Senate HELP Committee Releases Reconciliation Bill Proposals
On June 10, 2025, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA) released the HELP Committee’s proposals for the Reconciliation bill. Dr. Cassidy said: “We need to fix our broken higher education system, so it prioritizes student success and ensures Americans have the skills to compete in a 21st century economy. President Trump and Senate Republicans are focused on delivering results for American families and this bill does it.” Chairman Cassidy continued by saying: “While Biden and Democrats unfairly attempted to shift student debt onto taxpayers that chose not to go to college, Republicans are taking on the root causes of the student debt crisis to lower the cost of tuition and improve Americans’ access to opportunities that set them for success.”
The press release included copies of the legislative text, section-by-section summary, and one-page summary. Some of the highlights of the bill are as follows:
- Eliminates Grad PLUS loans and caps unsubsidized graduate and professional loans.
- Caps Parent PLUS loans.
- Allows institutions to set lower loan limits as long as they do so consistently within programs.
- Establishes two loan repayment plans: new standard plan and new income-driven plan.
- Excludes families with a Student Aid Index more than twice the maximum Pell Grant from receiving Pell.
- Establishes Workforce Pell Grants to students enrolled in short-term (150-599 clock hours), high quality, workforce aligned programs, which include guardrails for student outcomes including earnings, completion rates, and job placement rates. Allows students enrolled in programs operating outside of the accreditation system to be eligible for Workforce Pell Grants.
- Establishes “do no harm” standard by ending federal loan eligibility for programs that leave students worse off than if they had never gone:
- Prohibits new federal student loans from paying for undergraduate degree programs where the majority of former students earn less than the median high school graduate in the same state;
- Prohibits new federal student loans from paying for graduate programs where the majority of former students earn less than the median bachelor’s degree recipient in the same field in the same state; and
- Programs lose eligibility if they fail to meet the standard for two years in a three-year period.
- Repeals Borrower Defense to Repayment regulation and Closed School Discharge regulation restoring regulations from first Trump Administration.
- Limits the Secretary of Education’s ability to issue regulations and executive actions that increase costs, or subsidies, in the federal student aid programs.
Click here for the full bill text.
Click here for the section-by-section.
Click here for the one-pager.
A copy of Chairman Cassidy’s press release is found at: https://www.help.senate.gov/rep/newsroom/press/chair-cassidy-releases-historic-help-committee-reconciliation-bill-text-fixing-americas-broken-higher-education-system.
Once the Senate makes changes to the House-passed bill, the bill will need to be passed by the Senate and cleared by the House with another vote before it can be sent to President Trump for his signature. Congress has floated July 4th as a deadline to have the bill enacted, but the absolute deadline is September 30, 2025.
Secretary McMahon Testifies before Senate Appropriations Subcommittee and House Education Committee Regarding the Department’s FY 2026 Budget Request
On June 3, 2025, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies regarding the Department’s FY 2026 budget request. Many of the Democrats asked about the Secretary’s decision to cancel or halt funding for various grants and contracts as part of the Secretary’s efforts to dismantle the Department. Many Republicans focused on the defunding of the TRIO and GEAR UP programs and expressed their disagreement with defunding these programs.
On June 4, 2025, Secretary McMahon testified before the House Committee on Education and Workforce regarding the Department’s FY 2026 budget request. In response to a question from Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) about the lack of accountability in postsecondary education, the Secretary stated that colleges and universities should have “skin-in-the-game,” and the Department is looking to add information about estimates of debt and potential earnings depending on the university prospective students select on their FAFSA form. Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) shared his concern that the Department was not cooperating with the Department’s Inspector General regarding the OIG review about recent workforce, program, and operational changes made at ED. Secretary McMahon responded that the Department would cooperate with its Inspector General in accordance with the law.
House Passes Budget Reconciliation Bill that Would Change Student Loans and Limit Pell Grants; Budget Reconciliation Bill Moves to Senate for Consideration
On May 22, 2025, the House of Representatives passed, by a vote of 215 to 214, its version of the Budget Reconciliation bill after weeks of debate. Some notable changes made in a 42-page amendment added after many hours of negotiations in the Rules Committee include moving up Medicaid work requirements to begin in 2026 rather than 2029 and raising the State and local tax deduction cap. The House-passed Reconciliation bill also maintains a permanent extension of the section 127 employer tax-free education benefits provision and an expansion of 529 accounts to allow for the costs of postsecondary credentialing.
The Reconciliation bill includes the reconciliation provisions approved by the House Education and Workforce Committee on April 29, 2025, that made major changes to Pell Grant eligibility, borrowing limits, student loan repayment, and institutional accountability. The only change made from the Committee-passed bill was the change made to the implementation date for changes in the definition of full-time Pell Grant status and half-time eligibility to the 2026-2027 award year instead of the 2025-2026 award year.
Following the passage by the House, the Reconciliation bill went to the Senate where Senate Republicans are expected to make changes to the policy provisions included in the House-version of the Reconciliation bill.
Senate HELP Committee Advances President Trump’s Labor and Education Nominees, including Nicholas Kent as Under Secretary of Education
On May 22, 2025, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted to approve seven of President Trump’s at the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. The nominees were approved en bloc by a party-line vote of 12-11, which included the nominee, Nicholas Kent, who will serve as Under Secretary of Education.
HELP Chair Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA) said: “As chair of the HELP Committee, confirming President Trump’s nominees is the top priority. Getting these nominees confirmed is vital to advancing our pro-America agenda.”
A copy of the press release is found at: https://www.help.senate.gov/rep/newsroom/press/time-change-senate-help-committee-to-consider-president-trumps-labor-education-nominees.
Secretary McMahon Testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) on the President’s FY 2026 Budget Request
On May 21, 2025, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) on President Trump’s FY 2026 budget request. The Subcommittee members questioned the Secretary on the proposed cuts to the Department, such as elimination of the TRIO and GEAR Up programs as well as the FSEOG program, along with significant cuts to the Federal Work-Study program. The Secretary was also asked about her plans to eliminate the Department of Education. Secretary McMahon said the Department is closely looking at all of its spending and whether various programs are still needed. The Secretary defended the layoffs in order to “wind down the bureaucracy” of the Department, and she hoped to have congressional support to dismantle it eventually since the Administration did not intend to do so on its own.
Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on the State of Higher Education
On May 21, 2025, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing titled “The State of Higher Education.” During the hearing, Senators discussed the rising costs of higher education and the need to reform the higher education system.
A copy of Chairman Bill Cassidy’s, MD (R-LA) opening remarks at the hearing are found at: https://www.help.senate.gov/rep/newsroom/press/chair-cassidy-delivers-remarks-during-hearing-on-state-of-higher-education.
CBO Estimates that the Official Score of the House Education and Workforce Portion of the Reconciliation Bill will Produce $349.1 Billion in Savings Over the Next 10 Years
On April 29, 2025, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its official score of the House Education and Workforce Committee’s portion of the Reconciliation Bill, stating that it will generate $349.1 billion in savings over the 10-year 2025-2034 period. The Committee had been tasked with finding at least $330 billion in savings. The major elements of the CBO score include the following:
- By repealing and replacing President Biden’s SAVE repayment program and adopting new repayment plans for borrowers, spending would be reduced by $294.6 billion over the 10-year period.
- By eliminating subsidized undergraduate loans and Grad PLUS loans, and adopting new annual and aggregate loan limits, spending would be reduced by $51 billion over the 10-year period.
- By making the Pell Grant changes, including requiring 30 credit hours in an award year to be considered full-time enrollment and eliminating Pell Grants for less than half-time students, spending would be reduced by $8 billion over the 10-year period.
- By establishing accountability measures, including “Risk Sharing,” spending would be reduced by $5.3 billion over 10 years.
- By limiting the Department’s authority to issue certain regulations, such as regulations that would increase the cost of federal student loans or have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, spending would be reduced by $31.8 billion over the 10-year period, while repealing the Closed School Discharge and Borrower Defense to Repayment rules would reduce spending by over $16 billion.
- Repealing the Gainful Employment rule would increase spending by $5.1 billion over 10 years. [Note: On May 16, 2025, the Trump Administration urged a federal judge to uphold the Gainful Employment regulation. In American Association of Cosmetology Schools v. United States Department of Education, the trade association representing cosmetology schools, sued the Biden Administration over the Gainful Employment rule arguing that the rule jeopardized their existence. The Trump Administration also asked the judge to retain the reporting requirement for all colleges under the Financial Value Transparency (FVT) framework.]
A copy of the report is available at: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61412.
FSA Provides Information about the NSLDS Delinquent Borrower Report to Assist Institutions Reaching Out to Students Who are Delinquent on Their Student Loans
On June 9, 2025, Federal Student Aid (FSA) released an Electronic Announcement (GENERAL-25-27) providing information about the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Delinquent Borrower Report available on the NSLDS Professional Access website to assist institutions with their outreach effort on students who are delinquent on one or more of their loans. On May 5, 2025, the Department of Education requested that institutions perform outreach to remind former borrowers of their loan repayment obligations in an Electronic Announcement (GENERAL-25-19). The Delinquent Borrower Report provides institutions with a list of borrowers who have been identified as delinquent in their loan payments to one of their federal loan servicers. The Report also provides demographic data and loan details.
A copy of the Electronic Announcement is found at: https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2025-06-09/default-prevention-resource-nslds-delinquent-borrower-report#.
FSA Announces Stricter Verification Requirements for Federal Student Aid Applicants
On June 6, 2025, Federal Student Aid (FSA) released an Electronic Announcement (APP-25-16) announcing actions to implement temporary changes to the current verification process to protect the integrity of federal student aid programs, which has been “targeted by technologically advanced fraud rings.” In light of these serious threats to the integrity of the federal student aid programs, ED is launching a nationwide effort to eliminate identity theft and fraud in the federal student aid programs for the fall 2025 semester while significantly reducing administrative burden on educational institutions. In the interim, during summer 2025, ED will require institutions to verify the identity of additional first-time applicants who complete the FAFSA. ED has updated its process for identifying applicants who pose a fraud risk, which will increase the number of applicants selected for V4 verification. In the fall 2025, FSA will establish a new process in which FSA will implement an additional screening process for each FAFSA.
As part of its improved fraud detection efforts, ED has made several significant changes to the acceptable documentation for identity verification that must be maintained by schools when they perform V4 or V5 verification. These changes, such as schools no longer being required to obtain a Statement of Educational Purpose from students selected for V4 or V5 verification or if a student is unable to appear in person, the applicant can now appear on a video call, are intended to streamline the verification process.
In addition, the Electronic Announcement described the steps an institution must take if it suspects a student, employee, or other individual has misreported information or altered documentation to fraudulently obtain federal student aid funds.
A copy of the Electronic Announcement is found at: https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2025-06-06/significant-actions-prevent-fraud-through-identity-verification.
ED Notifies Columbia University’s Accreditor of Columbia’s Title VI Violations
On June 4, 2025, the Department of Education announced in a press release that its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) had notified the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (the Commission) that its member institution, Columbia University, is in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws and, therefore, fails to meet the standards of accreditation by the Commission. The Commission’s “Standards for Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation” require an accredited institution to be in compliance with “all applicable government laws and regulations.” The press release stated that on May 22, 2025, OCR and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) determined that “Columbia University acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students, thereby violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” As a result, under 34 C.F.R. § 602.20(a), accreditors are required to notify any member institution about a federal noncompliance finding and establish a plan to come into compliance. An accreditor must take action against its member if a university fails to come into compliance.
An institution that loses its accreditation also loses its eligibility for Title IV loans and grants. In addition, if an institution loses its accreditation, its students may not be able to transfer credits or its students’ degrees may be unrecognized by employers.
A copy of the press release is found at: https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-notifies-columbia-universitys-accreditor-of-columbias-title-vi-violation.
ED Pauses Plan to Garnish Social Security Benefits
On June 3, 2025, USA Today and other publications, reported that the Department of Education was pausing its plan to garnish Social Security benefits for defaulted student loan borrowers, a process that was set to take effect when the Trump Administration restarted student debt collections on May 5, 2025. Department of Education spokesperson Ellen Keast said that the Department of Education has not offset Social Security benefits since collections restarted. Ms. Keast said: “The Trump Administration is committed to protecting social security recipients who oftentimes rely on a fixed income.”
The announcement is a reversal for the Trump Administration after announcing on April 21, 2025, that the Department’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) would resume collections of its defaulted federal student loan portfolio on May 5, 2025, which ended a more than five-year pause instituted in March 2020 as part of the COVID-era policies. The Department says in a note on its Debt Resolution webpage that it is “delaying offsets” of monthly federal benefits, including Social Security, for “a couple of months and plans to resume sometime this summer.”
“The Department of Education has resumed collections through the Treasury Offset Program as of May 5th, 2025. This includes offset of income tax refunds and federal and state miscellaneous vendor payments. If you receive monthly federal benefit payments, such as Social Security benefit payments, and Railroad and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) retirement benefits you may have received a letter from the Department of Treasury that listed a date when offsets to your payments was scheduled to begin. Please be aware that the Department of Education is delaying offsets of these monthly benefits for a couple of months and plans to resume sometime this summer. To prevent these offsets, you must resolve your default status by paying your balance in full or consolidating your loan; setting up monthly payments will not prevent offsets of your benefits.
The Department of Education also intends to resume Administrative Wage Garnishment later this summer. To prevent garnishment of your wages through your employer, you must resolve your default status or establish a monthly payment schedule and begin making your monthly payments immediately.”
See: https://myeddebt.ed.gov/.
ED Recognizes June as Title IX Month
On June 2, 2025, the Department of Education announced in a press release that it is recognizing June as ‘Title IX Month’ in honor of the fifty-third anniversary of Title IX of the Educational Amendments (1972) being signed into law. June will now be dedicated to commemorating women and celebrating their struggle for, and achievement of, equal educational opportunity. Throughout the month, the Department will highlight actions taken to reverse the Biden Administration’s legacy of undermining Title IX and announce additional actions to protect women in line with the true purpose of Title IX.
A copy of the press release is found at: https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-recognizes-june-title-ix-month.
FSA Announces Interest Rates for Direct Loans First Disbursed Between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026
On May 30, 2025, Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced in an Electronic Announcement (DL-25-03) the interest rates for Direct Loans first disbursed between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. The interest rates are as follows:
- Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans for Undergraduates 39%
- Direct Unsubsidized Loans for Graduates 94%
- Direct PLUS Loans for Parents of Undergraduates and for Graduate or Professional Students 8.94%
A copy of the Electronic Announcement is found at: https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2025-05-30/interest-rates-direct-loans-first-disbursed-between-july-1-2025-and-june-30-2026.
ED Updates DCL on 2025-2026 Federal Pell Grant Maximum and Minimum Amounts
On May 29, 2025, Federal Student Aid (FSA) updated the Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) (GEN-25-02) of January 31, 2025, which contained the 2025-2026 Federal Pell Grant maximum and minimum award amounts. The updated DCL confirmed that based on the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (P.L. 119-4), the Federal Pell Grant maximum and minimum award amounts for the 2025-2026 award year contained in the January 31, 2025, DCL are correct and will be effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. The maximum award will remain at $7,395 and the minimum award will remain at $740.
A copy of the Updated DCL is found at: https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/dear-colleague-letters/2025-01-31/2025-2026-federal-pell-grant-maximum-and-minimum-award-amounts-updated-may-29-2025.
ED Announces Steps to Halt Erroneous Payments to Ineligible Recipients
On May 28, 2025, the Department of Education announced actions and steps it is taking to ensure federal student aid funds are given to eligible recipients. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said: “As we continue to rehabilitate the student loan portfolio, we must also ensure there are accountability measures at every step of the student aid process.” ED outlined steps it has taken and will take to address fraud in federal student aid.
- A cross-check of student aid records against federal grant logs with the Social Security Death Index revealed that more than $30 million in federal student aid was disbursed to thousands of deceased individuals over the past three years. ED is strengthening real-time data-sharing with the Social Security Administration to prevent identity theft and avoid errors in the future.
- Individuals granted immigration parole status, a temporary designation issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), are not immediately eligible for federal student aid. ED has gained additional specificity on student status from DHS to prevent disbursements to ineligible students in the future.
- In May, ED resumed automated post screening of student aid records for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 FAFSA cycles. Post screening is critical for ensuring that students only access federal student aid they are eligible to receive.
- In March, ED resumed flagging applicants suspected of using someone else’s identity when completing the FAFSA form. A recent review found that as of early-February, almost $40 million in Direct Loan payments and $6 million in Pell Grants were incorrectly disbursed.
A copy of the press release is found at: https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-fights-fraud-student-aid-protect-american-taxpayer.
DOJ Announces the Establishment of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative which will Use the False Claims Act to Investigate DEI Practices
On May 19, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the establishment of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which will utilize the False Claims Act to investigate and pursue claims against any recipient of federal funds that knowingly violates the federal civil rights laws. According to the press release, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said: “Institutions that take federal money only to allow anti-Semitism and promote divisive DEI policies are putting their access to federal funds at risk.” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “In advancing the initiative, the Department of Justice’s Civil Fraud Section and Civil Rights Division will work in concert – alongside other Department components and government agencies – to identify and root out instances in which recipients of federal funds fail to uphold their basic obligations under federal civil rights laws. The days of using federal funds to further discrimination are over.”
The press release concluded by stating that the DOJ encourages anyone with knowledge of discrimination by federal funding recipients to consider filing a qui tam action under the False Claims Act.
A copy of the DOJ press release is found at: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-establishes-civil-rights-fraud-initiative.
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow it to Lay Off Employees and Dismantle Department of Education
According to USA Today, on June 6, 2025, the Trump Administration sent an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to seek approval to lay off Department of Education employees and to dismantle the Department of Education. (See article below.)
In the meantime, it has been reported by some publications that on June 7, 2025, the Department of Education sent emails to the employees who were placed on administrative leave in March letting them know they will not be formally separated from the Department the following week as planned. The Department is attempting to determine if the employees it decided to terminate in March have accepted other jobs in recent weeks as they establish plans to “reintegrate” workers.
Trump Administration Loses Appeal to Lift Ban on Department of Education Layoffs
On June 4, 2025, the Trump Administration lost its appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston to lift the preliminary injunction by the Massachusetts District Court Judge that had blocked the Department of Education from laying off about half of its more than 4,000 employees. The lawsuits were filed by 21 states, five labor organizations, and two school districts. The Trump Administration could appeal to the Supreme Court to lift the order.
Chief Judge David Barron in the appeals court’s decision said: “What is at stake in this case, the District Court found, was whether a nearly half-century-old cabinet department would be permitted to carry out its statutorily assigned functions or prevented from doing so by a mass termination of employees aimed at implementing the effective closure of that department.” Chief Judge Barron went on to say: “Given the extensive findings made by the District Court and the absence of any contrary evidence having been submitted by the appellants, we conclude that the appellants’ stay motion does not warrant our interfering with the ordinary course of appellate adjudication in the face of what the record indicates would be the apparent consequences of doing so.”
Trump Administration to Defend Borrower Defense Regulations at Supreme Court
On May 29, 2025, as reported in Inside Higher Ed, the Office of the Solicitor General at the Department of Justice filed a motion indicating that the Trump Administration has reviewed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Department of Education v. Career Colleges and Schools of Texas (CCST) and decided to defend the Department’s power to regulate on the borrower defense to repayment issue. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the Higher Education Act of 1965 does not permit the assessment of borrower defenses to repayment before default, in administrative proceedings, or on a group basis. Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in the filing: “In the department’s view, the court of appeals erred in adopting a contrary interpretation of the statute…The government continues to regard the issue as one of exceptional and lasting importance. Indeed, if the court were to reject the court of appeals’ interpretation of the statute, the department would exercise its statutory authority to promulgate a new borrower-defense regulation to replace the 2022 Rule.”
The filing of the motion means that the case will remain at the Supreme Court and be heard by the Supreme Court in the fall 2025.
Since the appeals court decision, borrower defense rules finalized during the Trump Administration remain in effect. The filing also keeps the regulations in effect while Congress works to repeal the borrower defense rules through reconciliation. The Reconciliation bill rescinds the 2022 regulations, thus saving $11.5 billion over the next 10 years.
District Court Judge Blocks Trump’s EO to Shut Down ED
On May 22, 2025, District Court Judge Myong Joun halted President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) shutting down the Department of Education and ruled that ED should not have executed its reduction in force (RIF) that resulted in almost half of the Department’s workforce being laid off. District Judge Joun ruled that the layoffs effectively dismantled critical parts of the Federal Student Aid (FSA) office and ordered the Administration to reinstate those employees. The District Judge wrote that ED’s RIF has disrupted services for students, families, and institutions. The Trump Administration is appealing District Judge Joun’s decision.
ACE and Fourteen Other Higher Education Organizations Send Letter in Response to OMB’s Information Request on Deregulation
On May 12, 2025, the American Council on Education, along with fourteen other higher education organizations, sent a letter to Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought in response to OMB’s information request for information on deregulation. The ACE letter identified the guiding principles to use in the process of making policy changes:
- Regulations should be related to education, student safety, and stewardship of federal funds.
- Regulations should be clear and comprehensive.
- Regulations should not stray from clearly stated legislative intent.
- Costs and burdens of regulations should be accurately estimated.
- Clear safe harbors should be created.
- The Department should recognize good faith efforts by institutions.
- The Department should complete program reviews and investigations in a timely manner.
- Penalty should be imposed at a level appropriate to the violation.
- Disclosure requirements should focus on issues of widespread interest.
- All substantive policies should be subject to the “notice-and-comment” requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.
- Regulations that consistently create compliance challenges should be revised.
- The Department should take all necessary steps to facilitate compliance by institutions.
A copy of the letter is found at: https://www.nasfaa.org/uploads/documents/Letter-OMB-Deregulation-RFI-051225.pdf.
IRS Reaffirms GCU’s 501(c)(3) Status
On May 20, 2025, Grand Canyon University (GCU) issued a press release announcing that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) informed GCU that it has reaffirmed its 501(c)(3) tax exempt status as an Arizona nonprofit institution after completing a comprehensive four-year examination of the University. The reaffirmation came after the Department of Education rescinded its proposed $37.7 million fine over “unsubstantiated claims related to GCU’s disclosures in doctoral programs and further vindicates the university from years of regulatory weaponization and lawfare that had been carried out by officials under the Biden Administration against the largest Christian university in the country.”
The press release named the following independent bodies that have acknowledged that status or ruled in GCU’s favor: IRS, State of Arizona, Higher Learning Commission, Arizona Private Postsecondary Board of Education, and NCAA Athletics. Further, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Grand Canyon University v. Cardona ruled unanimously in November 2024 that ED lacked the authority under the Higher Education Act to make such a determination and remanded it back to the Department to apply the correct legal standard.
Finally, the press release asserted that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also targeted GCU. The FTC announced in October 2021 that it would coordinate efforts with the Department of Education and Department of Veterans Affairs to go after for-profit schools, and subsequently those three agencies levied fines against GCU in the following three years. In March 2025, the U.S. District Court of Arizona dismissed the case against GCU, ruling that the FTC exceeded its authority because GCU is not a corporation “operating for its own profit or that of its members.”
A copy of the press release is found at: https://news.gcu.edu/press-releases/irs-reaffirms-501c3-status-for-gcu-decision-further-refutes-lawfare-aimed-at-university/.