Federal Update - July 11

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS HIGHLIGHTS

• 100% Certification Rule Lawsuit: Judge Mark Pittman clarified his previous order in 360 Degree Education v. U.S. Department of Education that the district court’s grant of a Preliminary Injunction of the Bare Minimum Rule extends nationwide.
• Chevron Doctrine: The Supreme Court overturned the Chevron Doctrine in its ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises et al. v. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, et al.
• NSLDS FVT/GE Reporting: The Department issued an Electronic Announcement stating that institutions are now able to report Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) data to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).

100% CERTIFICATION RULE LAWSUIT

What You Need to Know

Last week, Judge Mark Pittman clarified his previous order in 360 Degree Education v. U.S. Department of Education that the district court’s grant of a Preliminary Injunction of the Bare Minimum Rule extends nationwide. In response to the Defendant’s motion for clarification, Judge Pittman stated, “This language seems to make clear that the Court limited its relief to the Bare Minimum Rule (rather than the entire Final Rule), but it did not limit relief to Plaintiffs.”

Following this order, the Department released an FSA Announcement confirming that the current "150% Rule" remains in effect, pending the outcome of future court decisions on the issue. As stated in the announcement, "until further notice institutions must continue to comply with the maximum program length regulations that were in effect prior to July 1, 2024."

Why This is Important

The revised 100% Certification Rule was set to take effect on July 1, 2024. This ruling prevents the Department from enforcing the rule against all institutions while the case is pending.

For more information:

Motion for Clarification

Department FSA Announcement

CHEVRON DOCTRINE

What You Need To Know

The Supreme Court overturned the Chevron Doctrine in its ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises et al. v. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, et al. Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, “Chevron is overruled. Courts must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority, as the APA requires. Careful attention to the judgment of the Executive Branch may help inform that inquiry. And when a particular statute delegates authority to an agency consistent with constitutional limits, courts must respect the delegation, while ensuring that the agency acts within it. But courts need not and under the APA may not defer to an agency interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous.”

Why This Is Important

This ruling could have implications for the AACS GE lawsuit against the Department. 

For more information:

Loper Bright Enterprises

NSLDS FVT/GE REPORTING

What You Need To Know

The Department issued an Electronic Announcement stating that institutions are now able to report Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) data to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). NSLDS will allow for a variety of reporting methods, including batch processing, online submittal, or the spreadsheet submittal process through NSLDS.

The deadline to submit FVT/GE data for the initial reporting period is Oct. 1, 2024. The most recently completed award year for the initial reporting period is the 2023–24 award year, which ended on June 30, 2024.

Why This Is Important

As provided in the FVT/GE Final Rule, institutions are required to annually report two types of data to the NSLDS: student-specific information and program-specific information. Institutions must comply with the reporting deadlines in order to ensure compliance with Department regulations.

AACS is hosting a webinar on July 11, 2024 covering the required data that institutions must report, guidance provided by the Department of Education on this topic, and actions that institutions should take now in order to ensure compliance by the October 1, 2024 deadline. 

For more information:

Electronic Announcement

TITLE IX LAWSUITS

What You Need To Know

There have been nine lawsuits filed by states, school districts, independent organizations, and individuals against the Department of Education regarding the Final Rule for Title IX. In two of those lawsuits, plaintiffs moved for and were granted preliminary injunctions.

The states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho along with the Louisiana Department of Education, Rapides Parish School Board, and seventeen Louisiana School Districts filed suit in the United States District Court in the Western District of Louisiana against the Department on April 29, 2024. The court granted the motion for preliminary injunction on June 13, 2024. The Department recently filed an appeal with the Fifth Circuit to overturn the granting of the preliminary injunction.

Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, and West Virginia filed suit in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Kentucky against the Department on May 3, 2024. The Plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction and the court granted their motion on June 17, 2024.

Last week, Representative Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced H.J. Res. 165, which proposes to prevent the implementation of the Title IX Final Rule. It is not likely that the Resolution will garner sufficient support in the Senate.

Why This Is Important

On April 19, 2024, the Department released its final rule on Title IX (“Final Rule”). The Final Rule and its accompanying regulations are slated to go into effect on August 1, 2024, when federally funded education programs and activities must comply or they will be denied federal funding. Title IX institutions in the ten states referenced above will not be bound by the Final Rule and will prepare for the 2024-2025 school year based on the 2020 Title IX regulations until the cases are decided in court.

For more information:

Preliminary Injunction Order – Louisiana

Preliminary Injunction Order -- Tennessee

Appeal

H.J. Res. 165

HOUSE EDUCATION SPENDING BILL

What You Need To Know

The House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies advanced its FY 2025 spending bill for the Department of Education to the full House Appropriations Committee. The full committee markup is scheduled for July 10, when the House is back in session following its July Fourth Recess. Under the proposed bill, the Department would experience a 13% budget cut. Lead Democrats on the Appropriations Committee have already stated that Democrats would not support any funding measures that propose significant budget cuts to the Department.

Why This Is Important

The FY 2025 spending bill will dictate how much funding is allocated towards federal programs, including the Federal Pell Grant Program (among others). This will likely be a lengthy process, as both parties have strong stances on the required funding for the Department. 

For more information:

Draft Bill