BUDGET RECONCILIATION NEWS
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Democrats Blocked from Including Immigration Reform in Party-line Spending Bill
The Senate parliamentarian on Sunday rejected Democrats’ push to include a pathway to legal status in their social spending plan, a blow to the party’s efforts to enact immigration reform. In the decision, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO, the parliamentarian determined that the Democrats’ proposal is “by any standard a broad, new immigration policy” and that the policy change “substantially outweighs the budgetary impact of that change.” But it's unclear how new reasoning for immigration provisions with the same ultimate effect could win over the parliamentarian, meaning that the new ruling likely closes the path forward for providing legal status through Democrats-only legislation this Congress. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday evening that Democrats are "deeply disappointed in the decision" but plan to meet with the Senate parliamentarian in the coming days and pursue other options. Congressional Republicans praised the parliamentarian's decision Sunday. ( Politico - Sept. 19, 2021)
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Here’s What Free Community College Might Look Like
After years of discussion and debate about offering free community college across the United States, what once seemed unlikely is now as close as it’s ever been to being a reality. House Democrats have provided a look into how the program would work in practice, though experts say it may still need some tweaks between now and its final passage. Called America’s College Promise, a tuition-free community college plan is a provision in the upcoming Build Back Better Act currently being crafted in Congress by Democrats. The $3.5 trillion legislation is expected to pass via a procedural process called budget reconciliation, meaning it won’t require any Republican support to make it to President Biden’s desk. The bill includes other higher education provisions, such as increased Pell Grants, investments in historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions, and a grant fund to support college completion and retention efforts. But for many, America’s College Promise is the marquee piece of the legislation. ( Inside Higher Ed - Sept. 17, 2021)
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Reminding Congress of Workforce Education
Democrats in Congress are seeking to send billions of dollars in new funding to community colleges to support free two-year postsecondary education for students, but that could leave job-focused education behind in the process if policy makers aren’t careful, according to prominent community college and workforce education leaders. Twenty college administrators, researchers and entrepreneurs said in a recent letter to leaders of the House and Senate education committees that they are concerned the “college promise” provisions under consideration by lawmakers leave out job-focused learners. As a result, the policies would only serve a fraction of the population looking to pursue higher education. Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee have included a free community college program —called America’s College Promise —in their part of the Build Back Better Act currently being crafted in Congress as a budget reconciliation package. The overall legislation’s current form is heavily focused on traditional higher education, though $2 billion has been set aside for community college workforce development grants. ( Inside Higher Ed - Sept. 20, 2021)
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A Win for Pandemic-impacted PIs
The National Institutes of Health on Friday revised its early-stage investigator, or ESI, policy to allow those working on previously granted extensions to request more time as ESIs, due to COVID-19 or other “life events.” Prior to the policy adjustment, many women said they’d been denied pandemic-related extension requests because they’d already been granted extensions due to childbirth. This raised questions about the NIH’s stated commitment to supporting women in science, specifically to women who run academic labs as principal investigators (PIs). By Friday morning, a petition criticizing the NIH’s long-standing policy against extensions on extensions had already garnered more than 400 signatures. ( Inside Higher Ed - Sept. 20, 2021)
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State Department Waives Visa Interview Requirements for Certain Students and Scholars
Earlier this week, the State Department announced that consular officers have been authorized to expand the categories of F, M, and “academic J visa applicants” (students, professors, research scholars, short-term scholars, or specialists) whose applications can be adjudicated without an in-person interview, with certain exceptions. Through the end of the year, consular officers may waive the visa interview requirement for eligible F, M, and academic J visa applicants who were previously issued any type of visa and who have never been refused a visa unless such refusal was overcome or waived. The waiver is also available to eligible first-time F, M, and academic J visa applicants who are citizens or nationals of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program. Applicants should check the relevant consulate or embassy website for information about country eligibility and procedures. ( Association of American Universities - Sept. 17, 2021)
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What’s Changing in the New FAFSA and What’s Not
Big changes are coming to a notoriously complex form that students need to submit to qualify for college financial aid—but the changes will mostly appear gradually, over the next few years. The latest version of the form known as the FAFSA, short for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, will become available online on Oct. 1 for aid awarded for the 2022-23 academic year. The changes to the form and its financial aid calculations aim to make the FAFSA simpler as well as to encourage more students to complete it and to expand aid eligibility for lower-income students. But with a few exceptions, this year’s form will be mostly unchanged. There will be at least two notable changes, however. Having a drug conviction while receiving student aid or failing to register with the Selective Service System, the federal database maintained in case of military draft, no longer affects an applicant’s eligibility for financial aid. ( The New York Times - Sept. 17, 2021)
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Veterans’ Ed Law May Have Consequences for Foreign Recruiting
International higher education groups are lobbying for changes to a new veterans’ education law, the THRIVE Act, that they say could dissuade colleges from using commissioned agents in international student recruiting out of fear of losing access to GI Bill benefits. As NAFSA: Association of International Educators explained in an analysis published last week, the law, signed in June, “instructs the State agencies that approve courses of study for GI Bill purposes to take action that could include not approving a school's new programs of study or disapproving previously-approved programs of study” if the agencies determine that the institution, or an entity it contracts with, engages in incentive-based student recruitment. The Higher Education Act also includes a prohibition on incentive-based compensation in student recruiting, but it includes a carve-out for recruiting students internationally. The use of commissioned agents in international recruiting is a still-controversial but growing practice. ( Inside Higher Ed - Sept. 20, 2021)
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