The Trump Administration stated last week that it will prioritize compliance and enforcement against colleges and universities with respect to the U.S. Department of Education (ED)'s foreign gift, contract and ownership...more
4/29/2025
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Foreign Entities ,
Foreign Investment ,
Gifts ,
Higher Education Act ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities
In light of recent enforcement activity, institutions of higher education should review their reporting and disclosure obligations related to foreign entities and individuals under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act (20...more
4/23/2025
/ Department of Education ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Federal Funding ,
Foreign Entities ,
Government Agencies ,
Higher Education Act ,
Penalties ,
Reporting Requirements
In the final days of the Biden Administration, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced a number of policy initiatives and enforcement actions related to ED's misrepresentation regulations for institutions of higher...more
1/24/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Misrepresentation ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Students ,
Title IV ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Universities
Holland & Knight previously explained how injunctions issued in many states blocked enforcement of 2024 Title IX regulations in those states (a list that eventually grew to 26 states) and how a Kansas federal district court's...more
Holland & Knight previously explained how a Kansas federal district court's unique injunction against the U.S. Department of Education's (Department) enforcement of the 2024 Title IX regulations impacted schools nationwide....more
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) finalized new regulations last year that will take effect on July 1, 2024, directly impacting mergers and acquisitions involving higher education institutions. Specifically, the...more
6/11/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Colleges ,
Compliance ,
Controlling Person ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Financial Responsibility Standards ,
Mergers ,
New Regulations ,
Personal Liability ,
Title IV ,
Universities
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) issued final rules on Oct. 24, 2023, imposing new conditions that higher education institutions must satisfy to participate in federal student aid programs under Title IV of the...more
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) has identified college closures and institutional financial instability as creating significant costs for students and taxpayers. From 2013 to 2022, the Department sought more...more
The Biden-Harris Administration on Oct. 24, 2023, issued final rules detailing important obligations for higher education institutions that receive federal funding. (Codified at 34 C.F.R. § 668 et seq.) The final regulations...more
11/8/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Colleges ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Department of Education ,
Financial Aid ,
Higher Education Act ,
New Regulations ,
Required Communications ,
Title IV ,
Transparency ,
Universities
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) issued new Gainful Employment (GE) regulations in September 2023 for the first time since 2014. These program-specific regulations impose important compliance obligations on...more
10/18/2023
/ Annual Reports ,
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) ,
Colleges ,
Compliance ,
Department of Education ,
Financial Aid ,
For Profit Education ,
Gainful Employment ,
New Rules ,
Nonprofits ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Student Loans ,
Universities
As it promised in June, the Biden Administration published much-anticipated federal guidance on higher education admissions on Aug. 14, 2023. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (ED) and U.S. Department...more
8/24/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Biden Administration ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
New Guidance ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Universities
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published on April 6, 2023, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) about sex-related criteria used to limit or deny a student's ability to participate in...more
4/24/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
College Athletes ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
NCAA ,
NPRM ,
OCR ,
Public Schools ,
Sports ,
Student Athletes ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender ,
Universities
To increase enrollments and lower operating costs, many colleges and universities oftentimes partner with outside companies to provide portions of their academic programs online or on-campus. Serious legal risks may arise...more
6/29/2022
/ Colleges ,
Compliance ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Higher Education Act ,
New Guidance ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Title IV ,
Universities
Institutions of higher education (IHEs) that received emergency relief funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act) must report certain designated information to the U.S. Secretary of...more
5/12/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Colleges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Federal Grants ,
Financial Stimulus ,
New Guidance ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Students ,
Universities
Culminating two years of negotiated rulemaking, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) published on Aug. 30, 2019, new "Institutional Accountability" regulations that apply to all federal student loans disbursed...more
11/6/2019
/ Accreditation ,
Arbitration ,
Borrower Defense Rule ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Financial Responsibility Standards ,
Misrepresentation ,
New Regulations ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Student Loans ,
Students ,
Universities
• Recently released guidance from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) confirms that both private and public institutions of higher education must report litigation, settlements and other...more
• The U.S. Department of Education (Department) on Nov. 16, 2018 proposed sweeping changes to the regulations implementing Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sexual harassment and sex discrimination.
• The newly...more
11/20/2018
/ Colleges ,
Comment Period ,
Cross Examination ,
Department of Education ,
Due Process ,
Educational Institutions ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Standard of Proof ,
Title IX ,
Universities
• The U.S. Department of Education rescinded two major Office for Civil Rights guidance documents interpreting the application of Title IX to reports of sexual misconduct.
• Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos stated that...more
10/9/2017
/ Adjudicatory Process ,
Colleges ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Interim Rule ,
Investigations ,
New Guidance ,
New Regulations ,
Notice and Comment ,
Notice Requirements ,
Secretary of Education ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Standard of Review ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
• Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has advised that the U.S. Department of Education intends to revise its guidance on the application of Title IX to reports of sexual misconduct on college and university campuses.
• DeVos...more
9/12/2017
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Due Process ,
Notice and Comment ,
Obama Administration ,
OCR ,
Public Comment ,
Secretary of Education ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Conduct ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities
Changing course on complaints involving transgender students, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently issued new field instructions to its regional staff excluding discrimination claims based...more
6/26/2017
/ Bullying ,
Colleges ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
OCR ,
Rescission ,
Rollbacks ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities
Reversing the practice under the Obama Administration, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has just issued new internal guidance changing how regional OCR offices will investigate discrimination...more
6/20/2017
/ Class Action ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
OCR ,
Race Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Students ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) published final regulations implementing the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA), including the Campus Sexual Violence Act (Campus SaVE). The regulations were...more
Educational institutions face greater legal exposure given their increasing use of online educational services – and situations where they can both collect and disclose protected information. As a result, these institutions...more
Institutions of higher education that receive Title IV funding must properly disclose certain information concerning course offerings that are or may be considered gainful employment programs by the U.S. Department of...more