CONGRESS

The U.S. Senate joined the U.S. House in recessing until after Labor Day.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Nicolas Kent by a 50 to 45 vote to be the Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education (ED).

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) issued a report outlining policies on child literacy and K12 education systems.

ADMINISTRATION

ED Under Secretary Nicolas Kent issued a set of higher education priorities for the agency.

ED sent its proposed Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Employer Eligibility rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management and Budget for review.

ED conducted a virtual public hearing for the upcoming negotiated rulemaking sessions on higher education matters.

The White House issued a memorandum directing the Secretary of Education to expand the current reporting under the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to cover certain admissions data at institutions of higher education (IHEs), asserting a lack of transparency regarding the use of race in IHE admissions policies. Subsequently, ED Secretary Linda McMahon directed the National Center for Education Statistics to collect admissions data for IHEs regarding race and sex related to an institution’s applicant pool, admitted cohort and enrolled cohort at the undergraduate level and with respect to specific graduate programs.

ED announced that the test version of the 2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available.