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AACS’ office will be closed on Monday, May 25, to observe Memorial Day. We are grateful to the men, women and families who gave their lives to serve our country. Normal business hours will resume Tuesday, May 26.
The annual N.F. Cimaglia Educator of the Year Award is co-sponsored by the AACS and Milady. It is a prestigious award given to one educator each year who has exhibited the most significant contribution toward upgrading professional standards of educational excellence, particularly within the areas of student involvement during the immediate past year. Nominations are due June 8, 2020. The winner will be announced during the Virtual CEA & AMP Conference, July 11-13, 2020. Click here for more information and to submit a nomination.
AACS is proud to provide unrivaled programming, networking and educational opportunities. To best serve our beauty educators, and ensure the safety and health of all conference participants, this year’s 2020 CEA & AMP is going virtual. Join us July 11-13, 2020. Click here for more information.
Reopening Guide Ready for when your state approves, AACS has created a Reopening Guide to help your schools and organization proceed with protocols to ensure the safety and health of your staff, instructors, students, and community. In addition to resources, it also includes a state-by-state list of reopening policies. Click on this link to find out more.
Coronavirus Resource Center 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. The nomination period for the October 2020 election of the AACS Board of Directors is now open. There will be 5 School Member seats and 1 Partner Member seat open for this election. Nominations will be accepted through Wednesday, July 15, 2020. Serving as a Director is one of the most important ways that you can support and sustain AACS. Our Directors have the responsibility to provide foresight, oversight, and insight for the Association. They serve as our primary ambassadors, advocates and the conscious voice of our Members. Our Board of Directors should reflect the highest aspirations of our businesses, our students and our industry. In this video, current board member Garrett Shuler shares how being a board member has benefited his career and school.
If you are interested in serving, complete this Board Nomination Application Form and send to Jim Petrillo, vice chair of the AACS Governance Committee. This short powerpoint addresses a few frequently asked questions. Member Benefits
 Preparing to reopen your school? Office Depot – OfficeMax member can help In addition to safety and health protocols, additional supplies will likely be needed to protect your instructors, staff and students as the learning continues. For a limited time, for AACS members only, cloth masks and face shields are available (supplies are limited).
Masks are available by calling Nicole Gutierrez at: (855) 337-6811 ext. 12673 or Sara Haltom at (855) 337-6811 ext. 12872. Whether working from home or back in your offices, OfficeMax is here to provide AACS members special benefits. 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 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. If you missed a webinar, recordings are available to members only. Webinars to date are: 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. Additional FAQs are available regarding:  Prescription RX card benefit 
GRC News
Federal Legislative Weekly Update Congress May 18, 2020 Two Senators will unveil updated legislation this week to provide $500 billion in pandemic relief for states, local governments, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia, and their bill will include added bipartisan support. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) are signing onto a bill originally introduced last month by Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.). The amended bill completely eliminates any population threshold to qualify for aid, “allowing every state, county, municipality, U.S. territory and the District of Columbia to qualify for direct federal assistance, regardless of its size,” Menendez and Cassidy said in a release. The measure — dubbed the State and Municipal Assistance for Recovery and Transition Act or SMART Act — would also reverse Treasury Department guidelines stating that prior pandemic assistance for state and local governments can’t be used to replace revenue shortfalls.
U.S. Department of Education May 19, 2020 – The Department published the final rule on Title IX in the Federal Register. The Secretary of Education amends the regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX). The final regulations specify how recipients of Federal financial assistance covered by Title IX, including elementary and secondary schools as well as postsecondary institutions, (hereinafter collectively referred to as “recipients” or “schools”), must respond to allegations of sexual harassment consistent with Title IX's prohibition against sex discrimination. May 15, 2020 – The Department posted new CARES Act guidance and Q&A. This guidance provides updated information that expands upon the Department’s March 5, 2020 and April 3, 2020 guidance. Here, the Department provides additional regulatory flexibilities due to the President’s declaration of a national emergency due to COVID-19 and information about the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Pub. L. No. 116-136, signed by President Trump on March 27, 2020. The Trump administration said in a court filing late Thursday that the number of federal student loan borrowers whose wages were being garnished during the coronavirus pandemic has dropped over the last week from more than 54,000 borrowers to fewer than 12,000. The coronavirus economic stimulus law, H.R. 748 (116), signed in March, suspended wage garnishment of defaulted federal student loans until at least Sept. 30. But the Education Department is being sued by borrowers who say their wages are still being garnished in violation of the CARES Act. In this federal register notice, the Department announced waivers that it granted within the last 30 days, under the CARES Act. The Department has approved waivers of the following requirement: Section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) to extend the period of availability of fiscal year (FY) 2018 funds for programs in which the State educational agency (SEA) participates as the eligible agency until September 30, 2021.In the last 30 days, the Department's Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) granted 41 waivers to SEAs. The Department announced interest rates for direct loans first disbursed between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. On May 12, 2020, the Treasury Department held a 10-year Treasury note auction that resulted in a high yield of 0.700%. The chart below shows the interest rates for Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and Direct PLUS Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2020 and before July 1, 2021.
May 13, 2020 – Vice President Mike Pence, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Deborah Birx on Wednesday spoke on a teleconference call with more than a dozen higher education leaders on how to get students back on campus this fall. Their discussion revolved around the guidance for colleges released by President Donald Trump and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in March on responding to Covid-19, said a call readout from the vice president's office. The meeting came as colleges and universities are grappling with how to protect school finances without putting student and faculty lives in danger as health officials warn against reopening too soon. Some of the participants on the list have already expressed cautious optimism about allowing in-person instruction this fall.
H.R.6825 – To increase the amount of loan forgiveness available to teachers. H.R.6814 – To require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to promulgate regulations to provide support to institutions of higher education for the provision of certain equipment and services to students of those institutions, and for other purposes.
H.R.6800 – HEROES Act S.3746 – A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include certain employment as a health care practitioner as eligible for public service loan forgiveness, and for other purposes. S.3745 – A bill to direct the Secretary of Education to provide relief to borrowers of student loans for whom the Department of Education found misrepresentation by the institution of higher education or a State attorney general has asserted a right to borrower defense discharge.
State Update Minnesota Legislature Approves Hairstyling and Makeup Deregulation Bill The week before Memorial Day finds 21 state legislatures actively meeting. As legislative activity continues to rebound from COVID-19 disruptions, AACS will keep you apprised of the latest developments of interest to member schools. Minnesota’s House of Representatives voted last Sunday to suspend the rules and pass a hairstyling and makeup services deregulation bill by a vote of 128 to 3. As presented to Governor Tim Walz (D), SF 2898 exempt “hairstyling” and “makeup services” from licensure by the Board of Cosmetologist Examiners if the practitioner completes a four-hour course in health, safety and infection control from an approved continuing education provider. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “the legislation, which passed both chambers with broad bipartisan support, reverses a 2018 decision by the state Board of Cosmetology requiring thousands of hours of costly training for stylists who are paid for freelance hair and makeup services.” The bill’s sponsor – Senator Karin Housley (R) said "these are the hair and makeup artists we hire for weddings, proms, and photoshoots — not cosmetologists that work in a salon…They don't work with chemicals or cut hair; there's no reason they should be subject to such an extreme regulatory burden, especially when it does not appear to have been done in good faith." In Pennsylvania, the House of Representative approved Senate amendments to HB 2388 last Thursday. As currently drafted and transmitted to Governor Tom Wolf (D), HB 2388 would allow car dealerships, lawn and garden centers, cosmetology salons and barber shops to reopen upon enactment. The Governor has until May 28th to sign or veto the bill, or it will become law without his signature. If you are interested in viewing the text of the Minnesota and Pennsylvania bills, please click here to visit AACS’ Bill Tracking Portal. On the regulatory front, North Carolina’s Board of Barber Examiners adopted an emergency rule effective May 20th that makes two changes to assist barber schools affected by COVID-19. While both changes have previously been approved for inclusion in a 2021 bill, emergency legislation provides the Board “an opportunity to implement these changes sooner on a temporary basis.” The first charge places for-profit schools on the same footing as non-profit schools as current law provides that nonprofit barber schools can have only one instructor employed for the first 20 students enrolled, while for-profit schools must have two instructors. According to a Board memo, the emergency rule “would give schools flexibility in how they respond to the pandemic with their staffing levels.” The second change allows “practical and theoretical training simultaneously with only one instructor if the barber school offers the theoretical training online.” Under current law, barber schools must have two instructors present if they provide practical and theoretical training simultaneously. “In the past, this has prevented schools from being able to have online modules that students could access on their own schedule because the students might access the module while practical training is occurring. During the stay-at-home orders, schools have been able to provide online education because in-person practical training at the school hasn’t been occurring. But when schools are able to reopen their doors, they will need regulatory flexibility to be able to manage the number of students present in the school at once (and thus limit the chance for the virus to spread).” Please do not hesitate to contact Brian Newman at bnewman@abingdonstrategies.com or by phone at 202-491-5254 with comments or questions.
AACS Guide to Reopening AACS Coronavirus Resource Center State and Local Government Responses to Covid-19 PBA/Stateside Associates Report: Reopening of State and Local Economies National Governors Association Coronavirus Updates COVID-19 State Legislation – National Conference of State Legislatures Member Events
It is a Game Night! Bring your own cocktail, hosted by AACS board member Kim McIntosh of Crave Beauty Academy, and get ready for some rousing rounds of trivia. Date: May 27 
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