Washington Update  

APLU Statement on National Science Board Dismissals 
On April 24, the Trump administration dismissed all members of the National Science Board (NSB), the governing and advisory body that oversees the National Science Foundation (NSF). In emails sent to board members Friday afternoon, members were informed their positions were “terminated, effective immediately.”  

The NSB is comprised of 24 presidentially appointed members that oversee the actions of NSF, including approving major expenditures and setting policy. As reported by Inside Higher Ed, the White House cited that the 2021 Supreme Court Decision United States V. Arthrex, Inc. “raised constitutional questions about whether non-Senate confirmed appointees can exercise the authorities that Congress gave the National Science Board.” Members of the NSB were previously confirmed by the Senate, but have not been since 2012.  

Go deeper: In response, APLU president Waded Cruzado released the following statement: 
 
“We are dismayed by the reported dismissal of members of the National Science Board. The NSB plays a critical role in informing U.S. national science policy as well as overseeing and supporting the National Science Foundation. The U.S. boasts the world’s most innovative and productive scientific ecosystem, and federal science agencies – including NSF – are vital to driving discoveries in the lab and game-changing breakthroughs in the marketplace and society. 

“The nation should be grateful for the service of NSB members who have selflessly advanced science and our health, security, prosperity, and wellbeing. As our global competitors such as China vie for scientific and innovation leadership, prioritizing and investing in the federal science enterprise is essential to continued U.S. innovation dominance.” 

Appropriations Update 
The House Committee on Appropriations began markups last week, the first step in the process to advance FY27 funding bills. So far to date, bills that fund APLU priorities within the U.S. Department of Agriculture and State Department have passed out of their respective subcommittees. The bills moved to full House Appropriations Committee markups on April 23.  

By the Numbers: The funding levels for APLU policy priorities are summarized below: 

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
The bill text, report language, Committee’s summary, and press release have been made available. 

• National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA): $1.642 billion ($34.3 million below the FY26 enacted level) 
• Includes level funding for competitive research and capacity programs that support our nation’s land-grant universities 
• Agricultural Research Service: $1.795 billion ($2.8 million above the FY26 enacted program level) 
• NIFA Research & Education: $1.0465 billion ($11.5M less than the FY26 House mark of $1.058B and $30.3M less than the FY26 enacted level) 
• NIFA Extension Activities: $557.1 million ($1.1M more than the FY26 House mark and $3.9M less than the FY26 enacted level) 
• NIFA Integrated Activities: $39.1 ($1M less than both the FY 26 House mark and FY 26 enacted level) 

National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs 
The bill text, report language, Committee’s summary, and press release have been made available. 

• International Agricultural Research: $175 million, of which $72 million is for Feed the Future Innovation Labs (held flat from the FY26 enacted level) 
• Higher education programs that were formerly at USAID: $203.25 million (held flat from the FY26 enacted level). 
• The Benjamin A. Gilman International scholarship program: $16.15 million (a one percent or $150,000 increase from FY26 enacted level).   

On April 29, Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies bill text was released, which funds a host of APLU’s research priorities including the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, and the Economic Development Administration. APLU’s Office of Governmental Affairs is analyzing the CJS bill to produce a summary of funding levels and policy implications of interest to the association’s members.

National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act Advances out of Senate Commerce Committee 
The Senate Commerce Committee passed legislation to reauthorize the National Quantum Initiative for an additional five years through December 2034 on April 14. The Initiative is currently authorized through December 2029. 
 
The legislation continues authorization for quantum research, education, and development at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Science Foundation. It also establishes up to three new NIST quantum centers, three new NSF multidisciplinary centers focused on quantum research and education and expands the Initiative to include NASA research initiatives. 

APLU Joins Letter to Appropriators Requesting $9 Billion for NASA Science 
APLU joined a community letter with AAU, the American Geophysical Union, American Physical Society and others urging Congress to appropriate $9 billion for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) in FY27.  

The letter notes, “An appropriation of $9 billion for SMD will provide NASA with the resources it needs to advance the nation’s highest-priority new science missions while maintaining our fleet of ongoing missions, keeping commitments to international partners, and catalyzing additional commercial innovation and opportunities.” The letter also thanks the Appropriations Committee leaders for their commitment to funding the U.S. Earth and space science enterprise in the final FY 2026 appropriations. 

President Trump Appoints New Acting National Endowment for the Humanities Chair 
On April 21, President Trump appointed William Edward English as Acting Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). English is a political economist at Georgetown University and has served as a member of NEH’s advisory board since 2019. He will replace General Counsel, Michael McDonald, who served as NEH Acting Chairman from March 2025 to January 2022. 

U.S. Department of Justice Extends ADA Web Accessibility Compliance Deadline to 2027 
The U.S. Department of Justice published an interim final rule last week to extend the deadline for state and local government entities with a total population of 50,000 or more to implement requirements for web content and mobile application accessibility. The deadline to implement the requirements, which were initially promulgated in 2024, has now moved from April 24, 2026 to April 26, 2027.  

The Big Picture: In 2023, when the ADA web accessibility requirements were published as a proposed rule, APLU joined the higher education community in a comment letter requesting a five-year implementation timeline. The associations expressed “overall support for ensuring that all students, especially those with a disability, are able to access online content in an ever-changing technological learning environment” while noting concerns from institutions on the resources and time investment required to implement the noticed of proposed rulemaking. The higher education community also offered the rule as a recommended area for deregulation at the beginning of the second Trump administration.  

U.S. Department of Education Launches Real-Time Fraud Detection for FAFSA 
In an electronic announcement issued April 15, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED’s) Federal Student Aid office announced new “real-time fraud detection” capabilities for the FAFSA, which are designed to identify and prevent fraudulent applications as they are submitted. 

ED linked the update to broader program integrity efforts, citing recent enforcement actions that “prevented more than $1 billion in Federal Student Aid fraud in a single year [2025].” 

According to the announcement, the system will provide real-time identity verification and fraud screening at the point of submission with applications “that cannot be verified in real time” routed for further action or institutional follow-up. 

New VA Requirements for Annual Reporting Fee Payments to Institutions 
In an email to veterans service organizations and higher education organizations including APLU, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)  alerted stakeholders that it is holding Annual Reporting Fee payments to institutions until they update vendor records to include direct deposit information and an 8-digit facility code, in line with new federal payment modernization requirements, including Executive Order 14247.  

The Annual Reporting Fee is an annual payment the VA provides to educational institutions for each eligible student enrolled in a VA-approved education or training program, including Veteran Readiness & Employment. 

While Annual Reporting Fee disbursements for 2025 began March 31, nearly 8,800 of more than 11,000 eligible schools have not yet complied and currently have payments on hold, though tuition and fee payments are not affected. 

Representative Riley Moore (R-WV) Sends Letter to DHS Urging Termination of Optional Practical Training Programs 
On April 20, Representative Riley M. Moore (R-WV) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)  Secretary Markwayne Mullin urging the agency to terminate the Optional Practical Training (OPT), STEM-OPT, and Curricular Practical Training (CPT) programs, arguing they disadvantage U.S. workers and exceed congressional intent. 

As detailed in APLU’s factsheet on OPT, the program is a critical tool for recruiting students in all fields to come study in the United States, especially for those in the STEM fields due to the STEM OPT extension which allows for an additional 24 months of practical training for those who qualify. U.S. recruitment efforts would be severely hampered if OPT was suspended or curtailed.