March 7, 2025

In order to provide the most timely updates, ACCT will now publish the Latest Action in Washington (LAW) updates twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. Please encourage your fellow trustees, presidents, and colleagues to stay up to date about legislation that affects their community colleges by joining the LAW network. To join, simply register here. 

Leading the News this Week

Yesterday it was expected that President Trump would sign an executive order directing the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to, within the extent of the law, facilitate the closure of the Department of Education. Continued news coverage suggests this executive order could come within the next few days, if not earlier. ACCT is tracking this event and will alert members if and when President Trump signs this executive order. We anticipate that even with this executive order, action by Congress will still be necessary and unlikely to be successful. We would like to remind you to continue your Congressional outreach and share the importance of federally funded programs to your campuses and students. 

News in Higher Education

Trump Announced Executive Order Limiting PSLF

Today from the White House Oval Office, President Trump announced that he will change the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program via executive order. President Trump stated that he was concerned with qualifying nonprofit organizations engaging "in illegal, or what we would consider to be improper activities” such as work deemed as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or assisting undocumented immigrants. PSLF was signed into law by President George W. Bush allowing non-profit and government employees to apply for federal student loan forgiveness after 10 years of payments.

Meanwhile, this is nearly a week after the Trump administration removed from its websites online applications for income-driven repayment (IDR) plans and the option for online loan consolidation.

As always ACCT is tracking these updates. In addition, please visit the White House landing page for Presidential Actions for a running list of signed executive orders and other executive activities.

Republicans and Democrats are at Odds on How to Avert a Shutdown

With eight days left before the March 14th deadline, there is still discussion on how to fund the government. President Trump supports a full-year Continuing Resolution (CR) that would fund the government until September 2025 using FY 2024 funding levels. Since the Republicans hold a very slim majority in the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (LA) nonetheless has to convince some members in his conference to pass a full-year CR without any votes from the Democrats; a task that President Trump is assisting Speaker Johnson with. Meanwhile,  the Democrats strongly oppose this plan and prefer a funding bill that holds guardrails which commit President Trump to spending the money allocated by Congress. Therefore the Democrats are opting for a CR that covers funding for the next few weeks rather than the full year CR that many Republicans prefer. 

The House Education and Workforce Committee Held a WIOA Hearing

The subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing discussing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). This piece of legislation connects employers to employees and supports upskilling the workforce. Throughout the hearing, members of Congress asked questions regarding policy tools to ensure a functioning program. In addition, members of the subcommittee, including Chair Burgess Owens (UT) and Ranking Member Alma Adams (NC) uplifted community colleges as intuitions that can realize the goals of WIOA, especially through the Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants (SCCTG), a grant that was in the reauthorization language of WIOA. As was often mentioned in the hearing, the December government funding package initially featured the reauthorization of WIOA that was agreed upon by both Republicans and Democrats from both chambers, but that language was removed from the final package. Click here for the full hearing.    

Videos from NLS

Nearly a month ago the Association of Community College Trustees in collaboration with the American Association of Community Colleges hosted the National Legislative Summit where community college leaders and stakeholders had the opportunity to visit DC and meet with members of Congress and their staff. In the spirit of remembering our federal partners and decision makers, we encourage you to rewatch the remarks of our closing speaker, Chair of the Higher Education and Workforce Subcommittee, Congressman Burgess Owens, and the remarks of his colleagues during the Community College Congressional Forum. For those who were unable to join us, these videos can offer a small glimpse of what took place during NLS. Enjoy!   

Grant Opportunities

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

Head Start/Early Head Start

The Department of Health and Human Services has issued a notice of a competitive grant opportunity to provide funds for Head Start and/or Early Head Start services to eligible children and families. Eligible states are Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas. Click here for additional information. The closing date for application is April 29, 2025 11:59 PM EST.

March 14 1:00PM EST - LAW Live Webinar

April 4 1:00PM EST - LAW Live Webinar

April 29 11:59PM EST - Head Start/Early Head Start Grant Application Closes

May 2 1:00PM EST - LAW Live Webinar

June 6 1:00PM EST - 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:

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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