November 29, 2023

 We hope you all had a relaxing Thanksgiving break! The House and Senate are both back in session this week. Lawmakers will try to make headway on several top priorities, including  appropriations and NDAA, before they head home for the holiday recess. 

Now let's dive into the latest news in higher education.

ED Guidance Addressing Rising Discrimination

This month, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released several resources to support schools as they face rising Islamophobia and anti-Semitism across campuses. 

OCR released a Dear Colleague letter outlining the legal responsibility to address prohibited discrimination on campus.  They also released an updated discrimination complaint form and are providing technical assistance training regarding Title VI. All requests for trainings can be submitted to OCR@ed.gov. For ED's full fact sheet, click here.   

Department of Veterans Affairs Guidance

Earlier this month, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a notification to campuses outlining new requirements for colleges when enrolled members of the Armed Forces receive military orders.

The new requirements prohibit institutions from assigning failing grades, reducing grade point average, characterizing absences as unexcused. They also outline several actions institutions must take in these instances ranging from refunding all tuition and fees paid for the academic term and assigning a grade of incomplete or equivalent. For more information on these changes, click here. ACCT is monitoring these developments and will keep our members updated as additional guidance is released. 

Battery Material Processing & Manufacturing Grant

The Department of Energy recently release a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing Grant. 

The FOA will provide $3.5 billion to successful applicants to fund investments within the electric vehicle battery supply chain, increase domestic battery manufacturing, and create good-paying clean energy jobs. The overall scope in this FOA includes demonstration and commercial facilities for battery-grade precursor materials, battery components, and cell manufacturing and recycling. Institutions of higher education are eligible to participate as a prime recipient or subrecipient of this FOA.

The deadline for concept papers, which are required, is January 9, 2024. For more information regarding this grant opportunity, click here.  

Pipeline to Pell Webinar

Join the Department of Education's Office of Correctional Education Webinar Series Pipeline to Pell: Supporting Students in Higher Education in Prison on Monday, December 4 at 11:30 am  EST. The webinar sessions will provide participants with information, resources, and noteworthy practices in providing confined or incarcerated students with career-connected prison education programs. To register, click here. 

• Accepting Applications on a Rolling Basis - CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment

• July 3 - Prison Education Program (PEP) applications open on a rolling basis

• November 30 - deadline for letters of intent for Climate Ready Workforce for Coastal and Great Lakes States, Tribes, and Territories Initiative
• December 4 - Pipeline to Pell: Supporting Students in Higher Education in Prison Webinar
• December 5 - Digital Equity Grant Opportunities Webinar
• January 9 -  deadline for concept papers for Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing Grant

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. 

We also put together an outreach toolkit and an advocacy guide to share best practices for meeting with elected officials and set your team up for success.

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) E-Alert network. To join, simply e-mail publicpolicy@acct.org with 'LAW Alert' in the subject of the e-mail.

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