DC Shuttle …
House Appropriations Committee Passes 2019 Education Funding Bill. The House Appropriations Committee approved, 30 to 22, a $177.1 billion bill to fund the departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services for fiscal 2019. The spending bill would provide a $43 million increase for the Education Department, funding it at $71 billion in fiscal 2019, which begins Oct. 1. The markup on the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill was postponed last month amid backlash over the White House’s family separation policy at the border. The bill may now be considered by the full House. EdWeek has more.
Senate Prepared to Pass 2019 Education Funding Bill. Senate appropriators have passed 2019 education funding legislation which is ready to be considered by the full Senate. Appropriations Committee Chair Richard Shelby (R-AL) told reporters this week that he’s pushing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to take up a massive spending package that would fund the Pentagon as well as three other domestic departments, including the Education Department. The legislation (S. 3158) would include the bills for Defense and Labor-HHS-Education and would make up nearly three-quarters of all of spending for the year. Shelby has said that approving both bills ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline would be a major victory for both parties.
Ivanka Trump Pushes Perkins CTE Update. Ivanka Trump met with House Education and Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) to discuss updating the federal law that governs career and technical education, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act. The House passed a bipartisan bill (H.R. 2353) last June to update the law, the Perkins CTE. The Senate version (S. 3141) was passed by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee last month and is waiting consideration by the full Senate. The meeting focused on getting the legislation passed quickly. The Senate was expected to vote July 18 on the nomination of Scott Stump to lead the Education Department’s CTE office.
Administration Rescinds Guidance on Race in Admissions. The Trump administration rescinded guidance issued by the Obama administration on how colleges can legally consider race and ethnicity in admissions decisions, Inside Higher Ed reports.
Administration and Congress Continue Focus on School Safety. The Trump administration’s school safety commission met and heard about mental health and counseling in schools. The meeting was led by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, one of four agency chiefs on the commission; the others are the commission chair, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.. The secretaries heard testimony on offering behavioral health services in schools, the use of psychotropic medications for children and confidentiality issues related to student health and privacy laws. A House Homeland Security subcommittee held a field hearing in Newark, N.J., focused on America’s school security challenges. The witnesses included Jason Botel, deputy assistant secretary from the Education Department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Alan Hanson of the Justice Department and Robert Kolasky of the Homeland Security Department also attended.
We publish the DC Shuttle each week featuring higher ed news from Washington collected by the New England Council, of which NEBHE is a member. This edition is drawn from the Higher Education Update in the Council’s Weekly Washington Report of July 16, 2018. For more information, please visit: www.newenglandcouncil.com.
[ssba]