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On Thursday morning, the House passed an amended version of its reconciliation bill by a vote of 215-214, with one member voting present. The final bill came together in the early hours of Thursday morning, with the Rules Committee conducting a markup over 22 hours, enabling Republicans to finalize their text. However, the amendment to the bill does not change the education-related portions of the text from what the House Education & Workforce Committee approved. The measure now heads to the Senate, where the chamber is likely to amend the bill and send it back to the House for another vote before possible enactment. This is a developing story; stay tuned to Today’s News for more coverage and see our Reconciliation Web Center for more details.

As the House begins the process of drafting its budget for fiscal year (FY) 2026 by gathering testimony from administration officials, Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Wednesday defended President Donald Trump’s “skinny” budget proposal, which makes several cuts to campus-based aid and other Department of Education (ED) programs, during an appropriations hearing focused on education-related funding.

NASFAA, along with over a dozen higher education organizations, signed onto a letter strongly opposing the House’s reconciliation bill, writing that if enacted, the bill would put college out of reach for hundreds of thousands of students and significantly increase costs for remaining students, among other issues. The letter, sent to House leadership and led by the American Council on Education (ACE), noted several issues with the reconciliation bill, including the eligibility changes to the Pell Grant program, terminating the subsidized loan program for undergraduate students, and terminating the Grad PLUS Program. The organizations wrote that they stand ready to work with Congress to rectify issues with the current legislation. As a reminder, NASFAA is calling on its members to contact their representatives on how this bill impacts their students. 

No. NASFAA has confirmed with the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that the Student Aid Index (SAI) is not considered federal tax information (FTI), and ED has no plans to reclassify it as FTI. On February 11, 2025, Electronic Announcement GENERAL-23-34 did update the list of what is considered FTI to include certain intermediate values and derived FTI values listed on the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR), but it does not include the SAI. View the full answer to this question to learn more.

With the Department of Education’s (ED) recent reminder about schools’ responsibilities to support borrowers at risk of default, many of our members have inquired about what their colleagues are doing to communicate effectively with students. If your institution has developed outreach content – such as email templates, FAQs, social media templates, counseling scripts, or loan repayment guides – we encourage you to share them with the community. Identifying information about your institution will be removed before publishing the materials. Submissions will be made available to members via our Community Resource Library.

Launching and sustaining a Prison Education Program (PEP) requires more than just collaboration with the financial aid office — though that's often where the process begins. In this dynamic webinar, on May 29 at 2 p.m. ET, we'll spotlight the often-overlooked — but absolutely critical — roles of the admissions office and the registrar's office. Join representatives from AACRAO (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers) and NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling), along with NASFAA, as we explore how these partnerships can empower your institution to build a more effective, collaborative, and sustainable PEP. Reserve your seat today!

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