September 2026 Community College Legal Update Newsletter

Notable decisions and actions in this issue include:

• Black doctoral student failed to provide sufficient evidence to overcome dismissal of his claims that university officials retaliated against him in violation of the First Amendment and discriminated against him and violated his due process rights in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. 
• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was preliminarily enjoined from implementing a final rule that would have replaced the duration of status framework for F-1 and J-1 visa holders with fixed admission periods of not more than four years.
• The governor announced a working group to develop a statewide framework for three-year bachelor’s degree pathways.