A quick look back at the news from last week. Compiled by Penn Hill Group.

HOUSE and SENATE

The House and Senate will be in recess until the week of November 14.

ADMINISTRATION

The U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) regulatory proposals on Title I, Part B, Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority and Title I-A Assessment, under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, are now at the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review. This review is conducted by OIRA prior to the publication of a rule in final form in the Federal Register.

ED released the text of its final Borrower Defense rule as well as its final Teacher Preparation rule. Both rules are expected to be published in the Federal Register early this week with the vast majority of provisions taking effect in July 2017. As part of the Borrower Defense rule, ED has announced that it intends to implement automatic discharge provisions for students who attended a school that closed prior to November 2013 on an expedited basis.

ED announced that it would restore Pell Grant eligibility to students who were unable to complete their programs due to the closure of the school. This announcement reverses ED’s previous statement that it did not have the legal authority to do this absent Congressional Action.

ED announced that the awarding of a contract for servicing under the student loan programs would be delayed until February 2017. The contract was originally expected to be awarded in December of this year. In addition, ED released specific requirements that the new contractor must fulfill when developing the Federal loan servicing system.

ED and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a policy brief on the use of technology with early learners.

The White House released a Fact Sheet on the Administration’s investments in and new initiatives for supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules that require Internet Service Providers (ISP) to notify customers about what information the ISP collects and how the ISP uses and shares that data. For some information, the ISP would be required to gain consumer consent prior to sharing.