Posts Categorized: DC Shuttle

A Prior-Prior Priority?

DC Shuttle ... Senate Hearing on HEA Reauthorization. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held its third hearing of this Congress on reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA). The previous two hearings focused on consumer information and institutional risk sharing. The most recent hearing, entitled "Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act: Ensuring College Afforda...

“America Competes” Reauthorization Gets Competitive; Sanders Calls for Free Tuition

DC Shuttle ... America Competes Act Passes House. The House passed the America Completes Reauthorization Act of 2015 in a 217-205 vote. The legislation is a renewal of a bipartisan act signed into law in 2007 and would provide funds for the National Science Foundation, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, the Energy Department and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. As R...

Record Sale?

DC Shuttle ...Student Data Bills. This Congress, several lawmakers have introduced legislation to protect student data, with two such bills in May. The first bill came from the Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), who had previously introduced the legislation last Congress. It would prevent education companies from selling or using student data to target ads and require those compani...

HEA Rewrite Moving Forward

DC Shuttle ... HEA Reauthorization. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA). The hearing was titled "HEA Reauthorization: The Role of Consumer Information in College Choice." During the hearing, committee members asked the witnesses how, or if, the federal government can improve data systems to better inform ...

Privacy Matters

DC Shuttle ...Student Data Privacy Bill. Two bipartisan pairs of legislators are working on bills to protect student data after President Barack Obama called for a stronger plan in January. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN) released a bill last week, called the Student Digital Privacy and Parental Rights Act of 2015, according to the New York Times. An earlier draft of their bill...

Now to the Affordability Question

DC Shuttle ... College Affordability Plan Introduced in U.S. Senate. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced her College Affordability Plan, which comprises of four bills affecting Pell Grants. The first would restore the year-round Pell Grant, allowing students to use Pell funding for three academic semesters per year instead of the current two. Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Jack Reed (D-RI) are co...

ESEA Does It? No Child Left Behind Could Become Every Child Achieves

DC Shuttle ... ESEA Reauthorization Passes Senate Committee. Legislation to replace No Child Left Behind (NCLB) passed unanimously out of committee with a vote of 22-0. About a week before the committee considered it, Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee had released their long-anticipated bipartis...

Witnesses at HEA Hearing Say Cut Regs, Streamline Accreditation, Up State Funding, Invest in Innovation

DC Shuttle ... Higher Education Act Reauthorization. The House Education and Workforce Committee's Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training held a hearing entitled, "Strengthening America's Higher Education System." Lawmakers held the hearing to gain more input from education experts as they move closer to a reauthorization attempt for the Higher Education Act (HEA). The Republica...

What Student Borrowers Are Entitled To?

DC Shuttle ... President Obama Announces Student Aid Bill of Rights. President Barack Obama announced the "Student Aid Bill of Rights," a series of proposals which the administration says will help simplify and improve the college loan system. In a speech at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the president remarked that higher education is not only a good investment for students but also for th...

Ed Budgets Face Testing Times

DC Shuttle ... Ed Department Budget Weighed. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan testified on the Department of Education's fiscal year 2016 budget request at a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee's Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee. The administration has requested $70.7 billion in discretionary appropriations this fiscal year, up 5.4% from the previous ye...