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We are stronger together! The time is NOW to schedule meetings with your Members of Congress during the 2020 Government Relations Summit & Hill Day. We have two webinars to help you prepare for your meetings. Webinar 1: Getting Prepared For Your D.C. Appointment
But first, you need to register now and join your fellow school owners, faculty, students and employers to advocate on Capitol Hill for the beauty industry. Learning how to share succinct, effective messages with your lawmakers and how to effectively use social media for advocacy, are among the skills you’ll learn during this event. 2020 Government Relations Summit & Hill Day
Even if you can’t join us on Capitol Hill, you can still join the #IncludeBeauty campaign to protect our schools, students and employees from the College Affordability Act, a House bill approved in Committee by the Democrat leadership of the House Education and Labor Committee. The bill is the most comprehensive legislative attack we have seen on the cosmetology sector due to multiple damaging provisions directed at for-profit colleges. Communicate directly with Members of Congress to oppose the House College Affordability Act, and ask your employees and students to do so too. Letter templates and instructions are available here.
Yay… they are finally at your school! Is your team ready? Remember that a potential student walks in your door with 3 thoughts in mind: Can I do It? Can I afford it? Will I fit in? Does your team have the necessary process in place to address these concerns? Are they prepared to overcome any and all objections? Does the prospect leave feeling that you care? These questions and more are addressed by Nancy Rogers and Vicki Maurer of The Source For Training during this session. Learn how to:
Join us for Conducting A Commitment-Based Interview. Don't Sell; Let Them Buy Date: February 20, 2020 Applications are now being accepted for volunteers and speakers for 2020 AACS conferences. Volunteers for the CEA & AMP Convention and the AACS Annual Convention are key to the events' success. Join us as a volunteer event committee member. The AACS 2020 theme is: "It's Time To Engage: Advocate. Ignite. Rise." We want compelling programming that will leave attendees wanting more. We want your ideas for topics and credentials as a speaker to share your knowledge and expertise. Submit your application to volunteer here. Submit your application for speaker here.
Local high school students participated in job shadow (Educators of Beauty School) Hair Play brings black hair supply to Boonville (House of Heavilin Beauty College) Local beauty schools raise spirits - and money - as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (Northwest College)
For members only, this card can be given to your staff, faculty and students and is accepted at more than 68,000 pharmacies nationwide. Save up to 80% on prescriptions. No health restrictions, and may be used on drugs not covered in health plans. May even be used on many pet prescriptions. The card is pre-activated and ready for use! For your copy, contact Cristina@beautyschools.org.
We have partnered with OfficeMax to provide AACS members a special benefit. Businesses using the Office Depot discount program see significant savings. Take advantage of the program today and you could save thousands of dollars per year! To learn more, click here.
Does your school have color talent just waiting to be discovered? There is still time for students to post their best work on Instagram and enter for a chance to have their work showcased on the runway during the 8th Annual Beauty Changes Lives Experience. Two students will be selected to receive an all-expense paid trip to Chicago, courtesy of Wella Education. Their work will also be featured by Modern Salon. Simply have students post their best color work on Instagram, use the hashtag #WellaPickMe, and @mention your beauty school name. Make sure the profile is public! The 8th Annual Beauty Changes Lives Experience will be held Sunday, April 19, 2020 in Chicago during America’s Beauty Show.
GRC News
Federal Updates U.S. Department of Education January 30, 2020 – The Department published in the Federal Register that it is consolidating the forms that borrowers must complete if they want to ultimately receive the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) & Temporary Expanded PLSF (TESPLF). There will now be a single form for these programs. The form is being renamed the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) & Temporary Expanded PLSF (TESPLF) Certification and Application. This revised form includes the Employment Certification Form which is already part of this collection. This consolidation of forms will remove the need for borrowers to separately complete the PSLF application and submit a separate email for the TEPSLF program. This combining will also aid the Department in streamlining the forgiveness determination process.
January 31, 2020 – The Department of Education issued a notice in the Federal Register inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2020 for the Training Program for Federal TRIO Programs (Training Program), Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.103A. The Training Program provides grants to train the staff and leadership personnel employed in, participating in, or preparing for employment in, projects funded under the Federal TRIO Programs, so as to improve the operation of these projects.
The Department of Education (the Department) is seeking to renew OMB control number 1845-0147 for the collection of URLs hosting institutional contracts and contract data relating to campus banking agreements. The Department has created a Cash Management Contract electronic form to allow institutions to report their contract and contract URL to the Department. The Department has also created a central repository for the information provided by the institution that includes the contract data and the web addresses that is publicly available for research and comparison purposes. Both of these are located on studentaid.gov. The database allows interested parties, such as students, families, press, institutions, and researchers to easily access and compare banking agreements available at different institutions.
The Department published a notice in the Federal Register requesting a revision of the information collection supporting the policies and reporting requirements contained in Subpart E of Part 668—Verification and Updating of Student Aid Application Information. Sections 668.53, 668.54, 668.55, 668.56, 668.57, 668.59 and 668.61 contain information collection requirements (OMB control number 1845-0041). This subpart governs the verification and updating of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid used to calculate an applicant's Expected Family Contribution for purposes of determining an applicant's need for student financial assistance under Title IV of Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. The collection of this documentation helps ensure that students (and parents in the case of PLUS loans) receive the correct amount of Title IV program assistance by providing accurate information to calculate an applicant's expected family contribution. There has been no change to the regulatory language.
February 4, 2020 – Published by the Department in the Federal Register, the Secretary is reopening the FY 2020 SSS Program competition, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.042A, for eligible institutions of higher education (IHEs) or combinations of IHEs in the designated counties of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico affected by the recent earthquakes, for which the President has issued a disaster declaration. The Secretary takes this action to allow these eligible applicants additional time to submit their applications. This notice also waives the electronic application submission requirement for these eligible applicants.
Future Deadlines – The Direct Loan established data submission (closeout) deadline for the 2018–19 Program Year is Friday, July 31, 2020. This is the last processing day of the program year, so 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.
U.S. Congress – Newly Introduced Legislation of Note
H.Amdt.754 to H.R.3621 – Comprehensive CREDIT Act of 2020 a. Summary: An amendment numbered 2 printed in Part B of House Report 116-383 to require the GAO to study how credit scores adversely impacted by a student borrowers defaulted or delinquent private education loan further impacts applying for future loans, including information on treatment of different demographic populations.
S.3243 – Simplifying Access to Student Loan Information Act of 2020 a. Summary: To increase students' and borrowers' access to student loan information within the National Student Loan Data System.
State Update Deregulation Bills Introduced in Tennessee The first week of February finds 39 state legislatures actively meeting, including the legislatures in Alabama, Connecticut, Oklahoma and Oregon, which commenced their respective 2020 legislative sessions this week. There are also bill introduction deadlines this week in the following legislative chambers: Arizona Senate; California House and Senate; New Mexico House and Senate; South Dakota House and Senate; Tennessee House and Senate; Utah House and Senate, and; the Washington State Senate. During this critical period, AACS keep you apprised of the latest state legislative developments of interest to member schools.
Identical House and Senate bills were introduced in Tennessee last week to allow a person to practice barbering or cosmetology – and about 18 other professions – without a license so long as the “recipient of the work acknowledges the person's lack of licensure and waives claims against the person.” HB 1945 was introduced by Representative Martin Daniel (R – Knoxville), who serves as Chair of the House Government Operations Committee, and referred to the Business Subcommittee of the House Commerce Committee. SB 1914 was introduced by Senator Janice Bowling (R – Tullahoma) and referred to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee.
Tennessee school officials are encouraged to utilize the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) Alert link to contact members of these legislative Committees.
Florida’s Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee unanimously reported a Committee Substitute to SB 474 on Tuesday. At press time, the substitute bill text has not been posted online. The bill reported from the Innovation, Industry, and Technology Committee in January would reduce the course of instruction for barbering from 1,200 to 900 hours. However, that Committee favorably modified the hour reductions for specialist licensure – including providing for 400 hours “or the number of hours of training required to maintain minimum Pell Grant requirements” for full specialists (combining both skin and nails). Under current law, a 500-hour course of instruction is required for full specialist licensure. The bill will next be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Last week, Florida’s House Government Operations and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee voted 10 to 2 to favorably report HB 1193 – a non-identical companion bill to SB 474. As previously reported, this deregulation and occupational licensure reform bill would reduce the course of instruction for barbering from 1,200 to 600 hours. Other provisions of interest to AACS members include: 1-to-1 licensure reciprocity of barbers and cosmetologists current licensed in another state; deregulation of hair braiding, hair wrapping, body wrapping, the application of polish to fingernails and toenails, and makeup application; and the reduction of the biennial CEU requirement for licensure renewal from 16 to 10 hours. HB 1193 would also severely reduce the course of instruction required for specialist licensure: nail specialists from 240 to 150 hours; facial specialists from 260 to 165 hours, and; full specialists (combining both skin and nails) from 500 to 300 hours. The bill is now in the House Commerce Committee.
House and Senate bills were introduced in Maryland last week to require for-profit colleges and private career schools – including cosmetology schools – to spend at least 50 percent of its tuition-revenue on “instructional spending” as defined by the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Institutions who fail to meet this threshold may not charge Maryland residents “an amount of tuition, fees, or other institutional charges in excess of two times the amount spent per student on instructional spending in the immediately preceding academic year; and shall provide a refund to each Maryland student who attended the institution during the immediately preceding academic year equal to the amount of tuition charged to the Maryland student in excess of the instructional spending per student amount multiplied by two.” The Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee will conduct a February 12, 2020 hearing on SB 445. The companion House measure, HB 470, is scheduled for a House Appropriations Committee hearing on February 18th.
The Maryland Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee and the House Appropriations Committee will also be conducting hearing on SB 446 and HB 469 on February 12th and February 18th, respectively. These identical bills will require for-profit institutions that “disorderly close” to provide “all essential records of the academic achievement” of former students to the Maryland Higher Education Commission. The penalty for failing to remit these records is a full refund of all tuition and fees paid by students without records appropriately filed. Schools can avoid failing under the “disorderly closure” definition by entering into at least one “school-to-school” teach-out agreement.
In New Jersey, identical Assembly and Senate bills were introduced last week to establish 1,250-hour barbering apprenticeships. At a school, the course of instruction for a New Jersey barber’s license is 900 hours. Both S944 and A2313 require the training to be conducted “under the supervision of a board-licensed barber with at least three years of experience.”
Virginia’ House General Laws Committee voted 12 to 9 last week to table HB 982 – effectively killing the licensure reciprocity bill this legislative session. The non-occupational specific measure would have allowed one-to-one licensure reciprocity for individuals licensed in another state for at least a year.
South Dakota Senate unanimously passed SB 10 and SB 23 in January. SB 10, which was introduced at the request of the state’s Department of Labor and Regulation, would require the state’s Cosmetology Commission to “allow credit for general coursework in areas not specific to the practice of cosmetology, nail technology, or esthetics, that is completed in other programs or institutions, to be applied to any course of study required for licensure.” SB 23 would repeal the high school graduation or equivalent requirement for professions under the state’s Cosmetology Commission. Both measures are currently pending in the House Commerce and Energy Committee.
Finally, a hair braiding deregulation bill was introduced this week in Illinois with Republican Representative Allen Skillicorn as the sole sponsor. Under current Illinois law, a 300-hour course of instruction is required for hair braiding licensure. Republicans control only 44 of the House chamber’s 118 seats. HB 4462 is currently in the House Rule Committee for assignment to a committee of jurisdiction.
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.
Upcoming State Hearings/Meetings
February 10, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. – Texas Advisory Board on Barbering Meeting
February 10, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. – Texas Advisory Board on Cosmetology Meeting
February 11, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. – Maryland House Economic Matters Committee Hearing on HB 349
February 12, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. – Maryland Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee Hearing on 445 and SB 446
February 18, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. – Maryland House Appropriations Committee Hearing on HB 469 and HB 470
Additional State Bill Introductions
Hawaii HB 2435
Kansas HB 2506
Maryland HB 419
Mississippi HB 261 Members in the News
AACS is working members to achieve our legislative and regulatory objectives at the federal level, ensuring lawmakers don’t pass misguided legislation that could severely harm our industry. We need your help to tell the industry’s compelling story and save our industry from the negative consequences of harmful legislation. You can help by donating to help us fund this important public relations campaign, and by sharing stories and testimonials. To submit a donation, please click here. To submit a story, please click here. 
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