NACAC Advocacy and Policy Updates for Feb. 19, 2025

NACAC is actively monitoring executive orders that pertain to education, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and their potential impacts on the field of college admission counseling. NACAC also is advocating on behalf of its 28,000 members for its policy priorities.

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Guidance on Department of Education’s Dear Colleague letter  (Feb. 19, 2025)

New analysis and guidance for institutions on the Department of Education’s Dear Colleague letter is available from EducationCounsel. The department’s letter does not carry the force of law, though it claims a foundation in the Supreme Court’s 2023 SFFA decision. It is the latest action of the Trump administration’s broader effort to dismantle and discredit efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Advocating for the Department of Education (Ongoing)

NACAC is prepared to respond should an executive order be issued and/or legislation advanced to dismantle the Department of Education. NACAC unequivocally opposes the elimination of the department, which helps to ensure all students have a fair chance at success and that students from varying economic backgrounds have an opportunity to engage in postsecondary education. NACAC has a form available for the public to contact their elected officials on this matter.

NACAC advocates for greater education funding (Ongoing)

NACAC advocates for strengthen education funding and is encouraging others to do the same. Write directly to members of Congress via NACAC’s website to oppose education budget cuts. This is part of NACAC’s participation in the Committee for Education Funding’s “Don’t Flunk the Future” campaign. Learn more.

NACAC’s position on Department of Education nominee Linda McMahon (Feb. 11, 2025) The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hosted confirmation hearings on President Trump’s nominee for Education Secretary Linda McMahon. While McMahon voiced support for some NACAC policy priorities, such as the Pell Grant, dual enrollment, and funding for low-income public schools, the specter of dismantling or eliminating the Department of Education hung heavily over proceedings. NACAC issued a letter to the Senate HELP Committee expressing its opposition to McMahon’s confirmation as “premature and unwarranted,” unless order is restored to the administration’s unlawful actions toward the department, including limitations on First Amendment rights through DEI bans, withholding of funding appropriated by Congress, and elimination of programs and resources required by Congress.

Executive orders about diversity, equity, and inclusion (January-February 2025)

President Trump has issued several executive orders pertaining to DEI efforts at colleges and universities. EducationCounsel, a close NACAC collaborator, summarized the executive orders to assist professionals in understanding their implications on practice. NACAC expressed its commitment to DEI in a recent letter to Congress and the administration. NACAC also is gearing up for a sustained effort to advocate for its values-based commitment to DEI. This sustained effort will include a range of media, advocacy, and member-engagement efforts to champion the benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

NACAC joins 30 organizations in urging dialogue with State Department (Feb. 3, 2025)

NACAC signed onto a letter that urges dialogue between the State Department and the higher education community on issues ranging from national security to visa issuance. Given prior harmful Trump administration policies to international student mobility — a NACAC policy priority — the higher education community seeks to work with the administration in understanding the full ramifications of policies that might similarly affect international students. Read the letter.

Statutory constraints on executive order about K-12 curricula (Jan. 30, 2025)

President Trump in a recent executive order is trying to influence what topics are taught in K-12 public schools. EducationCounsel summarized the executive order and identified various statutory constraints that prohibit the federal government from having jurisdiction over curriculum, which is decided by state and local governments. Read more.

FAFSA guidance for undocumented students, mixed-status families (Jan. 24, 2025)

NACAC supports undocumented students’ access to education. The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration has guidance for counselors and college advisors as they support undocumented students or students from mixed-status families through the FAFSA process. Read the guidance. 

Sharing NACAC’s vision with Congress and the new administration (Jan. 21, 2025)

In January, NACAC CEO Angel B. Pérez shared the association’s vision for postsecondary access with the 119th Congress and Trump administration. In a letter to legislators, NACAC outlined the association’s priorities for student- and equity-centered postsecondary admission, ethical practices in student advising and recruitment, support for school counselors and college advisors, and vigorous funding for public education and student is financial aid for postsecondary education.

Administration reverses department’s position on borrower defense to repayment (January 2025)

The Acting Solicitor General for the Trump administration filed a motion with the Supreme Court that ends the Department of Education’s legal effort to hold predatory for-profit colleges accountable for fraud and abuse against students and taxpayers. Texas for-profit colleges filed suit against the department’s enforcement of the borrower defense to repayment regulation, which began under the Biden administration and enabled students who had been defrauded by predatory colleges to seek student loan relief from the department after they proved misbehavior by unscrupulous colleges. NACAC supports strong protections against waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal student aid programs, including the borrower defense regulation. Read more.