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

HOUSE and SENATE

The U.S. Senate failed to invoke cloture, by a 52-47 vote, on a Senate GOP leadership COVID-19 relief bill.

ADMINISTRATION

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos sent a letter to Chief State School Officers stating that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) would likely not issue Federal testing waivers for the 2020-2021 school year.

ED announced its equitable services rule related to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L.116-136) would no longer be in effect. A Federal judge invalidated the measure earlier in the week.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos issued a final rule that requires public institutions of higher education (IHEs) to “comply with the First Amendment” in order to be eligible for discretionary Federal funding and that lays out a process for religious IHEs to claim an exemption from enforcing Title IX regulations.

The deadline for IHEs that have not yet applied for Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) funding under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L.116-136) has been extended to September 30, 2020.

The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a letter to serve as a “formal statement of OCR’s interpretation of Title IX,” stating that allowing transgender student athletes to compete on sports teams that match their gender identity discriminates against cisgender female student athletes.

The White House issued a government-wide directive to stop what it called “un-American propaganda training sessions” about race.

The U.S. Department of State announced it has revoked the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese graduate students and researchers the Administration deems to be a security risk.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report on household food security in 2019.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released a report on teachers’ use of technology for school and homework assignments.

EVENTS

Penn Hill Group plans to provide clients a summary of the following events next week:

September 15: Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on “Compensating College Athletes: Examining the Potential Impact on Athletes and Institutions”

September 17: Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on “Time to Finish Fixing the FAFSA”

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

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