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As Elijah Higgins sat on a witness stand this week, he detailed the similarities between his experience last season as a rookie tight end for the Arizona Cardinals and the four years he had spent playing football at Stanford University. Five or six days a week at each level of play, he was immersed in football activities: lifting weights, practice, film study, physical therapy and playing games. There is travel on charter jets. Free tickets for friends and relatives. Robust coaching staffs setting rules. There are some differences, Higgins allowed. In the National Football League, there are no classes to attend, though at Stanford, he said, academics took a back seat to football, which is why he still has a few classes to take before earning his bachelor’s degree in psychology.

The Department of Education acknowledged Thursday that it’s been a “challenging year” for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process as officials are desperate to get more forms filled out.  “We’re not at the point we would like to be at,” Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal told reporters before revealing about 7.7 million FAFSA applications have been received from college applicants. Around 18 million forms are filed in a typical year. 

With less than two weeks until the typical May 1 commitment deadline, only 34 percent of colleges have started sending financial aid offers to accepted students, according to new survey data from the National Association for Student Financial Aid Advisers (NASFAA); 54 percent had not begun packaging offers at all.

The long-awaited Biden Administration rewrite of Title IX regulations were released today by the Department of Education. The new regulations encompass sweeping changes to the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination at government-funded schools including colleges and universities. Colleges and universities have until August 1, 2024 to update policies for the fall semester.
 
After more than a year of delays and mounting pressure from advocacy groups, the final changes appear similar to what was proposed in June 2022 and significantly alter how colleges and universities respond to reports of sexual harassment and assault and expand protections for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students.  The new rules also reinstitute protections for student survivors of sexual assault and harassment that were rolled back during the Trump administration, will take effect Aug. 1. 
 
Below is a sampling of news reports on the new regulations:
 
Colleges, the Title IX Changes Are Finally Here. What’s In Them?
The Chronicle of Higher Education (April 19, 2024)
 
New Title IX Rules Are Out. Here’s What You Need to Know
Inside Higher Ed (April 19, 2024)

Final Title IX Rule Enshrines Protections for LGBTQI+ Students
Higher Ed Dive (April 19, 2024)
 
Biden Administration Releases Revised Title IX Rules
The New York Times (April 19, 2024)
 
Biden Title IX Rules Set to Protect Trans Students, Survivors of Abuse
The Washington Post (April 19, 2024)
 
Biden’s New Title IX Rules Protect LGBTQ+ Students, But Transgender Sports Rule Still on Hold
The Associated Press (April 19, 2024)
 
Biden Dismantles Trump-Era Title IX Rules, Sidesteps Issue of Trans Athletes in Girls' Sports
FoxNews.com  (April 19, 2024)
 
Biden Administration Adds Title IX Protections for LGBTQ Students, Assault Victims
NPR.org (April 19, 2024)
 
Title IX: Athletes Can Play Amid Sexual Misconduct Inquiries
ESPN.com (April 19, 2024)
 
Finalized Biden Title IX Regulations Add Protections for Transgender Students
The Hill.com (April 19, 2024)
  

Biden’s Outrageous Title IX Rewrite - Commentary
National Review (April 19, 2024)
 
The Rules Change for Transgender Athletes in Women’s Sports – Commentary
The Wall Street Journal (April 19, 2024)
 

Millions of Americans could potentially get their student debt canceled after Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren called on Navient to cancel "decades-old predatory private student loans" under a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) protection law. Navient said this year it would move its private and commercial loans in the Federal Family Education loan program to MOHELA, a major federal student loan servicer. That means 2.7 million borrowers will see their loans move to a new servicer, and some Democratic members of Congress are hoping that a significant chunk of those get wiped out.