Posts Tagged: New England Council

DC Shuttle: Congress Hears Ed Regs Are “Costly, Vague, Complicated or Unnecessary” … Proposes More

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...

DC Shuttle: Congress Scrutinizes Colleges’ Unrelated Biz Income; Takes Interest in Loan Rates

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...

DC Shuttle: Hearings on Financial Literacy, College Costs

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...

DC Shuttle: Congress Turns to Reauthorizing Higher Ed Act

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...

DC Shuttle: President Obama’s 2014 Budget Proposal for Education

On April 10, President Obama released his delayed 2014 budget proposal, completing the initial phase of the federal budget process. In recent weeks, both House and Senate have passed vastly different budget resolutions, with each chamber heavily influenced by the respective majority. These varying budget resolutions set broad parameters for the more detailed appropriations processes occurring in b...

DC Shuttle: House Hearings Focus on STEM, Student Loans; British Report Calls Attention to New Ed Models

Boosting STEM education. On Wednesday, the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology's Subcommittee on Research held a hearing on industry and philanthropic initiatives to boost science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) Education. Every year, the federal government allocates over $3 billion to 13 federal agencies to fund STEM education initiatives, and the subcommittee is working on ...

DC Shuttle: Presidents Urge Immigration Reform; Report Notes Leveling Enrollment and Funding Cuts

Presidents' open immigration letter. On Tuesday, university presidents from Arizona State University, Cornell University and Miami Dade College sent a letter to the leadership of more than 1,200 institutions of higher education, calling on them to encourage immigration reform. The letter asked schools to hold events highlighting immigration reform as essential to innovation. The letter says highly...

DC Shuttle: Preschool, Journal Access Get Boost … Before the Sequester?

Early childhood education. On Thursday, President Obama released the framework of his plan for the expansion of early childhood education. In his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, President Obama said "tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America." The plan calls for home-visits to new mothers and fathers to teach parent...

DC Shuttle: More Arguing Over NCLB Waivers, STEM Plugged, Climate Research Dissed

HELP Committee examines NCLB waivers. On Thursday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and State Flexibility Waivers. Education Secretary Arne Duncan testified. Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN) sharply criticized the administration for granting NCLB waivers to states that shift towards policies that the administration...

DC Shuttle: National Reports Call for Student Aid Reform, More Autonomy for Schools, Upgrading Data Systems

Higher education reauthorization. On Tuesday, Jan. 29, as lawmakers began to form proposals for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, the New America Foundation released a  report with 30 recommendations for policy changes. The report "calls for specific changes to grants, loans, tax benefits, college outreach programs and federal regulations to provide more direct aid to the lowes...