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The Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), published on April 2, now has a number of proposed changes that AACS member schools should support. Please join your Government Relations Committee in sending letters to the U.S. Department of Education. As the changes are nuanced and detailed, we have made the process relatively easy, only requiring that you add your institution’s name at the beginning of the letter. To send your letter click here AACS’ General Counsel Duane Morris LLP has provided highlights on clarifications from the Paycheck Protection Program FAQs released by the Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. For the FAQs, click here.
AACS is here for you with a comprehensive coronavirus resource page that will be updated as new information comes in. Click here for updates from the Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of Education, accreditors, distance learning educators and more.
Member Benefits
Especially during this time of the coronavirus pandemic, we have been hosting webinars for members to provide the latest information to help you continue to serve your students and manage your business. Join us for our next webinar: Best Practices for Re-Opening Your School If you missed a webinar, recordings are available to members only. Webinars to date are: Navigating Distance Education Additional FAQs are available regarding: Navigating Distance Education If you would like the recording, email info@beautyschools.org. More will be available soon. Monitor your inbox for the latest information.  Prescription RX card benefit
 Home office needs? Try the Office Depot – OfficeMax member benefit 
Brenda Reddick Scharman and Rickie Mehl with Cameo College joined us for our Virtual happy hour... Sips, Tricks and Tiger King! It was time we de-stressed, laughed, shared stories and had a drink. Brenda and Rickie shared great spirit, best makeup and pose... Love it! Thank you to all our members who participated!! #strongertogether #AACS #animalprint #funtimes see you next month at Happy Hour! 
GRC News
Federal Update April 16, 2020 – President Donald Trump is tapping yet another group to advise him on when to re-open the economy: members of Congress. The Trump administration is inviting a bipartisan crew of lawmakers to participate in a task force to address the central question of when the country should return to normal amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Democrats are hopeful it’s a sign that Trump will seek buy-in from across Washington in any attempts to reopen the economy — one of the government’s most consequential decisions in the pandemic. April 21, 2020 – The Senate will meet Tuesday afternoon for a previously unscheduled pro forma session, in which Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will try to fast-track nearly $500 billion in pandemic relief for small businesses, hospitals and coronavirus testing. Negotiations over an "interim" package stalled out on several points today, dashing hopes of swift passage in the upper chamber this afternoon. The House has advised a vote as early as Wednesday. U.S. Department of Education April 14, 2020 – U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced that nearly $3 billion will quickly be made available to governors to ensure education continues for students of all ages impacted by the coronavirus national emergency. The Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund, authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, is an extraordinarily flexible "emergency block grant" designed to enable governors to decide how best to meet the needs of students, schools (including charter schools and non-public schools), postsecondary institutions, and other education-related organizations. April 15, 2020 – U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos proposed a new funding priority that would empower teachers to rethink their professional development. Under the proposal, teachers would be empowered, through stipends or vouchers, to select and access professional development courses and opportunities that are relevant to their personal needs or career goals instead of having one-size-fits all programming dictated to them by the state or local education agency. On April 2, 2020, the Department published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the general, establishing eligibility, maintaining eligibility, and losing eligibility sections of the Institutional Eligibility regulations issued under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), related to distance education and innovation. In that document, the Secretary also proposes to amend the Student Assistance General Provisions regulations issued under the HEA. This document corrects the name, telephone number, and email address of the individual to whom postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery should be addressed and to whom requests for further information should be directed. Deadline for comment is May 4, 2020. The Department is requesting an extension of the Federal Family Educational Loan Program (FFEL) information collection system. The regulations in 34 CFR 682.302(f) assure the Secretary that the integrity of the program is protected from fraud and misuse of funds. These regulations require a State, not-profit entity, or eligible lender trustee to provide to the Secretary a certification on the State or non-profit entity's letterhead, signed by the State or non-profit's Chief Executive Officer, which states the basis upon which the entity meets the regulations. The submission must include the name and lender identification number(s) for which the eligible designation is being certified. Once an entity is approved it must provide an annual recertification notice identifying the name and lender identification number(s) for which designation is being requested. April 16, 2020 – During an interview with conservative talk radio host Lars Larson, DeVos said "it’s very likely that students will be able to go back to their schools this fall, although I’m certainly not the medical and scientific expert. But what I think is important right now is that every student have the opportunity to continue with their learning.” DeVos added: “It’s been really exciting to see how many states and many districts and many schools have really grabbed this opportunity to think about how to facilitate learning for their students differently.” The Department is requesting an extension of the Grant Application Form for Project Objectives and Performance Measures Information collection system. U.S. Department of Education Grant Application Form for Project Objectives and Performance Measures Information serves as a precursor to the U.S. Department of Education Grant Performance Report Form (ED 524 B) in which project objectives, measures, and targets will be entered by applicants at the time that grant applications are entered in Grants.gov. The Grant Application Form for Project Objectives and Performance Measures Information form and instructions are used by many ED discretionary grant programs to enable grantees to meet ED deadline dates for submission of performance reports to the Department. April 17, 2020 – The Department is requesting an extension of the currently approved Loan Discharge Applications information collection. This information collection is necessary for loan holders in the FFEL, Direct Loan, and Perkins Loan programs to obtain the information that is needed to determine whether a borrower qualifies for a closed school or false certification loan discharge. The loan discharge regulations in all three loan programs require borrowers who seek discharge of their FFEL, Direct Loan, or Perkins Loan program loans to request a loan discharge and provide their loan holders with certain information in writing. This information collection includes the following five loan discharge applications that are used to obtain the information needed to determine whether a borrower qualifies for a closed school discharge, false certification—ATB, false certification—disqualifying status, false certification—unauthorized signature/unauthorized payment or unpaid refund loan discharges. April 20, 2020 – The Education Department says just $6 million of $6.28 billion in emergency aid for college students has reached campuses so far, and officials are trading accusations with college leaders over the slow pace of a rollout that's left students waiting for help. The Department is placing blame on colleges, accusing college leaders of "dragging their feet" in submitting applications for money allocated in the bill, H.R. 748 (116). Only 27 percent of the more than 5,000 colleges eligible for the program had submitted the paperwork needed to access the funding by Friday, according to the department. Superintendents want better federal guidance on reopening schools: Trump’s guidance for reopening the country is “inconsistent and incongruous, at best" when applied to schools and needs to be improved, the leader of a national school superintendents group said over the weekend. Daniel Domenech, executive director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, said school leaders appreciate the deference to state and local leadership in the guidelines. But he said state and local education leaders are relying on experts to help them make decisions about whether to open or close schools during an “unprecedented pandemic.” Schools would not reopen immediately under Trump’s three-phased “Opening Up America Again” strategy and implementation is up to governors. But during a Friday briefing with reporters, Trump said, “I think the schools are going to be open soon. I think governors are talking about schools being open.” Recently Introduced Federal Legislation H.R.6544 – To establish a moratorium on collection efforts made by certain lenders against borrowers affected by coronavirus. a. Status: Referred to House Committee on Financial Services, 4/17/20 H.R.6502 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for deferral of loan repayment for graduates during the period of the coronavirus. a. Status: Referred to House Committee on Education and Labor, 4/14/20
State Update Third State Coalition Formed to Restore Economic Activity The last full week of April finds eight state legislatures actively meeting – in most cases to address the COVID-19 pandemic and/or pass state budget bills. Please do not hesitate to contact Brian Newman at bnewman@abingdonstrategies.com or by phone at 202-491-5254 with comments or questions.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced last Thursday that their states will work in close coordination to reopen their economies. The governors stated in a joint statement that "our number one priority when analyzing when best to reopen our economy is the health and safety of our citizens. We will make decisions based on facts, science, and recommendations from experts in health care, business, labor, and education.” They further indicated that they will closely examine at least these four factors when determining when best to reopen their respective states:
As reported last week, similar East Coast and West Coast multi-state coalitions were established to address economic restoration and getting people back to work. The East Coast multi-state council includes Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. On the West Coast, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, and Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced a similar regional pact. New York Governor Signs Sexual Assault Awareness Education Bill Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) signed S7169 into law last Friday. As enacted, the bill makes technical corrections to a 2019 Act that requires domestic violence and sexual assault awareness education for persons engaged in the practice of the nail specialty, waxing, natural hair styling, esthetics and cosmetology. Specifically, the measure allows advocacy groups recognized by the United State Department of Justice to “develop and provide access” to domestic violence and sexual assault awareness education courses. COVID-19 Resources AACS Coronavirus Resource Center State and Local Government Responses to Covid-19 
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