HOUSE and SENATE

The House Appropriations Committee passed its Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill by a vote of 30 to 22. The Manager’s Amendment to the bill increased funding to match the FY2018 funding levels for School Safety Nation Activities and Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS), and slightly increased funding for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBU) Capital Financing Program over the FY2018 level. The bill also reduced the increase provided in the Subcommittee passed bill for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) by $57 million and moved $200 million in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Grants to States funding that would have been available on July 1, 2019 to now be available October 1, 2019, thereby increasing the advanced funding amount for this program.

On Monday, July 16, the Senate is scheduled to vote on the nomination of Scott Stump to be the Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education (ED).

ADMINISTRATION

ED announced the approval of California and Utah’s consolidated State plans under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Florida remains as the only State to not yet have its plan approved by ED.

ED announced that it has suspended its plan to cancel debt collection solicitations and reassign them to other debt collection firms.

The Federal Commission on School Safety held a hearing to “focus on the integration of behavioral health in America’s schools.”

Diane Jones, who had been serving as a senior advisor at ED, has been named the acting Under Secretary of Education at ED and has also been delegated the duties of the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.

The U.S. Secret Service released a guide on preventing targeted school violence.

President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES 

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