Higher Education Act

The Higher Education Act (HEA) is a federal law that governs the administration of federal higher education programs. Its purpose is to strengthen the educational resources of our colleges and universities and to provide financial assistance for students in postsecondary and higher education.

First passed in 1965 to ensure that every individual has access to higher education, regardless of income or zip code, the HEA governs student-aid programs, federal aid to colleges, and oversight of teacher preparation programs. It is generally scheduled for reauthorization by Congress every five years to encourage growth and change.

The HEA has been reauthorized in 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1986, 1992, 1998, and 2008. Current authorization for the programs in the Higher Education Act expired at the end of 2013, but has been extended while Congress prepares changes and amendments.
Capitol

Latest Actions

Efforts to update the Higher Education Act stalled as the COVID-19 pandemic put Congressional discussions on hold. Prior to the outbreak, lawmakers were reportedly close to reaching a deal after years of failure. However, there is hope that negotiations will eventually resume in the 117th Congress.

HEA in the 116th Congress

  • Senate Action

    U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in September 2019 introduced a piecemeal approach to update the Higher Education Act in the 116th Congress (2019-2020). The Student Aid Improvement Act, S. 2557, included eight bipartisan bills to streamline the Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), simplify financial aid award letters, expand Pell Grant eligibility for students in prisons and allow Pell to be used for short-term programs, among other changes. The proposal followed months of stalled efforts to reach a bipartisan deal for a comprehensive HEA reauthorization.

    SENATE PRESS RELEASE   BILL TEXT

  • House Action

    Democrats on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee in October 2019 unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the federal higher education law, aiming to cut the cost of college and increase access to college for low-income and minority students. The College Affordability Act included provisions that would:

    • Include the Reverse Transfer Efficiency Act, which AACRAO strongly supports and has advocated for over the past several years
    • Create a national tuition-free community college through a federal-state partnership model where the federal government contributes a per student amount at least 75 percent of the average resident tuition for public community colleges and states contribute 25 percent
    • Increase the maximum Pell Grant award by $500 and permanently index the award to inflation
    • Simplify FAFSA, including an automatic zero EFC for recipients of means-tested benefits
    • Create the Federal Direct Perkins Loan Program to provide an additional source of borrowing for undergraduates and graduates
    • Allow Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and certain other undocumented students access to federal student aid
    • Repeal the federal "student unit record" ban and require the Education Department to develop a system that uses student-level data to evaluate postsecondary outcomes
    • Change the 90/10 rule ratio (the percentage cap of Title IV aid an institution may receive) to 85/15 and expand it to include all educational programs
    • Require the Education Department to establish a Borrower Defense to Repayment process to discharge the federal loans of students who were defrauded by their colleges
    • Require the Education Department to establish a compliance standard that includes a debt-to-earnings threshold for training programs that are statutorily required to lead to gainful employment
    • Prohibit the Education Department from issuing or enforcing the proposed Title IX rules that the Trump administration published in November 2018, among other things.
     

    The College Affordability Act shared some key provisions with the Senate's package of bipartisan bills. Both proposals aimed to streamline FAFSA, simplify financial aid award letters, and expand Pell eligibility for incarcerated students and short-term programs—although the House bill excluded for-profit colleges.

    However, the House measure did not gain any traction in the 116th Congress's Republican-controlled Senate.

    HOUSE PRESS RELEASE BILL TEXT OVERVIEW OF COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY ACT

     

UPDATES

DeVos Testifies at Senate Hearing on Proposed Education Budget

Apr 2, 2019, 20:32 PM
legacy id :
Summary : Lawmakers press Education Secretary on backlog of student debt-relief claims, argue effort to overhaul higher ed rules could hinder bipartisan negotiations on HEA reauthorization.
Url :

Late last week, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos returned to Capitol Hill to testify before the appropriations subcommittee overseeing education funding to defend her department's proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year, Politico reported.


Democratic lawmakers argued that DeVos' effort to overhaul a wide-range of higher education rules could hinder bipartisan negotiations over reauthorizing the Higher Education Act. Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Labor-HHS-Education panel Patty Murray (D-WA) said that she is "very hopeful" about getting a bill passed this year but is troubled by the Trump administration's sweeping plans in the meantime. Sec. DeVos eschewed Murray's suggestion to halt the rulemaking process, stating "I don't think we're going to have any final rule prior to Memorial Day, but we are going to continue with our timeline."


Senators also questioned the Education Secretary about the backlog of claims from defrauded student loan borrowers. More than 140,000 applications for student debt relief are pending at the department, and DeVos could not tell lawmakers whether any of them have been approved, reported The Washington Post.


The agency last released updates on the status of student loan fraud claims four months ago. At that point, tens of thousands of applications were in the queue. That number has increased by hundreds every day, according to data the department provided the Senate panel.


Sec. DeVos testified that her agency regularly reviews borrower defense to repayment claims, and she "believes" claims have been approved this year. But neither the secretary nor her staff in attendance could provide specific numbers.


People close to the matter who are not authorized to speak publicly say no new applications have been approved or denied, according to the Post.


The Trump administration has been reluctant to use its authority to discharge loans. Sec. DeVos tried to block Obama-era revisions to simplify the process for students and shift more of the cost of discharging loans onto schools. However, a federal judge in October ordered the immediate implementation of the Obama regulation.


"There is nothing preventing you from providing relief to struggling borrowers today," Sen. Murray said at the hearing. "I don't understand why the department can't fully discharge the loan today for tens of thousands who were defrauded years ago by Corinthian Colleges."


DeVos responded, "The Corinthian College claims are being processed and dealt with forthwith, and will continue to be."


Related Links

Politico

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-education/2019/03/29/trump-backs-down-on-proposed-special-olympics-cuts-418307

The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/03/28/dont-you-have-heart-senate-democrats-press-devos-backlog-student-debt-relief-claims/

Michelle Mott
Categories :
  • Advocacy
  • Financial Aid and FAFSA
  • Higher Education Act
Tags :
  • borrower defense
  • education department
  • Federal Regulations
  • Federal relations
  • federal student loans
  • fraud
  • Negotiated Rulemaking
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