The House is in session January 8- 11, 16-19, and 29-31. The Senate is 'tentatively' in session throughout January, with the exception of January 3 and January 15.

 

The December 20, 2017, hearing "Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Education" with U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was postponed. A new date for the hearing has not been scheduled to date.

Senate HELP Committee confirmation hearing of Kenneth Marcus for Assistant Secretary for the Office of Civil Rights with the U.S. Department of Education is scheduled for Thursday, January 11, 2018.

Legislative Updates: House Committee Passes HEA Reauthorization Bill

(Courtesy of Advance CTE)

As Congress wraps up its final weeks in session before the 2017 winter recess, there has been a flurry of activity. Find out more about the postsecondary education legislation that advanced out of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the next step in the appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) and an update on the tax reform legislation moving through Congress. Read More >> 

 

Fitch Ratings: Tax Bill Could Squeeze School Districts, Colleges and Universities

( Courtesy of Politico)

The GOP tax overhaul will squeeze school districts and pressure colleges and universities, Fitch Ratings said in a statement released on December 20, 2017. The credit reporting agency said the cap on state and local tax deductions will hit residents in high-taxed states harder, and as a result, they "may have less tolerance for higher state and local taxes in the future." Read More >> 

As states cement education plans for their schools under the federal K-12 law, the Department of Education is working furiously to assess them amid mounting concerns about states' commitment to following the law, their proposals to ensure historically disadvantaged students have access to quality education, and the department's capacity--and in some cases, lack of desire--to police it all. ESSA gives states new flexibility to create accountability systems that suit their unique needs. Those plans must be vetted and cleared by the Department of Education before states begin implementing them in the near future.The process has been somewhat tumultuous, triggering concern from across the education spectrum about how Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and department officials would review each submission. Read More >>

U.S. Department of Education ESSA Update

The department's plan would require individual students to prove that their college intentionally deceived them--something that sparked alarm among student advocates, who argue it would push loan forgiveness out of reach for the vast majority of borrowers. 

The proposal is part of an effort by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to rewrite the government's standards for loan forgiveness, called the "borrower defense" regulations. The proposed new rules would eventually erase regulations put into place by the Obama administration. Read More >>