Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 9 - Issue 25

This Week In Washington

Late last week, Politico reported that the Education Department (ED) plans to deny 460,000 income-driven repayment (IDR) applications for borrowers selected to be enrolled in the lowest monthly payment option. According to ED, because the lowest monthly payment option is the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, a Biden-era IDR plan that has been blocked by courts from being implemented while litigation is ongoing, loan servicers cannot process the applications. The soon to be denied applications make up 31% of a 1.5 million IDR application backlog. The denied applicants will have an opportunity to submit a new IDR application.

ED published a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) providing institutions with information about the immediate implementation of certain provisions contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Specifically, the DCL includes preliminary guidance on changes to Income-Based Repayment (IBR), loan limits for part-time students, borrower defense, and closed school loan discharge. The DCL also notes that “there will be forthcoming regulations and guidance on the other provisions of the OBBB later this year.”

News You Can Use

Read about how mass layoffs at ED resulting in staffing shortages are expected to hurt college operations.

Recent Legislation

The following bill(s) have been recently introduced for consideration by the 119th Congress (2025-26):    

S. 2295 – Child Care for Working Families Act [Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)] would ensure that working families pay no more than 7% of their income on child care while also improving its quality and access. A companion bill, H.R. 4418, was introduced in the House by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA-03).