With the Senate and House on August recess, it was a relatively quiet week in Washington. The Department of Education (ED) set final deadlines for colleges to submit overdue Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) data. Grants related to workforce development and technical training were also announced this week by several agencies, and a long-anticipated request for comment was published on the E-Rate program. Read more updates below.  

• FCC Publishes Potential Changes to E-Rate Program for Comment: On August 14, the Federal Communications Commission published a proposed rule related to potentially narrowing or even terminating the program, which could have a significant impact on educational institutions. Comments are due October 13.  

• ED Gives Final Notice for Overdue Data: On August 11, ED gave a notice stating that more than 1,900 institutions have not reported or have underreported their Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) data for the 2024 and 2025 reporting cycles. This information was due on Sept. 30, 2025, and Oct. 1, 2025. ED noted that these institutions have until Friday, Jan. 15, 2027, to submit any unreported or under-reported FVT/GE data.  

• ANA Announces Grant Program for Native American Training: The Administration for Native Americans (ANA) announced the availability of grant funds to support Native American economic growth and employability initiatives. One of the program’s priorities is funding centers that train individuals to pursue skilled trades careers in welding, construction, plumbing and other related fields. Applications are due on August 27.  

• Trump Administration Announces Funding for Mining Education: On August 7, the Trump Administration announced that it was investing over $180 million to boost mining education and workforce development efforts. The funds will support programs that train students to pursue mining industries and careers such as metallurgists, geologists, mining engineers and other related fields. 

• IES Plans to Spend Unobligated FY 2025 Funds: According to a lawsuit filed by higher education advocates in June, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) still had $316 million in unobligated funds left from a total of $768 million originally allocated for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, which ED had until September 30, 2026, to spend. IES Acting Director Matthew Soldner said they will spend all the remaining money promptly, according to court records released last week. Education groups remain concerned over this spending and are seeking clarity on where the funding is going in the latest court filing.  

• Unions Sue ED Over Professional Degree Designations: On Aug 11, a coalition of unions sued over ED’s new professional degree rules that removed graduate education programs from the definition of a professional degree, lowering the amount of federal loans students in those programs can borrow. The lawsuit follows another one from nursing groups who sued after nursing was originally excluded from the definition.  

• CISA Issues K-12 Cybersecurity Guidance: On August 12, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a free collection of K-12 cybersecurity resources to help school and district leaders mitigate and respond to their unique cyber risks.