Education Overhaul Underway: New Guidance, Loan Changes, and Workforce Priorities

This week’s top story: The U.S. Department of Education has just issued new guidance to expand school choice options nationwide, a move expected to have ripple effects from classrooms to state budgets and even higher education. According to an official release, the Department’s August 21 announcement centers on “equitable service school choice”—building on recent legislative changes to provide more ways for families to select the best educational fit for their children.

This comes on the heels of historic developments driven by President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which overhauled federal education law this summer and set the path for ongoing regulatory overhauls. The Department is currently launching negotiated rulemaking panels, including the Reimagining and Improving Student Education—RISE—Committee, which will tackle student loan changes and streamline Pell Grant access. Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron put it directly: “This new law will force colleges and universities to focus more on post-graduation outcomes, facilitate more workforce pathways, make student loans simpler for borrowers, and ensure taxpayers are not forced to pick up the bill for mass student loan forgiveness.”

But the Department isn’t acting from a position of strength. Following deep staffing and budget cuts—now down to about 2,000 employees, half last year’s total—federal processing delays have hit everything from financial aid to civil rights investigations. College leaders and experts, like ACE President Ted Mitchell, warn that with fewer staff and resources but new federal mandates, “higher education will largely be flying blind.” At the same time, the summer’s funding freeze left billions promised to public schools in limbo for weeks. While the funds are now approved for release, state and local leaders still face uncertainty about when and how dollars will land in district accounts—making planning for the new school year unusually difficult.

For American families, the school choice expansion may translate to more voucher programs or Education Savings Accounts, giving parents latitude to pay for private or out-of-district schools. However, groups like the National Education Association are raising red flags: their research shows most vouchers go to families already attending private schools, diverting public dollars from the 90 percent of students in public classrooms and potentially deepening inequity.

For businesses and higher ed institutions, the new accountability measures and workforce-focused Pell changes promise a shift toward outcomes-based funding and stronger demand for graduate employability data. But with delayed federal grants and slower Department response times, many warn of short-term confusion and resource gaps.

State and local governments will need to adjust funding streams, compliance protocols, and support mechanisms for their colleges and K-12 districts. International partners, too, are watching carefully as the U.S. revises rules for student visas and increases scrutiny on international programs—a trend already creating instability across campuses.

Mark your calendars for virtual public hearings in September and November on federal student loan policy and Pell Grants. Citizens, educators, and advocates can submit feedback directly during these sessions; the Department will also issue further drafts for public comment after committee meetings in December and January.

For more details or to weigh in, visit ed.gov and look for the “RISE” and “AHEAD” committee pages. As always—thanks for tuning in. For the latest in federal education news, subscribe and stay connected. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This week's top story. The US Department of Education has
just issued new guidance to expand school choice options nationwide,
a move expected to have ripple effects from classrooms to
state budgets, and even higher education. According to an official release,
the Department's August twenty first announcement centers on equitable service

(00:20):
school choice, building on recent legislative changes to provide more
ways for families to select the best educational fit for
their children. This comes on the heels of historic developments
driven by President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which
overhauled federal education law this summer and set the path
for ongoing regulatory overhauls. The Department is currently launching negotiated

(00:42):
rulemaking panels, including the Reimagining and Improving Student Education RISE Committee,
which will tackle student loan changes in streamlined pelgrant access.
Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron put it directly, this new
law will force colleges and universities to focus more on
postgraduation outcomes, facilitate more workforce pathways, make student loans simpler

(01:04):
for borrowers, and ensure taxpayers are not forced to pick
up the bill for mass student loan forgiveness. But the
department isn't acting from a position of strength following deep
staffing and budget cuts, now down to about two thousand
employees half last year's total. Federal processing delays have hit
everything from financial aid to civil rights investigations. College leaders

(01:26):
and experts like ACE president Ted Mitchell warned that with
fewer staff and resources but new federal mandates, higher education
will largely be flying blithe At the same time, the
summer's funding freeze left billions promised to public schools in
limbo for weeks. While the funds are now approved for release,
state and local leaders still face uncertainty about when and

(01:47):
how dollars will land in district accounts, making planning for
the new school year unusually difficult for American families. The
school choice expansion may translate to more voucher programs or
education savings accounts, giving parents its latitude to pay for
private or out of district schools. However, groups like the
National Education Association are raising red flags. Their research shows

(02:08):
most vouchers go to families already attending private schools, diverting
public dollars from the ninety percent of students in public
classrooms and potentially deepening inequity for businesses and high ED institutions.
The new accountability measures and workforce focused pell changes promise
a shift toward outcomes based funding and strong to demand

(02:29):
for graduate employability data, but with delayed federal grants and
slower department response times, many warn of short term confusion
and resource gaps. State and local governments will need to
adjust funding streams, compliance protocols, and support mechanisms for their
colleges and K twelve districts. International partners, too, are watching

(02:49):
carefully as the US revises rules for student visas and
increases scrutiny on international programs, a trend already creating instability
across campuses. Mark your calendars for virtual public hearings in
September and November on federal student loan policy and pelgrants. Citizens, educators,
and advocates can submit feedback directly during these sessions. The

(03:12):
Department will also issue further drafts for public comment after
committee meetings and December and January. For more details or
to weigh in, visit ED dot gov and look for
the Rise and Ahead committee pages. As always, thanks for
tuning in for the latest and federal education news. Subscribe
and stay connected this has been a quiet please production.

(03:34):
For more check out Quiet please dot ai