March 17, 2025

Leading the News this Week

The Continuing Resolution (CR) which aims to fund the government until September 30, 2025 cleared the Senate and was signed by President Trump over the weekend. With a government shutdown having been averted, Congressional Republicans will now set their sights at completing the reconciliation process. Currently, the House and Senate passed their own distinct budget resolutions, a precursor to the reconciliation process. In order to move forward, the budget resolution from each chamber must be identical. Meanwhile, ACCT along with other 100 organizations have sent a letter to House and Senate leadership asking Congress to support the success of postsecondary students by avoiding harmful cuts to financial aid and public benefits.   

News in Higher Education

Two Rulings on Reduction In Force

On March 13, 2025, a U.S. district judge in Maryland sided with 21 state attorneys general and ruled that the Trump administration’s reductions in force (RIF) violated federal law and regulations, one being that the administration did not provide states the required notice of a RIF. The ruling ordered the reinstatement of employment for probationary employees in several departments including Education. Earlier that day, a  San Francisco federal judge ruled that terminated probationary employees of the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs were also to have their employment reinstated.

With the constant interaction between the administration and the court system, ACCT has assembled a court proceedings tacker on ACCT Now  of relevant litigation that is most critical for the higher education sector.

Department of Education Assures FAFSA and Student Loan Servicing were not Impacted by Reduction In Force

Over the weekend, James Bergeron, the Acting Under Secretary for the Department of Education, sent a letter to education stakeholders stating that "no employees working on core functions of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or student loan servicing were impacted by the RIF." Moreover, employees "whose divisions oversee funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), community colleges, TRIO programs, and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), were not impacted by the RIF.  Funds for these programs will continue to flow normally." Last week, the Department of Education cut nearly half of its federal staff causing the closure of some field offices and a significant downsizing of certain offices within the Department. 

Community Colleges in Action: NOVAnext Aims to Help Displaced Federal Workers

In the wake of the massive surge of unemployed federal workers, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) has launched its New Employment, Exploration and Transition (NOVAnext) program aimed to help recently unemployed federal workers and federal contractors transition to their next careers at no charge. Eligible students are federal workers and federal contract workers who have been laid off on or after February 1, 2025, reside within the NOVA service area, meet a residency requirement, and fill out an online application.

ACCT's Bill Endorsement Tracker

With the 119th Congress underway, ACCT has been active in tracking legislation that would be beneficial to community colleges. Please visit the ACCT Action Center for an up to date list of legislation ACCT has endorsed so far.

Grant Opportunities

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

Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education:

The Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education (FIRE) program, ran by the National Science Foundation invites projects developed by a wide array of groups including academics, educators, scientists, community members, students, industry partners, practitioners, resource managers, and Tribal representatives, working together to generate new knowledge of the interactions among biological, social, geoscientific, and engineering processes encompassing multiple fields, scales, and perspectives on wildland fire.

Click here for more information. The closing date for applications is June 20, 2025.

• April 4 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
• April 29 11:59PM ET - Head Start/Early Head Start Grant Application Due

• May 2 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar

• May 23 - Deadline for ACCT's Leadership Congress Presentation Proposals 
• June 6 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
• 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, 2025 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:

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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