Legislative Activity

Reauthorization Legislation

On Tuesday, September 10, the House Education and the Workforce Committee held its first hearing this Congress to examine opportunities to improve education research and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), and committed to move forward with the reauthorization of the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA), which created IES in 2002.

However, Senate Education leaders are still trying to determine a timeline for bringing its Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization measure to the floor, which is a priority for the chamber. The chamber also has begun to schedule a series of hearings related to reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, holding its first in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee on Thursday, September 19 on accreditation (see This Week’s Hearings section below). Moreover, Senate HELP Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) is working on draft legislation to authorize early childhood education programs, which will closely resemble the President’s “Preschool for All” proposal put forth in his budget request earlier this year. Committee staff will likely circulate draft language in the coming weeks for feedback and to attract bipartisan support.

This Week’s Hearings:

  • Wednesday, September 18: As part of the Higher Education and Workforce Training Subcommittee of the House Education and the Workforce Committee series on college affordability, the subcommittee will hold a hearing titled, “Keeping College Within Reach: Improving Access and Affordability through Innovative Partnerships.”
  • Thursday, September 19: The Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee will hold a hearing titled “The Triad: Promoting a System of Shared Responsibility; Issues for Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.”
  • Friday, September 20: The Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee of the House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing titled “Preparing Today’s Students for Tomorrow’s Jobs: A Discussion on Career and Technical Education and Training Programs.”

Regulatory Activity

From Monday, September 9 to Wednesday, September 11, the Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking committee on gainful employment held its first of two public sessions.  The second session will be held from October 21 to 23 in Washington, D.C. at the Department of Education.