Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 9 - Issue 31

This Week In Washington

On Monday, it was reported by Politico that senior Education Department and Treasury Department officials have been having discussions about selling portions of the federal government’s student loan portfolio to the private market. The discussions focused on the high-performing portions of the $1.6 trillion portfolio which are owed by nearly 45 million borrowers and is an attempt by the Trump Administration to increase the private-sector’s footprint in the economy and pull back on federal student lending. There is no word on how a potential sale would impact protections that federal loans offer borrowers, and it’s unclear how far along the discussions are.

News You Can Use

This week, The Institute of College Access and Success (TICAS) published summaries of last week’s negotiated rulemaking convening. These proceedings on proposed regulatory changes discussed topics such as changing fixed and income-based student loan repayment plans, phasing out previous income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, borrower caps, and revising policies on loan rehabilitation, deferment, and forbearance.

The Brookings Institution published commentary on how student loan forgiveness timelines impact borrowers, arguing that adding a shortened forgiveness timeline for low-balance borrowers on IDR plans can help ease the burden on borrowers who owe modest amounts yet struggle with repayment.

According to American Council on Education President, Ted Mitchell, and other higher education leaders, the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education introduced by the Trump administration earlier this week poses a threat to academic freedom and raises concern over federal funding.

Recent Legislation

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

H.R. 5675 – Degrees Not Debt Act [Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24)] would increase the total maximum Federal Pell Grant to $14,800.