May 12, 2025

Leading the News this Week

ACCT is urging you to take action! Nearly two weeks ago, the House Education and Workforce Committee passed its reconciliation bill. The next step is for this bill to go to the House Budget Committee before making it to the House floor for a full member vote. This means that we are closer to the enactment of dangerous policies for our community colleges. ACCT has authored a section-by-section breakdown of the House's reconciliation proposal as well as a brief summary of the impacts of this reconciliation plan. Reach out to your members of Congress and let them know that harmful changes to the Pell Grant Program and risk-sharing found in this bill will be detrimental to community colleges and their students. Take action here!

News in Higher Education

Webinar Happening This Week: Student Loan Cohort Default Rates- How they can negatively impact community colleges 

For the first time in nearly five years, the federal government will begin collecting on defaulted students loans. This impacts over 5 million borrowers with an additional 9 million borrowers in danger of default. The return to student loan repayment and collections impacts colleges and future cohort default rates. On May 14 at 2:00 PM ET, join the ACCT Government Relations team and EdAmerica to learn how the return to student loan collections could affect your institution, what a cohort default rate is, how it’s calculated, and what colleges can do to support their student borrowers. Click here to register.

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee: Student Loans and Affordability Committee

The Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education has "announced its intention to establish a Negotiated Rulemaking Committee entitled ‘Student Loans and Affordability Committee’ to prepare proposed regulations for federal student aid programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act." The committee will address the following topics: 

• Refining the definitions of a qualifying employer for the purposes of determining eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program; and
• Revisiting family size, restructuring repayment plans, and certain other provisions of the July 10, 2023, rule establishing the Saving on a Valuable Education Plan, which has been enjoined. 

Nominations are due June 1, 2025. The Department anticipates holding a session between June 30th and July 2nd before issuing proposed and final rules later this year.

The Senate Introduced the Tax-Free Pell Grant Act

Last week, the Senate ​​​​​​introduced the Tax-Free Pell Grant Act, which aims to expand the usage of Pell Grants on a tax-free basis and improve coordination with the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC). Currently, Pell dollars that are not used on tuition are seen as taxable income that needs to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service. ACCT is advocating for the Tax-Free Pell Grant Act to be included in the final reconciliation package. Reconciliation is a filibuster-proof budgetary mechanism used for items that involve direct/mandatory spending or taxation.

Advocacy Update

Now that the House Education and Workforce Committee no longer has reconciliation on their to-do list, ACCT is reaching out to committee staff and staffers from members' offices to orient their focus on reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). One feature of this reauthorization would be the codification of 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.

For more on ACCT's list of advocacy priorities, please view our Green Sheet.

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 latest campaign. Let members of Congress know that harmful changes to the Pell Grant Program and risk-sharing found in the House Education reconciliation bill will be detrimental to community colleges and their students.

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.

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program:  The Office of Global Educational Programs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) within the U.S. State Department announces an open competition to administer the FY2025 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program which supports U.S. undergraduate students of limited financial means to study outside the U.S. in order to “broaden the outlook and better prepare such students of demonstrated financial need to assume significant roles in the increasingly global economy” and pursue credit-bearing academic studies or internships. Click here for additional information. The closing date for the application is June 30, 2025.

• May 14, 2:00PM ET – Student Loan Cohort Default Rates: How they can negatively impact community colleges

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

• May 28, 2:00PM ET– New Carnegie Classifications: Community College Impacts and Opportunities
• May 31 - Public Diplomacy English Language Program:  Grant Application Due
• June 1, - Deadline to submit nominations for negotiators for negotiated rulemaking committee on Student Loan and Affordability
• June 6, 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
• June 17 - Preservation and Access Education and Training Grant closing date
• 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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