AACRAO & Federal Relations Update

Presented by:

William Gil, Director, Government Relations

Michelle Mott, Associate Director, Gov. Relations & Communications

AACRAO update

Higher Education Act reauthorization

Legislative update Trending Topics

Federal budget update

Federal Relations update

AACRAO & Federal Relations Update

AACRAO Update

AACRAO Advocacy

educate them on AACRAO’s legislative agenda

and to serve as a resource on policy issues.

Staff has complete nearly 90 visits to

AACRAO staff has actively engaged with Congressional leaders to

Congressional offices in the past year.

AACRAO recently created a grassroots advocacy

platform to increase member and State & Regional

engagement in policy issues affecting your campuses.

AACRAO Grassroots Advocacy

Online Advocacy Center

Site allows members to easily submit form letters to

their Senators and Representatives, etc.

Quick Demo

House PROSPER

Act

(H.R. 4508)

Protect Dreamers

Continued Support

for Puerto Rico

Relief for TPS

Holders

AACRAO Calls to Action

Chairman: Tim Amyx, Volunteer State Community College

Kelley Brundage, University of West FloridaAdrian Cornelius, University of Maryland

Amy Gleason, Duke UniversityJosé Sinclair, Dartmouth College

David Smedley, George Washington UniversityMichal Stacy, Ivy Tech Community College

Melissa Cruz, Mercer UniversityAmanda Euen, Miami University

Beth Acree, University of ArizonaKelly Brooks, Capella University

AACRAO Public Policy Advisory Group

Federal Relations Update

Higher Education Act (HEA) Reauthorization

HEA Reauthorization

Potential timeline

House PROSPER Act (H.R. 4508)

• Introduced Dec. 1, 2017

• Advanced out of committee Dec. 12, 2017

‒ Reverse Transfer Efficiency Act (H.R. 3774)

• Full House expected to consider as early as Feb. 2018

House PROSPER Act

Support

• FAFSA simplification

• Prior-prior year data

• Loan origination fees

• Loan limits

Concerns

• Overhauls student aid

• Direct Loan Program

• End of Perkins Loans

• Streamlines income-based

repayment plans

• Changes R2T4

Financial Aid

House PROSPER Act

Support

• New work study formula

• Pell Plus

• Apprenticeships

Concerns

• Work study eligibility

• Changes to Pell program

• TRIO funding cuts

• Elimination of SEOG

Student Assistance

House PROSPER Act

Support

• Some accreditation

provisions

• State authorization

requirement for physical

locations

Concerns

• Elimination of 10

accreditation standards

• State authorization rules

for distance ed programs

• Gainful employment

• Repeal of 90/10 rule

Program Integrity

House PROSPER Act

Competency-Based Education

• Pathways to better align CBE programs with Title IV

aid programs

• Concerns with lack of safeguards for non-Title IV

providers who partner with eligible institutions

Reverse Transfer

• Creation of new FERPA exemption

Other Issues

AACRAO urges members to use Advocacy Center to

contact their U.S. Representative and express

concerns regarding the proposed legislation.

House PROSPER Act

CBO Scoring on PROSPER Act

Bill would reduce federal student aid funding by

$14.6 billion and spending on federal student loan

programs by $26.3 billion over 10 years.

Advocacy Call to Action

State & Regional ACRAO Call to Action

S & R ACRAO Call to Action on PROSPER Act

Resulted in engagements with

236 Members of Congress, who represent

Over 25 State and the District of Columbia and

910 institutions within their districts

Sen. Lamar Alexander issues white paper that calls

for changes to how colleges are held accountable for

the federal dollars they receive.

Senate Action on HEA

HELP Committee Hearings

Education panel discusses issues related to

innovation, accountability, affordability, etc.

White Paper on Higher Education Accountability

Federal Budget Update

Federal Budget Update

Two-Year Budget Agreement

• $320 billion budget package for FY 2018 and

2019

• Includes additional $4 billion in funding for

higher education over the next two years

• $89.3 billion in disaster aid for hurricane and

wildfire victims

• Excludes legislative fix for DACA

Federal Budget Update

FY 2018 Omnibus Appropriations Act

• Boosts Education Dept. funding by $3.9 billion

• Raises maximum Pell Grant by $175 to $6,095

• Provides additional $107 million to FSEOG

• Increase funding to Federal Work-Study by $140

million, for a total of $1.1 billion

• Boosts funding for minority-serving institutions

• Excludes legislative fix for DACA

Federal Budget Update

President Trump’s FY 2019 Budget Request

• Cuts Education Dept.’s by 5.6 percent, or $3.8 M

• Eliminates Public Service Loan Forgiveness and

FSEOG Programs

• Overhauls Federal Work-Study Program

• Consolidates IDR plans and ends subsidized loans

• Expands Pell eligibility to short-term non-degree

programs

Legislative Update

Legislative Update

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

• Sweeping legislation overhauls U.S. tax code

• Imposes a 1.4 percent excise tax on investment

income at private colleges with an enrollment of

at least 500 students and with assets valued at

$500,000 per full-time student

• Doubles the standard deduction to $24,400 for

joint filers and $12,200 for individuals

Legislative Update

DACA/DREAM Act

• DREAM Act reintroduced July 2017

• Trump administration announced plans in fall

2017 to effectively terminate DACA

• Congress has failed to reach a deal

• Courts order administration to resume DACA

• Bipartisan deal is in no way imminent

Bipartisan legislation to extend the program for an

additional two years. Despite broad support from

both parties in both chambers, measure fails.

Legislative Update

Reverse Transfer Efficiency Act – H.R. 3774

Bipartisan bill introduced by Reps. Luke Messer (R-

IN) and Jared Polis (D-CO)

Federal Perkins Loan Extension Act – H.R. 2482, S.1808

President Trump signed an update of the Post-9/11 GI

Bill into law. The bipartisan legislation moved swiftly

through both chambers of Congress.

Legislative Update

Title IX Protection Act – H.R. 4030

Bill would codify parts of the recently-rescinded

Obama-era guidance on campus sexual assault

Post 9/11 GI Bill Update – “Forever GI Bill”

Trending Topics

Trending Topics

Displaced Students

GDPRED Privacy

Office

Travel Ban

ED guidance on

transgender students

Ban the Box Movement

Trending Topics

Displaced Students

• Resource page on displaced students:

http://www.aacrao.org/resources/trending-

topics/displaced-vulnerable-students

• Advocacy Center calls to action

• Protect Dreamers

• Continued Support for Puerto Rico

• Relief for TPS Holders

Trending Topics

General Data Protection Regulation

• GDPR adopted by European Parliament in 2016

• Effective May 2018

• Failure to comply may result in fines of up to

€20 Million or 4 percent global turnover

• Resource page on GDPR:

http://www.aacrao.org/resources/trending-

topics/gdpr

Trending Topics

Education Department Privacy Office

• Chief Privacy Officer Kathleen Styles reassigned

• Broader issue of office designated to administer

FERPA shifting from Family Policy Compliance

Office (FPCO) to the Office of the Chief Privacy

Officer (OCPO)

• Outreach to ED to restore administration of

FERPA compliance to FPCO

Trending Topics

Travel Ban

• Latest iteration restricts travel from Chad, Iran,

Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, North Korea, and

some groups of people from Venezuela

• Fall 2017: Supreme Court allows ban to take

effect while legal challenges pan out

• January 2018: Supreme Court will consider

whether ban violates immigration law

Louisiana, Maryland, and Washington approve bills

to ban public institutions from asking criminal history

questions on admissions applications

Trending Topics

Education Department Guidance on Transgender Students

Trump administration rescinds Obama-era guidance

to protect transgender students

Ban the Box Movement

Questions?Contact us at gilw@aacrao.org or mottm@aacrao.org