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

HOUSE and SENATE

The Senate voted 50-49 to confirm Xavier Becerra to serve as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The Senate invoked cloture on the nomination of Marty Walsh to serve as U.S. Secretary of Labor and is expected to take a final vote on the nomination on Monday.

ADMINISTRATION

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced the allocations of American Rescue Plan Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding States will receive.

ED released guidance clarifying the timing of the use of Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEER) funds and provided answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding what constitutes lost revenue for the purposes of HEER.

ED announced it is rescinding the policy issued by former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos that provided partial cancellation of loan amounts under approved borrower defense to repayment (BDR) claims.

ED announced it is accepting submissions for its Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse.

ED will be hosting a National Safe School Reopening Summit on Wednesday, March 24.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the Biden Administration will invest $10 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act into increasing COVID-19 screening testing to help schools reopen.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated guidance for K-12 schools to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The National Labor Relations Board announced it is withdrawing a proposed rule that would limit the ability of research and teaching assistants at private universities to form unions.

The U.S. Department of Labor issued guidance for States on issuing American Rescue Plan Act unemployment provisions.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released a report on “Outside jobs Among U.S. Public School Teachers.”

NCES released the 2019-2020 Common Core of Data (CCD) Universe files.

EVENTS

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

March 24: Senate HELP Committee Hearing on “Nomination of Cynthia Marten to serve as Deputy Secretary of Education”

March 25: House Education and Labor Subcommittee Hearing on “Lessons Learned: Charting the Path to Educational Equity Post-COVID-19”

March 25: House Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing on “The Effects of COVID-19 on Arts and Humanities Organizations”

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

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