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White House Drops Plan to Tax 529 College Savings Accounts. White House officials announced that President Obama would drop his proposal to tax 529 college savings accounts, just a week after the proposal was first made in the president's State of the Union. Revenues from the 529 taxes would have been used to offset the cost of the president's American Opportunity Tax Credit. The a...
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Education priorities outlined in State of the Union. President Obama addressed several education initiatives in his State of the Union address, stating, "In a 21st century economy that rewards knowledge like never before, we need to up our game." He touted positive education statistics, including higher graduation rates and test scores, but emphasized that there is still room to ...
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NCLB reauthorization debate heats up. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gave remarks regarding the reauthorization of the now-expired No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. He said that the administration would not back away from annual testing as it works to reform K-12 education, according to a report in the New York Times. Annual testing was enshrined in NCLB to provide benchmark mea...
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President proposes free community college. President Obama announced a plan to make two years of community college free, called America's College Promise. The first question asked by proponents and opponents alike was how funding for the proposal would be found. The administration has not said how much the program will cost or where it will find the money. The president intends to ...
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Spending bill proposes few changes for education. The appropriations bill introduced in Congress will provide slight tweaks and modest increases to student aid and other programs. The restoration of the "ability to benefit" program is among the more significant higher education changes within the spending package. The program would allow students without a high school diploma or GE...
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White House hosts College Opportunity Summit. The Obama administration hosted hundreds of college leaders and other officials for a summit to promote new commitments to students. Approximately 500 participants, including college leaders, states, higher education associations, nonprofit organizations and other entities, made commitments aimed at producing more college graduates, hel...
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Harkin proposes reauthorization of Higher Education Act. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced a draft bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Harkin said that his 874-page proposal is aimed at holding institutions more accountable while reining in tuitions and easing loan repayment. Among several new provisions, the bill...
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DOE issues No Child Left Behind waiver renewal guidance. The Education Department released new guidance on waiver renewal for the No Child Left Behind Act. Under these guidelines, states wishing to extend their waivers will be able to, for up to four years, after adequately showing how they plan to identify and intervene in low-performing schools. The Education Department has unvei...
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Student loan debt at forefront of education discussion. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) asked that the Senate take up a vote on the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act (S.2432) which she sponsors. The bill would allow those with outstanding student loans to refinance them to today's lower rates of less than 4%. The difference would be paid for by the "Buffet Rule"&mda...
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GAO report and Senate committee hearing on student loan debt. The Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing titled "Indebted for Life: Older Americans and Student Loan Debt." At the hearing, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that reveals student loan debt among seniors is on the rise. The report found that the amount owed by senior citizens has dra...
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White House Drops Plan to Tax 529 College Savings Accounts. White House officials announced that President Obama would drop his proposal to tax 529 college savings accounts, just a week after the proposal was first made in the president's State of the Union. Revenues from the 529 taxes would have been used to offset the cost of the president's American Opportunity Tax Credit. The a...