in effect
Executive Order 14282, signed April 23, 2025, directs the Department of Education to more aggressively enforce an existing law — Section 117 of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1011f) — that requires colleges and universities to publicly report significant foreign gifts and contracts. It is a presidential enforcement directive, not a new law; it does not create new disclosure requirements but orders stricter implementation of ones already on the books.
The Secretary of Education must reverse any prior-administration actions that the order characterizes as weakening enforcement of foreign-funding disclosure rules. Universities will be required to disclose more specific details about foreign funding, including the actual source and ultimate purpose of the money, not just the dollar amount. Federal grant eligibility is now explicitly tied to compliance: a university that fails to certify it is meeting its Section 1011f disclosure obligations can be denied federal grant funds, and that false certification triggers liability under the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. 3729). The Education Department is directed to conduct audits and investigations and to coordinate with the Attorney General to pursue legal action against non-compliant institutions. Greater public access to the reported foreign-funding data is also required.
Any accredited college or university that receives foreign gifts or enters foreign contracts above the reporting threshold under Section 1011f — and that also receives federal grant funding — faces direct compliance pressure, since losing grant eligibility is now an explicit consequence of non-disclosure. Foreign governments, companies, and individuals that fund American universities are indirectly affected because their donations and contracts will be subject to more detailed public reporting. Students and researchers at those institutions are not directly regulated but are cited as the intended beneficiaries of the increased transparency.