A quick look at the news from last week, compiled by Penn Hill Group:

HOUSE

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies will hold a subcommittee budget hearing on April 14 on early education. Director of the Edward Zigler Center at the Yale School of Medicine Walker Gilliam, President of the Ounce of Prevention Fund Diana Rauner and Executive Director of Smart Start Oklahoma Debra Andersen will testify.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce will hold a committee hearing on April 15 on “Serving Students and Families through Child Nutrition Programs.” Witnesses for this hearing have not yet been announced.

The House was in recess last week but is in session this week.

SENATE

Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) released the Every Child Achieves Act, a legislative agreement that would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The HELP Committee will hold an executive session on April 14 to discuss ESEA, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Technical Amendments Act, and nominations for Ericka Miller, Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education (ED) and Michael Yudin, Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, ED.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human services, Educations and Related Agencies will hold a subcommittee hearing on April 16 on the Fiscal Year 2016 budget request for ED. Secretary Arne Duncan will testify.

The Senate was in recess last week but is in session this week.

ADMINISTRATION

ED released the Ed Tech Developer’s Guide: A primer for Developers, Startups and Entrepreneurs, a free guide to help entrepreneurs apply technology to solve challenges in education.

ED released a Dear Colleague Letter, “Loan Counseling Requirements and Flexibilities,” providing new guidance on steps higher education institutions can take to help students avoid excessive loan amounts.

Secretary Duncan released a statement calling the bipartisan Every Child Achieves Act a good step forward towards ESEA reauthorization, with further to go.