The U.S. Department of Education released its 2026 regulatory agenda on July 4, 2026, outlining 19 proposed items related to higher education policy, civil rights enforcement, student aid eligibility, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) regulations. Of these, six items directly address higher education, and four concern civil rights enforcement. The department plans to issue proposed changes for public comment in July 2026.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon is prioritizing the rescission of the loan-repayment plan established during the Biden administration. The department states that current federal student aid eligibility policies unnecessarily target faith-based or for-profit institutions and interfere with efficient and beneficial mergers, sales, and transfers of institutions of higher education. This rework of federal student aid eligibility is scheduled to begin in July 2026. At least four items from this year's agenda were carried over from the previous year. Additionally, the department plans to codify an executive order that allows for the loss of federal funding for colleges not disclosing gifts from foreign donors or partners.

Regarding higher education, the department aims to simplify the process for colleges to merge or consolidate, reduce textbook costs, and enhance college credit transfer policies. The department also seeks to amend Title IV eligibility rules to facilitate access to federal student aid for certain for-profit and religious institutions.

In the area of civil rights, the Education Department plans to amend Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 regulations. These amendments will explain how the law's prohibitions on discrimination based on race, color, and national origin affect the development and implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The department also intends to amend Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 regulations in July 2026 to clarify that sex refers exclusively to an individual's immutable biological classification as male or female. This clarification follows an executive order issued in January 2025 that declared there are only two sexes.

The department will also address eligibility criteria for the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, a $60 million grant program designed to increase access to doctorate-level degrees for first-generation, low-income students, and racial and gender minorities. The Trump administration previously agreed to change these regulations after a lawsuit filed by the Young America's Foundation argued the current criteria were discriminatory. In December 2025, the Justice Department stated in a podcast interview that while some eligibility criteria for the McNair program were unconstitutional, the grant as a whole was allowable because it is not used to further racially discriminatory ends. The Trump administration is also working to repeal the disparate impact theory, which was codified into law in 1991.