Federal Legislative Weekly Update

U.S. Department of Education 

July 13, 2020 - Harvard and MIT sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security regarding the July 6 Broadcast Message and the July 7 FAQs stating that 100% online foreign students would be ineligible for student visas. In the first hearing in the litigation on July 13, DHS announced that it was rescinding the guidance and returning to the status quo of SEVP's March 9 and March 13 guidance on remote instruction.  The agreement between the Government and the litigants moots Harvard College's and MIT's request for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction of the guidance, and precludes enforcement of SEVP's July policy on a nationwide basis.

The House Appropriations Committee on Monday advanced legislation that would provide $73.5 billion for the Education Department in the coming fiscal year, which is $716 million above the current level. The committee approved the Labor-HHS-Education funding bill on a 30-22 vote along party lines. 

July 10, 2020 – In an electronic announcement, the Department posted additional regulatory flexibilities related to Coronavirus. The guidance provides additional regulatory flexibilities in accordance with President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency due to Coronavirus/COVID-19 on March 13, 2020 and the authority provided to the Secretary of Education in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Pub. L. No. 116-136, signed by the President on March 27, 2020. We will continue to provide additional guidance on our COVID-19 webpage as needed. 

Section 15011 of Division B of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act requires that a grantee which receives more than $150,000 report to the U.S. Department of Education (Department) on a quarterly basis. The Department, after consultation with the Office of Management and Budget, currently interprets this CARES Act quarterly reporting requirement to be satisfied through existing federal reporting mechanisms. Specifically, CARES Act quarterly reporting requirements are considered to be met under the more frequent, monthly reporting requirements of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA), Pub.L. 109-282, as amended by the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act), Pub.L. 113-101. 

President Donald Trump said he's instructed the Treasury Department to review the tax-exempt status of U.S. colleges and universities, in a pair of tweets that advanced his administration's weeklong drive to turn education into a political wedge issue. “Too many Universities and School Systems are about Radical Left Indoctrination, not Education,” Trump said. 

July 9, 2020 – Kenneth Marcus, the Education Department’s top civil rights official, is stepping down from his position, Secretary Betsy DeVos announced. Marcus oversaw the development of the Trump administration’s sweeping new Title IX rule governing campus misconduct. He also led the administration’s charge to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses and in schools, opening several high-profile investigations and adopting a controversial definition of anti-Semitism that critics said punished criticism of Israel. Marcus also issued guidance warning education leaders about coronavirus bullying based on race and national origin, especially against people who are perceived to be Chinese American or of Asian descent. 

The Department understands that due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, institutions and their students face challenges in obtaining certain documentation needed to verify their Free Application for Federal Student Aid/Institutional Student Information Record (FAFSA/ISIR) information. Particularly, foster youths and unaccompanied homeless youth are having an extremely difficult time obtaining Verification of Non-Filing (VNF) and IRS Form W-2 (or an equivalent document from the appropriate tax authority). Therefore, the Department reminds institutions of other documentation acceptable to complete verification for nontax filers and extension filers. In addition, allowing a signed attestation for a VNF or an IRS Form W-2 will not, alone, be criteria used to select an institution for a program compliance review. 

July 8, 2020 – President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos are threatening to cut federal funding if schools don't fully physically reopen, increasing pressure on education leaders as the Trump administration intensifies its drive to get kids back in classrooms. DeVos has said she is “very seriously” looking at withholding federal funds from schools that don't open their doors this fall. 

President Donald Trump publicly disavowed his own administration’s guidance for reopening schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, arguing the federal recommendations were too burdensome as he ramped up his bid to have students return to classrooms in the fall. “I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!” 

July 7, 2020 – Five states and the District of Columbia are suing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over her policy governing how public schools must direct pandemic relief funding to private school students. The legal challenge to DeVos’ “equitable services” interim final rule, which took effect on July 1, was filed on Tuesday by the attorneys general of Michigan, California, the District of Columbia, Maine, New Mexico and Wisconsin, all of whom are Democrats.
 

Recently Introduced Federal Legislation 

H.R.7584 – To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize individuals who are pursuing programs of rehabilitation, education, or training under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to receive work-study allowances for certain outreach services provided through congressional offices, and for other purposes.
     a.           Status: Referred to House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, 7/13/20
     b.           Sponsor: Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) 3 Cosponsors

H.R.7511 – To authorize funding to expand and support enrollment at institutions of higher education that sponsor construction and manufacturing-oriented registered apprenticeship programs, and for other purposes.
     a.           Status: Referred to House Committee on Education and Labor, 7/9/20
     b.           Sponsor: Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) 1 Cosponsor