Capitol Advocacy Partners Weekly Update 10/13/2025
President and Administration:
Administration says immigration enforcement threatens higher food prices: The administration acknowledged that its immigration crackdown is hurting farmers and could raise food prices by cutting off agriculture’s labor supply. In a document filed with the Federal Register, the Department of Labor warned that the “near total cessation of the inflow of illegal aliens” threatens the stability of U.S. food production and prices for consumers….
1 in 3 Republicans say Trump is improperly enriching himself: A new Pew Research Center survey shows growing unease among Americans, including Republicans, over President Trump’s use of power and personal enrichment. While 89% of Democrats believe Trump has improperly used his office to benefit himself, 31% of Republicans and 61% of independents now share that view, up from 23% of Republicans in 2019. Nearly half of U.S. adults (49%) say…
California:
Newsom expands access to mental health treatment through CARE Court: California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 27, expanding eligibility for the state’s CARE (Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment) Court program, which provides court-supervised mental health treatment for individuals with serious mental illness…
California as first state offering phone bill discounts to undocumented immigrants: California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1303, making California the first state positioned to offer undocumented immigrants access to state-run phone bill discounts through the LifeLine program. The law, authored by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia…
Education:
Senate Republicans approve top Education Department nominees: On Tuesday (10/7), Senate Republicans approved a slate of top Education Department nominees as part of an en bloc consideration of 108 of President Trump’s nominees. The confirmations passed by a 51–47 party-line vote…
Appeals court refuses to block Trump’s Title IX funding change: A federal appeals court has refused to block the administration’s funding restrictions on Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, marking a setback for one of the first districts to challenge the administration’s new Title IX enforcement. The Education Department placed Fairfax on “reimbursement only”…
Ed. Dept. workers’ union sues over emails blaming Democrats for shutdown: The American Federation of Government Employees has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education, alleging that the agency violated employees’ First Amendment rights by altering their out-of-office emails to blame Senate Democrats for the federal government shutdown. The complaint, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., claims that the partisan messages were inserted without staff consent, forcing employees to appear to endorse political statements. Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann…
Trump funding cuts hit particularly hard for deaf and blind children: The U.S. Department of Education has cut more than 30 special education grants worth nearly $30 million, ending funding for Braille, interpreter, and deaf-blind training programs. The administration said the programs conflicted with its policy priorities, part of a broader rollback of diversity and inclusion…
H-1B visa lawsuit alleges $100K fee will worsen teacher shortages: A coalition of education, union, and nonprofit groups has sued the administration over a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, arguing it will worsen teacher shortages…
As the LGBTQ youth population doubles, legislation targeting them triples: A new analysis by the Movement Advancement Project finds that as the number of LGBTQ-identifying youths has doubled since 2020, the number of state bills restricting their rights has tripled to about 300…
Book bans becoming the new norm for districts, report says: A new PEN America report says book bans have become routine in U.S. schools, with 6,870 instances recorded across 23 states in the 2024–25 school year. The organization warns that districts now face mounting local…
Private School Choice gets supercharged in Trump’s 2nd term: President Trump’s education agenda centers on expanding private and charter school choice while reducing federal oversight. Through executive orders and agency guidance, the administration has encouraged states to use federal funds to support school choice and loosen certain regulations. Congress…
SEL improves student grades, test performance: A new meta-analysis published by the American Educational Research Association finds that universal social emotional learning (SEL) programs significantly improve students’ grades and test scores, especially in literacy and math. Reviewing 40 studies of more than 33,000 students worldwide, researchers found the strongest…