News
The TRIO Digest is a weekly recap of essential news, resources, and tips for TRIO professionals. Get updates on policy, funding, success stories, and strategies to boost student success—everything you need to stay informed and make your work easier, all in one place.
August
TRIO Digest, Week 30 (July 28 - August 3, 2025)
Top Stories Senate Committee Passes Bipartisan Bill to Sustain TRIO Funding at $1.2 Billion for FY 2026 - Council for Opportunity in EducationThe Senate Appropriations Committee voted 26-3 to pass the FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill, sustaining TRIO funding at $1.2 billion and maintaining support for other key
July
TRIO Digest, Week 29 (July 21-27, 2025)
Top Stories Columbia Settlement Offers a Warning for Higher EdThe $221 million settlement extends beyond tackling antisemitism. Some experts said it’s an example of “coercion,” while others say Columbia had it coming.Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and JobsJessica Blake * Trump administration forced Columbia to accept strict

TRIO Digest, Week 28 (July 15-21, 2025)
Top Stories Supreme Court clears the way for Trump administration to massively reduce the size of the Department of EducationThe Supreme Court on Monday granted the Trump administration’s request to temporarily pause an order by a federal judge in Massachusetts that would require the Department of Education to reinstate
TRIO Digest, Week 27 (July 8-14, 2025)
Top Stories SSS “Funding Band” Letters FY 2025 SSS “Funding Band” Letters Released
The U.S. Department of Education has notified applicants whose FY 2025 SSS proposals scored between 112 and 113.33 (“funding band”). These applicants can request a second review for scoring or administrative errors by Friday, July
TRIO Digest, Week 26 (June 30 - July 7, 2025)
Top Stories SSS Funding Slate Released * The Department of Education has released the first list of successful SSS grant applicants. See the list of funded programs here. * If your grant is on the list, you are encouraged to thank your Members of Congress and consider issuing a press release once
June
TRIO Digest, Week 25 (June 23-30, 2025)
Top Stories Trump admin live updates: Senate to begin ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ vote-a-rama MondayThe Senate will begin its “vote-a-rama” at 9 a.m. Monday, during which time senators will offer amendments to the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”ABC NewsABC NewsCongress weighs deep cuts to federal student financial aid, Medicaid
TRIO Digest, Week 24 (June 16-22, 2025)
Top Stories Federal cuts could gut Mizzou programs that support first-gen studentsFederal funding cuts proposed by the Trump administration threaten several programs at the University of Missouri.Columbia MissourianMaddie MadisonLCC looks at possible funding loss for 2 TRIO programsParsons Sun - latest breaking news available online!Parsons Sun‘We didn’

TRIO Digest, Week 23 (June 9-15, 2025)
Top Stories Trump budget proposal calls for 15% Department of Education funding cut, financial aid reductionThese additions were announced on June 2 — a month after the initial proposal — and include significant reductions to Federal Pell Grants and the Federal Work-Study program.The Daily PennsylvanianArti JainDr. Scott Hummel: TRIO programs are
TRIO Digest, Week 22 (June 2-8, 2025)
Top Stories Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Testimony
Secretary McMahon defended the proposed elimination of TRIO, citing limited auditing authority and concerns over program-wide accountability and effectiveness. Lawmakers across both parties pushed back, pointing to existing reporting requirements and federal studies showing TRIO’s strong impact on college access and completion. Here

TRIO Digest, Week 21 (May 27 - June 1, 2025)
Top Stories Federal Cancellations of Upward Bound Grants Signal Broader Threat to College Access Programs - Council for Opportunity in EducationAccording to the Department of Education, the cancelled grants were deemed to “violate the letter or purpose of Federal civil rights law; conflict with the Department’s policy of prioritizing

May
TRIO Digest, Week 20 (May 19-26, 2025)
[Listen] TRIO Digest, Week 200:00/541.7521× Top Stories Takeaways from the Secretary’s Testimony
Secretary McMahon faced sharp Democratic criticism during a House subcommittee hearing while defending the FY26 education budget’s proposals to cut programs like TRIO and ultimately close the Department of Education. Below are the key takeaways

TRIO Digest, Week 19 (May 12-18, 2025)
Top Stories TRIO Funding FAQs
The Council for Opportunity in Education created this FAQs document to provide answers to common questions about TRIO program funding for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 program years, including funding timelines, risks, advocacy steps, and grant procedures. * Advance Funding Explained TRIO is “advance funded,” so Fiscal
TRIO Digest, Week 18 (May 5-11, 2025)
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TRIO Digest, Week 17 (April 28 - May 4, 2025)
Listen to the Week 17 Digest0:00/398.6307921× Top Stories The President’s FY 2026 Discretionary Budget RequestThe White HousePresident Trump’s 2026 budget proposes a 15.3% cut to the Education Department, eliminating all TRIO funding. If passed, this would shut down TRIO programs nationwide, ending vital support

April
TRIO Digest, Week 16 (April 21-27, 2025)
[Listen Here] TRIO Digest Week 160:00/499.2241× Top Stories Trio of rulings freezes Trump’s anti-DEI directives for schools - NewsBreakFederal judges on Thursday dealt three separate blows to the Education Department’s plans to enforce sweeping bans on diversity, equity and inclusion efforPOLITICOJuan Perez Jr.Federal judges
TRIO Digest, Week 15 (April 14-20, 2025)
[Listen Here] TRIO Digest, Week 150:00/470.3281× News The Promise of American Higher EducationNo government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursueHarvard University PresidentHarvard University

TRIO Digest, Week 14 (April 6-13, 2025)
[Listen] TRIO Digest, Week 140:00/551.61× News U.S. Department of Education Announces Consequences for Maine’s Title IX NoncomplianceU.S. Department of Education Announces Consequences for Maine’s Title IX NoncomplianceU.S. Department of Education Key Points * Federal Action: The U.S. Department of Education (ED) referred

TRIO Digest, Week 13 (Mar 30-Apr 5, 2025)
News Trump officials tell Oregon undocumented college students they can no longer access TRIO programsColleges and universities in Oregon and California can no longer allow students without permanent legal status access to some federally funded programs meant to help disadvantaged students earn degrees, according to a recent decision from the
March
TRIO Digest, Week 12 (March 23-29, 2025)
News U.S. Department of Education Revokes Waivers to California and Oregon Universities Using Federal Funding to Provide Services to Illegal ImmigrantsToday, the U.S. Department of Education revoked waivers to California and Oregon colleges and universities that are using federal funds to provide services to illegal aliens under the
TRIO Digest, Week 11 (March 16-22, 2025)
News Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and CommunitiesBy the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to enable parents, teachers, andThe White HouseExecutive OrdersThe potential impacts of closing the Department of Education, explainedThe federal agency handles
TRIO Digest, Week 10 (March 9-15, 2025)
News U.S. Department of Education Initiates Reduction in ForceAs part of the Department of Education’s final mission, the Department today initiated a reduction in force (RIF) impacting nearly 50% of the Department’s workforce.U.S. Department of Education In a sweeping workforce reduction, the U.S. Department

TRIO Digest: Week 9 (March 2–8, 2025)
News I’m the first college graduate in my family. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for programs like Head Start. Another federal program called Upward Bound put me on a college campus every summer as a high school student. Although I lived in the housing projects, I could imagine