CONGRESS

Chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee Tim Walberg (R-MI) introduced A Stronger Workforce for America Act of 2026, which reauthorizes and updates the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The related press release can be found here.

ADMINISTRATION

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) released the materials for its upcoming Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) negotiated rulemaking session, which will be held next week.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Urgent National Action to Save College Sports.”

ED and the U.S. Department of Labor announced the first grant competitions under the Elementary and Secondary Education interagency agreement.

ED’s Office for Civil Rights rescinded provisions of Title IX resolution agreements with five school districts and one college regarding discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

COURTS

A district court judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Administration’s expanded admissions data collection for public universities in the 17 plaintiff States. In a separate ruling, the judge also extended the deadline for private institutions represented by several associations, pushing their compliance deadlines to mid-April.

An appellate court issued a ruling allowing the State of Iowa to enforce a ban on LGBTQ+ books and topics in public school classrooms, reversing a temporary injunction issued by a district court last year.

The American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees reached a settlement in ALA et al. v. Keith Sonderling et al., a case regarding the Administration’s efforts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Relatedly, the Administration withdrew its appeal of Rhode Island v. Trump.

EVENTS

Penn Hill Group plans on providing clients with a summary of the following events next week:

April 15: House Education and Workforce Subcommittee Hearing titled “Building an AI-Ready America: Understanding AI’s Economic Impact on Workers and Employers.”

April 15: House Budget Full Committee Hearing titled “The President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request.”

April 16: House Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing titled “Budget Hearing – Department of Health and Human Services.”

April 16: Senate Budget Full Committee Hearing titled “The President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Proposal.”

April 13-17: Department of Education negotiated rulemaking sessions to develop regulations related to accreditation.