Student loan deal reached. A bipartisan group of senators announced a compromise on the Stafford Loan interest rates. Senator Tom Harkin, chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee and Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) Tom Coburn (R-OK), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Angus King (I-ME) also participated in the announcement at the Capitol. According to reports, the White House also backs the measur...
Supreme Court affirmative action ruling. On Monday, the Supreme Court released a ruling in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. The 7-1 decision was indecisive, remanding the case for reconsideration in the lower courts and directing lower courts to use "strict scrutiny" in affirmative action cases. The result of the ruling is that schools will continue to be able to use diversity ...
House committee OKs ESEA reauthorization. On Wednesday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee approved a proposed reauthorization to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by a vote of 23 to 16. The bill, the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), introduced by Committee Chair John Kline (R-MN), would consolidate most federal funding into one block grant. The proposal would eliminate t...
ESEA reauthorization approved by committee. At a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) markup on Tuesday, lawmakers considered the Senate Democrats' proposal, the Strengthening America's Schools Act, to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). A bill (S. 1094) introduced by Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-IA) advanced by a party-line vote of 12-10 des...
Student loan rates. The Senate rejected two proposals to extend low interest rates on student loans after they expire on July 1. Without legislation, interest rates will double from 3.4% to 6.8% with the expiration of the one-year fix put in place last summer. Movement to proceed with a Senate Democratic bill (S. 953) to extend the current 3.4% fixed interest rate for two additional years was reje...
STEM education. On Thursday, Rep. Bill Foster (R-IL) introduced the 21st Century STEM Competitive Jobs Act, cosponsored by Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT), Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), Joe Kennedy (D-MA), Jim Langevin (D-RI), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY). The bill would su...
Student loan interest rates. On Thursday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee approved legislation (H.R. 1911) by a vote of 24-13 that would tie the interest rate on federal student loans to market rates. The interest rates on Stafford Loans are set to double on July 1 to 6.8%. The bill, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, would set the interest rate at the 10-year Treasury note ra...
Rewriting K-12 law. On Tuesday, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on state and local accountability systems for education. Chair John Kline (R-MN) outlined four Republican priorities for rewriting the nation’s K-12 education law, known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) or No Child Left Behind: restore local control, reduce the federal footpr...
Financial literacy hearing. On Wednesday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's Subcommittee on Children and families held a hearing on financial literacy education for students. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) told the Subcommittee that Americans owe more than they make and must have better financial literacy education. He added that better financial education would benefit the econo...
Federal student aid. On Tuesday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee's Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training held a hearing on federal student aid programs. During the hearing, members and higher education experts discussed the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which is set to expire at the end of this year. Lawmakers explored the question of wheth...
Student loan deal reached. A bipartisan group of senators announced a compromise on the Stafford Loan interest rates. Senator Tom Harkin, chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee and Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) Tom Coburn (R-OK), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Angus King (I-ME) also participated in the announcement at the Capitol. According to reports, the White House also backs the measur... 
Supreme Court affirmative action ruling. On Monday, the Supreme Court released a ruling in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. The 7-1 decision was indecisive, remanding the case for reconsideration in the lower courts and directing lower courts to use "strict scrutiny" in affirmative action cases. The result of the ruling is that schools will continue to be able to use diversity ...