5/14/18: Education Update

Executive Branch and Administration

• On 5/9 the Treasury Department set new federal student loan interest rates, which will go into effect for loans taken out after July 1 for the 2018-19 school year. The new rates are...
• On 5/10 the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion approved its final slate of recommendations. The recommendations are...
• On 5/14 President Trump announced his nomination of Scott Stump to be Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical and Adult Education. Stump previously...

Department of Education

• The Department of Education continues moving forward with plans to reorganize and consolidate its divisions. The proposal would...

Congress

• On 5/9 the House Appropriations subcommittee held a hearing on the Commerce, Justice, Science and other agencies FY19 appropriations bill.  The bill includes Department of Justice programs for school safety, as well as other National Science Foundation and NASA grant programs the District may target. Highlights include:...
• On 5/9 the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on “Closing the Skills Gap: Private Sector Solutions for America’s Workforce”. Highlights include:...
• On 5/10 the Congressional Black Caucus introduced the Jobs and Justice Act, an omnibus bill that is multiple pieces of legislation. The legislation is unlikely to be adopted as a whole package, but pieces of the legislation could get incorporated into other bills. Programs related to education include:...
• On 5/16 the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on a number of bills, including H 5731, which would require the Department of Homeland Security to take actions to decrease the risk of school shootings, among other things. The text of the bill is not yet available.

5/11/18: White House Apprenticeship Task Force- Full Analysis of Final Recommendations

On 5/10 the White House Apprenticeship Task force recommendations were adopted and present to President Trump.

The Apprenticeship Task Force report has two main parts to it: first, the creation of a new Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Program (IRAPs) run through the Department of Labor, which the Administration wants to turn into a large grant and partnership program; and second, a smaller section on recommended reforms to the existing registered apprenticeship program. Now that the task force has finished its work Sec. Acosta has committed to implementing the recommendations at the Department of Labor. 

The goal of our analysis is to help position you for future funding opportunities, through IRAPs and the existing registered apprenticeship program.  Our analysis is divided into an overview of target programs and a deep dive into the newly proposed IRAP. The analysis includes several recommendations for involvement in IRAPs and ways to position yourself for a competitive advantage for future funding.

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5/8/18: Update President Trump Rescission Proposal

Today President Trump released a proposal for a $15.4 billion rescission of funds. The proposed rescissions come almost exclusively from unobligated fund balances appropriated in prior fiscal years. This means most are funds that were appropriated but never spent.

The largest category of rescissions is ....

The other significant category of rescissions hits...

The President has indicated he will release a larger rescission proposal towards the end of the month, which may include rescissions from this recent fiscal year (FY18).  Congress now has 45 days to act on the proposal, during which time all list funds will be frozen. 

A full list of proposed rescissions is...

5/7/18: Education Update

Executive Branch and Administration

• The White House is expected to release its rescission proposal this week, possibly as early as 5/8. The rescission proposal is expected to be in the $11B-$15B range and is likely to target unused funding from past years.
• On 5/2 seven states filed a lawsuit to terminate the DACA program, arguing the program is not legal. The lawsuit was filed after...
• On 5/10 the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion will have its final public meeting. The Task Force is expected to review approve a final slate of recommendations in four areas...

Congress

• On 5/9 the House Appropriations subcommittee will hold a hearing to markup the Commerce, Justice, Science, and other agencies FY19 appropriations bill. The bill includes ...
• On 5/9 the House Committee on Education and the Workforce will hold a hearing on “Closing the Skills Gap: Private Sector Solutions for America’s Workforce”.
• On 5/8 the House Veterans’ Affairs committee will hear 15 bills, including..

Other Articles of Interest

• Inside Higher Ed: Despite filing federal applications and being eligible for aid, many low-income students in California are going without millions of dollars in Pell Grants. ...

Funding/Support Opportunities

• Anticipated funding: Not yet released...

5/2/18: Workforce Update

After multiple discussions with ED and DOL contacts we have more information on future STEM and the Workforce programs and priorities at ED and the Department of Labor.  This information should help with the long-range program development. 

First, we have a preview of a new Department of Education grant program that is not yet released...

Second, last week the House LHHS appropriations committee held a hearing on the workforce pipeline, and considerable attention was paid to... We'd like your help to move forward on two next steps on apprenticeships to help with grant positioning...