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

July 31, 2024

ADMINISTRATION     
The Department of Education (ED) released two new toolkits for the College Scorecard, one of which is geared towards teachers and the other for school counselors and college access advisors.

ED’s Office for Civil Rights released several new resources for schools to implement the new Title IX regulations taking effect on August 1, 2024. These resources include pointers for implementation and a video on drafting nondiscrimination policies, notices of nondiscrimination and grievance procedures under the 2024 Title IX regulations. Schools in States for which temporary injunctions have been ordered are not expected to implement the new Title IX regulations by this date.

CONGRESS
Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) issued a subpoena requesting ED’s communications and documents associated with the 2024 rollout of the simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The U.S. House of Representatives leadership announced that there will not be votes in the House next week. The House will now return after its annual August recess on September 9th.

An expected markup of the reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is not taking place next week.

COURTS
ED asked the Supreme Court to partially lift two injunctions that are barring ED from implementing most of its Title IX rule.

A Federal district court judge in Missouri issued a preliminary injunction on the Title IX rule, impacting the States of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

ELECTION
U.S. President Joe Biden dropped out of the election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democrat presidential nominee.

EVENTS
Penn Hill Group plans on providing clients a summary of the following events next week:

August 1: Senate Appropriations Committee Full Committee Markup of the Fiscal Year 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
Penn Hill Group provides a list of grant opportunities and summaries for select grants programs. Please visit our website for more information.

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

Biden administration announces next steps for fall student debt relief [The Hill]

‘A Stunning Failure’: Latest FAFSA Delay Will Hinder the Most Vulnerable Students [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Survey Finds Most Professors Are Comfortable Teaching Sensitive Topics [Inside Higher Education]

It’s time to ‘change the narrative’ on stopping out, report suggests [Higher Ed Dive]

How colleges can become ‘living labs’ for combating climate change [The Hechinger Report]

How the Education Department Wants to Police Online Education [Inside Higher Ed]

Judge orders UCLA, Jewish students to draft plan for equal campus access in wake of protests [Los Angeles Times]

Two Major Academic Publishers Signed Deals With AI Companies. Some Professors Are Outraged. [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Workers with 4-year degrees will hold most good jobs in 2031, report predicts [Higher Ed Dive]

Democratic senators warn of potential problems with student loan servicing changes [The Hill]

Taylor & Francis AI Deal Sets ‘Worrying Precedent’ for Academic Publishing [Inside Higher Ed]

College education may not be preparing employees for generative AI [Higher Ed Dive]

These Professors Don’t Want Their ‘Antisemitic’ Union’s Representation [Inside Higher Ed]

GOP attorneys general allege Education secretary violated Hatch Act [The Hill]

House Republicans Subpoena Education Dept. Over FAFSA Issues [Inside Higher Ed]

Students struggle to shake learning loss, four years later [The Hill]

Why Colleges May Rethink Their Online Programs After 2U Declares Bankruptcy [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

GAO Report on Students’ Food Insecurity Highlights SNAP Gap [Inside Higher Ed]

3 strategies colleges can use to retain employees [Higher Ed Dive]

The Rise of ‘Anti-OPMs’ [Inside Higher Ed]

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

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

Press Release: Ranking Member Cassidy, Ernst, Colleagues Introduce Bill Holding Universities, Biden Admin Accountable for Addressing Discrimination on College Campuses

House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Press Release: Foxx on Biden-Harris’s Latest Student Loan Scam

Press Release: ICYMI: Biden-Harris Title IX Disaster Faceplants in Federal Court

Press Release: Chair Foxx Issues Subpoena to Get to the Bottom of FAFSA Mess

Press Release: *NEW* Watchdog Report: College Students Experiencing Hunger Face Barriers Accessing SNAP Benefits

Press Release: Chair Foxx: College Students, Stop Being “Iran’s Useful Idiots”

House Committee on Appropriations

Press Release: House Republicans Squander Summer with Consideration of MAGA Project 2025 Funding Bills

Press Release: Revised Subcommittee Allocations

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration

White House Press Release: Statement by President Joe Biden on Next Steps on Student Debt Cancellation

ED Press Release: Biden-Harris Administration Takes Next Step Toward Additional Debt Relief for Tens of Millions of Student Loan Borrowers This Fall

ED Blog: Unveiling New Tools for Educators, School Counselors and Advisors: Enhance College Decision-Making with Our Latest College Scorecard Toolkits

GAO Report: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Estimated Eligibility and Receipt among Food Insecure College Students

IES Press Release: Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2023

Legislative Movement in Congress:

H.R.9185 — To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish notification requirements for policies concerning expectant and parenting students, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Allred, Colin Z. [Rep.-D-TX-32] (Introduced 07/30/2024) Cosponsors: (1)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 07/30/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

H.R.9213 — To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the rate of the excise tax based on investment income of private colleges and universities and to broaden the definition of applicable educational institution by lowering the threshold with respect to aggregate fair market value per student, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Lawler, Michael [Rep.-R-NY-17] (Introduced 07/30/2024) Cosponsors: (0)

Committees: House – Ways and Means

Latest Action: House – 07/30/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.R.9192 — To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include notification and automatic enrollment procedures for borrowers who are delinquent on loans, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Bonamici, Suzanne [Rep.-D-OR-1] (Introduced 07/30/2024) Cosponsors: (6)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce; Ways and Means

Latest Action: House – 07/30/2024 Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 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 concerned.

S.4815 — A bill to prohibit the mass cancellation of student loans.

Sponsor: Romney, Mitt [Sen.-R-UT] (Introduced 07/25/2024) Cosponsors: (3)

Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Latest Action: Senate – 07/25/2024 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

H.R.9170 — To reauthorize title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to improve and encourage innovation in international education, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Ross, Deborah K. [Rep.-D-NC-2] (Introduced 07/25/2024) Cosponsors: (2)

Committees: House – Education and the Workforce

Latest Action: House – 07/25/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Press Release: Representatives Ross, Foushee, Panetta Introduce Legislation to Support Foreign Language and International Education Programs

S.4778 — A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make the exclusion for certain employer payments of student loans under educational assistance programs permanent.

Sponsor: Warner, Mark R. [Sen.-D-VA] (Introduced 07/25/2024) Cosponsors: (1)

Committees: Senate – Finance

Latest Action: Senate – 07/25/2024 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Press Release: Warner, Thune, Peters & Malliotakis Introduce Legislation to Address Student Debt Crisis

S.4760 — A bill to establish requirements for investigations of certain complaints of discrimination.

Sponsor: Cassidy, Bill [Sen.-R-LA] (Introduced 07/24/2024) Cosponsors: (3)

Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Latest Action: Senate – 07/24/2024 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices:

ED Notice: Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success Program. Applications due on or before August 5, 2024.

ED Notice: Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program. Applications due on August 5, 2024.

ED Grant: Technical Assistance on State Data Collection–National Technical Assistance Center to Improve State Capacity to Collect, Report, Analyze, and Use Accurate IDEA Part B Data. Applications due on or before August 8, 2024.

ED Grant Notice: Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities—National Center on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, etc. Applications due on or before August 12, 2024.

ED Comment Request: U.S. Department of Education Postsecondary Success Recognition Program. Comments are due on or before August 12, 2024.

ED Grant: From Seedlings to Scale Grant Program and Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Education Policy and Practice. Applications due on or before August 15, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Impact Aid Electronic Data Collection (EDC) Program Questionnaire. Comments due on or before August 16, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Program Integrity and Institutional Quality: Distance Education, Return of Title IV, HEA Funds, and Federal TRIO Programs. Comments due on or before August 23, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Rural, Insular, and Native Achievement Programs Progress Update Protocol. Comments due on or before August 23, 2024.

DOL Comment Request: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Common Performance Reporting. Comments due on or before August 23, 2024.

ED Grant: State Personnel Development Grants (SPDG) Program. Applications due on or before August 23, 2024.

ED Grant Notice: Stronger Connections Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Grant Program. Applications due on or before August 26, 2024.

DOD Grant Notice: Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Consortium. Applications due on or before September 12, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) I, II and III Data Collection Form. Comments are due on or before September 13 2024.

ED Grant Notice: Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education-Tribal Controlled Colleges or Universities (TCCUs) Research and Development Infrastructure (RDI) Grant Program. Applications due on or before September 16, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Performance Reports for Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) Program. Comments due on or before September 16, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Federal Student Loan Program: Internship/Residency and Loan Debt Burden Forbearance Forms. Comments due on or before September 18, 2024.

ED Comment Request: Federal Student Aid (FSA) Partner Connect System and User Access Management. Comments due on or before September 30, 2024.

NSF Grant Notice: Advanced Technological Education. Applications due on or before October 3, 2024. 

ED Notice: National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity Meeting.