E-Update for June 2, 2017
Highlights:
- Congress was out of session this past week and will return on June 5th.
- A group of Democratic Senators sent a letter to Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee regarding Title II funding in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 LHHS appropriations bill.
- USED announced the IRS Data Retrieval Tool is now available for borrowers applying for an income-driven repayment plan.
Congress:
Democratic Members Send Letter to USED Secretary DeVos Regarding ESSA State Plan Peer Review Process: A group of Democratic members, led by Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), sent a letter to U.S. Department of Education (USED) Secretary Betsy DeVos regarding the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) consolidated state plan peer review process. In the letter, the members expressed concerns that the Department’s peer review process is not the robust quality control process that Congress intended. The members requested an explanation for how USED will ensure that the process improves the quality of states’ plans.
May 25, 2017
Senate:
Ranking Member Murray Sends Letter Regarding USED Secretary DeVos’ Speech at American Federation for Children Event: Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Patty Murray (D-WA) sent a letter to USED’s Designated Agency Ethics Official Marcella Goodridge-Keiller regarding concerns about USED Secretary Betsy DeVos’s recent speech at the American Federation of Children’s (ACF) National Policy Summit. Ranking Member Murray stated that given USED Secretary DeVos’s ties to ACF and the organization’s record of lobbying on behalf of private school vouchers, the Ranking Member is concerned that “her appearance created an actual or perceived conflict of interest and potentially violated her ethics agreement.” The letter can be found here.
May 31, 2017
Senator Warren Launches Website to Track USED Actions Around Student Loans: Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) launched a website entitled “DeVos Watch” to hold USED Secretary DeVos accountable for managing the Department’s student loan program. Regarding the website, Senator Warren wrote in an op-ed for CNN.com that the website “will seek information about the Department’s actions and inactions around federal student loans and grants and highlight the findings.” The op-ed can be found here.
May 31, 2017
Democratic Senators Send Letter to LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee Regarding Title II: A group of Democratic Senators sent a letter to Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Ranking Member of the Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee Patty Murray regarding their request to “include no less than $2.295 billion in funding for the Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants program (Title II, Part A)” in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 LHHS appropriations bill. The Senators also requested $30 million for the School Leader Recruitment and Support Program.
May 25, 2017
Administration:
U.S. Department of Education (USED):
IRS Data Retrieval Tool Now Available for Income-Driven Repayment Plans: USED announced the IRS Data Retrieval Tool is now available for borrowers applying for an income-driven repayment plan. New encryption protections have been added to the Data Retrieval Tool to further protect taxpayer information. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool will return Oct. 1, 2017, on the online 2018–19 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form.
June 2, 2017
New Website for IDEA Launched by USED: USED announced a new website dedicated to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), following USED Secretary DeVos’s request for an updated and more robust website after the previous IDEA website experienced an outage. The press release can be found here.
June 1, 2017
On May 31, USED Secretary DeVos announced the following hiring updates:
- Kathleen Smith to serve as senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education and acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education;
- Steven Menashi to serve as Deputy General Counsel for postsecondary service and delegated the duties of General Counsel;
- Nathan Bailey to serve as Communications Director and delegated the duties of the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Outreach; and
- Jose Viana to serve as Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director of the Office of English Language Acquisition.
ESSA Peer Reviewer Training Materials Posted: The USED posted materials related to their ESSA Consolidated State Plan on-site peer reviewer training. According to the materials, the objectives of USED’s on-site peer review training are to review significant State plan requirements and discuss best practices for effective panel discussions.
May 22, 2017
Upcoming Events:
- On June 6, the Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a hearing at 10:00 am on USED’s FY2018 budget proposal, during which USED Secretary DeVos will testify. More information is available here.
- On June 7, the House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a hearing at 10:00 am on USED’s FY2018 budget proposal, during which U.S. Department of Labor Alexander Acosta will testify. More information is available here.
- On June 7, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing at 10:00 am to consider pending nominations, including the nomination of Eric D. Hargan, the nominee for Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services. More information is available here.
- On June 8, the Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a hearing at 10:00 am on USED’s FY2018 budget proposal, during which U.S. Department of Labor Alexander Acosta will testify. More information is available here.
- On June 8, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing at 10:00 am on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’ FY2018 budget proposal, during which HHS Secretary Tom Price will testify. More information is available here.
- On June 8, the House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing at 1:00 pm on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’ FY2018 budget proposal, during which HHS Secretary Tom Price will testify. More information is available here.
Publications:
- On May 31, the Institute of Education Sciences’ What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) released an Evidence Snapshot for ACT Aspire, a program that tracks students’ readiness for college and career. The Snapshot indicates that the available research for the program did not meet the WWC group design standards and therefore, it was determined that more research is needed to draw conclusions about the program’s effectiveness. The WWC Evidence Snapshot can be found here.
Legislation:
H.R.2753
A bill to provide for loan repayment for teachers in high-need schools.
Sponsor: Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA)