DC Shuttle …
New Republican Members Named to U.S. House Education Committee. Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (R-NC) announced the lineup of Republicans on the House Education and Labor Committee for the 116th Congress. The list includes 10 new Republicans: Mark Walker (NC), James Comer (KY), Russ Fulcher (ID), Van Taylor (TX), Steve Watkins (KS), Ron Wright (TX), Dan Meuser (PA), William Timmons (SC), and Dusty Johnson (SD). Also see DC Shuttle on Your Friends on the Hill.
Data on Gainful Employment Released. The U.S. Education Department released new data showing how it has resolved colleges’ appeals under the Obama-era gainful employment rule. The Trump administration, for the first time, reports that it has denied some of the hundreds of appeals submitted by for-profit colleges and other career colleges, Politico reports. As of Jan. 18, the department has approved the appeals submitted by 109 career college programs and denied appeals submitted by seven programs. An additional 225 appeals remain pending. The new appeals data comes as the administration is in the process of finalizing its proposal to completely eliminate the gainful employment rule. The regulation, which cuts off federal funding to low-performing career college programs, currently remains on the books. It remains hampered by a dispute over earnings data between the Social Security Administration and the Education Department.
Title IX Comments. The Education Department continues to take comments here on its proposed Title IX changes. The comment period was scheduled to close today but the department announced that it plans an extension. Politico reports that some of the process has gotten ugly. As of Friday, there were nearly 72,000 comments. So far, the vast majority of those who’ve commented are opposed to the rules, which aim to ensure those accused of assault receive due process.
Massachusetts Approves College Oversight Plan. The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education approved a proposal that would allow the state Department of Higher Education to intervene when private, nonprofit colleges are in danger of failing. State officials on Tuesday approved a plan to create a new state monitoring system for the financial health of private colleges in Massachusetts, the Boston Globe reports.
Gov. Baker Releases Education Funding Overhaul Plan. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker released a $42.7 billion state budget, accompanied by a plan to overhaul the state’s 25-year-old education funding formula, the AP reports.
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 Jan. 28, 2019. For more information, please visit: www.newenglandcouncil.com.
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