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

HOUSE and SENATE

The House Appropriations Committee announced its Fiscal Year 2022 markup schedule.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted to advance the nomination of Gwen Graham to serve as the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Congressional Affairs.

ADMINISTRATION

ED issued an official Notice of Interpretation that will be published in the Federal Register and that states that Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

ED posted State plans for use of American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.

The Federal Communications Commission began the 45-day application period for the Emergency Connectivity Fund under the ARP.

ED announced it approved 18,000 borrower defense to repayment (BDR) claims connected to borrowers who attended the now-defunct ITT Technical Institute (ITT).

Last week, the Biden Administration announced the President’s intent to nominate Sandra Bruce to serve as ED’s Inspector General (IG).

Last week, ED’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced that it would not be able to meet the implementation timeline laid out in the FAFSA Simplification Act passed by Congress last December and that full implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act would not take place until the 2024-2025 award year.

ED released a quarterly update on Federal student loan volume and the number of students who have taken advantage of the pause on interest, payments and collections extended by President Biden this year, as well as data on the number of students granted loan forgiveness under the public service loan forgiveness (PSLF) program.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has delegated the decision about whether to uphold ED’s decision to terminate the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools’ status as a Federally recognized accreditor of institutions of higher education (IHEs) to Deputy Secretary Cindy Marten.

The National Center for Education Statistics released a report on “First Look at the Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on Undergraduate Student Enrollment, Housing, and Finances (Preliminary Data).”

SUPREME COURT

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court invited the acting Solicitor General to provide the views of the U.S. government on a pending case, Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard.

EVENTS

Penn Hill Group plans on providing clients a summary of the following event next week:

• June 24: House Education and Labor Committee Hearing on “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Education”

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

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