- Trump Administration suspends funding for MSIs
- House Appropriations Committee approves Labor-HHS-ED funding bill
- DOL and ED publish update on interagency agreement
- Department of Education releases upcoming regulatory agenda
- House to host hearing on college pricing
Trump Administration suspends funding for MSIs
On Wednesday, the Department of Education (ED) announced that it will end discretionary funding to several Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) grant programs that provide substantial support to community colleges, including Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs), and Asian American and Native American Pacific Island-Serving Institutions.
As covered by AACC’s David Baime in the Community College Daily, ED asserts that these programs “violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.” Approximately $350 million was expected to be allocated to these programs in Fiscal Year 2025 (FY 25). According to ED, these funds will be “reprogrammed [a formal federal budgeting term] into programs that do not include discriminatory racial and ethnic quotas and that advance Administration priorities.” Funding will likely be diverted into Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) programs, as well as those supporting Tribally Controlled Institutions.
These programs have long been supported by Congress. Indeed, the appropriations committees in both the House and Senate have approved level or slightly increased funding for next fiscal year (FY26). It is hoped that concerted action in Congress and the courts can result in MSI program funding being sustained.
House Appropriations Committee approves Labor-HHS-ED funding bill
On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee advanced its Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 26) funding bill for the Departments of Education and Labor. As covered by AACC’s Jim Hermes in the Community College Daily, the bill makes deep cuts to education and labor programs, but does not include many of the eliminations proposed by the Trump Administration in their annual budget request. The bill reduces funding for the Department of Education (ED) by $12.1 billion (a 15% cut) and for the Department of Labor by $4 billion (30%).
The bill level-funds the maximum Pell Grant award, TRIO, GEAR-UP, Apprenticeship Grants, and the Strengthening Community College Training Grants (SCCTG) program. It delivers a small increase to Perkins Career and Technical Education Funding and HEA Title III and V programs. Funding for the Title III-A Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) is decreased in the House bill, but is not eliminated as proposed in the President’s budget request.
The bill significantly cuts funding for Federal Work Study and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) job training grants and eliminates funding for Adult Basic Education, Childcare Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS), and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG). These reductions and cuts are in line with the Trump Administration’s budget request and grant priorities.
The committee held a marathon markup into the late evening hours. While most offered amendments were defeated, the committee did approve an amendment from Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) to ensure that no funds provided in the bill may be used to delay or cancel funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and GEAR UP.
As a reminder, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its LHHS-ED funding bill in July, which largely level-funded programs of interest for community colleges. With FY 25 set to end on September 30, Congress risks a partial government shutdown if it cannot come to a compromise for FY 26 or, more likely, a short-term extension deal.
DOL and ED publish update on interagency agreement
On Monday, the Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL) released an update on their interagency agreement to turn over administration of the Perkins CTE and Adult Basic Education programs to the DOL. Per this week’s announcement, the agencies are launching a “new, integrated state plan portal” to streamline administration of Perkins CTE, adult education and family literacy programs, and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) programs at DOL. ED will transfer program funds to DOL and will detail ED staff to help administer the programs.
Department of Education releases upcoming regulatory agenda
Last week, the Department of Education (ED) released the Unified Spring Agenda – areas of regulatory focus for the agency and a prospective timeline for regulations on each issue. The agenda includes many topics that have been highlighted by President Trump, both on the campaign trail and through executive orders and other executive actions.
At a high level, these topics include: reforming Office of Civil Rights (OCR) enforcement of Tile VI and Title IX violations; eliminating the application of disparate impact theory at ED; increasing penalties for colleges that do not properly disclose gifts from and partnerships with foreign donors; reforming accreditation to make it easier for colleges to switch accreditors and for the agency to recognize new accreditors; changing Title IV eligibility rules to increase participation by for-profit and religious institutions; amending the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations; and reforming Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) to bar participation from employers engaged in “illegal activities.”
In addition to moving forward on these regulatory priorities, the agency is already hard at work working implementing the higher education components of H.R. 1 – the One Big Beautiful Bill reconciliation legislation. Those negotiated rulemaking tables are set to convene through the fall and winter.
House to host hearing on college pricing
On Tuesday, the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development will host a hearing entitled “No More Surprises: Reforming College Pricing for Students and Families.” Witnesses have not yet been announced. The hearing will be livestreamed beginning at 10:15 a.m. ET.