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We are sad to share news of the passing of Past-President Don Yearwood on May 27. Don was known as a true gentleman and statesman, who was actively involved in the beauty school business for 25 years, owning Carousel Beauty Colleges & The Spa Institute. He was a long-time member of AACS, and a Board Member from 2004-2016. He also served as Treasurer and President of the Board of Directors. The AACS National Office and the Board of Directors offer our heartfelt condolences to Don’s partner, Vicki Wedworth, and his children, Heather and Eric, as they mourn the passing of our colleague and their "Giant".
Internationally renown color and beauty specialist Sonya Dove is this year’s keynote speaker for the Virtual 2020 AACS CEA & AMP conference. Dove, sponsored by Milady, is globally recognized for her accomplishments within the salon industry and serves as an inspiration for educators and professional stylists.
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. Check out the schedule for this first-of-its-kind event here. Register to join us July 11-13, 2020. Click here for more information.
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 next Monday, June 8, 2020. The winner will be announced during the Virtual CEA & AMP Convention. Click here for more information and to submit a nomination. We can use your help in advocating for our industry in Washington, D.C. Despite our best efforts to get Members of Congress to see our students and graduates as valuable, meaningful and successful contributors to our economy, we fight an uphill battle for them. Students have voiced their concerns about the pandemic, the financial impact it’s had on them and their families, and what it means to their educational path forward. We are asking each of the AACS member schools to offer the opportunity to your students or graduates to record a short, 30-60 second video that explains what their education means to them. Learn more about the #DontCutUsOut campaign here.
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 are 3 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.
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 June 1, 2020 The pandemic will drain $16 trillion out of the economy over a decade, the Congressional Budget Office projected this afternoon . The “jaw-dropping” reduction means “the American people cannot afford to wait another month for the Senate to pass legislation,” Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and ranking Budget Committee member Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said in a joint statement. Meanwhile, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said he expects the upper chamber to quickly pass House legislation that would reform small business rescue loans, H.R. 7010 (116). May 28, 2020 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicated this week that the Senate will soon pass House-drafted legislation that would ease restrictions on emergency small business loans intended to avert mass layoffs during the Covid-19 pandemic. The House last week passed the bill in a 417-1 vote. The legislation would relax rules under the $670 billion Paycheck Protection Program to give borrowers more time to spend the money and use it on a broader set of expenses while still qualifying to have the loans forgiven – an important feature offered in exchange for employers maintaining their payrolls. May 27, 2020 House members return to Washington this week to begin their first back-to-back legislative sessions since March. “House Republicans are planning to sue Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a bid to block a new proxy voting system, which will allow lawmakers to cast their first-ever remote votes on the floor this week amid the global pandemic.” Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), along with 20 other GOP lawmakers, will file a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the voting method, calling it unconstitutional. Four constituents are also signing on to the lawsuit, claiming their representation in Congress is at risk of being diluted. Republican aides, however, do not expect the courts to intervene before lawmakers take their first-ever proxy votes.” U.S. Department of Education June 2, 2020 The Department published a notice in the Federal Register proposing an extension of the CARES Act, Recipient's Funding Certification and Agreement information collection system. Section 18004(a)(2) of the CARES Act, Public Law 116-136 (March 27, 2020), authorizes the Secretary to make awards under parts A and B of title III, parts A and B of title V, and subpart 4 of part A of title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (“HEA”), to address needs directly related to the coronavirus. These awards are in addition to awards made in Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act. Section 18004(a)(3) of the CARES Act authorizes the Secretary to allocate funds for part B of Title VII of the HEA for institutions of higher education (IHEs) that the Secretary determines have the greatest unmet needs related to coronavirus. 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. May 29, 2020 U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced the Department of Education has approved nine additional career and technical education (CTE) state plans. Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming are the latest states to have their CTE plans approved under the new, bipartisan Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21stCentury Act (Perkins V), which was signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on July 31, 2018. President Donald Trump on Friday sided with his Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her rewrite of the Borrower Defense to Repayment regulations. Trump vetoed legislation that would have blocked the new rule effective July 1, 2020. Trump backed DeVos over the objections of some veterans organizations, which had urged him to sign the measure to stop a regulation that they said makes it too difficult for their members to obtain relief if defrauded by colleges. Procedurally, the House and Senate would need to override the veto by 2/3 of each chamber, which we view as unlikely at this point. At least eight states are ignoring Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ drive to give emergency relief to private school kids, a POLITICO survey has found. DeVos has told states that they should steer a greater share of their coronavirus relief to private school students than would be usual under federal education law. But Republican-led states like Oklahoma, Mississippi and Indiana are refusing, along with Maine, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Wisconsin. The outcome of the showdown will determine whether hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency aid is given to private school students, cementing DeVos’ reputation as a champion of those schools as she potentially nears her last months in office. Democrats are urging Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to take “immediate and aggressive action” against a student loan company that incorrectly dinged the credit reports of nearly 5 million borrowers whose payments were automatically suspended under the CARES Act. POLITICO first reported last week that the Trump administration was rushing to fix errors made by Great Lakes Educational Loan Services in how the company reported information about federal student loan borrowers to credit bureaus. The errors lowered borrowers’ credit scores in some cases. Six Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, on Thursday wrote to DeVos that the Education Department should “take immediate action to fully remedy this issue, hold Great Lakes accountable for this inexcusable blunder, and provide Congress with a detailed accounting of how this breakdown occurred.” May 28, 2020 This notice in the Federal Register provides information to 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 Department is proposing an extension of the following information collection system, the Study of An Information Strategy to Increase Enrollment in Postsecondary Education. This demonstration study will evaluate the use of a promising messaging strategy designed to help TRIO Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) grantees meet the program's goal of increasing college enrollment. EOCs are hosted at postsecondary institutions or nonprofit organizations and generally serve low-income individuals who are 19 years and older—most of whom are potential first-generation college-goers. The study will evaluate whether systematic text messaging can enhance EOCs' counseling services and lead to increased Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) completion and postsecondary education enrollment rates. Across 20 EOCs, approximately 6,000 adults will be randomly assigned to receive EOCs' typical services or to receive EOCs' typical services plus the text messaging. May 27, 2020 In a notice published in the Federal Register, the Department announced that it is proposing an extension of the CARES Act, Recipient's Funding Certification and Agreement (Institutional Aid) information collection system. This information collection request 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 Department of Education is now requesting an extension of that emergency clearance under normal clearance procedures. In a notice published in the Federal Register, the Department announced that it is proposing an extension of the CARES Act, Recipient's Funding Certification and Agreement (Student Aid) information collection system. This information collection request 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 Department of Education is now requesting an extension of that emergency clearance under normal clearance procedures. H.R.7076 – To ensure ethical and accountable use of COVID-19 relief funds, to prevent corruption and bias in the disbursement and supervision of those funds, and for other purposes. H.R.7063 – 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.
Michigan House Republicans Introduce Barbering and Cosmetology Deregulation Bill The first week of June finds state legislative activity returning to near normal levels with 15 state legislatures in session. As states continue to re-open their economies, AACS will keep you apprised of the latest developments of interest to member schools. A Michigan bill to completely deregulated barbering and cosmetology was introduced last week by 12 House Republicans and referred to the House Regulatory Reform Committee. HB 5819 would delete the state’s barbering and cosmetology practice Acts and, accordingly allow anyone to practice barbering, cosmetology, manicuring, esthetics, and electrology without a license or training. The measure would also effectively transfer oversight of barbering and cosmetology schools to the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s (LEO) Proprietary Schools Unit. Michigan schools and license holders can click here to email legislators in opposition to this deregulation bill. In Louisiana, both the House of Representatives and Senate adopted a SB 435 Conference Committee Report on Monday. The vote on the measure to limit civil liability during the COVID-19 emergency was unanimous in the House and 34 to 1 in the Senate. As currently drafted, SB 435 states that “no natural or juridical person, state or local government, or political subdivision thereof, shall be liable for damages or personal injury resulting from or related to an actual or alleged exposure to COVID-19 in the course of or through the performance or provision of the person's, government's, or political subdivision's business operations unless the person, government, or political subdivision failed to substantially comply with the applicable COVID-19 procedures established by the federal, state, or local agency which governs the business operations and the injury or death was caused by the person's, government's, or political subdivision's gross negligence or wanton or reckless misconduct.” The Professional Beauty Federation of California (PBFC) has reported that California legislators have agreed to decouple Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) licensure fee increases from the Budget adoption process which does not lend itself to public and industry input. As reported last week, the state’s Department of Finance proposed increasing licensure fees for a main California campus from 0.45 percent of gross revenue to 0.855 percent of gross revue. According to PBFC Counsel Fred Jones, legislators “are talking about possibly pursuing the fee increases via a stand-alone bill that could rear its ugly head in the final weeks of the Legislative Session in August. So this represents a significant battlefield victory, but the war is far from over (and even if we beat it back this calendar year, the BPPE is up for Sunset Review next year, so potential fee increases will certainly be part of next year’s deliberations).” 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.
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 Member Events
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