Inside the Rulemaking Room: Ritchie Morrow’s Front-Row Recap - Day 5
📅 December 12, 2025
Dear Colleague… Day Five Delivered (and We Have a Deal)
By J. Ritchie Morrow, BAEd, MSEd
Financial Aid Officer
Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education
Dear Colleagues,
Short and sweet today… and for once, that is a good thing.
After a final round of updates, revisions, and a few side conversations, the AHEAD Negotiated Rule-making committee reached consensus on the Workforce Pell regulations.
Not perfectly unanimous. One negotiator could not fully agree with every provision, but also chose not to block the proposal. And in this space, that is often what consensus looks like.
➡️ Bottom line: Workforce Pell regulations are moving forward.
“What happens next?”
ED is expected to release the full Workforce Pell regulatory package next week.
Once available, I will share it with anyone interested in digging into the full details.
“Are we done?”
Not quite.
The group will reconvene on January 5, 2026 (yes… new year, same conversations) to begin work on the next phase:
➡️ Accountability regulations
So while Workforce Pell may be taking shape, the broader conversation is far from over.
Final thought
Five days.
Dozens of proposals.
And a framework that will now move forward into formal rule-making.
Not everything was agreed upon… but enough was.
And in negotiated rule-making, that is what progress looks like.
If I do not connect with you before then, I wish you and your families a safe and restful holiday season.
Until next time,
Ritchie