September 22, 2025

Leading the News this Week

September is Student Parent Month, where we recognize that more than 3 million undergraduate students are parenting students. At ACCT, we advocate for programs such as Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) that aim to provide much-needed supports for parenting students along their higher education journeys. In this appropriations cycle, we are asking members of Congress to fund CCAMPIS and the Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP).

To move forward with our advocacy and communicate with lawmakers the importance of CCAMPIS and SIP, we need your help! We urge you to please share with us how your campuses have benefited from CCAMPIS and SIP at publicpolicy@acct.org. 

Also, we call upon you to participate in our Action Campaign and let your member of Congress know the devastating effects should CCAMPIS and SIP no longer exist.  

News in Higher Education

Disagreements in the Senate Signal an Impending Government Shutdown

On Friday, September 19, the House voted 217 to 212 to pass the Republican led Continuing Resolution (CR), which would avert a government shutdown and keep the government open in the new fiscal year by extending government funding by using the previous year's funding levels. The Republican CR aims to fund the government through November 21st without extending any of the expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits the Democrats are pushing for. While this CR cleared the House, it failed to obtain the 60 votes needed in the Senate for passage; a separate CR introduced by Senate Democrats would have extended funding until October 31, 2025, and did include the ACA tax credits extension. However, this CR also failed to get the 60 votes needed to pass in the Senate, creating a face-off as Senate Republicans and Democrats figure out how to negotiate the terms of a CR. The fact that the Senate will reconvene from Rosh Hashanah on September 29th, one day before the end of the fiscal year, makes a government shutdown highly probable.   

Save the Date: Webinars on Dual Credit Pathways in Texas and California

Join ACCT's Center for Policy and Practice on October 9th and 15th as they dive into strategies and practices in building two dual enrollment pathways in the states of Texas and California. Below are the details for each webinar. Below is additional information for each webinar.

October 9, 2025, 2:00 PM ET
Building a Bridge to Opportunity: The Rise of Dual Credit Pathways in Texas
Since 2024, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) has been working on a project that explored innovative state strategies for funding community colleges and building dual enrollment pathways. Join us for launch of the first brief that looks at Texas’ efforts over the past ten years to expand access to dual enrollment pathways for underrepresented students. Hear insights from the brief and learn from two key stakeholders that were involved when Texas made substantive changes to its dual credit policies as it reformed its community college funding formula in the legislation. Register here.

October 15, 2025, 2:00 PM ET
California's Bridge to Opportunity: Investments in Dual Credit Pathways
Since 2024, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) has been working on a project that explored innovative state strategies for funding community colleges and building dual enrollment pathways.  Join us for launch of the second brief that looks at California's efforts to increase access to this pathway through significant investments to expand dual enrollment to more high school students, both directly and by building dual enrollment into workforce, economic development, and Covid-recovery policies. Hear insights from the brief and key stakeholders in the efforts. Register here. 

Department of Agriculture Terminates Food Insecurity Survey

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it will end the annual national food insecurity survey and thus the Household Food Security Report, which provides data on lack of access to nutrition in the United States. USDA deems this survey to be redundant, costly, and politicized. Critics of this decision find that this "survey is a critical, reliable data source that shows how many families in America struggle to put food on the table" and provides a clear view of the scale of hunger and how to prevent it. The downstream effects can mean that it will be increasingly challenging to have a clear understanding of the magnitude of post-secondary students who are experiencing hunger, and anti-hunger policies will also be less informed, as surveys that track hunger among the post-secondary student population use the USDA's data collection model.

A Workforce Powered By Student Parents

In celebration of Student Parent Month, ACCT published a piece on its and the National Head Start Association's work on the  Kids on Campus project. This piece demonstrates that Kids on Campus is proof of concept that parenting students are the backbone of America’s workforce. The credentials they earn at community colleges represent so much more than a degree. Learning leads to higher lifetime earnings, a stronger local economy, and greater stability for families. The result is a better system that works for everyone. For a deep dive on the findings from the Kids on Campus project, take a look at ACCT Now’s article. (This is also featured in the ACCT Now Section.)

Also, in case you missed it, our Kids on Campus Director, Miya Simpson, sat down with Nicole Lynn Lewis, founder and CEO of Generation Hope, where they discussed barriers to student-parent success on college campuses. Check out this latest episode of ACCT's podcast, In the Know.

As a reminder, we know that parents in school need the support of their institutions and the federal government to enroll, persist, and succeed in postsecondary education, which is why ACCT urges all community college supporters to contact your Members of Congress, asking them to reject the elimination of programs that support our students. Programs like CCAMPIS, Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP), Adult Basic Education (ABE), and others are critical to fulfill the mission of community colleges.

Grant Opportunities

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

• October 3, 01:00 PM ET: LAW Live Webinar
• October 9, 2:00 PM ET: Building a Bridge to Opportunity: The Rise of Dual Credit Pathways in Texas 
• October 15, 2:00 PM ET: California's Bridge to Opportunity: Investments in Dual Credit Pathways
• October 22 - 25: ACCT Leadership Congress
• November 7, 01:00 PM ET: LAW Live Webinar
• December 5, 01:00 PM ET: 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:

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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