A quick look back at the news from last week. Compiled by Penn Hill Group.

HOUSE and SENATE

The House and Senate will be in recess until the week of November 14.

House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) and 123 other House Democrats sent a letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging them not to use the Pell Grant surplus for programs or initiatives outside of the Pell Grant program in the Fiscal Year 2017 appropriations bill.

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Higher Education and Workforce Training Subcommittee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) issued a joint statement opposing the Department of Education’s (ED) final rule on borrower defense.

ADMINISTRATION

ED published, in the Federal Register, the final rule updating the borrower defense to repayment regulations, increasing financial responsibility requirements for institutions of higher education (IHEs), requiring the reporting of loan repayment rates by for-profit IHEs and other matters.

ED published, in the Federal Register, the final rule on the teacher preparation program accountability requirements and Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant program eligibility requirements under the Higher Education Act.

Education News Headlines
[Click on the link to read the article online]

Disability rights advocates shift strategies to ensure equal rights in the digital age [Inside Higher Ed]

Students urge colleges to define ‘rape culture’ in their sexual assault policies [Inside Higher Ed]

New Survey Focuses on Best Practices in STEM Teacher Training, Retention [Education Week]

Regulators’ suits against ITT Educational Services halted [The Wall Street Journal]

Even Top Students May Drop Out After Losing Aid [Inside Higher Ed]

2016 ballot measures that have an impact on higher education [Inside Higher Ed]

A few hundred dollars in aid can make all the difference to some college students [The Washington Post]

Validating vocational interests is more important than a blind push for higher education [The Atlantic]

Enrollments in teacher prep programs rise for first time in 13 years [EdSource]
 

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration

Department of Labor

• Blog: Uniting to Help Job Corps Students Reach and Remain in College

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices

ED Correction Notice: NCER-NPSAS Grants—Connecting Students 2017: Testing the Effectiveness of FAFSA Interventions on College Outcomes.

ED Notice; Public Challenge: EdSim Challenge, a prize competition funded by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. First round Challenge submissions are due on or before 4:59:59 p.m., Washington, DC time on January 17, 2017.

ED Final Regulations: Student Assistance General Provisions, Federal Perkins Loan Program, Federal Family Education Loan Program, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, and Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant Program