Overview
CSPEN and the rest of the higher education community are having yet another busy week. On Monday, as we previously shared with the higher education community by CSPEN, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) released a series of documents to the Non-Federal Negotiators who have been selected and accepted the opportunity to serve on the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization Committee including the list of negotiators, the proposed protocols, a 151 page document providing a redlined version of the initial draft proposals the Department is seeking to promulgate, and a nine page summary of the initial set of proposals. CSPEN stated that they would immediately begin our review of the initial draft regulations for discussion and provide more information on Thursday during our regularly scheduled CSPEN Federal Legislative & Regulatory Update webinar.

Late Monday afternoon CSPEN received intelligence from the Administration and Capitol Hill that the House Education & Workforce Committee was announcing the introduction of legislation seeking to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The legislation, entitled “A Stronger Workforce for America Act” is an updated version of WIOA reauthorization legislation which came very close to being finalized prior to the conclusion of the 118^th Congress. That gave all of the higher education community focused on workforce education a nice little 506 page bill to review.

And if that were not enough to keep us all on our toes, today is the final day for all interested parties to provide comments in response to the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-Driven Workforce Pell: Pell Grant Exclusion Relating to Other Grant Aid; and Workforce Pell Grants Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

Here are a couple of very brief updates for you on these three important topics.

Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization Negotiated Rulemaking
Next week is the first of two one-week sessions of deliberations seeking to build upon the Trump Administration’s efforts to realign the Secretary’s criteria for recognition of accreditors to promote high-quality, high value, and affordable education for students that—
• Promotes such academic programs and activities at higher education institutions that are focused on student outcomes and are free from unlawful discrimination and other violations of Federal law;
• Reduces barriers that limit competition, innovations, and new education models that advance credential and degree completion;
• Holds institutions accountable for discrimination and other unlawful acts; and
• Advances academic freedom, intellectual inquiry, and student learning by ensuring that accreditation requires that institutions support and prioritize intellectual diversity among faculty.

The discussion document proposes major changes to the entire accreditation regime which CSPEN will attempt to summarize on tomorrow’s webinar.

A Stronger Workforce for America Act
In the House Committee on Education & Workforce’s press release is states that Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) introduced the legislation to make critical updates to WIOA (legislation enacted in 2014). Chairman Walberg is quoted as stating,

“The workforce is evolving rapidly, and legislation designed over a decade ago is no longer meeting today’s demands. This bill modernizes a struggling and underutilized workforce development system, delivering reforms that strengthen participant outcomes and ensure greater accountability for taxpayer dollars. This is a win for employers, job seekers, and taxpayers alike.”

His statement and the release explain—

Specifically, A Stronger Workforce for America Act of 2026:
————————————————————
* Removes silos. This bill moves adult education to the Department of Labor—making it easier to connect adult education to apprenticeships, sector partnerships, and employer-led training especially as artificial intelligence reshapes skill demands.
* Upgrades the skills of more Americans. This bill dedicates funding toward upskilling workers through “individual training accounts” (ITAs), on-the-job learning, and other employer-led and industry relevant initiatives. It also helps a currently employed workforce gain new skills to avoid displacement and advance their careers.
* Delivers greater accountability and program quality. This legislation strengthens the law’s accountability system—holding states and local workforce boards responsible for delivering positive outcomes for workers and job seekers.

**
Workforce Pell Grant NPRM
As of this morning 97 comments have been submitted and are available for review at regulations.gov (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=7944f7b85e&e=05bce952ad) . Institutions can review the comments here (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=12d3ca7c9f&e=05bce952ad) .

What’s Next
Tomorrow we will provide as much information on all three of these topics and more – including the current tracking of three E.O. 12866 Meetings that have been scheduled thus far, with more anticipated to be scheduled soon, including one for CSPEN. Register now for tomorrow’s effort to continue to provide you with timely, accurate and sourced information.

The post CSPEN BREAKING NEWS: Department of Education Shares Documents For Accreditation Neg Reg appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Overview
For the past three weeks institutions of higher education have been receiving new batches of BDR claims from the U.S. Department of Education for review and institutional comment prior to assessment and determinations by the Department.

CSPEN shared on last week’s webinar details that the Department has shared with us that the new BDR claims were from applications not part of the Sweet vs. McMahon settlement. As part of our update we noted that the anticipated announcement of more detailed information on the latest efforts to address the inventory of BDR claims.

Today’s electronic announcement provides this important information.

Please take the time to read and review the announcement which was just posted on the Department’s Knowledge Center website.

Here is a link directly to the announcement:

(GENERAL-26-22) School Notification Process Under the 1994 and 2016 Borrower Defense to Repayment Regulations (34 C.F.R. 685.206(c) and 34 C.F.R. 685.222) (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=76f4be2404&e=05bce952ad)

The post CSPEN BREAKING NEWS: Department Publishes New BDR Update appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Overview
Just moments ago CSPEN learned that the U.S. Department of Education submitted (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=51ecc0d0e0&e=05bce952ad) the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Student Tuition and Transparency
System (STATS) and Earnings Accountability Notice of Proposed Rulemaking NPRM to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review prior to submission to the Federal Register for publication.

On tomorrow’s webinar CSPEN will pivot from the previously scheduled presentations to more details on this next to last step in the NPRM publication process. We will refresh the community’s memory on the Executive Order 12866 directive and the E.O. 12866 process details.

Background
OIRA is an office located within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Executive Office of the President. OMB supports the President in overseeing the implementation of policies across the Federal government.

Within OMB, OIRA manages the process of government-wide review of Federal regulatory actions. OIRA reviews a subset of regulatory actions, according to a series of Executive Orders, including Executive Order
12866 (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=1c3369098a&e=05bce952ad) , Executive Order 13563, and Executive Order 14094.

OIRA may review regulatory actions that are likely to have large impacts on the economy (e.g., annual effect on the economy of $200 million or more) or to ensure consistency in regulatory approaches across Federal agencies, among other circumstances. OIRA works collaboratively with Federal agencies through this review to ensure that regulatory actions are effective and durable.

When OIRA is reviewing a draft regulatory action, any member of the public can request a meeting with OIRA officials on that action. These meetings are sometimes called “12866 meetings,” named after the
Executive Order (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=d5d7b1e09f&e=05bce952ad) that structures OIRA’s centralized regulatory review.

In many cases, OIRA will review a draft regulatory action twice: once as a proposal (typically called a “proposed rule”), and again when the agency is finalizing the action (typically called a “final rule”). Members of the public can request 12866 meetings with OIRA in both cases.

Note, however, that a 12866 meeting with OIRA is not a substitute for submitting written comments to the agency that is proposing the regulatory action. Members of the public should follow the instructions set forth in the agency’s rulemaking document to understand how, and by when, they should submit a comment.

In addition, not all regulatory actions are reviewed by OIRA; if a regulatory action is not reviewed by OIRA, then 12866 meetings with OIRA on that action will not be available.

The post CSPEN BREAKING NEWS: Department of Education Has Sent Earnings Accountability Proposal To White House appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

The first webinar scheduled for next Tuesday, March 10th will focus on the most up-to-date information on the current status of Federal student loan program. To provide this update CSPEN is once again proud to announce that Alex Ricci, President of the National Council of Higher Education Resources accepted our invitation to provide an overview of the current status of the loan program, what actions are likely to take place in the future impacting your institution and students, and actionable items your institution should be reviewing now to impact your future.

CSPEN will follow up this coming Tuesday’s presentation on the status of the student loan program with an update on the Department of Education and Department of Labor Partnerships and how the proof of concept and interagency agreement process is being successfully implemented on Tuesday, March 17^th. To provide this update CSPEN asked Acting Assistant Secretary Nick Moore with the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) to essentially repeat the highly informative presentation he shared with attendees at CSPEN’s 8^th Annual Higher Education Policy Meeting.

Additional webinars will follow with presentations on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and more.

The post CSPEN Kicks Off Our Spring Webinar Series With A Critical Look At The State of Student Loans appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Early Bird CSPEN Conference Registration Open

Call for Proposals Now Open

You are invited to share your wisdom and experience with your peers and our sector. We are asking for unique presentations of in depth knowledge and helpful information for the CSPEN conference.

Leaders, Educators, Experts, Innovators
It’s time to raise your voice and share what you know!

Session Guidelines:
* Please complete a form for each proposal and each conference for which you would like to be considered
* Proposal deadline is May 8, 2026
* Selections and notifications will be completed by June 12, 2026
* Sessions will last approximately one hour
* Special consideration is given to presentations that include representatives from an .edu, .org and/or .gov
* Presenters are not paid, but school personnel presenting will receive a 50% discount on registration for the conference
* Sessions may not be sales pitches. Presenters may provide a brief company overview in their introduction only. This should be limited to 5 minutes or less with an invitation to visit your booth for additional information.
* ***Vendors will need to co-present with a school or employer***
* Vendors, if chosen, are expected to have a booth in the exhibition hall at the standard vendor rate or register as a non-exhibiting vendor

Submit Your Proposal Today!
Austin Downtown Marriott Reservations
Information on Exhibiting & Sponsorships

The post CSPEN 2026 Call for Proposals Now Open! appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Congressman Adam Gray (D-Ca) will be closing out the CSPEN Higher Education Policy Meeting with a keynote on Thursday, February 12th at 11:30 am.

Congressman Adam Gray represents California’s 13th Congressional District, including Merced County and portions of Madera, Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Fresno Counties. He is a member of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committees and is the Whip of the Blue Dog Coalition.

Prior to serving in Congress, Adam spent 10 years representing Merced and Stanislaus Counties in the California State Assembly, where he worked to advance bipartisan commonsense policy solutions. In Sacramento, Adam founded the California Problem Solvers Caucus and worked alongside his colleagues to establish a medical school program at UC Merced, build new water storage infrastructure and improve water access for Central Valley farmers.

Adam lives in Merced, California, where he was born and raised, and is an educator at UC Merced.

cspen.us21.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9fa45d85dc7e4647608069698&id=f6f5902345&e=3aeadd9061
Register for the Policy Meeting Today – seating limited

The post Congressman Adam Gray joins CSPEN’s Higher Education Policy Meeting as Keynote appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Randy Fine was elected to represent Florida’s 6th Congressional District in April 2025 and serves on the House Foreign Affairs and the Education and Workforce Committee.

A third-generation Floridian, Randy built a career as a successful entrepreneur, founding and running businesses in retail, technology, and hospitality. At 40, he retired from the private sector to focus on raising his two sons, Jacob and David, with his wife, Wendy. He has been an active Boy Scout volunteer, serving as both Cubmaster and Assistant Scoutmaster.

Randy’s retirement didn’t last long. In 2016, he was elected to the Florida House, where he served the maximum eight years before moving on to the Florida Senate and then Congress. During his time in Tallahassee, he chaired five committees, passed more than forty bills, and became known as a strong advocate for school choice, tough immigration enforcement, and protecting children from harmful ideologies.

As the only Jewish Republican in the Florida Legislature, Randy led the fight to make Florida the safest state in America for Jewish families and people of faith. His colleagues and national Jewish organizations honored him with the nickname “The Hebrew Hammer” for his work opposing terrorism and combatting antisemitism.

The son of two public school teachers, Randy graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in government and later earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with high distinction as one of the youngest Baker Scholars in decades.

The post Congressman Randy Fine to Speak at CSPEN’s Higher Education Policy Meeting appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Congressman Mark Harris represents the people of North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District. He wants to be a voice for North Carolina families, not just a vote. He is dedicated to fighting for our values and freedoms and against government overreach.

A native North Carolinian, Mark brings a lifetime of serving others to the U.S. House of Representatives. Mark served as the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Charlotte for over a decade, navigating multiple economic downturns and challenges. He has experienced firsthand the many ways that the government can impact people’s lives, for better and for worse. But Mark’s leadership goes beyond the pulpit. Mark served as president of the North Carolina Baptist Convention, where he was a key leader in passing North Carolina’s Marriage Amendment — which defined marriage as between one man and one woman.

Mark is married to his college sweetheart, Beth. They have three adult children and eleven grandchildren. Mark graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. He went on to receive a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. In Congress, Mark expects to be appointed to the House Agriculture and Judiciary Committees.

Join Congressman Mark Harris for Lunch (cspen.us21.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9fa45d85dc7e4647608069698&id=e66a8547ac&e=3aeadd9061)

The post Congressman Mark Harris to Speak at CSPEN’s Higher Education Policy Meeting appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Overview
On Tuesday afternoon the House and Senate Appropriations Committee leadership veiled the details of a four-package set of fiscal year 2026 (FY26) annual spending bills which included Defense, Homeland Security, Transportation-HUD, and, most importantly for our community’s future, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The release of the legislation is intended to clear the way for these bills, along with the four other remaining outstanding annual appropriations bills, to be enacted in advance of the January 30th deadline for enactment of all twelve appropriations bills funding our nation’s government for (FY26).

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives is working feverishly to overcome objections to specific provisions contained in the package of funding bills. While compromises were achieved this morning to gain passage of the Rules enabling the bills to be brought to the full House for consideration, the bills will now be subject to a series of amendments to be considered which could jeopardize the precarious agreement raised by the Appropriators in seeking to bring the bills to the floor and passage in both chambers.

CSPEN will continue to monitor the House floor negotiations and provide an update tomorrow on whether or not the House is successful in passing the bills -and any significant changes in the Labor-HHS-Education portion of the package and all of the remaining nine outstanding bills before they leave town for a scheduled House recess at the end of the week.

If the House is successful in achieving their goal of passing all annual funding bills, the U.S. Senate – returning from a week-long recess this week – will have the last week of January to pass the House versions of the legislation without any amendments to what comes over from the House avoid yet another potential government shutdown. (Note: This is why and accepted amendments that are approved during the House floor consideration are so important to monitor – as they could force Senate opposition and derail the ability to complete passage before the existing continuing resolution expires on Friday, January 30th at midnight.)

Below is a very brief summary of key higher education funding decisions contained within the Labor-HHS-Education portion of the bill, as well as key legislative language within the Education portion that is noteworthy and likely to be noted in both House and Senate floor deliberations.

In addition to the Legislative Summary, CSPEN also wanted to share a brief update on a couple of Regulatory topics with you as well. They too are noted below.

Summary of Key Portions of FY26 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill
For the most part the FY26 proposals maintain the status quo for “Education” – which is not necessarily bad news given the proposed cuts and changes proposed by President Trump as part of his FY26 Budget. The compromise proposal which Congress will seek to approve in the House this week and the Senate next week keeps most funding flat – keeping funding at the same levels previously enacted (for some cases for two years). The bill also maintains funding for programs within the Department in which the prior years funds were allocated – but not expended under the Trump Administration as part of the transition and reduction in staffing.

Regarding key Higher Education Programs, this data developed by the Committee for Education Funding (CEF) is very useful.

In addition to the actual funding allocations, what is always important to review is the summary and explanation accompanying the allocations. One key portion of the Education summary is information regarding Interagency Agreements and Program Transfers. This language has garnered considerable attention given the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) “proof of concept” transfer and allocation of both program operations and staffing to other federal agencies. Here is the key language that folks are reviewing and interpreting in light of the actions already well underway…

“Interagency Agreements and Program Transfers .-The agreement notes that it provides funding to the Department of Education to carry out specific programs, projects, and activities that have been authorized in law for the Department of Education to carry out. It also continues a provision that prohibits the transfer of such funding to another Federal agency unless such transfer authority is provided in an appropriations law. The agreement further notes that no authorities exist for the Department of Education to transfer its fundamental responsibilities under numerous authorizing and appropriations laws, including through procuring services from other Federal agencies, of carrying out those programs, projects, and activities to other Federal agencies.”

While opinion vary, most interpret this language and not preventing the Department from the actions they have already taken – or moving forward even further – but does signal that Congress ultimately has considerable say in both how the Department moves forward and ultimately whether or not it can be dismantled.

Regulatory Update
CSPEN is keeping an eye out for several key announcements from the Department we anticipate coming before the end of the month and in February, as well as several key announcements which took place this week. Here is a very brief summary of key topics with are tracking.

Federal Student Loan Debt Collections
Last week the Department issued a press release (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=5976d4c386&e=05bce952ad) notify the public of its decision to further delay efforts to use involuntary collection methods to recoup outstanding student loan debt. As noted in the press release the Department believes that further delaying the use of Administrative Wage Garnishment and Treasury Offset Program collection options…

“will enable the Department to implement major student loan repayment reforms under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (the Act) to give borrowers more options to repay their loans. These reforms, which include simplifying repayment options and providing an additional opportunity for borrowers to rehabilitate their federal student loans, reflect the Trump Administration’s commitment to provide better support for current and future borrowers in repayment.”

2025-26 Federal Negotiated Rulemaking
CSPEN is on the lookout for the publication of the first of three Notice of Proposed Rulemaking(NPRMs) to be published by the Department in the coming weeks – with the remainder to follow in February and March. In order of the negotiations, it is realistic to anticipate that the first NPRM will provide regulatory proposals and Preamble support for the outcome of the RISE Committee’s successful efforts to develop consensus language implementing the statutory student loan provisions enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB). We anticipate that this NPRM may precede or coming just after CSPEN’s 8^th Annual Higher Education Policy Meeting.

Next in line would most likely be the Federal Workforce Pell and Pell Eligibility regulatory proposals developed by the AHEAD Committee. Like their predecessors, the AHEAD Committee was successful in achieving consensus on proposals seeking to implement that addition of a Workforce Pell” framework to the existing Federal Pell Grant program as prescribed by OBBB. We anticipate the publication of this NPRM with both the regulatory language and Preamble in late February.

And finally, last, but certainly not least, will be the publication of the outcome of the most recent Earnings Accountability regulatory proposals developed by the AHEAD Committee and approved by consensus with one abstention. Given that these negotiations ended less than two weeks ago, we don’t anticipate seeing publication of the NPRM before March, or perhaps even April.

Additional Department Guidance On Existing Regulations
With all of the attention focused upon the necessary efforts by the Department to focus on quickly responding to several of the Administration’s key initiatives and developing new regulations in response to Congressional directives in OBBB, additional guidance and clarifications on key topics important to many different facets of the higher education community anticipated would be provided sooner, are likely to start coming out in the near future. Some of these will likely be Electronic Announcements, while still others may be part future regulatory deliberations through Federal Negotiated Rulemaking (see below). CSPEN believes that new information will be forthcoming on topics including but not limited to BDR, 90/10, and others. We will immediately share any of these updates once they are made.

2026 Federal Negotiated Rulemaking
Building upon statements made during the most recent negotiations, as well as objected outlined in the Administrations Unified Agenda, CSPEN also anticipates publication by the Department of its intent to host additional Federal Negotiated Rulemaking sessions this year. The Department shared publicly already its intent to host deliberations on revisions related to Accreditation, so we feel certain that this will be the focus of one set of negotiations. In addition, conversations continue to suggest that the Department will also undertake additional negotiations seeking to revisit several Biden-Harris Administration era additions and revisions to the regulations.

The post Will Congress Avoid Another Shut Down & What’s New With ED appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.