E-Update for June 30, 2017

Highlights:

• Congress will be on recess from July 3 to July 7.
• This week, the Senate delayed a vote on its draft health care bill.
• On June 28, the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing titled, “Exploring Opportunities to Strengthen Education Research While Protecting Student Privacy,” which focused on the value of data and research and the need for clear guidance on ways to protect student data, among other topics.
• On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in the case of Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia vs. Comer, ruling that the government cannot prohibit an entity from receiving a generally available benefit due to religious identity. The case is said to have important implications for states’ school choice policies.

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA):

USED Provides Feedback on ESSA State Plans: This week, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) provided feedback on ESSA consolidated state plans to an additional 5 states: Connecticut, Louisiana, New Jersey, Oregon, and Tennessee. States will respond to the feedback – which has not yet been posted publicly – and make the appropriate changes.
June 2017

USED Releases Dear Colleague Letter on ESSA Per-Pupil Expenditures Reporting Requirement: USED released a Dear Colleague Letter regarding the Department’s decision to provide states and districts with an additional year to implement the new ESSA requirement to include per-pupil expenditures of federal, state, and local funds for each district and school for the preceding fiscal year in annual state and district report cards. The letter also outlines the work that USED is doing to support states and districts in implementing the requirement. Additionally, USED plans to review and revise the non-regulatory guidance on the report cards.
June 28, 2017

Congress:

Senate Delays Health Care Vote: This week, the Senate delayed a vote on its draft health care bill. Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on June 26 released its estimate of the direct spending and revenue effects of the draft Senate health care bill.  According to CBO, the draft Senate bill would increase the number of people who are uninsured by 22 million in 2026 relative to the number under current law, slightly fewer than the increase in the number of uninsured estimated for the House-passed legislation. The CBO report can be found here and the White House’s statement on the CBO report here.  Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander’s (R-TN) statement is available here, Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray’s (D-WA) statement here, and House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott’s (D-VA) statement here.
June 26, 2017

Members of Congress Send Letter to USED on Delay of Borrower Defense Rule: 48 members of Congress, including Ranking Member of the Senate HELP Committee Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee Bobby Scott (D-VA) sent a letter to USED Secretary DeVos raising concerns about her decision to delay the borrower defense rule that would provide defrauded students with debt relief and hold institutions accountable for acts of fraud.
June 30, 2017

Senate:

Senators Send Letter to USED Secretary DeVos Regarding Civil Rights Enforcement: A group of 34 Senators, led by Ranking Member of the Senate HELP Committee Patty Murray (D-WA), sent a letter to USED Secretary Betsy DeVos regarding their concerns with the Department’s efforts to reduce enforcement activities within USED’s Office for Civil Rights. In the letter, the Senators specifically cite concerns about the President’s budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 which proposes cuts to USED’s Office for Civil Rights.
June 27, 2017

Senate Democrats Send Letter Regarding FY2018 Appropriations Process: Senate Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) regarding the FY2018 appropriations process. In the letter, the Senators urged a path forward to resolve party differences and called for relief from sequestration, parity between defense and non-defense spending, and that poison pills not be included.
June 26, 2017

House:

House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Education Research and Student Privacy: The House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing titled, “Exploring Opportunities to Strengthen Education Research While Protecting Student Privacy.” The hearing highlighted consensus among members on the following topics: the value of data and research to improving the return on investment of the education system, the need to update the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the need for clear guidance on ways to protect student data, and the need to balance data and research against the need for privacy and security. The webcast and witness statements can be found here and Chairman of the Subcommittee Todd Rokita’s (R-IN) statement here.
June 28, 2017

Administration:

U.S. Supreme Court:

SCOTUS Announces Decision in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia vs. Comer: The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) announced its decision in the case of Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia vs. Comer, a case that is said to have important implications for states’ school choice policies. The Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot prohibit an entity from receiving a generally available benefit due to religious identity. While some see this as supportive of school choice policies that allow government funding to flow to private religious schools, others argue that the Court’s decision was intentionally narrow and did not adequately address this broader issue. USED Secretary DeVos’s statement on the decision can be found here.

• Subsequent to the decision in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia vs. Comer, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated decisions regarding cases in Colorado and New Mexico relating to funding for a voucher program and funding for textbooks to be used by religious organizations, respectively. Specifically, the U.S. Supreme Court is requiring further consideration of these cases in light of the recent Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia vs. Comer

June 26, 2017

U.S. Department of Education (USED):

IES Awards Grants for Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships: USED’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) announced the awarding of fifteen grants to support partnerships between researchers and practitioners to study education policies, programs, and practices. The grants were made through the Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies and Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships in Education Research grant programs.
June 29, 2017

Federal Appeals Court Issues Order on Gainful Employment Rule: A federal appeals court declined to provide a preliminary injunction from enforcing the provisions of USED’s gainful employment rule that for-profit cosmetology schools had been seeking as part of their effort to appeal their graduates’ earnings data; however, the court did allow additional flexibility in submitting alternate earnings appeals.
June 28, 2017

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):

HHS Announces Funding to Mitigate Impact of Lead Exposure in Michigan: HHS announced the awarding of $15 million for the Genesee County Healthy Start Program to support health and social services for women, families, and young children who have had, or are at risk for, lead exposure in Flint, Michigan. Lead exposure can negatively impact young children’s health and development as well as the health of their families. The press release can be found here.
June 30, 2017

Publications:

NCES Releases Report on Early Millennials’ Education and Workforce Outcomes: The Institute of Education Sciences’ National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released a statistical analysis report titled, “Early Millennials: The Sophomore Class of 2002 a Decade Later.” The report provides information on the early adulthood milestones of a group of 2002 high school sophomores, including high school completion, postsecondary education, and employment outcomes.
June 29, 2017

Legislation:

H. Res. 417
Sponsor: Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL)
A resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the importance of civic education and civic involvement programs in the elementary and secondary schools of the United States.

H.R. 3034
Sponsor: Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA)
A bill to posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Justin Smith Morrill, United States Senator of the State of Vermont, in recognition of his lasting contributions to higher education opportunity for all Americans.

H.R. 3051
Sponsor: Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)
A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require contractors to provide certain annual disclosures during a period of loan repayment, and for other purposes.

H.R. 3052
Sponsor: Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)
A bill to establish the Higher Education Regulatory Reform Task Force, to expand the experimental sites initiative under the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reduce college costs for students, and for other purposes.

H.R. 3082
Sponsor: Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY)
A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to translate the FAFSA into foreign languages, and for other purposes.

H.R. 3083
Sponsor: Rep. Alexander Mooney (R-WV)
A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for the preparation of career and technical education teachers.