Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 9 - Issue 8

The American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest teacher unions in the nation, sued the Education Department (ED) over a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) it sent directing schools to end all programming related to racial diversity. The DCL, which interpreted the 2023 Supreme Court’s ruling against the use of race in college admissions, gave schools 14 days to end any programs that factor in race or risk losing federal funding. The suit, which was filed on Tuesday, alleges that no federal law prohibits the teaching of race and that the DCL misrepresented the Supreme Court’s decision which the teacher union claims did not ban advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

On Tuesday, the House approved its budget resolution setting the framework for a budget reconciliation bill that aims to cut $330 billion from education programs. Recall that last week the Senate approved its budget resolution, which includes instructions for education committees to make at least $1 billion worth of cuts. To proceed with budget reconciliation, the House and Senate will have to reconcile their bills and approve an identical budget resolution bill.

Late last week, ED removed access to all income-driven repayment (IDR) applications and the federal Direct Consolidation Loan Application. The move comes after the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals instructed a lower court to expand its injunction from the forgiveness component on the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan to the entire SAVE Plan and to enjoin the Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) plans.

The American Enterprise Institute published a report outlining a conservative roadmap for higher education reform, emphasizing that the Trump Administration should focus on streamlining and reining in student loan programs.

The Congressional Research Service published a snapshot of federal student loan debt, highlighting that one in six adult Americans carries student loan debt, totaling 43 million individuals and exceeding $1.6 trillion.

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

S. 740 – Affordable College Textbook Act [Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)] would expand the use of open textbooks.