Introduction by Barbara K. Mistick

Dear Colleagues:

The fallout from several recent court rulings continued to reverberate throughout higher education this week. 

First, last week’s court ruling temporarily halting the implementation of the new Title IX rules in four states appears to have also stopped enforcement at nearly 700 colleges and universities across the country. In addition to pausing implementation in the four affected states, the court’s ruling also extended to any college or university attended by the members of several conservative organizations that joined the lawsuit. 

While the Biden Administration will likely seek to halt the injunction, it’s not clear when institutions will have more clarity before the August 1 implementation date for the new rules (see our story below for more details).

Second, the Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning the Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. ruling has forced many in higher education and other professions to try and determine what the impact will be on their sectors. 

This week’s Washington Update includes an analysis on just how far the reverberations of the ruling will extend. Our initial assessment is that the ruling may have a more limited impact than originally feared. 

Finally, we also report on the Department of Education’s proposed regulations covering return to Title IV, distance education, and the federal TRIO programs, which were derived from this year’s Program Integrity and Institutional Quality negotiated rulemaking.

Soundbites

• The White House announced an executive order establishing an initiative to advance educational equity, excellence, and economic opportunity through Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The order will create a new presidential board of advisors for HSIs to accomplish several objectives to help expand opportunities for Latino families and communities.

• The Department of Education provided an update on several higher education regulatory proposals. The agency’s much-debated guidance on third-party servicers from last February will now be given its own negotiated rulemaking to solicit further feedback from stakeholders. More information will be provided at a later date. And the Department is continuing to review comments regarding incentive compensation and plans to release revised guidance later this year.

• REMINDER – NAICU Webinar. NAICU is hosting a webinar, Preparing for the Unexpected: Natural Disasters and FEMA (register), on August 8 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. EDT. NAICU will be joined on the webinar by Denver Applehans, Advisor, Community and Private-Sector Partner Outreach, FEMA and Matthew Shpiner, Executive Director for Emergency Management, University of Miami.

Home & Away Advocacy 2024

As we reported last week, the House FY 2025 spending bill proposes steep cuts in federal student aid, including cutting in half the budgets for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and Federal Work-Study programs.

As you communicate with your elected officials this summer, please continue to remind them how critical these student aid programs are for students and the impact they have in your state and congressional district. As a reminder, we have updated our Student Aid Funding

Here is the Congressional summer recess calendar:

Enjoy your weekend!

Regards,

Barbara

Barbara K. Mistick, D.B.A.
President, NAICU