ADMINISTRATION

This week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) held its second session of the Accreditation, Innovation and Modernization (AIM) negotiated rulemaking sessions and reached consensus. ED said that it will publish a final rule on the accreditation regulations before November 1, 2026, and the rule will be applicable by July 1, 2027.

ED released the final Workforce Pell Grant rule, developed through the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-Driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) negotiated rulemaking committee.

ED approved Louisiana’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) waiver pertaining to the consolidation of State activity funding under certain ESEA programs.

ED approved Florida and Illinois’ ED-Flex applications and issued guidance on existing ESEA flexibility authorities.

ED announced they were reallocating fiscal year 2026 funds that Congress appropriated for certain Minority-Serving Institutions to the Strengthening Institutions program.

ED announced the initial round of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for recent regulations pertaining to student loans and Pell Grants stemming from H.R. 1 (often referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act or the Working Families Tax Cuts Act); an email tool for submitting questions on the changes made by H.R. 1 and its regulations; and a series of webinars and virtual office hours on related topics.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Surgeon General released the “Surgeon General’s Warning on the Harms of Screen Use: An Advisory and Toolkit on How to Protect Children and Adolescents.”

CONGRESS

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) lost his primary election.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate launched investigations into nine universities over concerns related to research security and institutional financial ties to China.

The Senate failed to advance S.J. Res 182 by voice vote. The Congressional Review Act resolution would have overturned the Administration’s final rule modifying the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

The House passed H.R. 2616, the Parental Rights Over the Education and Care of Their Kids (PROTECT Kids) Act, by a 217 to 198 vote.

The House Committee on Education and Workforce held a markup of H.R. 8736, the Restoration of Employment Choice for Adults with Disabilities Act, and H.R. 8705, the Civics and History Advancement to Restore Learning, Integrity, and Education (CHARLIE) Act, as well as other bills. The former bill was passed by the Committee by an 18 to 15 vote, while the latter was passed by a 19 to 15 vote.

COURTS

A coalition of 25 States filed a lawsuit against ED, challenging new Federal student loan caps for graduate and professional programs.