Administration Unveils Plans for Multiple Rulemakings, Civil Rights Overhaul
The Department of Education is preparing to advance a broad regulatory agenda that would implement several of the Trump Administration’s major education priorities, including changes related to civil rights enforcement, Title IV eligibility, student loan repayment, and institutional oversight. The administration’s 2026 Unified Agenda, released on July 3, outlines the Department’s expected rulemaking priorities and anticipated timelines for action over the coming months.
Many of the Department’s projected regulatory plans carry over from the Spring 2025 Unified Agenda, as much of ED’s rulemaking capacity over the past year has been focused on implementing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as mandated by Congress. With several of those regulations implemented as of July 1, the Department appears poised to turn its attention more fully to the administration’s broader regulatory priorities.
Below is a summary of several key regulatory agenda items that will affect higher education.
Civil Rights
Several rules are already listed in the final rule stage and could be issued as soon as this month. These include regulations that would clarify that “sex” under Title IX refers exclusively to male or female; revise how the Office for Civil Rights handles discrimination complaints; abandon disparate impact theory in civil rights enforcement; and implement Title VI regulations that align with the administration’s efforts to restrict race-conscious education programs.
The Department is also expected to pursue additional rulemaking on civil rights enforcement procedures, including possible changes that could streamline the process for terminating federal funds when an institution is found to be in violation of federal civil rights laws. The Department has entered into an interagency agreement with the Department of Justice to share responsibilities for civil rights enforcement in education.
Five Rulemaking Sessions Previewed
The Department outlined five potential negotiated rulemaking processes to be announced before the end of the year:
Addressing Title IV Eligibility Issues. The proposal seeks to “remove requirements that unnecessarily target faith-based or for-profit institutions and interfere with efficient and beneficial mergers, sales, and transfers of institutions of higher education.” The preview asserts that it will “remove” certain provisions related to the 90/10 rules governing for-profit institutions that “give public and nonprofit institutions a competitive advantage.” A notice of intent to begin that rulemaking could be issued later this month.
Rescinding the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. The proposal would rescind the Biden Administration’s SAVE income-driven repayment plan, with the issuance of a notice of intent to begin rulemaking planned as soon as next month.
Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers. The proposal would amend college textbook packaging rules to put downward pressure on prices by promoting publisher competition and seek to “improve the transferability of college credits.” A notice of intent to commence rulemaking could be issued as soon as September.
Documentation of Foreign Source Gifts and Contracts, Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The proposal is framed as an effort to improve compliance, enforcement, and transparency around foreign funding at colleges and universities, including through ED’s new foreign-funding reporting portal and in response to concerns about continued noncompliance and foreign influence risks. A notice of intent to begin rulemaking planned as soon as November.
Campus Safety and Security Reporting pursuant to the Clery Act. A negotiated rulemaking is planned to enact changes passed as part of the Stop Campus Hazing Act (SCHA), which was passed into law in 2024. The SCHA established a federal definition of hazing and requires campuses to adopt statements of hazing policies and prevention and include hazing incidents in their annual security reports submitted under the Clery Act. In addition to the Clery reporting, the bill requires institutions to publish a more detailed hazing transparency report twice a year. A notice of intent to commence rulemaking could be issued as soon as November.
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