Login
Home  |  Legal Resources  |  Publications

Cases & Developments

FILTERS

Find by DATE
Reset

Latest Cases & Developments

  • Date:

    Saving College Sports – The White House (Jul. 24, 2025)

    Executive Order: “Saving College Sports.” This Order aims to stabilize college athletics by addressing the growing concerns around athlete compensation and the impact of recent legal rulings. The Order focuses on preserving and expanding opportunities for non-revenue and women’s sports, while prohibiting third-party pay-for-play arrangements. The Order mandates that athletic departments with revenues over $125 million increase scholarship opportunities and roster spots for non-revenue sports starting in the 2025-2026 season. Departments with revenues over $50 million must maintain or increase these opportunities, while those with smaller budgets should avoid disproportionately reducing scholarships for non-revenue sports. Additionally, the Order explicitly bans third-party, pay-for-play payments to athletes. However, athletes may still receive compensation for legitimate market value services, like brand endorsements. The Order clarifies that any revenue-sharing arrangements between universities and athletes should not undermine opportunities for less profitable programs. Finally, the Order requires the Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to clarify the status of student-athletes, along with directing the Attorney General and Federal Trade Commission to generate a report on how to protect college athletics from potential legal threats (such as antitrust lawsuits), and further requires the Secretary of Education to issue an implementation plan using mechanisms such as Title IX enforcement, federal funding leverage, and interstate commerce laws. The White House also published a Fact Sheet on the Order.

    Topics:

    Athletics & Sports | Athletics Compliance & NCAA Rules | Athletics Operations | Student Athlete Issues | Students

  • Date:

    Department of Education Report on Nonpayment Rates by Institution (Jul. 23, 2025)

    The Department of Education (the Department) has published nonpayment rates by institution on the Federal Student Aid Data Center, showing the percentage of borrowers who had entered repayment since January 2020 and were more than 90 days delinquent as of mid-May 2025. This report follows the Department’s efforts in May, 2025 urging Title IV-participating institutions to conduct outreach to former students who had ceased enrollment on or after January 1, 2020 and was part of the Department’s strategy to improve loan repayment outcomes, reduce institutional cohort default rates, and protect schools’ continued eligibility for federal student aid. The report aims to “further assist [that] institutions understand the delinquency/default risks associated with their most-recent borrowers.” The Department notes that institutions are expected to enhance their communication and counseling efforts to mitigate repayment risks and uphold the integrity of Title IV programs. 

    Topics:

    Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Students

  • Date:

    Department of Education Dear Colleague Letter on One Big Beautiful Bill Provisions (Jul. 18, 2025)

    U.S. Department of Education (the Department) published a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) outlining the immediate implementation of several higher education provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB). The first provision eliminates the requirement that borrowers have a partial financial hardship to qualify for enrollment in an income-based repayment plan (IBR). Currently, a borrower is considered to have a partial financial hardship if the payment amount calculated under a standard 10-year repayment plan exceeds the amount calculated under IBR. The second provision permits borrowers who repaid a Parent PLUS loan with a consolidation loan to enroll in an IBR plan. The third provision explains that available loan amounts for students who are enrolled less than full-time during the academic year have been reduced and the Department is currently developing the schedule of reductions that is required by the OBBB and will submit it for public comment later this year. The fourth provision creates amendments to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program and now allows for payments made under a newly created Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) to count toward loan forgiveness. RAP is intended to go into effect no later than July 1, 2026. The fifth provision announces that OBBB has delayed implementation of the Biden Administration’s Borrower Defense to Repayment regulations. For loans originating before July 1, 2035, the previous Trump Administration’s Borrower Defense to Repayment regulations that were effective July 1, 2020 will be effective as if the regulations were never amended. Finally, OBBB has delayed implementation of the Biden Administration’s Closed School Loan Discharge regulations. The Closed School Discharge regulations that were effective July 1, 2020 will be effective as if the regulations were never amended. The DCL concludes that additional information about these updates will be published in the coming weeks and months ahead.  

    Topics:

    Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Higher Education Act (HEA) | Students

  • Date:

    Clarification of Federal Public Benefits Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (Jul. 11, 2025)

    The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) has issued a new interpretive rule in response to Executive Order (E.O.) 14218 “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders”, clarifying that federally funded programs providing postsecondary education, adult education, and career and technical education are “federal public benefits” under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). Recipients of federal funds must verify immigration status unless the benefits fall under the protected category of “basic public education” as established in Plyler v. Doe, which applies only to K–12 education for undocumented individuals. The Department rescinded its previous 1997 guidance, reasoning that it narrowly interpreted PRWORA and failed to account for Congress’s broader intent; emphasizing that Plyler does not apply to adults, post-secondary education, or dual enrollment programs that go beyond basic public education. Grantees administering such programs should comply with immigration verification requirements using approved methods like the DHS SAVE system to ensure they do not benefit non-qualifying individuals. However, nonprofit charitable organizations remain exempt from verification under 8 U.S.C. § 1642(d). This interpretive rule is non-binding and does not require formal reporting, however, the Department has noted that such information “may be referenced when enforcing or monitoring grantee and subgrantee compliance with PRWORA.” Finally, grantees may have received a memorandum with additional details.

    Topics:

    Admissions | Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) | Employment of Foreign Nationals | Faculty & Staff | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Immigration | International Students | Students

  • Date:

    HHS Rescission of 1998 interpretation of Personal and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Jul. 10, 2025)

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it has formally rescinded the 1998 interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), reasoning that it improperly extended certain federal public benefits to illegal aliens. The newly revised list of programs now classified as “federal public benefits” under PRWORA include: Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), Head Start, Health Center Program, Health Workforce Programs not otherwise previously covered (including grants, loans, scholarships, payments, and loan repayments), Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment, Prevention, and Recovery Support Services Programs administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness Grant Program, Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant, Title IV-E Educational and Training Voucher Program, Title IV-E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program, Title IV-E Prevention Services Program, and Title X Family Planning Program. The policy change is intended to align with Executive Order (E.O.) 14218 “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” and in alignment with the Department of Education’s new interpretive rule rescinding the previous 1997 Dear Colleague Letter on PRWORA.  

    Topics:

    Campus Police, Safety, & Crisis Management | Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) | Disability Discrimination | Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Distressed & Suicidal Students | Employee Benefits | Employment of Foreign Nationals | Faculty & Staff | Health Care & Insurance | Immigration | International Students | Sexual Misconduct | Students

  • Date:

    Department of Education Announces Information on Financial Aid Reallocation and Federal Work-Study Funds (Jul. 10, 2025)

    U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid announced information on the reallocation process of financial aid, availability of the 2024-25 Campus-Based Reallocation Form, and action that institutions need to take to request supplemental funds for the 2025-26 academic year. The 2024-25 Campus-Based Reallocation Form is now available on the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) website. The announcement instructs institutions to examine their current expenditures under Federal Work-Study (FWS) and/ or Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant programs (FSEOG) to determine whether there will be any unexpended funds available from 2024-25 allocations. The deadline for when an institution must submit its 2024-2025 Campus-Based Reallocation Form is August 20, 2025 and must be completed if an institution does not intend to spend its entire 2024-25 FWS or FSEOG allocation, or an institution wants to request supplemental 2025-26 FWS funds that will be used only for the purpose of employing students in community service jobs and the school had an FWS fair share shortfall. 

    Topics:

    Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Students

  • Date:

    One Big Beautiful Bill Act Signed into Law (July 04, 2025)

    On July 4, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Act (H.R. 1), effectuating a significant legislative overhaul of federal higher education policy, student financial aid, and related tax and entitlement programs. The statute enacts broad modifications across Pell Grant eligibility, federal student loan programs, institutional accountability standards, endowment tax restructuring, and introduces extensive changes to the Medicaid program. 

    Topics:

    Endowments & Gifts | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Students | Taxes & Finances

  • Date:

    Department of Education Concluded Negotiated Rulemaking Session to Restore Public Service Loan Forgiveness (Ju. 2, 2025)

    The U.S Department of Education (the Department) announced that it concluded its negotiated rulemaking session to ensure that employers in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) are not engaging in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose. The Department made 15 substantive changes to the regulatory language based on feedback from negotiators. The draft regulatory language would amend PSLF and revise the definition of a qualified employer, define activities that have a substantial illegal purpose, establish when a qualifying employer has engaged in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose, address the impact on a borrower’s eligibility for cancellation, and give employers notice and ability to respond to the Department’s findings. The Department explained that illegal activities include: illegal immigration, terrorism, chemical and surgical castration or mutilation of children, child trafficking, illegal discrimination, and a pattern of violating state laws as a threat to our national security and to the social and economic stability of the United States. The Department is now drafting an NPRM for publication in the Federal Register for public comment.  

    Topics:

    Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Students

  • Date:

    U.S. Department of Education Resolution Agreement with the University of Pennsylvania on Title IX Violations (Jul. 1, 2025)

    U.S. Department of Education announced a Resolution Agreement with the University of Pennsylvania to comply with Title IX. Following an investigation into the University by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in February 2025, OCR found that the University violated Title IX by allowing a male student athlete to compete in women’s sports and access female-only facilities. By entering into the Resolution Agreement, the University has agreed to (i) restore Division I swimming records and titles to affected female athletes; (ii) issue a statement that the University forbids males from competing in sports and accessing “female-only intimate facilities”; (iii) prominently publish the statement on the University’s main website and on all women’s athletics websites; (iv) adopt biology-based definitions for the words “male” and “female” pursuant to Title IX and President Trump’s Executive Orders, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism” and “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”; (v) rescind any polices and guidance that violate Title IX; and (vi) issue personalized letters of apology to the impacted athletes. 

    Topics:

    Athletics & Sports | Gender Equity in Athletics | Student Athlete Issues | Students | Title IX & Student Sexual Misconduct

  • Date:

    FAFSA to Launch October 1, 2025 (June 25, 2025)

    U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced that it plans to launch the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on October 1, 2025, which includes two major improvements. Real-time Identity verification will be available beginning in August, striking the prior 1-3 day waiting period, and a simplified contributor invite process has been introduced, requiring only an email invitation. As a result, parents and guardians no longer need to register on StudentAid.gov or obtain a unique Contributor ID. As part of the rollout, the Department will again conduct a beta-testing phase, during which FAFSA will be made available to a limited number of school districts starting in August 2025, and during which test Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) will be sent to colleges. The Department encourages institutions to reach out if any issues occur with the ISIRs in order to improve the rollout.

    Topics:

    Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Students

NACUA Annual Conference

Join us in the Music City June 29 – July 2 to connect, learn, and lead alongside higher education attorneys shaping policy, practice, and impact nationwide together.

Register