Federal Legislative Weekly Update
Congress
June 5, 2020 – President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans last week acknowledged the need for additional pandemic relief to buoy the economy, despite a jobs report showing that 2.2 million jobs were added last month. Any forthcoming federal aid should be more tailored than the $3.5 trillion bill, H.R. 6800 (116), passed by House Democrats last month, a Senate GOP aide said. “Further stimulus action will need to be targeted and focused on the economy and schools safely reopening,” the aide said. “Democrats’ insistence in locking people in their homes without a plan, making them dependent on government assistance, is going to do permanent damage to the economy.“
Last Friday, President Donald Trump signed into law legislation designed to make it easier for millions of small businesses to avoid being stuck with debt after taking government-backed loans during the pandemic. The bill, H.R. 7010 (116), would give businesses more leeway on how they spend funds through the so-called Paycheck Protection Program, which Congress created in March to fight mass layoffs during the Covid-19 outbreak. The program offers low-interest loans that can be forgiven if businesses agree to maintain their payrolls — an incentive that led to the issuance of 4.5 million loans totaling more than $510 billion.
U.S. Department of Education
June 9, 2020 – Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ new regulation that restricts which college students may receive emergency relief grants under the CARES Act won’t be unveiled this week as previously planned, the Trump administration told a federal judge this week. Education Department officials wrote in a Federal Register notice earlier this week that the agency was scheduled to publish the rule “on or about” Tuesday. But in a court filing on Tuesday, attorneys representing the department said that was not the case.
This notice published in the Federal Register is an update to the previous notice published in the Federal Register Vol 85, No. 103 on May 28, 2020 for members of the public on submitting written comments for accrediting agencies currently undergoing review for purposes of recognition by the U.S. Secretary of Education. The purpose of the notice is to correct the scope of recognition for the National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences Inc.
June 8, 2020 – The Trump administration is planning to unveil a new regulation this week that restricts which college students may receive emergency grants to cover expenses like food and housing. The Education Department is moving to publish an “interim final rule” that requires colleges to exclude undocumented students and others who don’t qualify for federal student aid from a more than $6 billion emergency cash grant program under the CARES Act, H.R. 748 (116). Department officials wrote in a notice released on Monday that they expect to publish the “interim final rule” in the Federal Register “on or about” Tuesday. Such rules typically take effect immediately, without first going through the usual process of soliciting and responding to public comments.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her department to prevent the new Title IX rule from going into effect in August. “Implementation of the Final Rule will drain and divert educational resources from the State’s educational institutions," James wrote. She also said the rule would "hinder the State’s effective administration and enforcement of its own laws and institutional policies,” and "harm the State’s interest in ensuring all students can attend school in a safe, nondiscriminatory environment conducive to teaching and learning."
The Department is requesting an emergency clearance of this information collection request to allow for immediate outreach to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to meet the requirements of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or the CARES Act, Public Law 116-136 (March 27, 2020). This will help to ensure that the distribution of the CARE Act funds is managed by IHEs in accordance with this clarification as discussed in the Interim Final Rule scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on or about June 9, 2020. The Department is requesting emergency clearance and OMB approval of our foregoing public comment until this collection is resubmitted as a regular collection not later than June 30, 2020. The Department will publish 60 and 30 Federal Register notices as required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection at that time.
June 5, 2020 – The Secretary announces the annual updates to the tables used in the statutory Federal Need Analysis Methodology that determines a student's expected family contribution (EFC) for award year (AY) 2021-22 for student financial aid programs, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers 84.063, 84.033, 84.007, 84.268, 84.408, and 84.379. This notice alerts the financial aid community and the broader public to these required annual updates used in the determination of student aid eligibility.
The Department submitted a request for an extension of the information collection to approve a form used to obtain information from federal student loan borrowers who allege that the loan(s) in their name were the result of a forgery. This information is used by the Secretary to make a determination of forgery for the Direct Loans, FFEL Program Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans held by the Department. This information collection stems from the common law legal principal of forgery, which is not reflected specifically in the Department's statute or regulations, but with which the Department must comply.
June 4, 2020 – Attorneys general in eighteen states sued Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education in federal court Thursday, in an attempt to halt the Trump administration's overhaul of sexual discrimination laws. The lawsuit filed in the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia asks a judge to halt a looming Aug. 14 effective date for the new Title IX rule, and also demands the court both declare the rule unlawful as well as “vacate and set aside the Rule.”
“Title IX’s mandate is simple: our schools must give women and men equal access to education, which means no one should experience sexual harassment,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement. “But instead of making it easier for students to report, and for schools to respond, to sexual harassment, Secretary DeVos has unlawfully narrowed Title IX’s reach.” The complaint was led by the attorneys general of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California. The attorneys general of Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin also joined the suit.
The Department is proposing a revision of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, Federal Direct PLUS Loan Request for Supplemental Information collection system. The Federal Direct PLUS Loan Request for Supplemental Information serves as the means by which a parent or graduate/professional student Direct PLUS Loan applicant may provide certain information to a school that will assist the school in originating the borrower's Direct PLUS Loan award, as an alternative to providing this information to the school by other means established by the school. This is a request for a revision of the currently approved form. The form was reorganized for improved usability and flow.
June 3, 2020 – The Fiscal Operations Report for 2019–20 and Application to Participate for 2021–22 (FISAP) has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Department has posted the FISAP Form, Instructions, and Desk Reference to the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website. The online FISAP will be made available on the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) website by August 1, 2020.
June 2, 2020 – The Department is proposing an extension of the CARES Act, Recipient's Funding Certification and Agreement (SIP, MSI, FIPSE) information collection system. This information collection request (ICR) includes the certifications, and in some cases additional data, that IHEs must submit to request funds allocated under Sections 18004(a)(2) and 18004(a)(3) of the CARES Act. This ICR was previously approved as an emergency clearance in order to comply with the requirements of the CARES Act and expedite the release of funds to IHEs and students with pressing financial needs due to the pandemic.
The Secretary announced the annual updates to the ICR plan formula for 2020 to give notice to borrowers and the public regarding how monthly ICR payment amounts will be calculated for the 2020-2021 year under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number 84.063. The adjustments to the income percentage factors for the ICR plan formula contained in the notice are applicable from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, for any borrower who enters the ICR plan or has his or her monthly payment amount recalculated under the ICR plan during that period.
The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant data submission deadline for the 2019–20 Award Year is Wednesday, September 30, 2020. This is the last processing day of the award year. All school data must be received and accepted by this date to be included in a school's final Ending Cash Balance for the year.
Recently Introduced Federal Legislation
H.R.7138 – To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require program participation agreements between institutions of higher education and Hanban if a Confucius Institute operates on the campus of the institution.
a. Status: Referred to House Committee on Education and Labor, 6/8/20
b. Sponsor: Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) 9 Cosponsors
H.R.7114 – To extend and clarify relief to Federal student loan borrowers, and for other purposes.
a. Status: Referred to Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 6/4/20
b. Sponsor: Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) 1 Cosponsor
State Update
State Legislative Updates from Colorado, California and Kansas
The second week of June finds 16 state legislatures in session. As state legislative activity returns to a “new” normal, AACS will keep you apprised of the latest developments of interest to member schools.
Both chambers of Colorado’s legislature unanimously passed a bill to establish an “occupational credential portability program” that would apply to most licensed professions. HB 1326 presumes with some limited exceptions that “a person duly licensed, certified, registered, or enrolled in good standing in another state or United States territory to practice a particular profession or occupation” is entitled to a Colorado license upon certifying they have “equivalent experience or credentials” and have not been disciplined. If signed into law by Governor Jared Polis (D), the licensure portability program would begin January 1, 2021.
In California, the Assembly Appropriation Committee voted unanimously last week to refer AB 2549 to the Assembly floor. The bill would require the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology – and seven other boards – to issue temporary licenses to military spouses.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (D) vetoed a 36-page COVID-19 response bill last month that included language limiting civil liability during the pandemic. The vote to pass the bill’s conference report was 76 to 34 in the House and 27 to 11 in the Senate. Governor Kelly stated in her veto message that HB 2054 “undermines a thoughtful compromise originally reached on liability protections to protect both individuals and responsible business owners. My administration engaged key stakeholders in a thorough discussion to amend COVID-19-releated civil liability protections in a responsible manner. After weeks of negotiation, a compromise was reached. House Bill 2054 fails to honor this compromise and discards all of the progress made in prior negotiations.”
The text of the bills listed in this report can be found in AACS’ Bill Tracking Portal.
Please do not hesitate to contact Brian Newman at bnewman@abingdonstrategies.com or by phone at 202-491-5254 with comments or questions.
COVID-19 Resources
This page contains a running list of state reopening guidance for salons and other personal care businesses.
AACS Coronavirus Resource Center
The bottom of this page contains a running list of state distance learning guidance. It was compiled with assistance from the AACS State Relations Committee and/or a review of state board websites. Accordingly, developments may be occurring faster than our ability to capture/report on them. Please contact your state regulator(s) for the most current information.
State and Local Government Responses to Covid-19
Stateside Associates, a state and local government relations firm, has created a chart with state legislative actions, executive agency actions, gubernatorial actions, and local government actions related to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Executive actions closing retail and “non-essential” businesses will be of interest.
PBA/Stateside Associates Report: Reopening of State and Local Economies (Updated May 29, 2020)
National Governors Association Coronavirus Updates
COVID-19 State Legislation – National Conference of State Legislatures