Education and Workforce Policy Newsletter

July 2, 2021 — Lewis-Burke Associates LLC

IN THIS ISSUE

Competitiveness Bills Advance in Congress  
In June, the Senate passed the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) and the House passed the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the Future Act.  USICA is the Senate’s large innovation, trade, and research security package, which includes their NSF reauthorization bill, the Endless Frontier Act.  The NSF for the Future Act is the House’s NSF reauthorization bill.  Both pieces of legislation have elements relevant to K-12 and postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, details of which are included below.  

The NSF for the Future Act includes several provisions related to the support of STEM education.  The legislation would establish research centers to help scale up effective innovative STEM education practices, supported via a partnership between NSF and the U.S. Department of Education (ED).  It would also support a network of Advanced Technological Education centers. Related to undergraduate and graduate education, the bill would establish a grant program to study STEM education and the STEM workforce.  The House legislation would also create a new Directorate for Science and Engineering Solutions, which would be responsible for supporting “the education, mentoring, and training” of postsecondary STEM students.  Further, the bill contains provisions focused on providing financial support, such as scholarships, fellowships, and traineeships, to undergraduate and graduate STEM students.  

The Senate’s USICA would also create a new Directorate at NSF, and like the Directorate discussed above, its goals include support for STEM education and the STEM workforce.  Specifically, among the goals of the Directorate for Technology and Innovation would be improving education in key technology focus areas and attracting more students to them, encouraging broader participation in STEM, and engaging relevant partners in research and innovation to help strengthen the domestic STEM workforce.  USICA would create a Regional Technology Hubs program, which would require grantees to lead activities to train or upskill workers, develop partnerships with labor organizations, and assist in development of skills-based education, including by improving STEM education and the alignment of career and technical education at all levels of education.  Finally, the bill calls for a National Academies study on the most critical science and technology areas and how our education and workforce capabilities match those emerging areas.  Lewis-Burke’s full analysis of USICA is available here.

As a next step, the House will need to conference the NSF for the Future Act with USICA.  Because USICA is a much larger and more comprehensive legislative package, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has instructed House committees with relevant jurisdiction over innovation, research, and workforce policies to begin crafting legislation to conference with the bill.  We expect the House committees to work on their bills over the summer and the conference process to possibly begin in September.  Lewis-Burke will continue to monitor progress on these pieces of legislation and their impact on education.

Senate Review of NIL with NCAA Athletes 
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation convened a June 17 hearing to listen directly from former and current National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes about their experiences playing within the NCAA and how implementing Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL)  legislation would benefit collegiate student athletes.  The hearing was prior to the June 21 announcement the Supreme Court voted unanimously against the NCAA in an anti-trust case that will now open the door for increased educational benefits such as paid internships, studying abroad, tutoring, and other opportunities.  Health and safety of athletes was as a large focus of the hearing, with many Senators raising questions surrounding topics such as sexual assault and harassment, inequities between men’s and women’s sports, mental health, and physical abuse of players.  Witnesses such as Christina Chenault, Former Division I Athlete for the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Kaira Brown, Student and Division I Athlete at Vanderbilt University, and Sari Cureton, Former Division I Athlete, Georgetown University, specifically highlighted the inequities seen recently at the Women’s National Basketball tournament and the Women’s Collegiate Softball tournament.  The last witness Martin McNair, Father of Jordan McNair who died of a heat stroke during a practice at the University of Maryland, specifically touched on the lack of health care for student athletes and the physical abuse and toxic environment of some coaching staff and athletic departments throughout the NCAA.   

Witnesses agreed that passing NIL legislation, specifically the College Athlete Bill of Rights sponsored by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), is important to allow athletes, especially minority, low-income, and female students, gain freedom and control of their own image.  Cureton highlighted that specifically student athletes of color have limited resources to advocate for themselves and asked the committee to see NIL as a civil rights issue.  A study by the PAC-12 was raised, which highlighted that athletes were subject to practice an average of 40-50 hours per week instead of the 20 hours a week set by the NCAA, resulting in players’ inability to major in certain degree programs or time for mental and physical recovery.  Witnesses urged Congress to pass a federal law because many of these issues are not caused directly by the universities but by the NCAA, which Chenault referenced as being built on “injustice, inequity, and exploitation”.   

Education Secretary Cardona Testifies Before Congress 
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, recently testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies and the House Education and Labor Committee.  Both hearings were an opportunity for Secretary Cardona to speak to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget for the U.S. Department of Education (ED).  During his Senate testimony, Secretary Cardona and Senators spoke about proposals in the FY 2022 budget for COVID learning recovery and proposed increases to the Pell Grant program, the need to support students experiencing homelessness, and questions about proposals from the Administration to support tuition-free community college. While appearing before the House committee, Secretary Cardona spoke efforts to diversify the teacher workforce, the importance of career pathways, and a new $20 billion Title I equity grant that was proposed in the FY 2022 ED budget request.  Members of Congress called on the Secretary and ED to provide more details on how the resumption of student loan payments will be handled and how ED will continue implementation of Section 117 foreign gift reporting compliance. 

House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Successful Employment Models for Justice Involved Individuals
The House Education and Labor Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee recently held a hearing focused on successful employment models for justice involved individuals, in advance of the expected reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) this Congress.  A main point of discussion during the hearing was how the committee could use the reauthorization of WIOA to invest in programs that reduce recidivism and provide meaningful employment for justice involved individuals, because WIOA currently has no provisions that specifically authorize re-entry programs.  

Subcommittee Chairwoman Fredricka Wilson (D-FL) emphasized the need to invest in re-entry support programs for formerly incarcerated individuals because incarceration is so much more expensive in the long run than the investments made in these programs.  Ranking Member Murphy (R-NC) agreed with the need to support re-entry programs but warned against mandating a “one size fits all” approach across the country.  The hearing witnesses were broadly supportive of providing wrap around services for formerly incarcerated individuals in addition to career services, since many individuals leaving prison do not have support systems to help them find jobs, housing, and mental health services, all critical to reducing recidivism.  Hearing witnesses also promoted the use of allowing incarcerated individuals to meet with career counselors prior to their release, earning stackable credentials, the importance of promoting second chance hiring in more industries, and the need to reduce bias against the formerly incarcerated in hiring.  

Legislative Bills of Note 

• S. 2081 (Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-HI)- Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act.  This legislation would double the Pell Grant award, index the award to inflation, make DREAMers eligible for the award, amongst other changes to expand the award.  The full press release form Rep. Hirono can be found here.
• H.R. 4002 (Rep. Ann Kuster, D-NH)- Expanding Access to Graduate Education Act.  This legislation would expand access to graduate education by amending the Federal Pell Grant program to include postbaccalaureate study.  The full press release from Rep. Kuster can be found here. 
• S. 2004 (Senator Alex Padilla, D-CA) - Basic Assistance for Students in College (BASIC) Act.  This legislation would provide funds to ensure colleges and universities have the resources to support their students’ most essential needs such as food, housing, and transportation while pursuing their education.  A full press release from Senator Padilla can be found here. 

Biden Admin Regulatory Agenda Focuses on Student Loans, Rescinds Duration of Stay Rule   
The Biden Administration released its Spring 2021 Regulatory Agenda, providing a look into which regulatory actions the federal agencies intend to address through the end of the year.  In addition to a number of regulations currently in the proposed or final rule stages, the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) regulatory agenda reflected its desire to pursue negotiated rulemaking on a number of student loan and borrower issues, including gainful employment and borrower defense regulations, 90/10 rule enforcement, income-contingent repayment plans, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) improvement, Pell Grant for Prison program guidance, student loan discharge, and other related topics.  ED is expected to begin negotiation sessions no earlier than August, with a goal of issuing proposed rules by July 2022.  Additionally, the Spring 2021 Regulatory Agenda for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed the Department’s intent to withdraw the proposed “Duration of Status” rule.  This rule, originally proposed in September 2020 during the Trump Administration, would have placed certain caps on length of stay for international students and faculty on F visas or J visas. 

Department of Education Proposes New Priorities for Discretionary Grants Program  
On June 30, the Department of Education (ED) released an invitation to comment on proposed priorities and definitions for use in discretionary grant programs put forth by Secretary Cardona.  These proposed priorities and definitions are intended to replace the current grant priorities and reflect "the Secretary’s vision for American education," which focus on creating the conditions under which students have equitable access to opportunity.  The six priorities are listed below: 

• Proposed Priority 1 – Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 on Students, Educators, and Faculty
• Proposed Priority 2 – Promoting Equity in Student Access to Educational Resources, Opportunities, and Welcoming Environments
• Proposed Priority 3 – Supporting a Diverse Educator Workforce and Professional Growth to Strengthen Student Learning 
• Proposed Priority 4 – Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs 
• Proposed Priority 5 – Increasing Postsecondary Education Access. Affordability, Completion, and Post-Enrollment Services  
• Proposed Priority 6 – Strengthening Cross-Agency Coordination and Community Engagement to Advance Systemic Change 

ED asks that comment submissions be received on or before July 30, 2021.  Submissions may be sent through the Federal eRulemaking Portal or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery.  

The full solicitation with detailed descriptions for each of the six priorities can be found here.  

FAFSA Changes Delayed 
The appropriations bill which became law at the end of 2020, included several financial aid policy provisions.  Among those provisions, was Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) simplification, which was to take effect for award year 2023-24.  As a result of this effort, students can expect fewer questions to respond to on the FAFSA, changes that will aid many low-income families.  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently announced, however, that some of the changes to the FAFSA will be not completed until award year 2024-25.  In a press release providing an update on the implementation of these changes, Rich Cordray, Chief Operating Officer at ED's Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) noted, “To deliver on these new opportunities, FSA first needs to update the technology system that the FAFSA form is built on. Believe it or not, the current system is 45 years old, and though we have made it work all these years, it’s just too limited to support these new changes.”  Students should begin to see changes on the FAFSA related to drug convictions and Select Service for the 2021-22 application cycle. 

Open Funding Opportunities

• Invitational Priority 1:  Minority Serving-Institutions and Community Colleges — This priority is for applications from Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) and community colleges, which are defined in the notice.   
• Invitational Priority 2:  Training in Less Commonly Taught Languages or Thematic Focus on International Business Programs — This priority supports applications that, “propose programs or activities focused on language training or the development of area or international business programs focused on contemporary topics or themes in conjunction with training in foreign languages, except French, German, or Spanish”.  

FACTS AND FIGURES: Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Fall Plans for Postsecondary Education