Democrats urge Biden admin to scrutinize schools’ outsourcing of on-line packages
FIRST LOOK — DEMS URGE CARDONA TO SCRUTINIZE ONLINE COLLEGE OUTSOURCING: High Democrats within the Home and Senate are calling on the Biden administration to crack down on the businesses that universities rent to promote and handle their on-line programs, together with reexamining whether or not a key a part of the trade’s enterprise mannequin is allowed beneath federal regulation.
— On-line program administration corporations, referred to as OPMs, have confronted scrutiny over the previous a number of years from some Democrats and client advocates, who query the rising function of the companies in larger schooling. However senior Democrats are actually sketching out extra particular calls for for the way they need the Biden administration to take to deal with the businesses.
— A bunch of Democrats, in a new letter to Schooling Secretary Miguel Cardona, urged the administration to instantly start a “formal authorized evaluate” of Schooling Division steerage that permits schools to pay the businesses based mostly on the quantity of tuition income they assist generate. That steerage, revealed in 2011, carves out an exception to the standard federal rule in opposition to “incentive compensation” in larger schooling, which is supposed to stop abusive pupil recruiting practices.
— The letter was signed by the chairs of the congressional schooling committees, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.); Home Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.); in addition to Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.).
— Federal and state regulators lack “ample oversight of OPM preparations, particularly contemplating the numerous quantity of federal funding flowing to OPMs,” the Democrats wrote of their letter. They cited a congressional watchdog report from earlier this yr that raised questions on whether or not the Schooling Division is appropriately monitoring schools’ agreements with for-profit companies.
— The Democrats additionally need the Schooling Division to take a look at whether or not schools are required to reveal extra data to college students and potential college students concerning the function an OPM is enjoying, typically behind the scenes, in working its on-line programs.
— An Schooling Division spokesperson stated: “We’ve obtained the letter and are reviewing it.”
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THIS WEEK — CARDONA HEADS TO FRANCE: Schooling Secretary Miguel Cardona will lead a delegation on the Group for Financial Co-operation and Improvement Summit in France this week the place he’ll talk about “lifelong schooling and reimagining schooling for an equitable future,” the division stated.
— Cardona “will even be part of schooling officers for a faculty go to to find out how lecturers are addressing tutorial restoration following the pandemic, and to be taught extra about efforts to extend multilingual schooling,” the division stated.
WHAT’S ON TAP FOR EDUCATION IN THE LAME DUCK: The Home and the Senate return this week to deal with a prolonged checklist of unfinished enterprise earlier than the tip of this Congress. Right here’s what’s at stake for schooling points in that remaining legislative dash:
— Authorities spending: It’s crunch time for congressional appropriators and leaders to succeed in a deal to fund the federal government past Dec. 16 when a stop-gap spending measure expires. Schools and universities are pushing for an omnibus spending deal that features a increase to the utmost Pell grant and different pupil assist packages. They’re additionally lobbying to get Congress to shell out cash for the analysis and science packages lawmakers licensed as a part of the CHIPS and Science Act earlier this yr. As well as, HBCUs, tribal schools and different minority-serving establishments are searching for new federal funding for enhancing infrastructure and expertise on their campuses.
— An omnibus, year-end authorities spending deal is also a automobile for different schooling insurance policies which have been debated this Congress, together with short-term Pell and the School Transparency Act, which is geared toward enhancing federal monitoring of pupil outcomes in larger schooling.
— Immigration deal? Senate Democrats have been scrambling to see if they’ll discover sufficient GOP help to clinch a deal to permit DACA recipients to remain within the U.S. legally. The Obama-era program shields from deportation younger immigrants who have been dropped at the nation as kids. School presidents final week made a push in Washington for Congress to take up the difficulty. A deal on DACA faces lengthy odds within the remaining weeks of this Congress, although it’s prone to grow to be much more tough, if not unimaginable, in a divided authorities subsequent yr.
— A year-end tax deal? Congressional negotiators are additionally engaged on a doable year-end tax deal as Democrats press to revive some type of their expanded little one tax credit score. School teams are urging tax writers to incorporate a plan to decrease taxes for Pell grant recipients and make it simpler for college kids to entry the next schooling tax break in any deal they attain.
CORDRAY ROLLS OUT ‘FRESH START’ GUIDANCE TO GUARANTY AGENCIES: Federal Pupil Support chief Wealthy Cordray on Friday rolled out new particulars of how the federally-guaranteed pupil mortgage trade should perform the Biden administration’s coverage to tug debtors out of default on their pupil debt.
— The Schooling Division earlier this yr introduced its “Recent Begin” program that’s geared toward expunging the defaults for the hundreds of thousands of debtors who fell severely behind on their federal pupil mortgage funds.
— The steerage applies to defaulted federal loans which are held by non-public corporations referred to as warranty companies. It particulars how the Schooling Division plans to compensate these corporations and the way shortly they should begin implementing this system.
— For instance, the businesses should begin reporting defaulted debtors to credit score bureaus as present on their loans beginning Feb. 1 — or, relying on a borrower’s circumstance, take different steps that get rid of the detrimental credit score reporting penalties of default.
— Debtors will nonetheless must take some motion to totally pull their mortgage out of default. The deadline is one yr after the fee pause ends, which at the moment can be a while in the midst of 2024.
ICYMI — BIDEN ASKS SCOTUS TO TAKE UP 2ND CASE ON STUDENT DEBT RELIEF: The Biden administration is asking the Supreme Court docket to intervene in a second main authorized problem to its pupil debt aid program and probably hear it alongside the case the justices already agreed to listen to in February or March.
— The Justice Division on Fridayurged the court docket to instantly pause a ruling by a federal choose in Texas that struck down President Joe Biden’s debt aid program as unlawful or, alternatively, take up the 2 circumstances on the identical time.
— The justices final week agreed to listen to arguments concerning the legality of Biden’s pupil debt aid coverage in a case introduced by six Republican-led states. The second case includes a lawsuit introduced by the conservative Job Creators Community Basis on behalf of two debtors who have been partially or absolutely excluded from Biden’s debt aid plan.
— Listening to the 2 circumstances collectively on the identical time, the DOJ wrote in its submitting on Friday, “would enable the Court docket to contemplate the complete vary of challenges to the plan without delay.” Extra right here.
— Luis R. Lopez would be the Schooling Division’s new chief data officer beginning on Dec. 18, the company introduced on Friday.
— Suzanne Stokes Vieth has been appointed as director of state relations and outreach on the Nationwide Affiliation of Unbiased Schools and Universities. She beforehand was deputy director for presidency affairs at Inhabitants Affiliation of America/Affiliation of Inhabitants Facilities.
— A killer on the unfastened leaves an Idaho school city shaken: The New York Occasions.
— Schooling Division contractor mistakenly informed about 9 million debtors they have been accredited for debt aid: Insider.
— ‘Youngsters appear to be a paycheck”: How a billion-dollar company exploits Washington state’s particular schooling system: ProPublica.
