Below is an abridged version of RAMC’s weekly Washington Wrap Up. Find out more about Wrap Up and other RAMC resources here.

July 10, 2018

HOUSE and SENATE
The House and Senate were in recess this week and will resume next week.

ADMINISTRATION
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) delayed the previous Administration’s “state authorization” rule for distance education programs until July 2020.

ED delayed by two years the “significant disproportionality” rule which was aimed at addressing racial disparities in special education, originally put in place by the previous Administration. The bulk of the rule is delayed until July 2020, while the portion of the rule requiring the inclusion of children aged three through five in analysis of significant disproportionality, set to originally take effect in 2020, has been delayed until July 2022.

ED announced that Puerto Rico will be the first school district approved for the Student-Centered Funding Pilot program(more commonly referred to as the Weighted-Student Funding Pilot) adopted as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

ED announced the approval of Oklahoma’s consolidated State plan under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). California, Florida, and Utah remain as the only States to not yet have their plans approved by ED.

The Administration rescinded several guidance documents issued under the previous Administration that emphasized permissible ways for schools and colleges to take race into account to promote student diversity.

ED’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report on ED’s oversight of accreditors, specifically on the accreditor recognition process used by ED.

Education News Headlines
[Click on the link to read the article online]
After rebuke from Congress, Education Department suspends reshuffling of defaulted student loans [Inside Higher Ed]

New Tool for Open-Access Research [Inside Higher Ed]

Work less, study more: California will give grants to community college students attending full-time [EdSource]

Here’s What’s Going On With Affirmative Action And School Admissions [National Public Radio]

San Francisco State finds evidence that ethnic studies students do better [Inside Higher Ed]

Ed Department Says It Didn’t Botch State Authorization Delay [Inside Higher Ed]

Librarians Urged to Update Brand, Diversify Ranks [Inside Higher Ed]

Perspective | The future of college education: Students for life, computer advisers and campuses everywhere [The Washington Post]

Op-Ed: Senate farm bill provides a glimmer of hope for rural broadband [The Hill]

The Trump Administration Just Rescinded Obama-Era Guidance on Race-Conscious Admissions Policies. So What? [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

This College For Adult Learners Is A Refuge, Not Just A Career Boost [National Public Radio]

Cost concerns keep cloud services out of reach of many small colleges [Inside Higher Ed]

New Statement on Women and Computer Science [Inside Higher Ed]

85 Colleges Kept Aid After DeVos Restored Accreditor [Inside Higher Ed]

Senators To DeVos On TEACH Grant Debacle: ‘Urgent That These Mistakes Are Fixed’ [National Public Radio]

Grand Canyon U succeeds in second bid to go nonprofit [Inside Higher Ed]

Accreditor Removes N.J. Community College From Probation [Inside Higher Ed]

Committee News and Schedule, Schedule for House and Senate Floor:
The House and the Senate are in recess this week and will return next week.

House Education and the Workforce Committee  
Press Release: Ranking Members Scott, Nadler Respond to Trump Administration Rescinding Obama-Era Guidance Promoting Campus Diversity

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration:
ED Press Release: Secretary DeVos Announces New Federal Disaster Assistance for Georgia

ED Press Release: U.S. Secretary of Education Approves Oklahoma ESSA State Plan

ED Press Release: Puerto Rico to Pilot New Student-Centered Funding System

ED Blog: Overcoming Homelessness and Poverty through Education

IES Report: Working Before, During, and After Beginning at a Public 2-Year Institution: Labor Market Experiences of Community College Students

IES Announcement: NCSER announces FY 2018 Research Training Programs in Special Education Awards

Legislative Movement in Congress Last Week:
H.R.6304 — To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to reunite alien children separated from their parent or legal guardian with such parent or legal guardian, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Crist, Charlie [D-FL-13] (Introduced 07/03/2018) Cosponsors: (9)
Committees: House – Judiciary, Homeland Security
Latest Action:  House – 07/03/2018 Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee…

H.Res.982 — Of inquiry requesting the President, and directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to transmit, respectively, certain information to the House of Representatives referring to the separation of children from their parents or guardians as a result of the President’s “zero tolerance” policy.
Sponsor: Rep. Pallone, Frank, Jr. [D-NJ-6] (Introduced 07/03/2018) Cosponsors: (0)
Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
Latest Action:  House – 07/03/2018 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:

DOL Meeting Notice: Advisory Committee on Veterans’ Employment, Training and Employer Outreach (ACVETEO). The meeting will take place at the U.S. Department of Labor, Frances Perkins Building, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210, Conference Room N-3437 A & B on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at approximately 4:00 p.m. (EST).

ED Comment Request: Federal Perkins/NDSL Loan Assignment Form. Comments due September 7, 2018.

ED Notice: List of Correspondence From July 1, 2016, Through March 31, 2018.

ED Comment Request: 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS: 20) Field Test Institution Contacting and Enrollment List Collection. Comments due September 4, 2018.

ED Comment Request: Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) 109: Teachers’ Use of Technology for School and Homework Assignments. Comments due August 6, 2018.

ED Final Rule: Program Integrity and Improvement.