Environmental Groups Sue in Bid to Block EPA 'Secret Science' Rule Green groups on Monday filed a lawsuit in an attempt to prevent a new rule limiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) use of certain studies from taking effect. The lawsuit takes aim at the EPA’s Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science rule, also known as the "secret science" rule, which restricts the use of studies that don’t make their underlying data public. The suit, brought by the Environmental Defense Fund, the Montana Environmental Information Center and Citizens for Clean Energy, argued that the rule itself and its immediate effective date violate the Administrative Procedure Act. ( The Hill - Jan. 11, 2021)
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Dept. of Ed Says Title IX Does Not Apply to LGBTQ DiscriminationThe United States Department of Education’s Office of the General Counsel published a memorandum on Friday that states that LGBTQ students are not expressly included in protections under Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination at federally funded institutions. Questions about how Title IX applies to LGBTQ students surfaced after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in June, Bostock v. Clayton County . . . . Legal experts and some of the justices themselves suggested the ruling could have consequences for other laws that apply to sex discrimination, including Title IX. Friday’s memo further maintained that OCR should only consider certain forms of discrimination based on LGBTQ identity as discrimination under Title IX and said that “sex” should only be interpreted to mean “biological sex, male and female.” ( Inside Higher Ed - Jan. 12, 2021)
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Ed Dept. Adds Loan Repayment Information to College Scorecard
The Education Department added long called-for information to its College Scorecard that shows how well students at institutions, including for-profits, are able to repay student loans. The added information shows the percentages of borrowers who fall into eight loan repayment statuses two years after entering repayment: paid in full, making progress, delinquency, forbearance, default, not making progress, deferment and loans discharged. ( Inside Higher Ed - Jan. 13, 2021)
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For-profits Ask Biden Not to Single Them Out
The association representing for-profit colleges and universities, in a letter Monday, urged President-elect Joe Biden's administration not to single them out unfairly. The Biden administration is expected to restore Obama administration rules eliminated by former education secretary Betsy DeVos aimed primarily at for-profit institutions. The rules would make it easier for students defrauded by institutions about the value of their degrees to file borrower-defense claims to have their student loans canceled, as well as potentially stripping institutions from receiving federal student aid dollars if their students do not find adequately paying jobs. ( Inside Higher Ed - Jan. 13, 2021)
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Harris Teases Immigration Agenda: Green Cards for DACA and TPS Recipients, Shorter Waits for Citizenship
The incoming administration will focus on decreasing wait times to obtain citizenship, granting automatic green cards to protected undocumented immigrants and adding immigration judges to decrease backlogs on court hearings, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said on Tuesday. [Harris] teased a sweeping immigration reform bill that her and President-elect Joe Biden's administration plans to introduce. Harris said their bill would grant green cards immediately to immigrants protected by the Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policies. She added that the administration would also try to decrease the amount of time required to acquire U.S. citizenship to eight years from 13 years by making the naturalization process more efficient. ( Politico - Jan. 12, 2021)
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Acting Homeland Security Chief Chad Wolf ResignsActing Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf resigned Monday, just days after he pledged to stay in the job until President Donald Trump’s last day in office. Pete Gaynor, the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, will take over as acting secretary, a senior DHS official said. Wolf’s departure makes him the third Cabinet-level official to quit following Wednesday's attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos resigned last week. ( Roll Call - Jan. 11, 2021)
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