

U.S. House Holds Apprenticeship Hearing

On June 24, the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee held a hearing titled Workforce Rewired: Modern Apprenticeships for a Modern Economy. The goal of this hearing was to discuss apprenticeships as a national higher education, training, and hiring strategy. ACCT thanks Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07) for highlighting community colleges' interaction with apprenticeship programming. Specifically, she mentioned that community colleges face barriers such as reliance on temporary grants, inflexible time-based training, and restrictive one-to-one mentoring ratios, which sideline willing employers. 

House Education and Workforce Committee Passes Bills on Higher Education Religious Discrimination

On June 25, the House Education and Workforce Committee passed several bills on bipartisan votes, including:

• No Antisemitism in Education Act (H.R. 8476 as amended, 20 Yes - 12 No)
• Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act (H.R. 4795, as amended, 24Y – 9N)
• Student Protection and University Accountability Act (H.R. 9203, as amended, party-line 18Y – 15N)
• Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act (H.R. 2555, as amended, party-line 18Y – 15N)
• Equal Campus Access Act (H.R. 5505, as amended, party-line 18Y – 15N)

Watch video and view amendments here. View Republican (Majority) opening statement and summaries. View Democratic (Minority) summaries, statement, and  letters of opposition, and amendments here.

Office of Inspector General Finds Problems in ED Grant Management and Staffing

In a report published on June 22nd, the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that since February 2025, the Department of Education reduced its workforce by 40 percent, terminated $1.3 billion in contracts, and ended $504 million in grants, among other items. The overall impact was the elimination of offices that were performing statutory functions or oversight and monitoring functions. OIG clarified that their figures are estimates, as ED did not provide all the requested information.     

Grant Opportunities

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

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 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.

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. 

For more community college news from inside the beltway, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, or like us Facebook.