DC Shuttle …
Attorneys General Sue Education Department Over New Title IX Rules. Eighteen state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to block the department’s new rules under Title IX of the Higher Education Act from going into effect in August. In the suit, the attorneys general argue that the proposed changes would undermine civil rights gains, specifically to survivors of sexual violence in higher education. The attorneys generals’ filing joins another legal challenge to the rule from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other advocacy groups. Inside Higher Ed has more.
House Democrats Introduce $130 Billion School Infrastructure Plan. The House Education & Labor Committee introduced the Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act as part of a larger infrastructure bill (H.R. 2). The bill calls for $130 billion to update and repair public school infrastructure across the country as schools plan to reopen for in-person instruction in the fall. With guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highlighting adequate ventilation as essential for reopening, House Democrats are pushing school infrastructure–both physical and internet–as even more important. The Hill reports.
Senate Education Committee Calls for More Education Relief Funds. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, claims between $50 billion and $75 billion would be necessary for schools–both K-12 and colleges/universities–to reopen safely. Alexander expressed support for providing schools with the funds necessary to resume in-person instruction safely. The chair’s call for increased funding comes as the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) projects schools will need $245 billion to reopen, and Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) called for more student aid at large. Read more in Education Week.
Hearings/Markups of Interest: The Senate HELP Committee scheduled a hearing on COVID-19: Update on Progress Toward Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School for Tuesday, June 30 at 10 a.m.
We publish the DC Shuttle each week Congress is in session 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 June 29, 2020. For more information, please visit: www.newenglandcouncil.com.
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