HOUSE and SENATE

The House and Senate will be in recess next week. The Senate will return the week of August 13, and the House will return the week of September 4.

ADMINISTRATION

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued a notice of its intent to establish a negotiating rulemaking committee on regulatory issues related to accreditation, competency-based education, credit hour, State authorization for distance education, TEACH grants and other matters. ED is seeking public comment on these issues by September 14.

The President signed into law the Strengthening Career and Technical Education (CTE) for the 21^st Century Act (H.R. 2353).

The U.S. Department of Treasury released a report that focused on ED’s oversight of the Federal student loan program and called on Congress to hold institutions of higher education (IHEs) more accountable for the Federal funding they receive, voicing that IHEs do not provide good value to student loan borrowers.

The White House released a memo asking Federal agencies to prioritize science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, including computer science, and workforce development as the agencies develop their Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budget submissions and carry out research and development.

The Federal Commission on School Safety held a site visit in Arkansas. The Commission is also scheduled to hold a public listening session in Wyoming on August 7.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES 

Penn Hill Group provides a list of grant opportunities and summaries for select grants. Please visit our website for more information