The U.S. Department of Education has published in the Federal Register the unofficial version of its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) initiative.
An unpublished version is currently available. All 277 pages of it. The official published version is estimated to be published on Monday March 9, 2026.
This NPRM springs from the work of the AHEAD Committee, which brought together stakeholders to develop consensus regulatory language for implementing OBBBA’s provisions. In December 2025, the committee agreed on a comprehensive set of proposed rules that now form the basis of this Federal Register notice, which will be open for public comment before final regulations are adopted.
The NPRM outlines several major changes to federal student loan policy and regulations, including the implementation of the Workforce Pell Grant program.
The public comment is expected to open on Monday March 9th and run for 30 days. The comment period allows students, institutions, and other stakeholders to weigh in before final rules take effect, which is anticipated to begin July 1, 2026.
View the NPRM in the Federal Register here: