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

October 20, 2020

HOUSE and SENATE
Senate Majority Leader McConnell announced the Senate would vote on a “targeted” COVID-19 relief bill this week.

ADMINISTRATION
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it is extending school nutrition program waivers that permit free meals and meals to be served in non-congregate settings through the end of the 2020-2021 school year.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent a letter to education officials to raise concerns related to the “malign influence of the authoritarian government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)” over educational and curricular decisions in schools.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on how the COVID-19 pandemic intensifies disaster recovery challenges for K-12 schools.

The GAO released a report on data breaches in K12 school districts and schools over the past four years.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released the 2017-2018 Civil Rights Data Collection.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued interim considerations for COVID-19 testing for K-12 school administrators.

Education News Headlines
[Click on the link to read the article online]
Pandemic has shaken colleges’ future enrollment prospects: survey [Education Dive]

Student lawsuits against universities demanding COVID-19 refunds pile up [The Los Angeles Times]

3 COVID-19 education trends set to persist post-pandemic [Education Dive]

What Happens Before College Matters [Inside Higher Ed]

It Pays To Be An Apprentice: 63% More [NPR]

Community college district boundaries can create inequities, report suggests [Education District]
Center for American Progress Report: District Boundaries Affect Racial Representation at Michigan Community Colleges

Education Department pulls handbook with Clery Act requirements [Inside Higher Ed]

So far, so good for community college fundraising in the pandemic [Inside Higher Ed]

Community College Enrollment Is Way Down [The New York Times]

Survey on student transfer finds both progress and finger pointing [Inside Higher Ed]

Trump’s And Biden’s Plans For Education [NPR]

Winter could bring more infections to college campuses [Inside Higher Ed]

Pell Recipient Enrollment Down at Privates, Survey Says [Inside Higher Ed]

ACT college exam finds average national score continues to decrease [The Hill]

New Civil Rights Data Shows Increase in Reports of Sexual Violence at School [The74million.org]

Opinion | What’s at Stake for Higher Ed in the Election? [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Worrying enrollment trends continue, Clearinghouse report shows [Inside Higher Ed]

How 2- and 4-year colleges can boost spring enrollment [Education Dive]

Students continue to be stressed about college, their futures [Inside Higher Ed]

Children From Immigrant Families Are Increasingly the Face of Higher Education [The New York]

Politics, not coronavirus cases, linked to college reopening decisions: report [Education Dive]
C2i Report: “What’d We Miss?”: An Initial Analysis of Politics, Demographics, and COVID-19 Rates in Colleges’ Resumption of Instructional Operations for Fall 2020

Barrett Says ‘Brown v. Board of Education’ Is ‘Superprecedent’ Beyond Overruling [Education Week]

A look at the stakes for science in the presidential election [Inside Higher Ed]

Howard University and other HBCUs receive millions to expand coronavirus testing [The Washington Post]

As college staff face layoffs, some argue against budget cuts [Inside Higher Ed]

Committee News and Schedule, Schedule for House and Senate Floor:
Speaker of the House
Press Release: Pelosi Statement on House Victory in Court Case for Food Assistance

Senate Majority Leader
Press Release: McConnell on COVID-19 Relief & Senate Schedule

House Education and Labor Committee 
Press Release: New Government Watchdog Report: Students Impacted by Disasters Hurt More by Pandemic

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions  
Press Release: Murray Continues Pressing Trump Administration to Stop Political Meddling in COVID-19 Response Amid New Revelations

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration:
White House Press Release: Proclamation on National Character Counts Week, 2020

DOL Press Release: ICYMI: U.S. Department of Labor Acts To Help American Workers And Employers During The Coronavirus Pandemic

ED Press Release: U.S. Department of Education Releases 2017-18 Civil Rights Data Collection

IES Web Table: “A Look at Graduation Rates and Other Postsecondary Data”

NCES Blog: What National and International Assessments Can Tell Us About Technology in Students’ Learning: Technology Instruction, Use, and Resources in U.S. Schools

Legislative Movement in Congress Last Week:
H.R.5572 — Family Support Services for Addiction Act of 2020
Sponsor: Rep. Trone, David J. [D-MD-6] (Introduced 01/09/2020) Cosponsors: (41)
Committees: House – Energy and Commerce | Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Reports: H. Rept. 116-547
Latest Action:  Senate – 10/19/2020 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

H.R.8472 — Impact Aid Coronavirus Relief Act
Sponsor: Rep. Courtney, Joe [D-CT-2] (Introduced 10/01/2020) Cosponsors: (2)
Committees: House – Education and Labor
Latest Action:  Senate – 10/19/2020 Received in the Senate.

H.R.8595 — To nullify the effect of Executive Order 13950 relating to combating race and sex stereotyping.
Sponsor: Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3] (Introduced 10/16/2020) Cosponsors: (21)
Committees: House – Armed Services; Education and Labor; Oversight and Reform
Latest Action:  House – 10/16/2020 Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the…

H.R.8612 — To direct the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to establish a School Cybersecurity Clearinghouse, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-6] (Introduced 10/16/2020) Cosponsors: (1)
Committees: House – Education and Labor; Homeland Security; Science, Space, and Technology
Latest Action:  House – 10/16/2020 Referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within…
Press Release: Matsui, Langevin Introduce the Enhancing K-12 Cybersecurity Act

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:
VA Comment Request: Request for Restoration of Educational Assistance. Comments are due on or before December 15, 2020. 

ED Comment Request: CARES Act 18004(a)(3) Budget and Expenditure Reporting. Comments are due on or before November 13, 2020.