House unveils appropriations bill for education, labor programs
The House Appropriations Committee this week released its fiscal year 2026 (FY 26) Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, which funds federal student aid, higher education grant programs, and apprenticeship and job training programs. The bill is packaged as part of a “minibus” that also includes the Defense and Transportation-HUD bills. The House must pass the measure this week, allowing the Senate to take it up the final week of January. If the minibus does not pass the House or runs into procedural hurdles in either the House or Senate, Congress may need to pursue another short-term or long-term continuing resolution before funding runs out for these agencies on January 30.
As covered in the Community College Daily, the appropriations bill largely level funds programs of interest to community colleges, rejecting the significant funding cuts proposed in the Trump administration’s FY 26 budget request. Programs receiving level funding include the maximum Pell Grant award, TRIO, Strengthening Community College Training Grants, registered apprenticeships, and Child Care Access Means Parents in School.
In addition to sustained funding for key programs, the appropriations bill would require the Trump administration to spend specific amounts for each program. One notable exception to this directive is the Title III and Title V Minority-Serving Institutions programs. While the bill does not take steps to stop the transfer of Education Department programs to other executive agencies, it does set new deadlines to disburse grants and minimum staffing thresholds.
Federal judge blocks TRIO grant cancellations
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan last Friday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration’s cancellation and discontinuation of several TRIO grants during the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY 25) cycle.
Last summer and fall, several colleges received notices that their TRIO grants would not be continued. As covered in the Community College Daily, colleges were informed that their grants, in the opinion of the Education Department (ED), “reflect the prior administration’s priorities and policy preferences” and “violate the letter or purpose of Federal civil rights law; conflict with the Department’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in education; undermine the well-being of the students these programs are intended to help; or constitute an inappropriate use of federal funds.”
Following this action, the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) sued ED, arguing that colleges had submitted applications and had those applications denied before the agency’s new priorities took effect. The federal judge agreed, stating that COE “demonstrated a likelihood of success on its claims that the Department’s decisions to discontinue members’ TRIO grants were arbitrary, capricious, and otherwise not in accordance with the law.”
The injunction is currently in effect for COE member colleges. While ED has not yet issued a formal response, litigation is expected to continue.
ED staff begin transfer to DOL
The Trump administration last week announced next steps to transition Education Department (ED) personnel to the Department of Labor (DOL) to jointly administer key higher education programs. The Trump Administration in November announced six new interagency agreements to outsource ED functions, including one to move key Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) programs to DOL.
As covered in the Community College Daily, ED staff in the Higher Education Programs Division of OPE will be “detailed” to DOL starting next Friday. Impacted programs will include TRIO, GEAR UP, institutional aid programs, and grant programs under the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).
The announcement shares that this process will closely follow the earlier transfer of Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act programs and adult education to DOL. Under these arrangements, ED retains oversight and continues to perform some back-office functions related to the programs, in part to comply with statutory requirements. ED staff working on programs are detailed to DOL offices, maintaining some continuity for grantees. However, grantees must switch over to the DOL payment management systems to access funds.