Below is RAMC’s weekly Washington Wrap Up from Wednesday. Find out more about Wrap Up and other RAMC resources here.

ADMINISTRATION

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) rescinded guidance pertaining to public schools’ obligations to ensure that English Learner students can “meaningfully participate in their educational programs and services.”

ED updated the agency’s interpretation on using Federal Work Study (FWS) funds for certain voter registration and related activities, largely stating that such use is impermissible. ED also shared the circumstances under which voter registration forms may be distributed to students by institutions of higher education.

ED will begin reinstating hundreds of employees at the Office for Civil Rights, as part of its compliance with a district court order.

ED announced that it has begun its second phase of testing for the 2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

COURTS

A Federal district court ruled that ED must operate and obligate funds for the Comprehensive Centers and Regional Educational Laboratories programs.

The Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling that prevented the National Institutes of Health from terminating health-related research grants, while leaving in place a ruling that blocked the underlying policy upon which the grant terminations were based.

A Federal appeals court lifted a lower court’s decision that temporarily blocked the Trump Administration from making structural and staffing changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Education News Headlines
[Click on the link to read the article online]

Financial Aid Advisers Raise Questions About Trump’s Identity Verification Efforts [Inside Higher Ed]

Swatting hoaxes on college campuses spark panic and an FBI probe [The Washington Post]

Visa Delays Persist, Causing Some Students to Defer to Spring [Inside Higher Ed]

George Mason University leader rebukes Trump administration’s apology demand [ Higher Ed Dive]

An Uncertain Future for HSIs [Inside Higher Ed]

Judge strikes down Minnesota dual enrollment program’s ban on faith statements [Higher Ed Dive]

The Typical College Student Is Not Who You Think [The New York Times]

The Nation’s Most Selective Colleges Might Have Just Snatched Away Your Students [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

How to Make Career Connections for Online Learners [Inside Higher Ed]

Southern New Hampshire University Report: “Online by Design: Improving Career Connection for Today’s Learners”

Grant Delays Threaten Cultural and Language Studies Programs [Inside Higher Ed]

Education Dept. Finds Faculty-Diversity Efforts at George Mason U. Were Discriminatory [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Harvard’s research is shrinking amid the Trump administration’s freeze [The Washington Post]

With Colleges Under Fire, an Alternative Ranking Is Still Trying to Nudge Them to Do Better [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

These federal programs help low-income students get to and through college. Trump wants to pull the funding [The Hechinger Report]

Supreme Court Says NIH Doesn’t Have to Restore Canceled Grants [Inside Higher Ed]

UCLA consolidates IT, pauses faculty hiring as Trump administration seeks $1B payment [Higher Ed Dive]

What’s happened since Texas killed in-state tuition for undocumented students [The Hechinger Report]

Proposal would remove federal data collection for special education racial disparities [K-12 Dive]

Laid-Off Civil Rights Staff Will Return to Work Next Month, Ed. Dept. Says [Education Week]

Sanders, Senate Dems Press McMahon for Answers About Debt Relief Pause [Inside Higher Ed]

Trump ignores legacy admissions in push for college ‘fairness’ [The Hill]

A ‘Great Defection’ threatens to empty universities and colleges of top teaching talent [The Hechinger Report]

Financial aid administrators report disruptions since Education Department layoffs [Higher Ed Dive]

Committee News and Schedule, Schedule for House and Senate Floor:

House Committee on Education and Workforce
Press Release: House Democrats Sound the Alarm on the Impact of the ‘Big, Ugly Law’ On Student Borrowers

House Committee on the Budget
Press Release: GAO Releases Report on Expired Appropriations

Speaker of the House
Press Release: The Biggest Beneficiaries of the One Big Beautiful Bill?

House Committee on Education and Workforce
Press Release: Chairman Walberg Investigates Antisemitism at University of Illinois, UCSF, and UCLA Medical Schools

House Committee on the Budget
Press Release: Chairman Arrington: Trump and Republicans Deliver Historic Deficit Reduction

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
Press Release: Cantwell Warns University Presidents, Regents That SCORE Act Will Widen Inequities in College Sports, Roll Back Athletes’ Rights, Fuel a Football Spending Arms Race & Shortchange Women’s & Olympic Sports

House Committee on Appropriations
Press Release: DeLauro on Supreme Court Allowing Trump to Move Forward with Canceling Life-Saving Research

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Press Release: ICYMI: Fox Business Joins Cassidy and Secretary Chavez-DeRemer on Tour of Louisiana Alligator Farm, Touts Republican Efforts to Empower Workers

House Committee on Education and Workforce
Press Release: Chairman Walberg Praises Investigation into Antisemitism at Haverford College

Press Release: Ranking Member Scott Demands Response on Request for Oversight Hearing on HHS Layoffs and Proposed Reorganization

House Committee on Ways and Means
September 3: Full Committee Hearing on “Wired for Growth: How Expanding Broadband Can Revitalize Rural Small Businesses”
Witnesses: TBA
2360 Rayburn
10:00 a.m. ET

September 17: Full Committee Hearing on “Streaming Success: Small Businesses in the Age of Digital Influence”
Witnesses: TBA
2360 Rayburn
10:00 a.m. ET

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration

White House Press Release: Trump Administration Celebrates Successes for America’s Workers

DOL Press Release: US Department of Labor promotes AI literacy across the American workforce

HHS Press Release: Secretaries Kennedy, McMahon Demand Comprehensive Nutrition Education Reforms

ED Press Release: U.S. Department of Education, Federal Partners Issue Guidance to Help Colleges and Universities Mitigate Foreign Threats to Research

GAO Report: Federal Budget: Authorization and Appropriation Information for Selected Agencies

ED Comment Request: Application for Approval To Participate in Federal Student Aid Programs. Comments are due on or before October 24, 2025.

ED Comment Request: Guaranty Agency Financial Report. Comments are due on or before October 24, 2025.

ED Comment Request: Lender’s Request for Payment of Interest and Special Allowance-LaRS. Comments are due on or before October 24, 2025.

ETA Comment Request: Job Corps Applicant Data. Comments are due on or before October 24, 2025.

ETA Comment Request: Registration and Equal Employment Opportunity in Apprenticeship Programs. Comments are due on or before October 24, 2025.

ETA Notice: Notification of Rescission of Frequently Asked Question Issued on July 22, 2011.

ED Press Release: U.S. Department of Education Issues Equitable Service School Choice Guidance

ED Press Release: U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Finds George Mason University Has Violated Title VI

ED Blog: Inside the 2026–27 FAFSA® Beta: How Early Testing Is Shaping the Future of Student Aid

ED Press Release: U.S. Department of Education Initiates Title VI Investigation into Haverford College for Allegedly Tolerating Anti-Semitic Harassment

DOL Press Release: ICYMI: Secretary Chavez-DeRemer crosses halfway mark on 50-state ‘America at Work’ listening tour

Legislative Movement in Congress:

H.R.5035 — Veteran and Spouse Licensing Flexibility Act of 2025
Sponsor: Patronis, Jimmy [Rep.-R-FL-1] (Introduced 08/26/2025) Cosponsors: (0)
Committees: House – Education and Workforce
Latest Action: House – 08/26/2025 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

H.R.5047 — To prohibit activities that promote critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion at schools operated by the Department of Defense Education Activity, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Mace, Nancy [Rep.-R-SC-1] (Introduced 08/26/2025) Cosponsors: (0)
Committees: House – Armed Services; Education and Workforce
Latest Action: House – 08/26/2025 Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee.

H.R.5048 — To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for increased criminal and civil penalties for wage theft.
Sponsor: Magaziner, Seth [Rep.-D-RI-2] (Introduced 08/26/2025) Cosponsors: (21)
Committees: House – Education and Workforce
Latest Action: House – 08/26/2025 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

H.R.5050 — Safety and Opportunity for Girls Act of 2025
Sponsor: Miller, Mary E. [Rep.-R-IL-15] (Introduced 08/26/2025) Cosponsors: (11)
Committees: House – Education and Workforce
Latest Action: House – 08/26/2025 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

H.R.5052 — To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Labor to conduct a study and issue a report on grant programs to support the nursing workforce.
Sponsor: Nunn, Zachary [Rep.-R-IA-3] (Introduced 08/26/2025) Cosponsors: (2)
Committees: House – Energy and Commerce; Education and Workforce
Latest Action: House – 08/26/2025 Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

H.R.5056 — To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for a teacher leader development program, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Schneider, Bradley Scott [Rep.-D-IL-10] (Introduced 08/26/2025) Cosponsors: (4)
Committees: House – Education and Workforce
Latest Action: House – 08/26/2025 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

H.R.5057 — To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to expand certain service coordinator programs, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Smith, Adam [Rep.-D-WA-9] (Introduced 08/26/2025) Cosponsors: (2)
Committees: House – Financial Services; Education and Workforce
Latest Action: House – 08/26/2025 Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:

ED Comment Request: Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act State Plan Guide. Comments are due on or before September 26, 2025.

ED Comment Request: Consolidated Annual Report (CAR) for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. Comments are due on or before September 26, 2025.

DOL Notice: Transition to Electronic Payments and Disbursements. Change will be implemented beginning September 30, 2025.

ED Comment Request: Foreign Schools Eligibility Criteria Apply to Participate in Title IV HEA Programs. Comments are due on or before October 27, 2025.

ED Comment Request: Generic Clearance for Federal Student Aid Customer Satisfaction Surveys and Focus Groups Master Plan. Comments are due on or before October 27, 2025.

ED Comment Request: Required Information for Annual Improper Payment Estimation. Comments are due on or before October 27, 2025.

HHS Notice: Terminating National Institutes of Health Minority Biomedical Research Support Program and Rescinding the Program’s Related Regulation.

ED Comment Request: Campus Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) Survey. Comments are due on or before September 22, 2025.

ETA Comment Request: Post Separation Data Collection for Former Job Corps Participants. Comments are due on or before October 20, 2025.