Penn Hill Group’s Washington Wrap Up- July 20, 2016

July 15, 2016
Compiled by Penn Hill Group

HOUSE and SENATE

The U.S. House of Representatives passed several higher education related bills that the House Education and the Workforce Committee had approved on a bipartisan basis the week before.

The House and Senate will be in recess until after the September 5th Labor Day Holiday.

BUDGET

House Appropriations Committee approved the FY2017 Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriation Bill on a party line vote. A manager’s amendment plus 3 other amendments were adopted during Committee consideration. The bill considered by the Committee, the draft Committee report and related documents can be found here.

ADMINISTRATION

Inside Higher Ed reported that U.S. Department of Education (ED) Under Secretary Ted Mitchell announced that ED was considering a new experimental sites initiative aimed at requiring more loan counseling for student-borrowers.

Bridgepoint Education, owner of several institutions of higher education, announced they are the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice civil investigative demand as to whether compliance with the 90/10 rule was misrepresented.

ED issued its 2016 Determinations letters on State Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  ED found that 24 states met requirements and 26 states and DC were identified as “needs assistance” or “needs intervention”.

On Monday, July 11th, ED published two notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRMs) in the Federal Register on Title I assessments and the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority.  Comments on both NPRMs are due September 9th.

ED issued a Dear Colleague referencing how funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and other laws can be used for the humanities and a well-rounded education.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

Penn Hill Group provides a list of grant opportunities and summaries for select grants. Please click on our Grant Opportunities page for more information.