Dear Highline Community,

To help keep you informed about federal and state regulation changes that could impact the Highline College community, we have assembled a Joint Information Center (JIC) to partner with Executive Cabinet on the prioritization and dissemination of information to the college. The JIC includes representatives from all divisions of the college. Its mission includes collecting, reviewing, and understanding federal and state regulation changes that may impact the Highline College community. Executive Cabinet and JIC will partner to disseminate continuous response updates, safety information, and valuable resources to the campus community in a timely manner. In response to this evolving situation, Executive Cabinet will continue to work to find the most effective way to keep the college community informed and engaged in our response and actions moving forward.

Our first action has been to review and share information about the ”Dear Colleague” letter that was sent from the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR), on February 14, 2025.

What the letter means

• First of all, the letter is not law. No laws have changed.
• The letter is a statement of how the OCR is interpreting Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 under the new federal administration.
• Highline College is not operating outside of anything the letter points out, therefore at this time there are no planned changes in our operations.

Highline College remains the most diverse higher education institution in the state, with more than 75 percent students of color. We welcome students from all backgrounds into all programs and supports. We do not discriminate. Learn more here.

We’ll reach out with any further developments as they become available. Please know that we are keeping a close eye on anything that is being disseminated that may impact our college community. In addition, we are in daily communication with SBCTC and our AAG to better understand the daily changes coming from Washington, DC. For now, nothing changes, we will continue to serve our students and the Highline community as we have, rooted in our mission and values.

We encourage you to continue utilizing this LibGuide hosted on the Library Website for access to key resources during this challenging time.

If you have questions or concerns related to federal or state changes, please send them to president@highline.edu.

Sincerely,

John, Maribel, Danielle, Tim, Liz, Michael, Jamilyn, Melanie, Josh

Highline College Executive Cabinet