On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, a new enforcement strategy aimed at leveraging the False Claims Act to hold colleges, universities, government contractors, and...more
According to a memorandum issued on May 19, 2025, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) will use the False Claims Act as a tool to enforce federal civil rights laws. The new policy memo has serious potential implications for...more
On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of a Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which will use the False Claims Act (FCA) as a basis for investigating the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)...more
Federal officials on Monday launched a new Civil Rights Fraud Initiative aimed at schools receiving federal funding, the next step in the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement posture against transgender rights, DEI,...more
Overview - On March 11, 2025, the Department of Education (ED or the Department) effectively fired a substantial portion of its employees, marking a significant step in what Secretary Linda McMahon has called the...more
At least forty-four states have enacted laws prohibiting hazing. However, the regulations, penalties, and requirements vary significantly by state. The enactment of the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act (SCHA) exemplifies the...more
President Trump issued an executive order on January 21, 2025 that, among other things, revokes Executive Order 11246, ending the long-standing practice of requiring federal government contractors to take and report on...more
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
In December, we informed you that the Stop Campus Hazing Act (the Act) was sent to the President after it was passed by both the House and Senate. President Biden signed the Act on December 23, 2024. ...more
On July 1, 2024, revised regulations governing federal student financial assistance programs became effective. The regulations, which can be found at 34 C.F.R. 668.23(d), require institutions that participate in the federal...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
On October 31, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) published in the Federal Register a Final Rule that significantly revises the financial responsibility, administrative capability and certification requirements...more
In this final edition of the year, we cover the following issues of import for educational institutions: - CFPB scrutiny of college-sponsored financial products; - Changes ahead for Title IV program participants and...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
Department of Education’s New Guidance on Personal Liability Requirements Leaves Uncertainty for Institutions - On March 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (“DOE”) released guidance related to the instances in which...more
With only four months left before most changes to the federal Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information (“Safeguards Rule”) – a component of the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (“GLBA”) that provides for the protection of...more
The US Department of Education (ED) has issued an update to its March 5 guidance for interruptions of study related to COVID-19. The updated information is included as an attachment to the March 5 guidance, containing 10...more
On 5 March 2020, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) published an electronic announcement to provide guidance on compliance with federal student financial aid (Title IV) requirements in connection with students for whom...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 1 November the U.S. Department of Education (ED) published a final rule that addresses topics related to two prongs of the regulatory triad: accreditation and state authorization. In this alert, we address certain aspects...more
The new Audit Guide for Title IV compliance audits includes numerous, expanded requirements for accounting firms to use in conducting required annual audits. The Audit Guide applies to Title IV compliance audits for fiscal...more
Last week, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that it had analyzed data released by the U.S. Department of Education (“ED”) and concluded that 177 private colleges and universities failed ED’s financial responsibility...more
In December 2016, the Secretary of Education issued a decision adopting the decision of the Department of Education’s Senior Department Official terminating and withdrawing the Department’s recognition of the Accrediting...more
Colleges and universities receive billions of dollars in federal funds, whether through research grants or student financial aid, or even by billing Medicare or Medicaid for services rendered at academic medical centers. As a...more
The US Department of Education ("ED" or "the Department") has decided against an earlier plan to send letters to every institution believed to be out-of-compliance (or rather, located in a state that is considered...more