Weekly Update 6/22/2026
Weekly Update 6/22/2026
Appropriations:
OMB nominee aligns federal grants with President’s priorities, defends controversial funding tactics: Hal Duncan, the President’s nominee for deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), told lawmakers during two Senate confirmation hearings last week that the administration will use federal grant approval processes to block funding for what it deems divisive ideologies and that he cannot commit to foregoing controversial pocket rescission tactics. Duncan said political appointees will control approval of more than one trillion dollars in annual federal grants to state and local governments, nonprofits, and educational…
President and Administration:
Education Department cuts student loan interest rates for autopay borrowers: Only 40% of federal student loan borrowers actively repaying loans currently use automatic payments, down dramatically from more than 80% pre-pandemic, prompting the Education Department to announce, on June 18, a one percentage point interest rate reduction for those enrolled in autopay effective July 1 through June 30, 2028. Borrowers must enroll in autopay by Sept. 30 to qualify if not already enrolled; those already using the payment method receive an additional 0.75 percentage-point discount on top of their existing 0.25 percentage…
Congress:
Senate Republicans show little urgency on third reconciliation bill despite President’s push: Multiple Senate aides last week said any third reconciliation bill would likely be led by the House, signaling little GOP appetite in the upper chamber despite the President’s push for a $350 billion package combining military funding with conservative policy victories. House Republican leaders and committee chairs have spent weeks discussing a new party-line measure, but the Senate has taken no concrete…
Rep. Bonamici seeks to impeach Education Secretary McMahon over program transfers: A day after the administration announced it would move programs for students with disabilities to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and civil rights enforcement to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) announced June 17 she will introduce a resolution to impeach Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Bonamici accused McMahon of making false statements to Congress…
Senate set to pass bipartisan housing affordability bill with investor restrictions: Legislation that would stop institutional investors from buying more than 350 single-family homes is now advancing toward Senate passage as part of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a comprehensive bipartisan package designed to increase housing supply and reduce home costs. The bill also enables banks to increase investments in affordable housing and eliminates the outdated “chassis rule” that required…
California:
Legislature passes budget with record 127 billion for schools and colleges: With higher revenue projections than Gov. Gavin Newsom expected, the California Legislature passed a state budget on June 18, providing several billion dollars in additional spending for TK-12 and community colleges for state FY2026-27. The Legislature's budget allocated a record $127 billion for schools and community colleges, including larger-than-required cost-of-living adjustments, $700 million for school kitchen upgrades or additions, $300 million for career and technical education, and additional funding for refugee assistance and homeless students. Chief among unresolved issues is Newsom's plan to withhold $3.9 billion in education funding until revenue projections from artificial intelligence stock…
Newsom-backed proposal: Revenue measures generate up to $5 billion annually: Revenue-raising trailer bills approved by the California State Senate on June 18 would extend a tax on managed care organizations, tighten corporate tax break caps, and expand a digital software tax, together generating up to $5 billion in ongoing annual revenues The 40-member Senate voted 27 to 9 on the measures, the minimum required for tax proposals, with Senate Budget Chair John Laird saying the changes would help prevent…
Education:
Supreme Court declines to hear student speech cases, Alito signals future action: Justice Samuel Alito urged the Supreme Court in a June 15 dissent to revisit student free speech protections after the high court declined to hear two cases involving student expression in school districts. The first case involved an Indiana high…
Lawsuit challenges Education Department's discontinuation of English learner grants: The Southern Poverty Law Center, National Education Association, and researchers sued the Education Department on June 3, challenging the discontinuation of 28 grants from the National Professional Development grant program designed…
Education Department transfers special education and civil rights functions to other agencies: The Education Department announced June 16 it is moving its office overseeing special education and employment programs for adults with disabilities to HHS under a new interagency agreement. DOJ will assume the Education Department's civil rights office, student privacy…
Trump Admin. issues waiver on school accountability, funding: The Department of Education approved its broadest Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) flexibility waiver to date, marking the first time the administration has allowed a state to modify federal high school accountability requirements. The waiver, awarded to Indiana…
The Department of Justice (DOJ) launches investigations into 43 school districts over LGBTQ+ curricula: DOJ announced this month that it is investigating 43 school districts across California, Illinois, and Michigan regarding how they teach sexuality and gender identity and whether they provide parents the option to opt their children out of lessons that conflict with religious beliefs. The four California districts under investigation are the Graves Elementary School District…