NAPE Public Policy Update
Congress
No Deal on Fresh Coronavirus Aid Package: Rift Over Size, Shape of Relief Package Threatens Small-Business Fund
Jim Saksa and David Lerman, Roll Call 
A partisan stalemate deepened Thursday over the next steps needed in providing coronavirus financial relief. The impasse derailed an attempt by Senate Republicans to add $251 billion to a dwindling fund for small-business loans, as Democrats pushed for a broader relief effort. Read more >> 
Coronavirus Stimulus Bill Allocates $14 Billion to Higher Education; Higher Education Community Says More Is Needed
American Council on Education 
President Donald Trump signed a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill on Friday, an effort to address some of the worst effects of the economic downturn resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. ACE President Ted Mitchell called the higher education provisions in the plan, which total approximately $14 billion, "woefully inadequate" while noting that some aspects-such as the regulatory flexibility given to colleges and universities-will help institutions better serve their students in the coming months. Read more >> 
Administration
DeVos Reaches Settlement Over Stalled Student Debt Relief Claims
The Washington Post
The Trump administration has agreed to process nearly 170,000 debt cancellation claims within 18 months from borrowers who say they were defrauded by their colleges. The proposed settlement agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in California on Friday, stems from a class-action lawsuit brought against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her agency in June by a group of borrowers awaiting decisions on their applications, some for as long as 5 years. Read more >>
Feds Begin Distributing Emergency Grants for Students Affected by Campus Closures
Kery Murakami, Insider Higher Education
The Education Department is beginning to disperse the $14 billion set aside for higher education in the stimulus package passed by Congress two weeks ago, beginning with $6 billion in funds for institutions to give students through emergency grants. Read more >>
Other news
Educators: Stimulus Not Nearly Enough to Save Schools  
Laura Camera, US News & World Report 
The country's public school and higher education systems netted nearly $31 billion combined in the $2 trillion stimulus the House passed Friday to combat the economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic--an amount stakeholders say is hardly sufficient to bolster the financial crises they face. Read more >> 
Higher Ed Groups Call for $47 Billion in Federal Aid
Kery Murakama, Inside Higher Ed 
Colleges and universities need a $46.6 billion infusion from Congress to "at least partially restore institutions," wrote 41 education groups to congressional leaders. To come up with the figure, the groups estimated that an additional $12 billion is necessary for need-based financial aid because more students and their families will see a reduction in their wages. Read more >>