The Labor Law Insider - Recent U.S. Supreme Court, NLRB Decisions Highlight Labor Issues in Higher Education, Part II
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (the “Act”), which recently became law, makes significant changes to federal financial aid programs administered under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (“HEA”). These changes...more
Congress is deepening its scrutiny of U.S. universities that have academic partnerships with Chinese institutions, emphasizing concerns over national security and the use of federal research funding. A series of congressional...more
On May 19, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced via a memo titled “Civil Rights Fraud Initiative” (the Memo) an initiative to use the False Claims Act (FCA) against federal contractors and recipients of federal funds...more
The Trump Administration’s effort to remake the Federal government’s relationship with Higher Ed and research grantees continues to gather steam, and an unprecedented recent letter to Harvard presages a potentially new front:...more
On April 23, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to stop accrediting organizations from including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requirements as part of accreditation standards....more
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
On April 23, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at increasing transparency with respect to foreign funding at U.S. colleges and universities. This move comes in response to what the Administration has...more
Higher educational institutions have experienced outsized attention in the early days of the second Trump Administration. A trio of three recent executive orders suggests that the Administration’s focus on higher education is...more
On April 23, President Donald Trump issued an executive order revamping federal engagement with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). ...more
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
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has declined to sign a certification form issued by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), which asked all state education agencies to affirm compliance with federal...more
On February 14, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued a new "Dear Colleague" letter to "clarify and reaffirm the nondiscrimination obligations of schools and other entities that receive federal financial assistance...more
By now, the Supreme Court's June 2023 Students for Fair Admissions decision overturning affirmative action precedent, which Venable wrote about here, and has prompted institutions of higher education (IHEs) to review their...more
Our Education Team studies how a change to the 90/10 Rule will affect how for-profit institutions will count federal funding in the 90/10 calculation. The Moran–Carper Amendment to the American Rescue Plan significantly...more
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) recently announced that it is launching an investigation into the foreign gifts reporting practices of two higher education institutions. ...more
On August 24, 2018, the Ninth Circuit addressed the Supreme Court’s decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar, holding that Escobar sets forth the exclusive test for establishing FCA liability under...more
Instructor. Regular. Substantive. Those three words, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education (“ED”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”), resulted in OIG’s recent recommendation that Western Governors University (“WGU”)...more
Federal funding is the grand prize for higher education research institutions. Each year, the federal government pumps hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants and awards into the university system. These funds are...more