Proposed Rule2025-13998
Public Hearing; Negotiated Rulemaking Committees
Primary source
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Published
July 25, 2025
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
We announce our intention to establish two negotiated rulemaking committees to prepare regulations for the Federal student financial assistance programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended (Title IV, HEA programs). One committee will consider changes to the Federal student loan programs and the other committee will consider changes to institutional and programmatic accountability, the Pell Grant Program, and other changes to the Title IV, HEA programs. This rulemaking is necessary to implement recent statutory changes to the Title IV, HEA programs included in Pub. L. 119-21, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, that President Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025, as well as to implement other Administration priorities. Prior to submitting draft regulations to the negotiated rulemaking process, the Department invites the public to provide advice and recommendations addressing the implementation of the changes to the Title IV, HEA programs included in Pub. L. 119-21 during a virtual public hearing that will be held on August 7, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time. As part of the hearing record, the Department will also accept written comments providing advice and recommendations on the implementation of the changes to the Title IV, HEA programs included in Pub. L. 119-21 through August 25, 2025.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 141 (Friday, July 25, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 141 (Friday, July 25, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35261-35264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-13998]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter VI
[Docket ID ED-2025-0151]
Public Hearing; Negotiated Rulemaking Committees
AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.
ACTION: Intent to establish negotiated rulemaking committees.
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SUMMARY: We announce our intention to establish two negotiated
rulemaking committees to prepare regulations for the Federal student
financial assistance programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher
Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended (Title IV, HEA programs). One
committee will consider changes to the Federal student loan programs
and the other committee will consider changes to institutional and
programmatic accountability, the Pell Grant Program, and other changes
to the Title IV, HEA programs.
This rulemaking is necessary to implement recent statutory changes
to the Title IV, HEA programs included in Pub. L. 119-21, known as the
One Big Beautiful Bill Act, that President Trump signed into law on
July 4, 2025, as well as to implement other Administration priorities.
Prior to submitting draft regulations to the negotiated rulemaking
process, the Department invites the public to provide advice and
recommendations addressing the implementation of the changes to the
Title IV, HEA programs included in Pub. L. 119-21 during a virtual
public hearing that will be held on August 7, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to
noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time. As part of the hearing
record, the Department will also accept written comments providing
advice and recommendations on the implementation of the changes to the
Title IV, HEA programs included in Pub. L. 119-21 through August 25,
2025.
DATES: The dates, times, and locations for the virtual public hearing
and the schedule for negotiations are listed under the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document. The Department will accept
written comments providing advice and recommendations for the hearing
record via the Federal eRulemaking portal through August 25, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
at <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>. The Department will not accept comments submitted
by fax or by email or comments submitted after the comment period
closes. To ensure we do not receive duplicate copies, please submit
your comments only once. Additionally, please include the Docket ID at
the top of your comments.
Information on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for
submitting comments, is available on the site under ``FAQ.'' If you
require an accommodation or cannot otherwise submit your comments via
Regulations.gov, please contact <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d0a2b5b7a5bcb1a4b9bfbea3b8b5bca0b4b5a3bb90b7a3b1feb7bfa6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="deacbbb9abb2bfaab7b1b0adb6bbb2aebabbadb59eb9adbff0b9b1a8">[email protected]</span></a> or by phone
at 1-866-498-2945. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech
disability and wish to access telecommunications relay services, please
dial 7-1-1.
Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments
received from members of the public available for public viewing in
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. Therefore, commenters should only include in their
comments information that they wish to make publicly available.
Additionally, commenters should not include in their comments any
personally identifiable information on other individuals. The
Department reserves the right to redact at any time any personally
identifiable information in comments about other individuals.
Mass Writing Campaigns: In instances where individual submissions
appear to be duplicates or near duplicates of
[[Page 35262]]
comments prepared as part of a writing campaign, the Department will
post one representative sample comment along with the total comment
count for that campaign to Regulations.gov. The Department will
consider these comments along with all other comments received.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information about
negotiated rulemaking, see the Frequently Asked Questions section of
the Negotiated Rulemaking Process for Title IV regulations website at:
<a href="https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/negotiated-rulemaking-process-title-iv-regulations-frequently-asked-questions">https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/negotiated-rulemaking-process-title-iv-regulations-frequently-asked-questions</a>.
For information about the virtual public hearing, or for additional
information about negotiated rulemaking, contact: Tamy Abernathy, U.S.
Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, 400
Maryland Avenue SW, 5th floor, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202)
245-4595. Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7b351e1c291e1c352b2936331e170b3b1e1f551c140d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="95dbf0f2c7f0f2dbc5c7d8ddf0f9e5d5f0f1bbf2fae3">[email protected]</span></a>.
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Hearing
We will hold a virtual public hearing on August 7, 2025, from 9:00
a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with a one-hour recess from noon to 1:00 p.m. for
interested parties to provide advice and recommendations on the
implementation of the changes to the Title IV, HEA programs enacted in
Pub. L. 119-21, as well to implement other Administration priorities.
Further information on the public hearing is available at <a href="https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/higher-education-policy/negotiated-rulemaking-for-higher-education-2025-2026">https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/higher-education-policy/negotiated-rulemaking-for-higher-education-2025-2026</a>.
Individuals who would like to speak at the virtual public hearing
must register in advance by sending an email message to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3f515a584d5a58575a5e4d5651587f5a5b11585049"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b8d6dddfcadddfd0ddd9cad1d6dff8dddc96dfd7ce">[email protected]</span></a> no later than 12:00 p.m., Eastern time, July 28,
2025. The message should include the name of the speaker, the general
topic(s) the individual would like to address, and one or more times
during the day which the individual would be available to speak. We
will attempt to accommodate each speaker, however, if we are unable to
do so, we will select speakers on a first-come, first-served basis
based on the date and time we received their email message. We will
limit each participant to three minutes. For those who need a
reasonable accommodation in order to provide a live comment during the
hearing, please see the ``Reasonable Accommodations'' section below for
information about how to make such a request.
The Department will notify registrants of the time slot reserved
for them to speak and will provide information on how to log in to the
hearing as a speaker. An individual may make only one presentation at
the virtual hearing. If we receive more registrations than we are able
to accommodate, the Department reserves the right to reject the
registration of an entity or individual that is affiliated with an
entity or individual that is already scheduled to speak, and to select
among registrants to ensure a broad range of entities and individuals
is allowed to present. If all time slots are not filled before the day
of the hearing, we will accept registrations for any remaining time
slots on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 8:00 a.m. on the
day of the virtual hearing at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3d53585a4f585a55585c4f54535a7d5859135a524b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3e505b594c5b59565b5f4c5750597e5b5a10595148">[email protected]</span></a>.
Reasonable Accommodations: The hearing will be accessible to
individuals with disabilities. Information for contacting the
Department to request auxiliary aids or services to provide a live
comment will be included in the registration process for speaking at
the hearing. If you will need an auxiliary aid or service to provide
your comments, please notify the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT in this notice at least two weeks before the
scheduled meeting date.
Registration is also required to view the virtual hearing. American
Sign Language translation and closed captioning will be provided for
the virtual hearing. We will post registration links for attendees who
wish to observe on our website at <a href="https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/higher-education-policy/negotiated-rulemaking-for-higher-education-2025-2026">https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/higher-education-policy/negotiated-rulemaking-for-higher-education-2025-2026</a>. The Department will also
post transcripts of the hearing on that site.
The Department will accept written comments providing advice and
recommendations via the Federal eRulemaking portal through August 25,
2025. See the ADDRESSES section of this document for submission
information.
Negotiated Rulemaking
We announce our intent to develop proposed Title IV, HEA program
regulations by following the negotiated rulemaking procedures in
section 492 of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1098a). That section requires that,
after obtaining advice and recommendations from individuals and
representatives of groups involved in the Title IV, HEA programs and
before publishing any proposed regulations to implement programs
authorized under Title IV of the HEA, the Secretary prepare draft
regulations and submit such regulations to a negotiated rulemaking
process. We intend to choose members for two rulemaking committees from
individuals nominated by groups involved in the Title IV, HEA programs.
We will select participants with demonstrated experience in the
relevant subjects under negotiation, in accordance with section
492(b)(1) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1098a).
Constituency Groups for Negotiator Nominations
We have identified the following constituency groups involved in
the Title IV, HEA program regulations being negotiated by each
committee. We will choose participants for each constituency group on
the committee from individuals nominated by various organizations
within each of these constituency groups involved in the Title IV, HEA
programs.
Constituency groups which will be represented on the Reimagining
and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee addressing loan issues
will consist of the following:
<bullet> Student loan borrowers, including borrowers in school,
deferment, forbearance, delinquent, default, and currently in
repayment.
<bullet> Student loan borrowers who are veterans, U.S. military
service members, or groups representing them.
<bullet> Legal assistance organizations that represent students and
borrowers, consumer advocates, and civil rights groups that represent
students.
<bullet> State officials, including state student grant agencies,
state higher education executive officers, and representatives of state
authorizing agencies.
<bullet> Public institutions of higher education, including
institutions eligible to receive Federal assistance under Title III and
Title V of the HEA, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Historically
Black Colleges and Universities.
<bullet> Private nonprofit institutions of higher education,
including institutions eligible to receive Federal assistance under
Title III and Title V of the HEA, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and
Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
<bullet> Proprietary institutions of higher education, as defined
in 34 CFR 600.5.
<bullet> Student loan servicers, collection agencies, lenders, and
guaranty agencies.
[[Page 35263]]
<bullet> Organizations representing taxpayers and the public
interest.
Nominations for committee members serving on the RISE Committee may
be sent to the following email address:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#afc1c0c2c6c1cedbc6c0c1dcc9cacbcaddcec3dcdbdacbcac1dbc3c0cec1dcefcacb81c8c0d9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="88e6e7e5e1e6e9fce1e7e6fbeeedecedfae9e4fbfcfdecede6fce4e7e9e6fbc8edeca6efe7fe">[email protected]</span></a> by August 25, 2025. Please be
sure to include the constituency group and the RISE Committee in your
nomination.
The constituency groups for the Accountability in Higher Education
and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee
addressing institutional and program accountability, Pell Grants, and
other issues will include the following:
<bullet> Students who are currently enrolled and receiving
assistance from the Title IV, HEA programs.
<bullet> Students who are veterans, U.S. military service members
or groups representing them.
<bullet> Employers and groups representing the business community,
including small, medium, and large businesses.
<bullet> Legal assistance organizations that represent students,
consumer advocates, and civil rights groups that represent students.
<bullet> Public institutions of higher education, including
institutions eligible to receive Federal assistance under Title III and
Title V of the HEA, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Historically
Black Colleges and Universities.
<bullet> Private nonprofit institutions of higher education
including institutions eligible to receive Federal assistance under
Title III and Title V of the HEA, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and
Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
<bullet> Proprietary institutions of higher education, as defined
in 34 CFR 600.5.
<bullet> State workforce agencies and workforce development boards.
<bullet> State grant agencies, and other state and non-profit
higher education financing organizations.
<bullet> State higher education executive officers, State
authorizing agencies, and other State regulators.
<bullet> Accrediting agencies recognized by the Secretary of
Education.
<bullet> Organizations representing taxpayers and the public
interest.
Nominations for committee members serving on the AHEAD Committee
may be submitted to the following email address:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0769626075626069686a6e6966736e68697447626329606871"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="137d76746176747d7c7e7a7d72677a7c7d605376773d747c65">[email protected]</span></a> by August 25, 2025. Please be sure to include
the constituency group and the AHEAD Committee in your nomination.
A participant chosen by the Department is expected to represent the
interests of their constituency group and to participate in the
negotiations in a manner consistent with the goal of developing
proposed regulations on which the committee will reach consensus, which
means no member of the committee dissents from the proposed
regulations.
Nominations Process
We request nominations include the information described in this
section.
(1) The name of the nominee;
(2) The name of the constituency (or constituencies) for which the
nominee is being nominated (see Constituency Groups for Negotiator
Nominations);
(3) The nominee's place of employment or institution at which they
are or were enrolled and, if different, the organization the nominee
represents;
(4) A resume or evidence of the nominee's expertise and experience
in the topics proposed for negotiations;
(5) The nominee's contact information, including email address,
telephone number, and mailing address; and
(6) Committee nominated to--the RISE Committee or the AHEAD
Committee.
If you wish to nominate the same person for both committees, you
will need to submit two nominations, one to each email address.
Please see the ADDRESSES section for submission information. We
will confirm receipt of nominations to the submitter. The Department
will provide additional information to those we select to serve as
negotiators. Once complete, a list of negotiators will be posted here:
<a href="https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/higher-education-policy/negotiated-rulemaking-for-higher-education-2025-2026">https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/higher-education-policy/negotiated-rulemaking-for-higher-education-2025-2026</a>. The Department will also provide information about how any
committee vacancies can be filled at the beginning of the first
committee meeting.
Schedule for Negotiations
The RISE Committee will meet in-person for two multi-day sessions
on the following dates:
Session 1: September 29, September 30, October 1, October 2, and
October 3, 2025.
Session 2: November 3, November 4, November 5, November 6, and
November 7, 2025.
The AHEAD Committee will meet in-person for two multi-day sessions
on the following dates:
Session 1: December 8, December 9, December 10, December 11, and
December 12, 2025.
Session 2: January 5, January 6, January 7, January 8, and January
9, 2026.
The committees will meet each day from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. During these times, the committees
may temporarily recess for caucuses or work sessions to develop new
regulatory language for consideration by the full committee.
The meetings will be conducted in person and be available for the
public to watch in person or via livestream on the internet.
Registration is required to observe the meetings in person or via
livestream. Space may be limited for the in-person meetings. We will
post a registration link on our website at <a href="https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/higher-educationpolicy/negotiated-rulemaking-for-higher-education-2025-2026">https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/higher-educationpolicy/negotiated-rulemaking-for-higher-education-2025-2026</a> no later than one
week prior to the start of negotiations for each committee. Please note
any in-person visitors to the Department must present a driver's
license (DL) or identification (ID) that is compliant with the REAL ID
Act; a current military ID; or a valid passport. Those persons not in
possession of a DL/ID that is REAL ID compliant, a current military ID,
or a valid passport, will not be allowed to enter the building. The
Department will also post recordings and transcripts of the meetings on
the site listed above.
Regulatory Issues
We intend to prepare draft regulations implementing changes to the
Title IV, HEA programs included in Public Law 119-21 and any other
topics presented at the public hearing, and to submit such regulations
to the negotiated rulemaking process in each committee prior to
publishing proposed regulations in the Federal Register.
The proposed issues for negotiation in the RISE Committee include:
1. Phase-out of graduate and professional PLUS Loans.
2. Establishment of new annual loan limits for graduate and
professional students and parent borrowers, and implementation of new
lifetime borrowing caps.
3. Simplification of student loan repayment plans into a standard
repayment plan and a single income-based Repayment Assistance Plan
(RAP) for new borrowers, elimination of the Income-Contingent Repayment
(ICR) plan, and streamlining requirements for Income-Based Repayment
plans for existing borrowers.
4. Institutional flexibility to apply lower annual limits for
student and parent borrowers for selected programs of study.
5. Modifications to loan rehabilitation, including allowing
defaulted borrowers to rehabilitate their loans a second time and
setting
[[Page 35264]]
minimum monthly payment amounts for such loans, phase-out of
unemployment and economic hardship deferments, and limitations on a
borrower's ability to receive a general forbearance.
6. Other provisions included in Public Law 119-21 that are
effective upon enactment, on July 1, 2026, on July 1, 2027, or on July
1, 2028.
The proposed issues for negotiation in the AHEAD Committee include:
1. Changes in institutional and programmatic accountability
measures, including loss of Direct Loan eligibility for certain
programs with low earnings outcomes for 2 out of 3 years, and Financial
Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
2. Establishment of program eligibility requirements for a new
Workforce Pell Grant for students enrolled in programs that last a
duration of 8-15 weeks, are transferable to a recognized postsecondary
credential or degree, are approved by the state governor, and have
strong outcomes.
3. Exclusion of Pell Grant assistance for students who receive
grant or scholarship aid covering their entire cost of attendance or
for students with a Student Aid Index in excess of twice the maximum
Pell Grant award.
4. Other provisions included in Public Law 119-21 that are
effective upon enactment, on July 1, 2026, on July 1, 2027, or on July
1, 2028.
Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file,
braille, large print, audiotape, compact disc, or other accessible
format.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of
Federal Regulations at <a href="http://www.govinfo.gov">www.govinfo.gov</a>. At that site you can view this
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published
in the Federal Register, in text or portable document format (PDF). To
use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available for
free on the site. You may also access documents of the Department
published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature
at <a href="http://www.federalregister.gov">www.federalregister.gov</a>. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C 1098a.
James P. Bergeron,
Acting Under Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-13998 Filed 7-24-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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