Editor’s note: This weekly update from the government relations office at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) provides the latest on what’s happening in Washington and how AACC is advancing policies to support community colleges and students. Send questions, feedback and more to: kgimborys@aacc.nche.edu.
- Department of Education announces new FAFSA Student Support Strategy
- Office of Civil Rights issues new Dear Colleague Letter on colleges’ obligations under Title VI
- Secretary Cardona appears before House Committee
Department of Education announces new FAFSA Student Support Strategy
On Monday, the Department of Education (ED) announced a new $50 million program to help students and families fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Funded by and administered in partnership with the ECMC Foundation, this new “FAFSA Student Support Strategy” will deliver resources to K-12 schools, school districts, state agencies, nonprofit college access organizations, and other eligible entities with the goal of increasing FAFSA completion in the communities they serve. Supported activities could include increasing available hours for college counselors and advisers, hosting FAFSA completion events, and setting up more direct lines of communication between students and college access organizations.
This announcement comes as FAFSA completion rates continue to lag where they would be in a typical award year. FAFSA completions for high school seniors (the only group for whom data are available) are down 24.3% from where they were at the end of April 2023, according to the National College Attainment Network. While the completion gap has narrowed over the past few months—likely as the FAFSA form has become more regularly available and user experience glitches have been resolved—colleges remain concerned that FAFSA completions will not fully recover this award year.
Office of Civil Rights issues new Dear Colleague Letter on colleges’ obligations under Title VI
On Tuesday, ED’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a new Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) clarifying colleges’ obligations to ensure nondiscrimination based on race, color, national origin, shared ancestry, and ethnic characteristics in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The guidance comes as OCR has received an increase in Title VI complaints from students at K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. The DCL provides examples to help colleges balance nondiscrimination obligations and First Amendment protections should an incident occur in a classroom or campus setting.
Secretary Cardona appears before House Committee
On Tuesday, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona appeared before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce to testify on the Biden Administrations Fiscal Year 2025 (FY 25) budget request for the Department of Education (ED). Committee members grilled the Secretary on the bungled implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act, many of the administration’s final and proposed regulations, and reports of antisemitism on college campuses. AACC’s Matthew Dembicki has more on the hearing in the Community College Daily.