Education Overhaul: $79B Funding Bill, Workforce Shifts, and New Accountability Rules

Welcome to your weekly update on the U.S. Department of Education, where we cut through the noise to spotlight what's really moving the needle for education. This week's blockbuster: President Trump signed a $79 billion education funding bill into law, locking in fiscal 2026 priorities like campus-based aid for Federal Work-Study and FSEOG programs. Higher Ed Dive reports this stabilizes funding based on prior-year appropriations, giving schools breathing room amid reforms. Key shifts include the HEP Division moving to the Department of Labor starting January 20, streamlining postsecondary and workforce programs. Assistant Secretary Dr. David Barker calls it realignment for workforce success, while DOL's Dr. Henry Mack praises it as boosting skills for economic dominance. Powers Law's February update also flags the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization rulemaking, launched January 26, targeting accreditor competition, student outcomes over DEI mandates, and intellectual diversity—comments due March 2 on the RISE NPRM too. Impacts hit hard: American families gain simpler loans and Workforce Pell Grants under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, but states brace for chaos from ED's hollowing out via interagency shifts. Businesses cheer accountability tying aid to earnings thresholds—failing programs lose loans after two of three years. New America warns local districts face delays in special ed and CTE. The Office for Civil Rights secured 31 agreements February 19 ending university ties to The Ph.D. Project, amid GAO scrutiny of its 2025 staff cuts. Quote from Secretary Linda McMahon on the new AHEAD framework: "We've developed an accountability framework institutions can work with, students will benefit from, and taxpayers expect." Watch the March 4-6 FSA Training Conference and March 2 comment deadlines. Citizens, submit feedback via regulations.gov to shape rules. Next, track AIM rulemaking sessions. Dive deeper at ed.gov/newsroom. If input's open, make your voice heard. Thanks for tuning in, listeners—subscribe for more. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai. For more http://www.quietplease.ai Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta