Below is RAMC’s weekly Washington Wrap Up from Thursday. Find out more about Wrap Up and other RAMC resources here.

October 24, 2024

CONGRESS

The House and Senate are not scheduled to conduct legislative business until after the November election with both chambers returning on November 12.

House Education and the Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee Chair Aaron Bean (R-FL) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, opposing proposed changes to the Department of Education’s (ED’s) data collection on student participation in Career and Technical Education (CTE), the use of Perkins V funds and State accountability measures under Federal law.

ADMINISTRATION

ED shared that its first phase of testing for the 2025-2026 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form has commenced with 650 students successfully submitted applications, 586 institutions receiving 6,266 Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) generated by those applications, and many student corrections being successfully completed. ED has now begun its second phase of testing for the 2025-2026 FAFSA form, known as Beta 2.

ED announced that it will provide $4.5 billion in additional public service loan forgiveness (PSLF) for more than 60,000 borrowers.

ED is temporarily pausing the assignment of new Federal student loan borrower accounts to the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) as a result of repayment plan processing failures and backlogs by the company.

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

First-Year Enrollments Take a Tumble [Inside Higher Ed]

Undergraduate Enrollment Is Up This Fall, But the Number of Freshmen Fell Sharply [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Net tuition ticks up 2% at private colleges, declines at public institutions [Higher Ed Dive]

It could be well into next year before some student loan borrowers make a payment [The Washington Post]

Conservatives seek to build on recent court wins on education [The Hill]

Massachusetts colleges should revamp admissions, advisory panel recommends [Higher Ed Dive]

State Aid Kept Public Tuition From Outpacing Inflation [Inside Higher Ed]

It could be well into next year before some student loan borrowers make a payment [The Washington Post]

Top 5 ways education would look different under Harris vs. Trump [The Hill]

How can colleges maintain diverse student bodies? [Higher Ed Dive]

‘Institutional Neutrality Applies to Actions—Not Just Words’ [Inside Higher Ed]

Skilled trades gain traction with Gen Z, report finds [Higher Ed Dive]

How U.S. Plans to Recognize Colleges for Student Success [Inside Higher Ed]

ACT, SAT scores decline year over year [Higher Ed Dive]

Bridging the Gap Between Education and Workforce [Inside Higher Ed]

How four universities graduate their low-income students at much higher rates than average [The Hechinger Report]

Committee News and Schedule, Schedule for House and Senate Floor:

House Committee on Education and the Workforce
Press Release: Foxx, Moolenaar Unveil Harvard Failed to Stand Up to CCP Influence on Campus

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration

ED Speech: Remarks by Secretary Cardona on Loan Forgiveness for Over 1 Million Public Servants, as Prepared for Delivery

DOL Press Release: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center will pay $900K in back wages, interest to resolve alleged systemic racial hiring discrimination

DOL Press Release: READOUT: Acting Secretary Su unveils Artificial Intelligence Best Practices to improve job quality; safeguard workers’ rights, well-being

HHS Press Release: HHS, CSU Encourage Students to Join the Health Workforce

GAO Press Release: Artificial Intelligence: Generative AI Training, Development, and Deployment Considerations

Legislative Movement in Congress:

H.R.10013 — To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude individuals who have committed certain crimes from being eligible students for purposes of the American opportunity credit, the lifetime learning credit, and the deduction on interest paid on qualified education loans.

Sponsor: Murphy, Gregory F. [Rep.-R-NC-3] (Introduced 10/18/2024) Cosponsors: (0)

Committees: House – Ways and Means

Latest Action: House – 10/18/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Press Release: Murphy Introduces Legislation to Crack Down on Unlawful Campus Protests

H.R.10015 — To require that States that receive a grant under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, will not prohibit licensed child care providers from performing simple food preparation of fruits and vegetables.

Sponsor: Perez, Marie Gluesenkamp [Rep.-D-WA-3] (Introduced 10/18/2024) Cosponsors: (1)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 10/18/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:

ED Comment Request: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) I, II and III Data Collection Form. Comments are due on or before October 28, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Federal Student Loan Program: Internship/Residency and Loan Debt Burden Forbearance Forms. Comments due on or before October 30, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Application for Grants Under the Upward Bound Program. Comments due on or before November 4, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Federal Student Aid (FSA) Partner Connect System and User Access Management. Comments due on or before November 7, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act State Plan Guide. Comments due on or before November 12, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Consolidated Annual Report (CAR) for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. Comments due on or before November 12, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment (SWTCIE) Program Evaluation. Comments are due on or before November 12, 2024.

ED Grant: Strengthening Program Evaluation Capacity: Building Evidence of Effectiveness of Strategies To Increase Postsecondary Student Success. Applications due on or before November 14, 2024.

Veterans Affairs Department Comment Request: Child Care Provider Information-For the Child Care Subsidy Program. Comments due on or before November 18, 2024.

ED Comment Request: District Survey on Use of Funds Under Title II, Part A. Comments due on or before November 29, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA): Interest Rate Limitation Request. Comments due on or before November 29,2024.

ED Comment Request: Income Based Repayment-Notifications. Comments due on or before December 6, 2024.

Children and Families Administration Comment Request: Financing for Early Care and Education: Quality and Access for All-Case Studies. Comments due on or before December 9, 2024.

Department of Commerce Comment Request: Existing Awards and Recognition Programs for Standards Development and Best Practices for Standards Workforce Development in Support of the Implementation of the United States Government National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology (USG NSSCET). Comments due on or before December 9, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Student Assistance General Provisions-Readmission for Servicemembers. Comments due on or before December 9, 2024.

DOL Comment Request: Sectoral Strategies and Employer Engagement Portfolio. Comments are due on or before December 10, 2024.

ED Grant Notice: Personnel Development To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities-Personnel Preparation of Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services Personnel at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Other Minority Serving Institutions. Applications due on or before December 12, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Mandatory Civil Rights Data Collection. Comments due on or before December 16, 2024.

HHS Grant Forecast: Tribal Colleges and Universities Head Start Partnership Program Grants. Estimated due date is on or before January 6, 2025.