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 Register now and join your fellow school owners, faculty, students and employers March 24-26, 2020 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. Deadline to reserve your room at the Washington Hilton is March 2. Book your room
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’ve created a handy tip sheet, letter templates, and made it easy for you to identify and get some time on your lawmakers’ calendars to advocate on behalf of your school and the industry. Click here
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. In today’s highly fast paced environment that is fueled by social media, we can come together, join forces, and retweet, repost and share so much information. Think about the resounding messages we can put out in the universe of social media if we all collectively dedicated ourselves to sharing content on our social media channels. Recently, the AACS Board of Directors hired Baran Strategy & Communications to oversee our public relations strategy, which includes contributing to our social media channels.
We know if we come together and raises our presence on social media, we can be unstoppable! We are so much stronger together. 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: Today, 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.
Beauty school pushes back against occupational licensing bill (Tennessee School of Beauty) 
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.
 The Beauty Changes Lives 2020 Winter Scholarship season is closing soon. Seven scholarship competitions – including two open to licensed esthetics/cosmetology educators – are awarding more than 60K in awards. The application deadline is Saturday, February 29. Learn more about the scholarships and how to apply here.
GRC News
Federal Updates U.S. Department of Education February 12, 2020 – Sen. Dick Durbin said that Democrats would likely be postponing a vote on legislation to stop Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ new rule that curtails loan forgiveness for defrauded students. The Senate vote on the measure had been expected on Thursday, February 13, 2020. Durbin said on the Senate floor that he expected that Democrats would wait until after next week’s recess to bring up a Congressional Review Act resolution, S.J. Res. 56, that would overturn DeVos’ rewrite of the Obama-era “borrower defense to repayment” rule. The House passed its version of the resolution, H.J. Res. 76, last month. The U.S. Department of Education announced today it is launching investigations into both Harvard and Yale Universities after it appears both Ivy League higher education institutions potentially failed to report hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign gifts and contracts. In recent weeks, the Department discovered Yale University may have failed to report at least $375 million in foreign gifts and contracts, choosing not to report any gifts and contracts over the last four years. U.S. Congress – Newly Introduced Legislation of Note H.R.5886 – To direct the Secretary of Education to develop resources to reduce e-cigarette use by students on campuses of institutions of higher education, and for other purposes. a. Status: Referred to House Committee on Education and Labor, 2/13/20 b. Sponsor: Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) 12 Cosponsors H.R.5877 –To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to establish a program to provide disadvantaged youth in developing countries with opportunities to receive education and employment skills, and for other purposes. a. Status: Referred to House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 2/12/20 b. Sponsor: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) 0 Cosponsors S.3313 – A bill to amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to limit the exemption from the registration requirements of such Act for persons engaging in activities in furtherance of bona fide religious, scholastic, academic, or scientific pursuits or the fine arts to activities which do not promote the political agenda of a foreign government, to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify the disclosures of foreign gifts by institutions, and for other purposes. a. Status: Referred to Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 2/13/20 b. Sponsor: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) 2 Cosponsors S.3273 – A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a community college and career training grant program. a. Status: Referred to Senate HELP Committee, 2/11/20 b. Sponsor: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) 2 Cosponsors
State Update States Consider Merging Barbering and Cosmetology Boards The third week of February finds 39 state legislatures actively meeting – including New Mexico’s legislature which will adjourn for the year on Thursday. Other key deadlines this week include a February 19 “crossover” deadline in Washington State by which a bill needs to be passed by its chamber of origin to remain viable, and a Monday bill introduction deadline in the West Virginia Senate. As always, AACS keeps you apprised of the latest state legislative developments of interest to member schools. An Iowa bill was introduced last week to merge the state’s cosmetology and barbering boards, and reduce the course of instruction for cosmetology from 2,100 to 1,800 hours. SSB 3156 also: removes "arranging, braiding, and dressing of hair" from the definition of cosmetology; replaces the state’s current 2,100 hour barbering license with a 1,500 hour barbering/hairstylist license, and; prohibits the newly combined Board from requiring instructors to have additional hours of training -- beyond those required for a cosmetology license. A Senate State Government Subcommittee hearing on the bill was scheduled on Tuesday. A strike all amendment to Arizona HB 2740 was filed by the bill’s sponsor – House Government Committee Chairman John Kavanagh (R) – on Monday. The bill is expected to be considered by Representative Kavanagh’s Committee on Thursday and proposes to merge the state’s barbering and cosmetology boards – but leaves massage therapy with the Arizona State Board of Massage Therapy. The substitute would also: reduce the course of instruction for barbering from 1,500 to 1,000 hours; allow for pre-graduation testing; provide for out-of-state licensed professionals to provide services for up to two weeks to “persons who are attending an athletic, charitable, artistic or social event” in Arizona, and; correct a statutory oversight by allowing hairstylists to remove superfluous hair from the neck. Of interest to schools, the bill would: allow schools to offer both barbering and cosmetology programs if they have appropriately licensed instructors for each; allow students to provide off-campus services at a school sponsored event, and; permit schools to offer “similar” programs – for example, massage therapy – not regulated by the state’s cosmetology board. Finally, the measure contains provisions allowing a “laser safety officer” – defined by rule – to directly supervise an aesthetician or cosmetologist certified as a laser technician. Maryland’s Senate Education, Health and Environment Affairs Committee voted 9 to 2 last week to report SB 294 with amendments, which were not available for review at press time. As introduced, the measure would require for-profit colleges and trade schools, including cosmetology schools, to derive at least 10% of their revenue “from a source other than federal funds or institutional debt.” Schools would be prohibited from enrolling new Maryland residents if they fail the state’s 90/10 rule for two consecutive years or two of their three preceding fiscal years. In Florida, the Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee voted 3 to 1 Monday to advance a committee substitute to SB 1124 – the Occupational Regulation Sunset Act. According to an official summary, “the bill repeals specified occupational regulatory programs, over four years, beginning July 1, 2021, and ending July 1, 2024. The bill impacts over 100 professions and occupations. The bill states that it is the intent of the legislature to complete a systematic review of the costs and benefits of certain occupational regulatory programs prior to the date set for repeal to determine whether the program should be allowed to expire, be fully renewed, or be renewed with modifications.” The measure provides for a July 1, 2023 sunset of the chapters regulating barbering and cosmetology. The Senate Appropriations Committee will consider the bill next. The House Business Committee in Idaho favorably reported a bill last week that would eliminate the state’s 900-hour hair cutter license. H424 would also allow licensed professionals to provide services in an unlicensed location up to 12 days a year on a “charitable basis” if the public is not charged and other specified requirements are met. Additionally, the measure adds language requiring apprenticeships to be completed within three years “unless an extension is approved by the board for good cause. The specific time allowed for each apprenticeship shall be set by board rule.” In West Virginia, the House Government Organization Committee voted last week to advance a bill – HB 4099 – to eliminate the permit for shampoo assistants. Under current law, shampoo assistants must pass a three clock hour in-person or online sanitation course to engage “in the practice of shampooing and rinsing hair; removing rollers or permanent rods and cleansing or other sink-related functions not requiring the skill of a license.” A House floor vote on the bill is expected this week. Nebraska’s Health and Human Services Committee voted 25 to 1 last week to advance LB 607 to enrollment and initial review. The bill, initially filed in the state’s unicameral legislature in 2019, provides for 300-hour nail technology apprenticeships, which is the same as the current course of instruction at a school. LB 607 also defines “permanent cosmetic tattooing” as “the process of tattooing eyebrows, eyelids, lips, and other parts of the body with beauty marks, hair imitation, scar camouflage, or areola repigmentation, whether permanent, semipermanent, or temporary, by a person other than a licensed physician. Cosmetic tattooing includes any procedure referred to as permanent makeup, microdermapigmentation, micropigment implantation, microblading, or dermagraphics.” Additionally, LB 607 eliminates the English language proficiency requirement for Cosmetology Act licensure to permit exams to be conducted in multiple languages. Finally, Hawaii’s House Intrastate Commerce Committee favorably reported a substitute to HB 2435 which would allow a barber shop license applicant to be either a licensed barber or a licensed beauty operator. The Committee however changed the effective date of the measure to July 1, 2050 “to encourage further discussion.” The bill will be next considered by the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee. 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 Legislative Hearings February 26, 2020 – Rhode Island House Health, Education and Welfare Committee Hearing on H7233 Additional State Bill Introduction Mississippi HB 550 Member Events
This course will explore the online learning landscape and how to ensure learner engagement remains high, even when working virtually. The course discusses various aspects of online education, as well as discussing techniques for both social and motivational forms of engagement and how to apply them appropriately in courses. Members in the News
AACS is working with members to achieve our legislative and regulatory objectives at the federal, state and local levels, 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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