Posts Tagged: DC Shuttle

Trump Transition … Plus Unchartered Territory?

DC Shuttle ... Transition Team Expected to Visit Education Department this Week. President-Elect Donald Trump's transition team is expected to visit the U.S. Education Department this week. Landing teams will work with federal agencies on the transition and are being launched in three waves. The Education Department and other domestic agencies such as the Department of Labor and the EPA are part ...

Senate Bill Would Boost Grad Rates for Low-Income Students

DC Shuttle ... Bill on Federal Funding Introduced. U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) introduced a bill to reshuffle federal funding of colleges to encourage institutions to enroll and graduate low-income students. The bill would tie some federal student aid funding to new accountability metrics. The bill is aimed at providing incentives for colleges to boost graduation ...

Elections Cast Spotlight on Student Loan Repayment

DC Shuttle ... Momentum for Easing Student Loan Repayment. Both parties are looking to appeal to young voters this fall and student loan repayment has gained support as a result. Rep. Luke Messer, chair of the House Republican Policy Committee, plans to push for student loan tax breaks, such as a proposal (H.R. 5415) by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to exclude from a worker's income up to $10,000 ...

Getting Technical

DC Shuttle ... Perkins CTE Reauthorization Bill Introduced. Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce introduced a bill designed to reauthorize and reform the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act. The current laws promoting career and technical education were passed in 2006. The Career and Technical Education for the 21s...

Supremes Uphold Affirmative Action

DC Shuttle ... Supreme Court Rules to Uphold Affirmative Action. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the race-conscious admissions policy at the University of Texas at Austin is constitutional. The court ruled 4-to-3 in the case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. The New York Times reported that the ruling says that admissions may continue to consider race as one factor among many in ensurin...

Accreditor of For-Profits Grilled

DC Shuttle ... Accreditor Under Fire. The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), the accreditor for many for-profit institutions, was in front of the U.S. Department of Education last week for review and approval. The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI), which advises the Education Department, is reviewing the performance of ACICS...

Senate Would Restore Year-Round Pell Grants

DC Shuttle ... Appropriations Bill Funds Ed Dept, Increases Pell Grants and Medical Research Funding. The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced the FY 2017 Labor-HHS-Education funding bill (S. 3040) through subcommittee and out of the full committee by a vote of 29 to 1. The measure would provide $161.9 billion in discretionary spending, which is $270 million less than the current enacted leve...

Back to the Base

DC Shuttle ... Amendment Controversy Over For-Profits on Bases. The debate is intensifying on Capitol Hill over for-profit colleges' access to military bases. Democratic Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) announced an amendment to eliminate a provision recently inserted into the defense policy bill that would make it easier for-profit colleges to send ...

Senate Orders Smoother Loan Forgiveness for Disabled Veterans

DC Shuttle ... Amendment Approved for Veteran Loan Forgiveness. The Senate approved an amendment to allow veterans access to loan forgiveness. Sen. Angus King (I-ME) had introduced the amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill to help permanently disabled veterans more easily get student loan forgiveness. King's amendment would require the federal Department ...

Supremes May Sing on Loan Agency’s Status

DC Shuttle ... Supreme Court May Consider Student Loan Case. The U.S. Supreme Court met privately to determine whether it will take up the case of Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency v. United States ex rel. Oberg on whether the agency, a large student-loan servicer for the government, is an independent body or part of the state of Pennsylvania. The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal...