- ED begins negotiated-rulemaking process for student debt relief
- House to vote on Schools Not Shelters Act
- Advocates in Action
ED begins negotiated rulemaking process for student debt relief
The U.S. Education Department (ED) on Tuesday held a virtual public hearing on President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan, a key first step in a long bureaucratic process called negotiated rulemaking.
Unlike the HEROES Act, the law that ED initially cited during the creation of the cancellation plan, the Higher Education Act (HEA) requires the department to hear from stakeholder groups and the public before implementing any significant changes to authorized programs. The negotiated rulemaking itself is expected to take months and to occupy significant community attention.
ED has already received more than 12,000 comments from stakeholders. Most experts also expect the plan implemented under HEA to be the subject of additional legal challenges, meaning that it may take years before the program is implemented (or once again struck down). As a next step, ED will form a panel of 12 to 16 negotiators to respond to a proposed debt cancellation regulation. The American Association of Community Colleges will closely monitor the process.
House to vote on the Schools Not Shelters Act
The House this week is taking up the Schools Not Shelters Act, a Republican-led bill that would prevent colleges and universities (in addition to public elementary and secondary schools) from using their facilities to provide emergency housing or shelter for undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers.
The bill builds on a House resolution condemning New York City for a proposed plan to convert school gymnasiums into emergency shelters after the city ran out of shelter space. The House is expected to pass the bill on a party-line vote, but the measure is unlikely to receive meaningful consideration in the Senate.
Upcoming Advocates in Action
A reminder that AACC’s Advocates in Action will take place in Washington, D.C. on September 18 and 19. Registration is open. Make hotel accommodations at the Ven at Embassy Row Hotel.
For more detailed information on these issues, visit the Community College Advocacy Updates page on our website. Send questions, feedback and more to: kgimborys@aacc.nche.edu
