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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.
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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

March Deal on HEA Reauthorization Bill?

Mar 5, 2020, 11:05 AM
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Summary : Key senator says a bill to reauthorize HEA should pass the education committee this month in order for it to have time to get through Congress this year.
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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, recently stated in remarks to a group of community college trustees that he would like to have a bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) passed by his committee by the end of March in order for it to have time to pass the entire Congress by the end of the year, Inside Higher Ed reported. 

In a statement, a committee spokesman reiterated that the clock is ticking. "The committee should consider and approve legislation early this spring to give the Senate enough time to pass a bill that can be signed into law by the end of the year," the spokesman said.

When asked about that goal Tuesday, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the HELP committee, said "I think that's going to be difficult to do. But we are working on trying to get an agreement."

The Senate will be in recess for nearly all of August and October leading up to the November elections. In the remaining time, Alexander and Murray will have to rally the full Senate to approve the bill, then work out a compromise with the Democratic House, whose HEA proposal would spend an additional $332 billion over 10 years—far more than what is expected from the Senate. A Senate bill also would have to vie with other major bills for time on the floor for debate, reported Inside Higher Ed.

However, despite the obstacles and skepticism that it will happen, both Alexander and Murray have a number of incentives to reach a deal, in particular, Alexander's impending retirement. Those hopeful for a deal point to the fact that the two senators have a history of being able to find compromise on complex legislation, including the Every Student Succeeds Act they negotiated in 2015.

Related Links
Inside Higher Ed
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/03/02/lamar-alexander-wants-higher-education-act-deal-within-month
Inside Higher Ed
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/03/04/murray-march-deal-hea-will-be-difficult

 
Michelle Mott
Categories :
  • Advocacy
  • Higher Education Act
Tags :
  • Federal relations
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