Cases & Developments - National Association of College and University Attorneys

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Date:
7/10/2025
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it has formally rescinded the 1998 interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), reasoning that it improperly extended certain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:
7/10/2025
U.S. Department of Agriculture Adopts New Interpretation of “Federal Public Benefit” Under Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) (Jul. 10, 2025)
The Department of Agriculture (USDA or “the Department”) has released a notice outlining its updated interpretation of the term “federal public benefit” under 8 U.S.C. § 1611, as defined in Title IV of PRWORA. This change aims to restrict access to federal public benefits for individuals who do not qualify as “qualified aliens” under PRWORA, a category that includes lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, and certain other humanitarian immigrants, but excludes undocumented individuals, most Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, and temporary visa holders—absent specific statutory exceptions. Now adopting a plain-meaning approach, the USDA interprets “federal public benefit” broadly to encompass any grant, loan, contract, or license issued by a USDA agency or funded through federal appropriations, without regard to the program’s purpose. This includes direct aid as well as subgrants, subcontracts, indirect recipients, and SNAP-authorized retailers. In conjunction with this notice, the USDA issued the “American First Memorandum for USDA Arrangements and Research Security;” this directive mandates a comprehensive USDA-wide review of current relationships, funding, and arrangements with foreign entities by August 7th. The directive establishes a new justification process and security protocols to ensure USDA resources exclusively support American interests and prevent “the expenditure of American taxpayer funds to help foreign competitors out-produce, out-compete, and out-innovate the United States.” 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:
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) | Employment of Foreign Nationals | Faculty & Staff | Immigration | International Students
Date:
7/10/2025
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:
7/9/2025
Department of Education Reminder of FVT/GE Required Reporting for the 2025 Cycle (July, 9 2025)
The U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid issued a reminder to institutions of higher education that Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) data reporting for the 2025 cycle began on July 1, 2025, and runs through October 1, 2025. Notably, the deadline for the 2024 cycle for reporting and the evaluation of the Completers List was extended to September 30, 3025, and the draft Completers List for the 2025 cycle will be generated shortly following. Institutions will have at least 60 days to make any corrections to their data after the list is issued. The announcement included several resources for institutions in compiling their data.
Topics:
Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Program Integrity & Gainful Employment
Date:
7/9/2025
Reminder of FVT GE Required Reporting for the 2025 Cycle (Jul. 9, 2025)
The deadline for the 2023-24 data cycle for Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) data reporting and the evaluation of the Completers List is due September 30, 2025. Additionally, reporting for the 2024-25 award year is due by October 1, 2025.
Topics:
Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Program Integrity & Gainful Employment
Date:
7/4/2025
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:
7/2/2025
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:
7/1/2025
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:
7/1/2025
Krasno v. Mnookin (7th Cir. Aug. 1, 2025)
Opinion Reversing and Remanding. Plaintiff, a former student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison brought First Amendment claims against the University after it had hidden several of her comments online. Plaintiff, while a student at the University, worked as a primate caretaker through the University’s research center and went on to become an animal rights advocate, using social media to highlight her experiences as a researcher. In 2020, plaintiff began commenting on the University’s social media posts, writing things such as “stop exploiting animals. Get with the future and the future is consistent anti-oppression. Shut down the labs and eat plants!” Plaintiff also responded to other comments, explaining that she used to work in one of the University’s labs. The University restricted plaintiff’s Instagram account, which hid all of her comments on the University’s posts and explained that it had noticed “a consistent pattern of off-topic comments.” The restriction was later removed, though her hidden comments were never unhidden. In 2021, the district court denied summary judgment for plaintiff and found in favor of the University, “finding nonpublic and limited public forums substantively equivalent . . . [and] the comment threads attached to the University’s posts were nonpublic forums, such that any restrictions to speech were required to be reasonable and viewpoint neutral.” On appeal, the Seventh Circuit agreed with the district court that the interactive comment threads attached to the University’s posts are limited public forums but disagreed that the University’s reasoning for hiding plaintiff’s comments was reasonable. The Court concluded that the comments made by plaintiff were private speech and “the University’s minimal involvement in shaping the comments on its comment threads weighs against finding that the comments constitute the University’s speech.” Further, the Court found that “the University’s ill-defined off-topic comment rule is neither reasonable nor viewpoint neutral” and found it to be unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
Topics:
Constitutional Issues | First Amendment & Free Speech | Social Media
Date:
6/30/2025
HHS OCR Notice of Title VI Violation Against Harvard University (June 30, 2025)
The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced its determination that Harvard University violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by acting with deliberate indifference to the severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive harassment of Jewish and Israeli students resulting in a hostile environment on campus. OCR identified that beginning in October 2023 to the present, the University failed to adequately address harassment including threats, vandalism, and physical intimidation targeting Jewish and Israeli students. OCR relied on the University’s policies and procedures, conclusions from the University’s internal Task Force, findings from U.S. Congressional Task Force, and media reports in arriving at its determination. OCR concluded that the University had substantial control over the students who committed the harassment as well as the property where the harassment occurred, but nonetheless acted with deliberate indifference toward the affected students. Finally, OCR found that the University neglected to control protests and enforce consistent disciplinary measures, denied the harmed students’ equal access to educational opportunities and safe access to campus facilities, and harmed students’ overall physical and emotional wellbeing on campus. OCR noted that the findings from this investigation do not address the current ongoing investigation into the Harvard Law Review.
Topics:
Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Race and National Origin Discrimination

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