| | | | |  | | By Bianca Quilantan | Presented by Lumina Foundation | | 
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. | AP Photo/Andrew Harnik | MORE THAN 349K COMMENTS — Education Secretary Miguel Cardona's proposed Title IX rule that overhauls the Trump-era rules on responding to sexual misconduct on campus drew more than 146,000 comments by Monday night, just ahead of the regulation's comment deadline next week. By Tuesday morning, it hit more than 349,000. — The proposal would update the federal education law that bans sex-based discrimination by extending discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ students. The rule would ban "all forms of sex discrimination, including discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity." — The rule largely focuses on undoing the Trump-era Title IX rule that mandates how schools must respond to reports of sexual misconduct in schools. The proposal no longer requires live hearings for Title IX investigations and reverts the definition of sexual harassment back to "unwelcome sex-based conduct that creates a hostile environment by denying or limiting" a person's ability to participate in a school's education program or activity. The Trump rule currently only prohibits unwelcome sex-based misconduct if it is "so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient's education program or activity." — The comment period for the proposed Title IX rule ends on Sept. 12. Catherine Lhamon, the Education Department's civil rights chief, indicated that it's unlikely the agency will extend its comment period on its proposed Title IX rule despite GOP lawmakers requesting an extension. IT'S TUESDAY, SEPT. 6. WELCOME TO MORNING EDUCATION. Let's grab coffee. Reach me at bquilantan@politico.com. Send tips to my colleagues Juan Perez Jr. at jperez@politico.com and Michael Stratford at mstratford@politico.com. And follow us on Twitter: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro.
| | | | A message from Lumina Foundation: Today's students aren't just students. They're older, more diverse, first-generation students. They work full-time jobs and raise families. College was built for students right out of high school, but today's students don't often fit that description. See how five students balance the demands of life and school while navigating an outdated system to earn their degrees: todayscollegeclimb.com. | | | Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories.
| | | WHAT WE'RE WATCHING FOR — Here's a breakdown of the Title IX rule happenings your host is keeping an eye on: — LGBTQ+ student protections: In August, Republican lawmakers told Tennessee colleges that they have no legal authority to protect LGBTQ+ students under Title IX. Tennessee lawmaker John Ragan (R) asked schools to "immediately revoke" any policies or publications that suggest these students are protected under the law, HuffPost reported. In July, Lhamon told your host at the Education Writers Association conference that the Title IX proposed rule "is not operational right now." It will likely take a while for the rule to be enforceable due to procedural steps. "We are enforcing the regulations as they exist today, including the 2020 amendments from the last administration," Lhamon said. — Clarification for pregnant students seeking an abortion: More than 60 House Democrats called on Cardona to immediately ensure that Title IX protects pregnant students and ensures students who seek an abortion aren't punished by their schools while the department's proposed rule is still underway. In response to the letter, led by Civil Rights and Human Services subcommittee Chair Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Lhamon said the department is keeping an eye on barriers colleges and students are facing, and plans to bring attention to them in the interagency task force. — Banning NDAs as an investigation prerequisite: Civil rights groups are urging the Education Department to prohibit colleges from requiring students to sign confidentiality agreements before they can have Title IX complaints investigated. "The agreements — conditioning access to a school's grievance process on silence and a forfeiture of other rights or due process — are coercive, unconscionable and retaliatory," wrote civil rights groups led by Equal Rights Advocates and L.L. Dunn Law Firm in a 41-page letter earlier this year. — Where's the sports rule?: Dozens of women's rights and gender justice advocates want the Biden administration to quickly release a separate Title IX rule that would determine transgender students' eligibility to play sports. The groups want the White House to unveil its rule to ensure "all students, including transgender, non-binary and intersex students, can participate fully and equally in school sports."
| | | | HAPPENING 9/29 - POLITICO'S AI & TECH SUMMIT : Technology is constantly evolving and so are the politics and policies shaping and regulating it. Join POLITICO for the 2022 AI & Tech summit to get an insider look at the pressing policy and political issues shaping tech, and how Washington interacts with the tech sector. The summit will bring together lawmakers, federal regulators, tech executives, tech policy experts and consumer advocates to dig into the intersection of tech, politics, regulation and innovation, and identify opportunities, risks and challenges ahead. REGISTER FOR THE SUMMIT HERE. | | | | | | | | TAX WATCH — Some states could tax forgiven student loan debt as income, The Associated Press reported. President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan is expected to help more than 40 million Americans. The plan will cancel up to $10,000 of student debt for millions of people and up to $20,000 of debt for low- and middle-income borrowers who previously received a Pell Grant. — Borrowers could owe taxes on their $10,000 or even $20,000 debt forgiveness. In Mississippi, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arkansas and North Carolina, the forgiveness will be subject to state income taxes unless they change their laws, according to a tally by the Tax Foundation. — Spokespeople for tax agencies in Virginia, Idaho, New York, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky told The Associated Press their states won't tax the debt relief. But other states said they need to do more research.
| | | ICYMI: COLLEGES SUPPORT STUDENTS AMID INFLATION — The high price of gas, food and rent is straining students' access to higher education, your host reports . In response, colleges are using the infusion of one-time federal Covid relief dollars, grants and philanthropy to ramp up offerings of free clothes, financial aid and other necessities to keep lower-income students on track to earn degrees. But with that cash running out, it's leaving some college leaders worried about how they'll sustain many of the programs they've built to act as a lifeline for their students. — Federal Covid relief dollars helped some colleges survey their students to better understand what bills may keep them from finishing their degrees. A number of states also used state funding and grants to help low-income students get to class. — Here's what states are doing: In Pennsylvania, first lady Frances Wolf and acting Secretary of Education Eric Hagarty announced a Hunger-Free Campus Initiative in August to help food-insecure students access free meals on college campuses across the state. Several states and their university systems, including California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and New Jersey, are working on solutions to ensure their students' needs are met. Some institutions are also giving students free bus passes and gas cards to get to campus.
| | | RGA GOES AFTER KELLY — The Republican Governors Association launched a TV ad in Kansas slamming Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly over school issues. The ad, titled "Siding With Radicals," uses the GOP's strategy of accusing Kelly of not being on the side of parents. "She's siding with radicals, pushing their agenda onto our kids," the ad says, additionally criticizing "sexually explicit lessons" in schools and allowing transgender students to play on sports teams that match their gender identity. The ad also takes jabs at the way American history is taught in schools.
| | | | A message from Lumina Foundation:   | | | | | | — The Center for American Progress released an issue brief highlighting how the child care sector has failed to bounce back as quickly as the rest of the labor sectors since spring 2020. The most recent data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed there are 88,000 fewer child care workers than before the pandemic.
| | | BIDEN TAPS ALLEN FOR RSA — President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Danté Allen as commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration in the Education Department. Allen serves as the executive director for CalABLE, California's federal ABLE Act savings and investment program for people with disabilities. — "Mr. Allen's personal experience and impressive career empowering students with disabilities and their families reflect his deep belief that every individual with a disability needs to live with the economic security that comes from accessing an appropriate education that leads to a good job," Cardona said in a statement. The secretary also urged the Senate to "act quickly" on Allen's confirmation. OTHER NOMINATIONS — Biden will name New York University law professor Richard Revesz to run the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. CHANGE AT SREB — Alan Richard left his role as news manager at the Southern Regional Education Board. He will be joining the Southern Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates for students of color and those from low-income families.
| | | | A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION ON LEADING FROM THE GROUND UP: Join POLITICO's Women Rule on Sept. 15 for conversations focused on creating and leading sustainable, healthy and inclusive communities. The program will feature a Member Exchange panel followed by a keynote discussion exploring the most pressing issues facing women in their communities and women in leadership roles who are best positioned to solve these problems. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | — This teachers union brought affirmative action into its layoff practices. Will more follow?: USA Today — 'We're living in a nightmare': Jackson university students take online classes, leave campus amid city's ongoing water crisis: CNN — They have debt but no degree. Could loan forgiveness send them back to school?: The New York Times — 'I'm mentally preparing myself': Uvalde students, teachers face new school year: ABC News
| | | | A message from Lumina Foundation: Today's students are more than just students. Karen's parents brought her to the United States from Mexico as a child—she's one of more than 600,000 DACA recipients, or Dreamers. Her memories of her grandparents' farm and their horses and dogs propelled her to work toward her dream of becoming a veterinarian. She's working as a vet-tech and a dog walker to afford her tuition and fees. She also supports her mother, who has trouble making ends meet as an undocumented immigrant. Karen's the first in her family to attend college and advocates for campus support that would make it easier for immigrants and Dreamers to succeed at college.
Karen isn't the only one navigating a system that wasn't made for her:
• 28% of college students are of immigrant-origin
• 46% are first-generation college goers
• 64% of students work, and 40% work full-time
Today's students are more than students. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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