Comment on FR Doc # 2026-13248

July 31, 2026 U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Ave, SW Washington, DC 20202 RE: Comments in response to Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – Proposed Rescission of the International Education Programs Regulations (Docket No. ED-2026-OPE-0991) To Whom It May Concern, On behalf of The Forum on Education Abroad, I am writing to share our opposition to the Department of Education (ED) notice dated July 1, 2026, titled “Proposed Rescission of the International Education Programs Regulations.” The Forum on Education Abroad is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership association recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization (SDO) for the field of education abroad. The Forum provides training and resources to education abroad professionals, and its Standards of Good Practice are recognized as the definitive means by which the quality of education abroad programs may be judged. The Forum’s mission is to cultivate educators who champion high quality education abroad experiences that ignite curiosity, impact lives, and contribute to a better world. In service of this mission, in 2025, it launched the Education Abroad: The Career Catalyst campaign, which underscores how education abroad drives career and economic success in today’s global economy. We have concerns about the proposed rescission of regulations governing International Education Programs and the Fulbright-Hays program. Without current regulations, programs within Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) and Section 102(b)(6) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 risk not delivering on their statutory requirements. Further, the operational clarity offered through these regulations are essential to continuing the high level of quality for which these programs are known. Current regulations establish consistent expectations for the programs, allowing potential grantees to better align their institutional goals and resources with ED's priorities and prepare for grant competitions. Rescission of regulations would complicate institutional efforts to plan ahead for their students’ education and career success in an increasingly global marketplace. International education programs including those supported by Title VI and Fulbright-Hays are essential to supporting students’ career readiness and U.S. economic competitiveness, especially as more than 41 million jobs in the U.S. depend on international trade. As recent research from The Forum demonstrates, 90% of alumni who studied abroad report their experiences helped them build critical job skills. With their earnings premium, employed alumni added $1.8 billion in income to the U.S. economy in 2024. Education abroad helps students build skills that employers increasingly seek as they position their businesses to be more globally competent in order to stay competitive: 96% of U.S. employers say their business would grow if employees had more global experience, 84% say they plan to place greater emphasis on international competence in their workforce in the next decade, and 69% of mid-sized sellers in the U.S. reported challenges recruiting globally competent workers. These programs also provide critical support to foreign language education, especially at a time when foreign languages are being disproportionately affected by academic program reductions at U.S. institutions of higher education. Language proficiency is essential for navigating the global economy; at The Forum, we hear regularly from alumni sharing their gratitude for experiences that fostered foreign language proficiency, which helps them be more competitive job candidates and successful employees. We respectfully request ED to consider how the rescission of regulations for Title VI and Fulbright-Hays may damage these gold-standard programs and, in turn, harm U.S. economic competitiveness and career readiness for students. Thank you for the opportunity to offer feedback on this proposed rule and for your consideration of our thoughts. Respectfully submitted, Melissa Torres President and CEO The Forum on Education Abroad Sources: College Watch, “Vanishing Majors; Vanishing Courses”; Business Roundtable, 2022 Trade and American Jobs report (tradepartnership.com); The Forum on Education Abroad, “Global Learning for a Competitive Workforce: Findings from a National Survey of Education Abroad Alumni”; The Forum on Education Abroad, “The Value of Education Abroad to Employers and Employees”; CIBER, “2024 U.S. Business Needs for Employees with International Expertise Report” (us-ciberweb.org); National Center for the Middle Market, “Purchasing and Selling Abroad: Benefits, Opportunities, Challenges and Risks” (middlemarketcenter.org)