Though both the House and Senate were in session for a majority of the week, DC was relatively quiet with regard to federal education policy. Most of the focus on the Hill surrounded the possible creation of a January 6 commission, the conflict between Israel and Palestine and the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act that was signed into law. However, there were a few relevant activities that are summarized below:
- White House Counters Infrastructure Proposal: On Friday, the White House presented a counterproposal of $1.7 trillion in response to the recent Republican infrastructure proposal. This proposal is $550 billion lower than the Administration’s original infrastructure proposal in an effort to work toward a more bipartisan deal, according to the White House. Workforce development investments were one of the items not included in the Republican proposal that continue to be emphasized by the White House.
- Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Broadband Access: On Wednesday, the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government held a hearing on “The Need for Universal Broadband: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The subcommittee hosted panelists who discussed equity issues surrounding access to broadband and potential solutions to solve these issues to create more equity. Many of the panelists highlighted issues that students faced during online learning without access to broadband services.
- House Approves STEM Related Bills: The House considered several STEM-related bills last week. The first bill was the Rural STEM Education Research Act, which would analyze STEM in rural communities and research strategies to improve broadband access. Another bill, the STEM Opportunities Act, promotes research on the participation and trajectories of women, minorities, and other groups historically underrepresented in STEM studies and careers at postsecondary institutions.
- House Announces Appropriations Committee Schedule: With the Administration’s full budget release scheduled for Friday, May 28, Congress is busy preparing to begin their appropriations work. House leaders have announced that Appropriations Subcommittees will mark up their bills beginning on June 24, with full Committee work to begin on June 29 and wrap up by July 16. These markups will be our first indication of congressional intent related to funding for Perkins and other education and workforce programs for FY 2022.
- OCTAE Issues Memo on Perkins Accountability: On May 20, the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education issued a new program memo outlining some flexibilities that will be offered to states, and in turn, that states can offer to locals, related to Perkins accountability for the 2020-21 school year. Perhaps more importantly, the memo outlines requirements that remain in place, including data reporting and improvement plans if performance level targets are missed.
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