diff --git a/.github/workflows/rubyonrails.yml b/.github/workflows/rubyonrails.yml
index 08454c75b..f1b21d875 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/rubyonrails.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/rubyonrails.yml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ jobs:
             allowed_failure: false   # ✅ required
           - ruby: '3.4.4'
             rails: '8.0.2'
-            allowed_failure: true    # ⚠️ allowed to fail
+            allowed_failure: false    # ✅ required
 
     env:
       RAILS_ENV: test
diff --git a/lib/better_together/engine.rb b/lib/better_together/engine.rb
index 0344ade23..0096f2ef2 100644
--- a/lib/better_together/engine.rb
+++ b/lib/better_together/engine.rb
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ class Engine < ::Rails::Engine
     isolate_namespace BetterTogether
 
     # Avoid modifying frozen autoload path arrays (Rails 8 compatibility)
-    config.autoload_paths = Array(config.autoload_paths) + Dir["#{root}/lib/better_together/**/"]
+    paths.add 'lib', eager_load: true
 
     config.generators do |g|
       g.orm :active_record, primary_key_type: :uuid
@@ -53,14 +53,16 @@ class Engine < ::Rails::Engine
     end
 
     config.before_initialize do
-      require_dependency 'friendly_id'
-      require_dependency 'mobility'
-      require_dependency 'friendly_id/mobility'
-      require_dependency 'jsonapi-resources'
-      require_dependency 'importmap-rails'
-      require_dependency 'public_activity'
-      require_dependency 'pundit'
-      require_dependency 'rack/cors'
+      # Use `require` instead of `require_dependency` for external gems to avoid
+      # modifying Rails' frozen autoload paths (Rails 8 compatibility)
+      require 'friendly_id'
+      require 'mobility'
+      require 'friendly_id/mobility'
+      require 'jsonapi-resources'
+      require 'importmap-rails'
+      require 'public_activity'
+      require 'pundit'
+      require 'rack/cors'
     end
 
     default_url_options = {