By Sean Robins, NACAC’s director of advocacy

Welcome to this issue of the Advocacy Update on NACAC’s Admitted blog. As Congress begins FY27 appropriations conversations on Capitol Hill, higher education institutions, counselors, and students are navigating one of the most consequential policy moments in recent years. Debates surrounding federal funding, Department of Education restructuring, student aid administration, civil rights enforcement, and college access programs are no longer theoretical discussions — they are actively shaping the future of postsecondary education in real time. Meanwhile, legal challenges, administrative actions, and operational uncertainty continue to create significant implications for students and institutions across the country. In this environment, sustained advocacy and engagement remain critical to ensuring policymakers understand the real-world impact these decisions will have on educational opportunity and student success.

Policy & Legislative Updates 

Questions surrounding the future structure and function of the U.S. Department of Education continue to intensify. On April 28, Secretary Linda McMahon testified before the Senate HELP Appropriations Subcommittee, where senators from both parties raised concerns about the administration’s proposed funding cuts, program eliminations, and the department’s ability to carry out its statutory responsibilities amid significant staffing reductions and restructuring efforts. The hearing highlighted growing tensions over transparency, oversight, and the future of key federal student aid and college access programs.

Additional reporting also provided greater insight into the administration’s broader restructuring plans tied to interagency agreements (IAAs). Despite ongoing efforts to shift portions of Federal Student Aid operations to the Department of the Treasury, the administration confirmed it will still rely on Department of Education systems to distribute federal funding this year because receiving agencies have not yet built the operational infrastructure necessary to fully administer those responsibilities. The development reinforces broader concerns about implementation capacity, continuity, and the long-term implications of dispersing core education functions across multiple federal agencies.

A federal district court expanded its preliminary injunction in the ACTS lawsuit, extending relief beyond the original 17 plaintiff states to include additional higher education associations and institutions. The court reaffirmed that while the Department of Education likely has the authority to collect admissions data, the rushed and opaque rollout of ACTS likely violated federal law, describing the implementation process as “arbitrary and capricious.” The department has indicated that they are looking to release the data from the ACTS survey this summer, which is an unprecedented turnaround given the amount of data and the normal review process of traditional IPEDS data for one year.

Those concerns were amplified further this week following new reporting that the White House Office of Management and Budget is currently withholding more than $2 billion in congressionally approved education funding across dozens of K-12 and higher education programs. While the funding has not been formally rescinded, advocates and institutions are increasingly concerned that continued delays in the apportionment process could disrupt staffing, student services, grant competitions, and ongoing programming in the months ahead.

At the same time, new reporting revealed that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights resolved 30 percent fewer discrimination complaints in 2025 compared to the previous year — the sharpest decline in more than three decades — despite complaints reaching record levels. Roughly 20,000 cases remain pending. The slowdown comes amid significant reductions in OCR staffing and restructuring efforts, including a 35 percent proposed reduction in the President’s FY 2027 budget request. Thus, raising concerns about the department’s ability to investigate and enforce federal civil rights protections in a timely and effective manner.

Broader concerns about federal research and data infrastructure are also emerging. Cuts and restructuring at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) are raising alarms among researchers and practitioners about the future of independent education data and national statistical resources relied upon across the education sector. Experts warn that weakening longstanding federal datasets and research functions could make it more difficult to track student outcomes, identify disparities, and support evidence-based policymaking at both the state and federal levels.

Across higher education, institutions continue to navigate mounting financial and operational strain. Colleges are increasingly restructuring programs, reducing staffing, consolidating departments, and reevaluating institutional priorities as demographic shifts, enrollment declines, and federal policy uncertainty continue to reshape the sector. New federal student loan limits finalized by the administration are expected to add additional pressure, particularly for graduate and professional programs. The administration also finalized a narrower definition of “professional degree” programs for federal borrowing purposes, excluding education and several other fields from higher loan caps — a move that has raised concerns about access and workforce pipeline implications in already under-resourced professions.

New analyses continue to reinforce the financial realities students are facing. Reports recently released highlighted ongoing confusion surrounding college pricing and financial aid, particularly the disconnect between highly visible “sticker prices” and the actual net price students pay after aid. Other research underscored that many students are increasingly borrowing not simply for tuition costs, but to meet basic needs such as housing, transportation, food, and childcare. These findings continue to reinforce broader concerns that financial aid systems and institutional affordability conversations often fail to fully account for the true cost of attending college.

Concerns surrounding FAFSA completion also remain significant, particularly for mixed-status families. New reporting highlighted that some students are increasingly hesitant to complete the FAFSA due to fears surrounding immigration enforcement and concerns about how family information could potentially be used. Across the country, counselors and practitioners are hearing directly from students who are delaying, reconsidering, or opting out of higher education altogether because of these fears — underscoring how immigration policy and enforcement are directly shaping college access decisions, even for U.S. citizens.

International student policies also remain an area of growing uncertainty. Concerns continue to mount around visa processing delays, expanded screening requirements, and disruptions to Optional Practical Training (OPT) processing, all of which are creating significant instability for students preparing to study or work in the United States. At the same time, the federal government is phasing out Special Student Relief (SSR), a program that has provided temporary flexibility and protections for international students from countries experiencing crises. Together, these developments are raising broader concerns about the United States’ ability to remain a stable and welcoming destination for international students at a time when institutions continue to rely on global enrollment, talent, and exchange.

The administration also continues to expand its efforts targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and protections for historically underserved populations. The Department of Justice filed another lawsuit challenging a state tuition equity policy, this time targeting New Jersey’s in-state tuition and financial aid eligibility for undocumented students. The case marks the latest step in the administration’s broader effort to dismantle state tuition equity programs across the country.

Simultaneously, the Department of Education opened a civil rights investigation into Smith College’s transgender admissions policies, marking a significant expansion of federal scrutiny beyond athletics and campus facilities into admissions practices themselves. Proposed anti-DEI certification requirements tied to federal funding are also generating widespread concern across higher education due to the legal uncertainty and potential chilling effect they could create for institutions, student support programs, scholarships, and campus initiatives.

NACAC Advocacy 

NACAC’s advocacy efforts in recent weeks have remained focused on protecting college access, strengthening federal student support programs, and elevating the real-world impact of ongoing federal policy changes on students and institutions.

On April 28, NACAC closely monitored and analyzed the Senate HELP Appropriations hearing featuring Education Secretary Linda McMahon, where senators from both parties raised significant concerns regarding the administration’s FY27 budget proposal and broader restructuring efforts at the Department of Education. Much of the discussion centered on proposed cuts and eliminations impacting TRIO, GEAR UP, education research, and civil rights enforcement, alongside questions about the administration’s increasing reliance on interagency agreements to transfer responsibilities to other federal agencies. Senators repeatedly pressed the department on implementation capacity, operational readiness, and transparency — particularly as the administration continues efforts to reduce staffing and reshape the department’s role. NACAC’s hearing analysis highlighted the broader implications these proposals could have on students, institutions, and college access programs nationwide, while also tracking key exchanges related to student loan repayment, accountability, and federal oversight responsibilities.

NACAC also joined a coalition letter urging the U.S. Department of State to prioritize timely processing of international student and scholar visas ahead of the fall academic term. The letter emphasized growing concerns that visa appointment backlogs, processing delays, and expanded screening requirements could prevent students from arriving on time for the academic year. Coalition partners underscored that international students play a critical role in campus communities, institutional stability, and the broader U.S. economy, while warning that unnecessary delays risk undermining the nation’s global competitiveness and long-standing position as a destination for higher education.

In addition, NACAC continues monitoring and engaging around a wide range of federal developments impacting college access and higher education, including ACTS litigation and implementation, proposed anti-DEI certification requirements tied to federal funding, changes to federal student loan limits, tuition equity challenges, FAFSA concerns among mixed-status families, and ongoing questions surrounding Department of Education restructuring efforts and federal funding distribution. Together, these issues continue to reinforce the importance of sustained advocacy and engagement as institutions, counselors, and students navigate a rapidly evolving policy landscape.

Ways You Can Take Action 

We are continuously updating our Take Action page with opportunities to make your voice heard. If you have not already, I encourage you to advocate on the urgent issues below. You can also view all active advocacy campaigns in the yellow column of the Take Action page. 

• Tell Congress: Maintain Support for International Education and Exchange
• Tell Congress: Keep Education Programs at the Department of Education
• Tell Congress: Prioritize Visa Appointments for International Students and Scholars 
• Tell Congress to Not Abandon Our National Commitment to Education
• Urge Congress to Protect Disabled Students 
• Don’t Flunk the Future Advocacy Toolkit 

The current policy environment continues to evolve in ways that are both complex and consequential for students, institutions, and the professionals who support them. As federal and state actions intersect, the need for clarity, coordination, and sustained engagement remains critical.

As I shared this week at the Illinois ACAC conference, advocacy is not separate from our work — it is essential to it. In moments like this, it is easy to look to others for direction, but as Barack Obama reminds us, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” That perspective is especially relevant now, as your voice and your engagement help shape policies that directly impact students and institutions.

Uplifting your voice — and the voices of your students — helps ensure that access to postsecondary education is not just possible, but achievable.