August 7, 2024

Leading the news this week: Both the House and Senate have adjourned for their August recess. When they return in early September, they will have just 13 legislative days to address the remaining appropriations bills before the new fiscal year begins on October 1. With only a portion of the bills passed so far, a continuing resolution is becoming increasingly likely to avoid a government shutdown.

Publishing note: LAW alerts will be sent on a biweekly basis throughout August recess, unless there is breaking news on any of our top priorities.  

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

2025-2026 FAFSA Launch Announcement 

The Department of Education has just announced a staggered rollout for the 2025-26 FAFSA form, with limited testing starting October 1 and a full release expected by December 1. In the coming weeks, the Department will release additional details about how this testing period will be implemented.

The gradual release follows a turbulent implementation of the new Better FAFSA form, which led to a notable decline in completion rates among graduating seniors. This delay compounds the challenges colleges faced this past financial aid season, further complicating the financial aid process for prospective students. Institutions had hoped for a smoother transition and a return to the October 1 launch date, but the new timeline indicates ongoing difficulties in ensuring timely access to financial aid resources for our students.

Senate FY2025 LHHS Funding Levels

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee released and passed their bipartisan Labor-HHS-Education bill out of committee. As expected, the bill offers significantly better funding levels for key priorities compared to the 14% cuts proposed in the House version.

Below is an overview of the proposed funding levels that are most of interest to community colleges:

Department of Education (ED) – The bill includes a total of $80 billion in discretionary appropriations for ED, an increase of $1 billion from FY 2024 levels.

• $100 increase in the maximum Pell Grant award, bringing the award to $7,495 for the 2025-26 award year
• $5 million increase from FY 24 levels for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program, totaling $80 million
• $5 million increase from FY 24 levels for the Basic Needs Grants program, totaling $15 million
• $1 million increase from FY24 levels for the Strengthening Institutions Program, totaling $113.7 million
• $20 million increase for TRIO and $5 million increase for GEAR UP
• Maintains $1.23 billion for Federal Work Study
• Maintains $910 million for Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants

Department of Labor (DOL) – The bill includes a total of $13.8 billion in discretionary appropriations for DOL, an increase of $400 million from FY 2024 levels.

• $5 million increase for Registered Apprenticeships totaling $290 million
• $5 million increase for YouthBuild Training state grants totaling $110 million
• Maintains $2.9 billion for Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA) formula grants
• Maintains $885.6 million in funding for WIOA Adult Job Training state grants
• Maintains $65 million for Strengthening Community College Training Grants

As of last week, the Senate has advanced 11 out of 12 appropriations bills out of committee, but none have yet been brought to the floor for a vote. For further details on the Senate’s Labor-HHS-Education bill, you can refer to the Republican press release and summary, Democratic press release and summary, and committee report.

*NEW* YouthBuild Grant Opportunity 

The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) issued a funding opportunity announcement  for the YouthBuild grant program.

The YouthBuild program model prepares participants for quality jobs in a variety of careers and provides wrap-around services. Grant recipients will be expected to provide pre-apprenticeship services that support education, occupational skills training, and employment services to opportunity youth, ages 16 to 24. YouthBuild applicants must include construction skills training and may include occupational skills training in other in-demand industries.

The deadline to apply for the grant is September 16. For more information on the funding opportunity and to apply, click here.

August Recess Outreach Prep

August recess allows federal lawmakers to spend a substantial amount of time in their home states and districts connecting with their constitutes. This presents a window of opportunity for community college leaders to strengthen relationships with their lawmakers.

ACCT encourages our membership to start planning for recess as soon as possible as lawmakers will soon be flooded with invitations. Use this time to think of a speaking engagement, welcome back to school event, or tour you can invite your member or offer your campus to them as a location for an upcoming event they may be hosting. You should also consider how your team can best use the opportunity to advocate for your institution's federal priorities. For more guidance on hosting federal officials in your campus, check out our advocacy toolkits on ACCT Connect. If you have not yet created an account, click here.

• August 15 - Serving as a Bridge: Community College Skills-Based Hiring Playbook Webinar
• September 12 - CTE Research Grants
• September 16 - YouthBuild Grant
• September 23 - Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program 
• September 24 - Strengthening Community College Training Grants Round 5

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.

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