- Government shutdown ends after forty-three days
- Negotiated Rulemaking reaches consensus on reconciliation loan changes
- Trump Administration releases new FIPSE grant priorities
Government shutdown ends after forty-three days
On Wednesday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve a short-term funding measure to reopen the federal government, ending the longest government shutdown in history. The Continuing Resolution (CR) will fund the government through January 30, 2026. Per the terms of the CR, the Departments of Veterans’ Affairs and Agriculture, as well as military construction and Legislative Branch appropriations, will be funded through September 30, 2026. Like the preceding vote in the Senate, a small number of House Democrats joined Republicans to pass the measure.
This short-term resolution comes as the full government shutdown was directly impacting more and more Americans. Disruptions in government services and staffing, particularly in air travel, were being felt across the country. Many community college students faced uncertainty in their military and veterans education benefits, delays and reductions in their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and disruptions to child care provided with funding from Head Start. Community colleges reported longer wait times for technical assistance and case management from agency staff. With funding restored, normal benefits distribution and agency activity should resume, but it may take several days or weeks for agency officials to catch up.
The CR includes language reversing the most recent rounds of Reductions in Force (RIFs) at government agencies and preventing the Trump Administration from conducting additional layoffs until the expiration of the CR. As a reminder, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered federal agencies to craft RIP plans to terminate – rather than simply furlough – all non-essential staff in the event of a government shutdown. Across the federal workforce, more than 4,200 workers received termination notices, including nearly 500 at the Department of Education (ED). The hardest hit offices include the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, and, importantly for community colleges, the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE). These RIFs had been blocked by legal action.
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is closely monitoring the reopening of the federal government. If your campus continues to experience disruptions to federal benefits and services, please contact AACC’s Office of Government Relations ( opens in a new windowogr@aacc.nche.educreate new email).
Negotiated Rulemaking reaches consensus on reconciliation loan changes
Last week, the Department of Education (ED) wrapped the second and final meeting of the “Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee – the negotiated rulemaking table tasked with implementing the student loan origination and repayment provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) reconciliation law. Despite significant debate around key issues (most notably the definition of a professional student for the purpose of annual and aggregate loan limits), the negotiators reached consensus on all 17 proposals put before them.
While only 12 percent of community college students borrow, AACC has been watching the negotiations around two key provisions of importance for community colleges – new institutional authority to lower loan maximums by program and a new provision tying loan maximums to enrollment intensity. Both final proposals closely follow the statute, with few additional requirements or considerations for colleges.
For institutionally-determined loan limits, new language has been added to clarify that a “program of study” means an eligible program, rather than the credential level. This is to distinguish it from another regulatory proposal put forth by the committee that will define a “program of study” differently for the purpose of determining Parent PLUS loan legacy eligibility.
ED also clarified that the prorating of loans will follow a formula where the reduced annual loan limited percentage will be the number of credit hours enrolled for the term divided by the number of credit hours for full-time enrollment for the term. While current regulations require substantially equal disbursements, ED’s proposal allows an exception for students subject to loan proration where unequal disbursement across semesters will be appropriate. This proposal addressed the key use-case challenge that AACC had heard from financial aid officers at community colleges.
The Department will now work to craft a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) before issuing a final rule. Because negotiators reached consensus, the Department is required to closely (if not exactly) follow the proposals agreed to during the negotiated rulemaking. In his comments before the negotiators, Under Secretary Nicholas Kent said to expect the NPRM early next year. AACC will be responding to the NPRM with formal comments.
Beginning next month, ED will convene a second negotiated rulemaking panel – the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand (AHEAD) Committee. This panel will consider regulations for the remaining higher education changes in the OBBB, including Workforce Pell, the new accountability system based on earnings, and current Gainful Employment and Financial Value Transparency regulations.
Trump Administration releases new FIPSE grant priorities
On Monday, the Trump Administration announced opens in a new windownew grant programs to be housed within the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) at the Department of Education (ED). FIPSE has long been used as a vehicle to support and scale evidence-based programs that strengthen college access and success. Congress appropriated $171 million in Fiscal Year 2025 (FY 25) for FIPSE, with funding amounts specified for seven existing programs within the fund. These include the Postsecondary Student Success, Basic Needs, Veteran Student Success, and Rural Postsecondary Education Development programs.
In a break from traditional practice, the Trump Administration has announced its own FIPSE grant programs, aligning with the President’s priorities, effectively reprogramming funding from existing FIPSE programs. These new programs include opportunities around expanding Artificial Intelligence (AI), promoting civil discourse, promoting accreditation reform and helping institutions change accreditors, and preparing for new Workforce Pell Grants.
The Department is required to disperse FIPSE dollars by the end of the calendar year. The opens in a new windowapplication deadlineopens PDF file for the new programs is December 3, 2025.