HOUSE and SENATE

The House and Senate are in recess and will return on Tuesday, September 8.

ADMINISTRATION

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced in September it will begin a negotiated rulemaking process to clarify how direct loan borrowers who believe they were defrauded by an institution can seek discharge of the student loans they took out to attend that institution.

ED released a Dear Colleague letter to provide guidance on protecting student medical records as they relate to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

ED published a final rule to repeal the “2 percent assessment” regulation, which allows some students with disabilities to take alternative assessments based on modified academic achievement standards.

The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) announced its 2015 HBCU All-Stars, 83 undergraduate, graduate and professional students with accomplishments in academics, leadership and civic engagement.

ED reported that per the Federal Student Aid Data Center, there has been a 56 percent increase in borrowers who have enrolled in Income-Driven Repayment plans as of June 30. Nearly 3.9 million borrowers have enrolled.