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.
- ED issues more FAFSA guidance amid continued criticism from Congress
- House votes to block Title IX regulations
ED issues more FAFSA guidance amid continued criticism from Congress
On Thursday, the Department of Education (ED) issued a new Electronic Announcement (EA) clarifying how institutions should award summer financial aid if schools offer “header” terms prior to their fall-spring academic year. Without obtaining complete and accurate Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs), schools are unable to originate direct loans for the summer period. While most known issues impacting ISIR transmission have been addressed, the delay in institution-initiated corrections, particularly in the batch-processing functionality, makes this process more fraught. The new EA outlines options for schools based on a student’s enrollment plans.
This announcement came one day after Republican lawmakers sent a letter to ED’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) requesting formal updates on the office’s investigation into the botched rollout of the 2024-25 FAFSA. The letter, led by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina), chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, is part of a months-long accountability effort around the financial aid form. Earlier this year, the lawmakers requested a Government Accountability Office (GAO) inquiry into how the FAFSA rollout is impacting student enrollment. Both lawmakers also introduced the FAFSA Deadline Act, moving the statutory deadline for releasing the FAFSA to October 1. The House advanced their bill out of committee last week.
House votes to block Title IX regulations
Last Friday, the House of Representatives approved a Congressional Review Act (CRA) challenge to the Biden Administration’s Title IX regulations. As noted in the Community College Daily, the new regulations, set to take effect on August 1, significantly broaden institutions’ responsibilities under Title IX. Compared to the current Trump-era rules, the new regulations expand the types of relevant behaviors and conduct, the sets of circumstances, the groups of potential complainants, and the staff and employees responsible for responding. A similar challenge is unlikely to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate and would be a certain veto on the President’s desk.