ED Guidance: Colleges responsible for aid disbursed to fraudulent students
In a July 17 Electronic Announcement that answers questions related to its new real-time FAFSA fraud detection initiative, the Education Department (ED) stated that colleges must return all Title IV funds distributed to students that are later found to be fraudulent. This requirement applies even if the institution had no indication of fraud at the time of disbursement and the student had not been selected for identity verification. This absolute responsibility for aid disbursed to fraudulent students potentially exposes institutions to significant financial liabilities. Other matters addressed in the Electronic Announcement are more technical in nature.
ED rescinds civil rights guidance for vocational programs
ED on Thursday rescinded guidelines for eliminating discrimination in vocational education programs that dated back to 1979. The guidelines were incorporated as appendices into the department’s regulations, which ED has now eliminated through a final rule. ED has rescinded the guidelines because it has determined that they contain “disparate impact provisions” that “allow demographic data alone to establish that a school violated federal civil rights laws, even if there is no facially discriminatory policy, practice, or discriminatory intent involved.” ED’s action is part of a Trump administration effort to eliminate “disparate impact provisions” across the federal government, pursuant to an Executive Order issued last year. The guidelines required state vocational education agencies to proactively monitor, using data, for potential discrimination in its programs. While the guidelines put the most burden on state agencies, they also spoke to discrimination in various aspects of vocational program administration at the institutional level, including community colleges.
House passes stopgap funding bill
The House passed a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the federal government at current levels until Dec. 4, after the midterm elections. The CR was passed on a largely party-line vote, and its passage well before the end of the federal fiscal year on Sept. 30 is viewed by many as an attempt by congressional Republicans to put political pressure on Democrats. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he hopes the Senate will vote on a bipartisan CR before Congress’ August recess but also warned that Republicans could attempt to keep the government open through a Republican-backed reconciliation bill should negotiations with Democrats fail.
House committee passes Title IX Bill
The House Education and Workforce Committee this week passed the Title IX Clarification Act on a party-line vote. The Republican-backed bill defines “sex” for Title IX purposes as “an individual’s biologically determined sex, as either male or female.” The bill also defines “male” and “female” based on the characteristics of the individual’s “natural” reproductive system. Consequently, discrimination against students based on a gender identity different from the one assigned at birth could no longer be covered by Title IX.
AACC joins brief in Harvard University case
AACC has joined the American Council on Education and 26 other higher education associations in an amicus brief supporting Harvard University in its ongoing litigation alleging the Trump administration canceled approximately $2 billion of grants and took other actions in violation of the university’s First Amendment rights. A federal district judge ruled in favor of Harvard last fall, and the administration is now appealing that ruling. The amicus brief argues that the “Administration’s actions in this case are directed at Harvard, but they reverberate throughout the nation. If the federal government may punish a university for the perceived ideology of its professors, then the marketplace of ideas that is a core part of American higher education will be transformed into a state-held monopoly on controlling academic philosophy.”
Upcoming AACC events
AACC will host a policy update webinar focused on the latest developments for Workforce Pell on July 29 at 3 pm ET. The webinar will feature perspectives from Kate Kinder, executive director of the National Council for Workforce Education; Chandler LeBoeuf, executive vice president for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System; Steven Partridge, vice president, strategy, research and workforce innovation at Northern Virginia Community College; and Iris Palmer, director of community colleges at New America.
Make sure to register for AACC’s annual Advocates in Action event in Washington, D.C. Sept. 15-16.
AACC’s “Lead Through the Noise” is a special edition of its Future Leaders and Future Presidents Institutes in Washington, D.C., Sept. 28-30. Registration is open.