E-Update for March 27, 2023

The information covered below is from March 17, 2023 to March 23, 2023.

Highlights:

• On March 23, the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and the Workforce held a hearing examining the Biden Administration’s student loan policies, which covered a range of student loan policies, including the student loan forgiveness proposal and proposed updates to the Income-Driven Repayment program.
• On March 23, the House of Representatives began consideration of the “Parents Bill of Rights” legislation.
• On March 21, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in the case of Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, which involved the denial of services to a deaf child and involves two federal laws protecting students with disabilities – the Individuals with Disabilities Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Administration:

White House:

White House issues 2023 Economic Report of the President highlighting investments in early childhood and postsecondary education: On March 21, the Council of Economic Advisers issued its Annual Report, titled the “Economic Report of the President.” The report features information on the Administration’s work to invest in young children’s care and education, as well as efforts to strengthen postsecondary education. The section on early childhood covered the effectiveness of early childhood investments in the workforce and for families, as well as defining quality in early care. The report states that the federal government could better support the early childhood market by, “funding subsidies for childcare providers, including incentives to improve the quality of care and higher caregiver pay, alongside subsidies and publicly provided ECE programming for families.” In the section highlighting efforts to support higher education, the report outlines the rationale and impacts of public investments in higher education, and notes that the “diversity and flexibility” of the postsecondary system is an asset and unique trait of the U.S. system. Authors recommend that increased federal and state investments can expand access for students, and that these investments “require attention to both price and quality.”

U.S. Department of Education (USED):

USED announces April hearings for higher education rulemaking: On March 23, USED announced that it will hold virtual public hearings on April 11, 12, and 13 to provide feedback and suggestions for potential issues for future rulemaking sessions. USED is inviting feedback as a first step in issuing new regulations, and the suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• The Secretary’s recognition of accrediting agencies and related issues
• Institutional eligibility, including State authorization
• Third-party servicers and related issues
• The definition of distance education as it pertains to clock hour programs and reporting students who enroll primarily online
• Return of Title IV funds
• Cash management to address disbursement of student funds
• Federal TRIO programs

Additionally, USED invites input on how Title IV regulations could help borrowers better understand student loan repayment options. The hearings will be held from April 11-13 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm to 3:00pm ET, and individuals who seek to comment should email negreghearing@ed.gov no later than 12:00 pm ET on the business day prior to the public hearing at which they wish to speak. More information on the hearings is available here and information on the negotiated rulemaking process is available here.

USED Secretary Cardona urges education leaders to support student mental health: On March 20, USED Secretary Miguel Cardona spoke to members of the Council of the Great City Schools, a group of district education leaders, urging them to spend funds from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) to support student mental health. The legislation was signed into law in June 2022 in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and included more than $2 billion in funding to support youth mental health. During his speech, Secretary Cardona shared that an insignificant number of states had began to distribute the funds to schools, adding, “I want that drawn down quicker.” He continued, “Now’s the time to ensure a new system of education systematizes access to Tier 1 mental health supports — before the trauma, before our students are disengaged. We’re in a mental health crisis, we need it to happen.” [Note: A subscription to Politico Pro is required to view this article.

USED announces new FAFSA form to be released in December 2023: On March 21, USED announced that the new application year 2024-2025 form for the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will be released in December 2023. The form is usually available to applicants in October of the year prior to the academic year, and the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) cited the “unprecedented complexity of creating the new form” in the later introduction of the form. The announcement also included new information on the 2024–25 FAFSA Roadmap, which shared that FSA will launch a new testing and demonstration website in conjunction with the new form’s release. The demonstration website will help counselors and financial aid administrators learn the best ways to show staff, students, and families how to access and navigate the 2024–25 FAFSA form. Additionally, the road map shows that new fact sheets and resources will be made available to counselors, advocates, and college access professionals addressing various priority topics starting in summer 2023.

Congress:

Senate:

Senate Agriculture Committee holds oversight hearing: On March 16, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. This follows a February 16 committee hearing titled “Farm Bill 2023: Nutrition Programs” which focused primarily on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In his testimony at this week’s hearing, Secretary Vilsack spoke about the importance of SNAP as “an economic engine” as well as being “a critical support that addresses immediate needs by reducing poverty and food hardship… better long-term health, education, and employment.” Additionally, Secretary Vilsack noted the Department’s efforts to  “strengthen cross enrollment capabilities across Federal assistance programs, eliminate barriers to food assistance for vulnerable groups, and make healthier choices easier by expanding food purchasing options, fruit and vegetable incentives, and local food procurement.” The committee also focused on the program’s costs, as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest Budget and Economic Outlook for the next ten years, which included new cost estimates for the SNAP program. The updated cost estimates showed that the SNAP program could increase by $93 billion from fiscal 2023 through 2033 to a total of $1.2 trillion for the 10-year period. Ranking Member John Boozman, (R-AK), and Senator John Thune, (R-SD) expressed frustration that the Department of Agriculture didn’t consult with Congressional Agriculture Committees regarding the increase in SNAP benefits. Secretary Vilsack responded that the Department has to “take into consideration a number of factors,” including increased food costs. A recording of the hearing can be found here.

Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee holds hearing on President’s 2024 Budget; HHS Secretary Becerra testifies:  On March 22, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor/HHS) held a hearing to examine the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra testified. Subcommittee Chairwoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) opened the hearing, addressing “bipartisan priorities” in the budget, including, “investments in substance use and mental health services, access to child care, public health,” and others. Subcommittee Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) expressed appreciation for “the back and forth” with Secretary Becerra, but said that the budget request was a “bloated partisan request” and that “We can’t afford to ramp up base discretionary spending by a whopping 13 percent.” Secretary Becerra’s opening remarks included information and progress made by HHS in the well-being and support of young children, as well as improvements in behavioral health care, preventing public health emergencies, and supporting unaccompanied migrant children and refugees. He stated, “Early childhood programs have a return of up to $9 for every $1 spent… investments [in Head Start] ensure that families have access to high-quality services by retaining and supporting the workforce.” The questions throughout the hearing focused on a wide range of other health issues, including mental health challenges in youth and young adults. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, called attention to the child care crisis, naming it as a top priority, and asking the Secretary about the state of child care. Responding, Secretary Becerra shared the need for significant investment in child care, “You can still make more money flipping burgers than you can working caring for our next generation of leaders.” He stated that President Biden is committed to funding pre-K and to Head Start, as, “Frederick Douglass said it better, easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” More information and a recording of the hearing can be found here. Secretary Becerra also testified at the Senate Finance hearing on the HHS FY24 Budget Request, where he noted investments in child care and pre-K in his opening remarks.

GAO determines that the Biden Administration’s student loan forgiveness plan is subject to Congressional review: On March 17, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report determining that the student loan forgiveness proposal, introduced by President Biden in August 2022, should be considered a new “rule” and subject to review under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The CRA requires federal agencies to submit a report on each new rule to both the House and Senate and allows Congress to review and disapprove a federal agency’s rules. Following the GAO report, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-LA) announced that he and several other Senate Republicans will introduce a resolution under the CRA. A CRA resolution of disapproval is subject to a majority vote in the House and, unlike most legislation in the Senate, does not require a 60-vote affirmative vote and can also pass with a simple majority. Ranking Member Cassidy said “President Biden’s student loan scheme does not ‘forgive’ debt, it just transfers the burden from those who willingly took out loans to those who never went to college, or sacrificed to pay their loans off.” House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) applauded the GAO findings and also criticized the loan forgiveness plan, stating, “Once again, the Biden Administration has failed to follow the rule of law. The GAO decision found the Biden federal student loan debt transfer scheme should have been submitted to Congress as a ‘rule.’”

House:

House Republicans advance “Parents Bill of Rights” legislation; floor vote expected soon: On March 22, the House Rules Committee, which is responsible for establishing the rules for consideration of legislation by the full House of Representatives, approved the rules for H.R. 5 – the “Parents Bill of Rights” on a party-line 9-3 vote. The rule allows for votes on 22 amendments, including 3 from Democratic House members. Amendments on transgender students’ participation in sports, book bans, and the elimination of the Department of Education, among other issues, will be voted on during floor consideration of H.R. 5, which began on March 23. The House is expected to pass the legislation in the coming days. House Republicans, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), introduced H.R. 5 on March 1 and advanced the bill through committee on March 8. Specifically, the bill, which has 122 Republican co-sponsors, would, among other provisions, require school districts to post curriculum publicly and allow parents to review it, affirm a parent or guardian’s right to address school boards, and require schools to provide parents a list of books available in the school and classroom libraries. The Biden Administration, in a Statement of Administration Policy issued on March 20, opposes the bill because “it does not actually help parents support their children at school.” The statement also said that the bill would put LGBTQ students at “higher risk” instead of making them “feel included.”

House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee holds hearing on Biden Administration’s student loan policies: On March 23, the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and the Workforce held a hearing titled, “Breaking the System: Examining the Implications of Biden’s Student Loan Policies for Students and Taxpayers.” The hearing, led by Subcommittee Chairman Burgess Owens (R-UT), covered a range of student loan policies announced by the Biden Administration, including the student loan forgiveness proposal from August 2022 and proposed updates to the Income-Driven Repayment program announced in January 2023. In opening remarks, Subcommittee Chair Owens said “President Biden lacks the executive authority to implement his $1 trillion executive re-write of the federal student loan program.” Owens continued, “Creating an offramp for responsibility, driving up college costs, disincentivizing real loan reform, and forcing hardworking American taxpayers to pay for someone else’s loans is nothing more than a backdoor attempt at free college with abysmal implications for students, taxpayers, and our economy.” In her opening remarks, Ranking Member Frederica Wilson (D-FL) argued in favor of loan forgiveness and pointed to federal relief for banks, airlines, and farmers in recent years. The subcommittee heard from four witnesses: Marc Goldwein, Senior Vice President at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; Adam Looney, Professor of Finance at the University of Utah School of Business; Carlo Salerno, a senior researcher at the Government Accountability Office; and Sameer Gadkaree, President of The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS).

Three of the four witnesses were critical of the loan forgiveness plan highlighting the high cost and that the proposal does not address increasing college costs, among other criticisms. Mr. Goldwein, in his testimony, said that the Biden Administration’s proposals “serve as a band-aid and ignore very real structural challenges…likely, they will make the underlying situation worse.” In his testimony, Professor Looney called the loan forgiveness and other White House and Department of Education efforts to address loan debt “poorly targeted to help Americans who struggle financially, provide substantial benefits to highly educated and well-off borrowers, and exacerbate negative incentives in the market for institutions of higher education.” He argued that legislation, not executive action, is needed to address “the fundamental problems that caused the student loan crisis—useless degree programs and exorbitant costs.” Mr. Salerno, in his remarks, noted that “maximizing student loan forgiveness may be a worthwhile policy objective, but it is an ancillary one that only helps students after they have left.” He spoke about the need for a “fairer and more economically aligned federal financial aid system” that, he believes, “would better serve students, taxpayers, and institutions equally well throughout the entire buying process.” The final witness, Mr. Gadarkee, was strongly supportive of the Biden Administration’s efforts to reduce student debt, and, in his testimony, said “the Administration is taking targeted and common-sense steps to address a significant and growing problem affecting nearly 44 million Americans: making existing relief programs function as intended, discharging debt for those who were deceived by their schools, offering those in default a fresh start, addressing poor loan servicing, and revising the income-driven repayment system.” He, along with the other witnesses, agreed that Congressional action is needed to address college costs, the declining value of federal grant aid, program quality, and other underlying issues.

In questions and comments to the witnesses, Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY) spoke about college costs and establishing “accountability guardrails” such as “measuring whether the program’s price is aligned with the earnings boost that graduates received.” Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), highlighted other factors impacting student debt, including that the “Pell Grant has not kept up with college costs” and the declining state investments in higher education over the past few decades.

Full Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) spoke about the Biden Administration’s student loan repayment pause, first implemented in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, she argued, “has meant that over 40 million borrowers have been completely disconnected from the loan system, while servicers have been forced to cut their staffs by hundreds of employees.” Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) spoke in favor of the loan forgiveness plan and also highlighted the changes the Biden Administration made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program to allow more graduates to access the program and be eligible for loan forgiveness.

House Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee holds public witness hearing: On March 23, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor/HHS) held a public witness hearing. In his opening remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) thanked the witnesses for taking the time to share about the various “challenges” that they face in their work. Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)  used her opening remarks to call attention to the investments the committee made in the 2023 Labor/HHS appropriations bill, which included “increased funding for childcare, Head Start preschool grants…and high poverty schools,” among others. The subcommittee heard from witnesses representing early education, higher education, gifted education, and several health and medical groups. Sarah Rittling from the First Five Years fund testified, urging the subcommittee to increase funding for early childhood programs, including the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), Head Start, the Preschool Development Grants Birth through Five (PDG B-5). Rittling cited the increased cost of child care and the economic losses as a result of the lack of child care availability as reasons for the need for increased investments. Jared Bass from the Center for American Progress (CAP) also testified, encouraging the subcommittee to “additional resources to support the operation of the federal financial aid programs,” including for “program integrity activities.” Additional testimonies and a recording of the hearing can be found here.

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro highlights potential impacts of reducing budget to FY2022 levels: On March 20, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) released information from federal agency leadership regarding the potential impacts of scaling the federal budget to Fiscal Year 2022 (FY2022) levels. The information is in response to a series of letters that Ranking Member DeLauro sent to agency heads across the federal government, including USED and HHS, requesting information on the potential impact of capping overall federal spending at the FY2022 level, following reports that House Republican leadership is proposing to reduce overall FY2024 spending to FY2022 enacted levels. According to the letter from USED, some of the potential impacts to education include $850 million reduction in ESEA Title I grants, “equivalent to removing more than 13,000 teachers and service providers,” as well as a decrease in servicing to 40 million federal student loan borrowers. The letter from HHS states that a reduction to FY2022 levels “would eliminate at least 170,000 [Head Start] slots for children” and an additional 105,000 child care slots. In the announcement, Ranking Member DeLauro shared, “Continued Republican calls for cuts of this magnitude—both secret proposals from Republican leadership and public demands from extremists in the party—would be absolutely detrimental to all Americans.”

Supreme Court:

Supreme Court rules for plaintiff in significant special education case. On March 21, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in the case of Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, which involved the denial of services to a deaf child and involves two federal laws protecting students with disabilities – the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the unanimous decision in favor of Miguel Luna Perez, a deaf student who claims that the Michigan school district did not provide him with a qualified sign language interpreter, and was denied his high school diploma as a result of inadequate support. Perez argued that the school district violated both the IDEA requirement that students receive a “free appropriate public education” and the ADA prohibition on discrimination against children with disabilities. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a lower court ruling dismissing the claim because Perez – though he initially reached a settlement with the district – had not fully “exhausted” all administrative proceedings, as required under IDEA. The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the Biden Administration, submitted a brief in support of Perez’s claim. The Court’s ruling now could allow students with disabilities, who claim their rights are being violated, to pursue compensatory damages under the ADA, without having to exhaust administrative procedures under IDEA.

Upcoming Events (Congress & Administration):

• On March 28th at 10:00 am, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic will hold a hearing titled “The Consequences of School Closures: Intended and Unintended.” The hearing will examine the consequences of COVID-19 school closures on student development, including “historic learning loss, higher rates of psychological distress, and decreased physical well-being.” Additionally, it will consider “the role federal health agencies and teachers unions played in school closure decisions.” Witnesses include Mr. David Zweig, Author and Investigative Journalist; Ms. Tracy Beth Høeg, M.D., Ph.D., Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Specialist, Epidemiologist, and Private Practice Physician; and Ms. Virginia Gentles, Director of the Education Freedom Center at the Independent Women’s Forum. Additional witnesses may be announced prior to the hearing. The hearing will be held at 2154 Rayburn House Office Building and live streamed on the subcommittee’s website here. More information is available here.
• On March 28th at 10:00 am, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies will host a hearing titled, “Budget Hearing: Fiscal Year 2024 Request for the Department of Health and Human Services.” Witnesses include HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. More information is available here.
• On March 28 at 10:15 am, the House Education and Workforce Committee will host a hearing titled, “Unleashing America’s Opportunities For Hiring And Employment.” The hearing will be held at 2175 Rayburn House Office Building, and witnesses have not yet been announced. More information will be available here.
• On March 28th at 1:00 pm, USED in partnership with Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Overdeck Family Foundation will host the second session in its Family Engagement Learning Series. The series will explore bright spots of strategies implemented across the country and provide resources and evidence-based strategies to support student success. This session will focus on how family engagement can improve school attendance and student engagement with their learning, as chronic absenteeism continues to impact student success. More information and registration here.
• On March 29 at 10:00 am, the House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing titled, “Oversight Hearing – Addressing the Challenges of Rural America.” The hearing will be held at 2358C Rayburn House Office Building. Witnesses include Lenita Jacobs-Simmons, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor; Ruth Ryder, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Programs at the USED Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; and Tom Morris, Associate Administrator for Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration at HHS. More information is available here.
• On March 29 at 10:15 am, the House ​​Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development will hold a hearing titled, “Diversity Of Thought: Protecting Free Speech On College Campuses.” The hearing will take place in 2175 Rayburn House Office Building, and witnesses have not yet been announced. More information is available here.
• On March 30 from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm, the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship within the U.S. Department of Labor will conduct an open meeting. The primary purpose of the meeting will be an in-depth focus on non-traditional apprenticeship programs in Tech, Early Childhood Education, and the Care Economy. The discussion will include an early educator apprentice panel, insights on tech apprenticeship site visits, and barriers to expanding apprenticeship in the care economy. More information can be found here.
• On April 5 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities will host an open meeting. The meeting agenda will include roll call; approval of the January 27, 2023 meeting minutes; an update from the Board Chairperson; a virtual update from the Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education; a work session for each of the Board’s subcommittees (Preservation and Growth, Infrastructure, and Career Pathways and Financial Support and Research); a briefing from Braven’s Founder and CEO; a briefing from the Student Freedom Initiative’s Executive Director; and a discussion regarding the Board’s first report to the President. The public comment period will begin immediately following the conclusion of such discussions. The notice of the meeting and more information can be found

Upcoming Events (Outside Organizations):

• On March 27 at 3:00 pm, the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) will host a webinar titled, “Child Care and the Illusion of Parent Choice.” The webinar will present findings from recent parent surveys on several issues, including the cost of child care and how it affects a family’s budget, the impact of COVID-19 on a parent’s work status and their child care needs, and unique child care needs of American Indian and Alaska Native and rural parents. The panel will be moderated by Linda Smith, Director of the Early Childhood Initiative at BPC, and speakers include Anubhav Bagley, CEO at Arth Analytics and Claire Taylor, Director of Client Services at Morning Consult. More information and registration here.
• On March 28 at 9:00 am, FutureEd will host a congressional briefing titled, “The State of the Nation’s K-12 Public School Facilities.” The briefing will address federal investments in school infrastructure over the past two years, including from the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations bills. A panel will consider ways in which the federal government can support improvements in school buildings. More information and registration here.
• On March 28 at 12:00pm, the Federalist Society will host a webinar titled, “Litigation Update: The Stop WOKE Act Cases.” The Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act, or the Stop WOKE Act, seeks to “protect individual freedoms and prevent discrimination in the workplace and in public schools.” Ryan Newman, General Counsel for the Executive Office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) will discuss litigation of the legislation. More information and registration here.
• On March 28 at 1:00 pm, the S. Chamber of Commerce is hosting a report release webinar titled, “The Future of Data in K-12 Education.” The report to be released is titled, “Looking Back to Look Forward: Quantitative and Qualitative Reviews of the Past 20 Years of K-12 Education Assessment and Accountability Policy,” and the webinar will feature a panel of the report’s authors and two members of our Future of Data Working Group, emphasizing the importance of disaggregated data, transparency, and faithful implementation. Opening remarks will be made by Caitlin Codella Low, Vice President of Policy and Programs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and panelists include Dr. Dan Goldhaber, Director of the National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at the American Institutes for Research; Chris Stewart, Chief Executive Officer at brightbeam; Maya Martin Cadogan, Founder & Executive Director at Parents Amplifying Voices in Education; Dr. Ivan Duran, Superintendent at Highline Public Schools. More information and registration here.

Publications (Congress & Administration):

• On March 21, the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) released a new report titled, “Federal Support for Attracting, Training, and Retaining Educators: How Districts Receiving Teacher and School Leader Grants Use Their Funds.” The report examined the Teacher and School Leader (TSL) Incentive competitive grant program, which was established by Congress in 2015 to help address the goal of equitable access to talented educators. The program provides financial support to selected school districts to improve their systems for hiring, supporting, and retaining educators, particularly in high-need schools. The report was required by Congress as an evaluation tool, and interviews were conducted with district representatives to examine the effectiveness and outcomes of the investments. Key findings showed that districts invested more funding to improve their educator workforce rather than implement strategies to improve their data infrastructure, and TSL districts prioritized funding performance-based compensation and personalized support and feedback. Additionally, results from the interviews indicated that TSL districts may not have prioritized funding activities that directly addressed educator equity or diversity as much as the program expected. Authors encouraged further examination of the program, specifically regarding whether TSL funds result in more overlap with activities funded by Title II-A than policymakers intended, and whether the TSL program could further incentivize or support a focus on the equitable distribution of effective teachers and the diversity of the teacher workforce.

Publications (Outside Organizations):

• On March 22, Effective School Solutions released a new policy blueprint titled, “Will to Wellness: Six Steps to Reinventing Mental Health in Schools.” The blueprint is a six-point best practices framework for districts, states, and federal policymakers to address the youth mental health in schools over the next five years. The six steps include developing a system for early identification, building mental health capacity and awareness among adults in school communities, and creating sustainable funding pathways for school-based mental health initiatives. Each of the steps include recommendations that representatives at each level can make to support their community’s schools.
• On March 22, the National Parents Union published results from a parent poll titled, “Parents Reject Curriculum Bans, Trust Democrats More on Education, and Support Public Schools Teaching Diverse History.” Results indicated that parents “believe that [a] ‘bill of rights’ should guarantee that students have access to high-quality, well-rounded education with resources to support their individual needs.” Additionally, respondents agreed that parents’ own personal beliefs should not prevent other students from accessing certain curriculum and materials, and they encouraged. teaching topics like women’s history, Black history, Native American history, and Latino/a and Hispanic history.

Legislation:

Introduced in the House of Representatives:

H.R. 1619
A bill to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require schools to provide fluid milk substitutes upon request of a student or the parent or guardian of such student, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA)

H.R 1622
A bill to prohibit the mass cancellation of student loans.
Sponsor: Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA)

H.R 1626
A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for certain freedom of association protections, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)

H.R. 1630
A bill to establish competitive Federal grants that will empower community colleges and minority-serving institutions to become incubators for infant and toddler child care talent, training, and access on their campuses and in their communities, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT)

H.R. 1650
A bill to allow certain qualified law enforcement officers and retired law enforcement officers to carry a concealed firearm to protect children in a school zone.
Sponsor: Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX)

H.R. 1681
A bill to make certain improvements to child care services provided by the Secretary of Defense.
Sponsor: Rep. William Keating (D-MA)

H.R. 1682
A bill to provide consumer protections for students.
Sponsor: Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL)

H.R. 1689
A bill to authorize the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to award grants to eligible entities to support the mental and behavioral health of elementary and secondary school students, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA)

H.R. 1701
A bill to prohibit discrimination in higher education against certain noncitizen students on the basis of immigration status, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)

H.R. 1730
A bill to amend the Small Business Act to include requirements relating to graduates of career and technical education programs or programs of study for small business development centers and women’s business centers, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX)

H.R. 1731
A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to double the Pell Grant award amount, improve the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and reduce interest rates, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)

H.R. 1733
A bill to establish an alternative use of certain Federal education funds when in-person instruction is not available.
Sponsor: Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT)

H.R. 1735
A bill to coordinate Federal research and development efforts focused on modernizing mathematics in STEM education through mathematical and statistical modeling, including data-driven and computational thinking, problem, project, and performance-based learning and assessment, interdisciplinary exploration, and career connections, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA)

H.R. 1739
A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to strengthen the disclosure requirements for institutions of higher education related to foreign gifts and contracts.
Sponsor: Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK)

H.R. 1741
A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to decrease the frequency of standardized tests administered to students in grades 3 through 12, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY)

H.R 1742
A bill to index the maximum value of Federal Pell Grants to inflation.
Sponsor: Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL)

H.R. 1757
A bill to provide enhanced student loan relief to educators.
Sponsor: Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM)

H.R. 1767
A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide that educational assistance paid under Department of Veterans Affairs educational assistance programs to an individual who pursued a program or course of education that was suspended or terminated for certain reasons shall not be charged against the entitlement of the individual, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL)

Introduced in the Senate:

S. 889
A bill to provide consumer protections for students.
Sponsor: Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)

S. 936
A bill to amend the Small Business Act to include requirements relating to graduates of career and technical education programs or programs of study for small business development centers and women’s business centers, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS)

S. 952
A bill to establish an alternative use of certain Federal education funds when in-person instruction is not available.
Sponsor: Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC)

S. 963
A bill to provide enhanced student loan relief to educators.
Sponsor: Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM)

S. 965
A bill to establish a rural postsecondary and economic development grant program.
Sponsor: Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)