NAPE Public Policy Update
Administration
US Department of Education Releases IDEA Guidance for Students with Disabilities in Dual Enrollment
College in High School Alliance
On September 17, 2019, the US Department of Education released new guidance entitled "Increasing Postsecondary Opportunities and Success for Students and Youth with Disabilities." Read More >>
 
The Long Path to a New Student Loan Repayment System
Center for American Progress
Borrowers: A new way to repay your student loans is coming. Eventually. The downfalls of the current system have been well documented; it's complex and downright annoying for borrowers to navigate and expensive for the federal government to administer. An effort to create a new repayment platform began in 2014, but six years later, it's still not close to becoming a reality. Read More >>

Education Department Erects New Barriers to Relief for Students Harmed by School Fraud and Closures; Protects For-Profit College Industry at Expense of Students
National Consumer Law Center
The U.S. Department of Education announced new rules that will make it much harder for students who are harmed by illegal school conduct or closures to get relief from their federal student loans or to hold schools accountable for illegal conduct.  Read More >>
Congress
House Approves Short-Term Spending Bill That Would Stave Off Shutdown 
The New York Times
The House  approved a short-term spending bill that would stave off a government shutdown until just before Thanksgiving, allowing lawmakers additional time to resolve disputes over annual spending legislation without a funding lapse.  Read More >> 

Lamar Alexander Blocks Vote on Funding for Minority-Serving Colleges 
The Washington Post
With weeks left before $255 million in federal funding for minority-serving colleges and universities expires, Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) took to the Senate floor Thursday to request unanimous consent for legislation extending the money. Senate Education Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) objected, shutting down the vote but offering to address the funding in a broader package on higher education. Read More >>

New Senate Proposal Fails to Address Key Issues in Higher Education 
Center for American Progress
U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) announced a piecemeal plan to reform the Higher Education Act. Read More >>
   
Senate Education Spending Bill Would Increase Aid for School Safety, Charters 
Politico
The Senate's bill to the fund the U.S. Department of Education would keep overall spending virtually flat, although grants for charter schools would get a relatively small increase, as would programs intended to improve school safety. Read More >>

Scaled-Back HEA Plan Coming Soon? 
Inside Higher Ed
GOP senator Lamar Alexander is expected to introduce legislation soon that would offer a path to piecemeal reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, after months of stalled talks over a bipartisan overhaul of the landmark law, which wasn't expected to move until at least next year.  Read More >> 
 
Reps. Shalala, Pressley, and Tlaib Introduce the Protecting Student Aid Act of 2019 
(Courtesy of Carlos Condarco, Office of Congresswoman Donna Shalala)
Reps. Donna Shalala (FL-27), Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), and Rashida Tlaib (MI-13) recently introduced the Protecting Student Aid Act of 2019 (PSA Act), legislation designed to reinvigorate the Student Aid Enforcement Unit within the U.S. Department of Education in order to allow the Department to better respond to fraud and abuse within federal student aid programs.  Read More >>  
Other news
CIAW Recognizes National Workforce Development Month with Senate Briefing: "Investing in America's Workforce: A National Imperative"

NAPE's Senior Policy Advisor, Lisa R. Ransom joined coalition partners with the Campaign to Invest in America's Workforce (CIAW) and honorary congressional host Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) for recognizing National Workforce Development Month by hosting a Senate congressional briefing this morning on "Investing in America's Workforce: A National Imperative." The briefing, moderated by Katie Spiker, Director of Government Affairs for the National Skills Coalition, featured panelists included:
  • Harry J. Holzer, Professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University, fellow at Brookings, and a former Chief Economist of the US Department of Labor
  • Lindsey P. Horvath, Mayor Pro Tempore, West Hollywood, CA
  • Jason Perkins-Cohen, Director, Workforce Development Board for Baltimore City
  • Grant Shmelzer, Executive Director, IEC Chesapeake
NAPE is pleased to be a member of CIAW and to support initiatives that support closing the skills gap for our nation's workforce. For more information on CIAW's workforce platform, click here.


September reading