The U.S. Department of Education is ramping up support for schools and financial aid professionals as implementation of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or OBBBA) moves into its next phase. In a May 20 electronic announcement, Federal Student Aid outlined new resources, FAQs, office hours, webinars, and communication tools designed to help institutions prepare for major federal student aid changes taking effect July 1, 2026.
New FAQs and Tool for Asking Questions on the Final Regulations
- A new FAQ resource has been published and will be updated frequently as additional guidance becomes available. The Department considers the FAQs to be a living document and will continue to post new and updated FAQs as they become available.
- Schools, state agencies, software providers, and other partners can now submit policy questions directly to the Department at: ob3schoolquestions@ed.gov. The Department noted that this mailbox should be used specifically for policy and regulatory questions related to the implementation of the final regulations.
New Office Hours, Webinars, and Town Hall
- The Department will host a new series of webinars and virtual office hours focused on the regulatory changes over the next seven weeks.
- Each session will allow the higher education community to ask questions directly to Department staff regarding the newly published regulations.
- The dates of the office hours and webinars are below. More details on each will be posted to the Knowledge Center:
- Week 1: May 25-29
- Tuesday, May 26: Virtual Office Hour
- Thursday, May 28: Virtual Office Hour
- Week 2: June 1-5
- Monday, June 1: Virtual Office Hour
- Wednesday, June 3: Webinar Presentation – Loan Repayment Plans and other Loan Changes
- Friday, June 5: Virtual Office Hour
- Week 3: June 8-12
- Monday, June 8: Virtual Office Hour
- Wednesday, June 10: Webinar Presentation – Schedule of Reductions / Loan Limits
- Friday, June 12: Virtual Office Hour
- Week 4: June 15-19
- Tuesday, June 16: Virtual Office Hour
- Thursday, June 18: Virtual Office Hour
- Week 5: June 22-26
- Monday, June 22: Virtual Office Hour
- Wednesday, June 24: Webinar Presentation – Workforce Pell
- Friday, June 26: Virtual Office Hour
- Week 6: June 29-July 3
- Tuesday, June 30: Virtual Office Hour
- Thursday, July 2: Virtual Office Hour
- Week 7: July 6-10
- Monday, July 6: Virtual Office Hour
- Wednesday, July 8: Webinar Presentation – STATS and Earnings Accountability (tentative)
- Friday, July 10: Virtual Office Hour
- Week 1: May 25-29
Continued Support Through Existing FSA Channels
- For operational questions about interacting with FSA systems, schools should continue to contact the appropriate contact centers. Additionally, schools can continue to send operational questions through the Customer Support form in the FSA Partner Connect Help Center.
- Students, borrowers, and parents should visit StudentAid.gov/bigupdates for the latest information about changes to the federal student aid programs created by the Act. Borrowers may also contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center to receive assistance with general inquiries.
For additional and the most current information, please refer to the official announcement here: (GENERAL-26-30) Assistance in Implementation of Final Regulations for the Working Families Tax Cuts Act
If your institution need assistance navigating the OBBBA changes, College Aid Services is able to help. Contact us today to learn more.