| | | | |  | | By Bianca Quilantan | Presented by Lumina Foundation | NAVIGATING ABORTION — Earlier this month, President Joe Biden urged college presidents to avoid policies that restrict access to contraception after the University of Idaho outlined its plans to comply with a state anti-abortion law. — The university's office of general counsel, in an email obtained by Boise State Public Radio , laid out how the state's "No Public Funds for Abortion Act" prohibits employees from "using or providing institution funds or facilities" for: promoting abortion, providing abortion or facilities to train how to provide one, and counseling in favor of or referring for an abortion. It also restricted employees from "dispensing drugs classified as emergency contraception by the FDA, except in the case of rape" or "advertising or promoting services for abortion or for the prevention of conception." — University employees could face imprisonment, fines and a permanent ban on state employment, the memo said, if they didn't follow the guidance. "My message to any other college considering enacting policies like this: Don't. Please don't," Biden said in response to the memo, during a meeting of the White House Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access. "We're not going to sit by and let Republicans throughout the country enact extreme policies that threaten access to basic health care." — But not all universities in Idaho are interpreting the law the same way, especially as it could get in the way of academic freedom. "A lot of states faced trigger laws after the Dobbs decision, and we looked at our law in state and we absolutely still support the academic freedom of our faculty," said Marlene Tromp, president of Boise State University at a higher education media dinner hosted by Arizona State University at the Penn Club in New York City.
| 
Boise State University President Marlene Tromp | Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Photo | — Students in nursing "have to talk about these kinds of issues," Tromp said. "What our faculty were not permitted to do was endorse an action for a student. That's of course not a faculty practice. You know, a faculty member wouldn't tell a student here's what I think you should do in your life circumstances." — Tromp says her university sees "more room" in the law than the University of Idaho. And other colleges in states with laws restricting abortion, including the University of Utah, University of Central Florida and Arizona State University, agreed that they don't believe their employees will be banned from talking about abortion in the classroom. — "We immediately opened up a dialogue with our state leadership," said University of Utah President Taylor Randall. "Our biggest tension point on campus is we are a healthcare system. We've had to navigate, 'What does it mean?'" — Randall said the university has discussed this with the state, including procedures they'll be able to use if a mother's life is in danger, and they're talking about contraception. "We've been able to say, well, we would like to offer free contraception on campus and we're in the middle of working through that," he said. "I guess it'll end up positive." "They've been very open to it," Randall added. "I think for many it's not where everyone wants to be, but it's not, I think, as dire as it was originally." ICYMI: HARRIS DISCUSSES REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS — Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday gathered 75 student leaders at the White House from 66 colleges and universities across 33 states to discuss protecting reproductive rights. — Student leaders spoke about reproductive health care access on their campuses, according to a readout. They also discussed how students are mobilizing to oppose restrictive abortion laws, supporting survivors of sexual violence on college campuses, and raised concerns about access to contraception on campus and the ability to travel out-of-state if necessary to receive reproductive care.
IT'S MONDAY, OCT. 17. WELCOME TO WEEKLY 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.
| | | STUDENT LOAN APPLICATION BETA OPEN — The Education Department on Friday pre-launched its federal student debt relief application, opening a test application online. "We want to invite you to be among the first to apply for student debt relief, by being a tester of the online application NOW before we officially launch," the department announced in a Saturday email to potential applicants who signed up for alerts. — The department said it will "soon" have an official launch, but invited borrowers to apply during the beta test. Applications filed now will be processed when the site launches, and borrowers won't have to resubmit an application. — The official application will open later this month, and will remain open until Dec. 31, 2023. During the beta test period, the application will be available on and off. "If you try and it's not available, try again later," the department said.
| | | EXCLUSIVE: NEW SCHOOL BOARD DATA AHEAD OF THE MIDTERMS — Only 38 percent of school board members plan to run for reelection, according to a new survey from School Board Partners, a group with the goal of training 2,500 new school board members over 10 years. — "The 'Great Resignation' is coming to a school board near you," said Ethan Ashley, co-founder of School Board Partners and a school board member in New Orleans. His group believes this exodus "presents an opportunity to recruit and train new, more diverse leaders," but Ashley added that It also lends itself to challenges where more extreme right-wing school board members can ultimately step up and run and get elected. — Additionally, about 64 percent of surveyed school board members were white, the survey found, compared with a student enrollment that is only 46 percent white. "The reality is that our boards struggled to respond to racial issues, achievement gaps and beyond, and that's really because there's a lack of representation," Ashley said. Only 37 percent of white board members, compared to 74 percent of members of color, agree it is important that the racial and ethnic composition of the board mirror the community it serves.
| | | | NEW AND IMPROVED POLITICO APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. With a fresh look and improved features, the sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don't miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. Already a POLITICO app user? Upgrade today! DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID . | | | | | | | | HOW FLORIDA'S GOP IS RESHAPING HIGHER ED — Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans, in an attempt to reshape the state's 40 colleges and universities, installed GOP allies in top university posts, POLITICO Florida's Andrew Atterbury reports . Legislation has been pushed in the state aiming to change tenure, address how race is taught in the classroom and how Florida higher education institutions are accredited. — DeSantis' chief of staff helped Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) navigate the University of Florida presidential selection process. Over the summer, DeSantis also appointed a top GOP legislative ally, state Sen. Ray Rodrigues, as Florida's chancellor for higher education — a position with enormous power over the state's 12 public universities. — Sasse's selection was helped by a new law that shields university presidential searches from Florida's public records law, ending a tradition of open searches. Florida colleges and universities are also searching for new accreditors in light of a law that requires schools to find a new accreditation board by their next cycle. DeSantis' "Stop-WOKE" Act targets how lessons surrounding race are taught in classrooms and the workplace. — There might be more higher ed laws coming: Draft legislation obtained by journalist Jason Garcia shows DeSantis sought to centralize more power in boards run by the governor's political appointees and make universities more dependent on money controlled by lawmakers in Tallahassee.
| | | | A message from Lumina Foundation:   | | | | | | — Barbara Jenkins will lead Chiefs for Change's Women in Leadership initiative, an extension of the Future Chiefs program. Jenkins is superintendent emerita of Orange County Public Schools in Orlando.
| | | | LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today . | | | | | | | | — How one school is beating the odds in math, the pandemic's hardest-hit subject: The New York Times — Daring to speak up about race in a divided school district: The New York Times — Uncertified teachers filling holes in schools across the South: The Dallas Morning News — The University of Oregon will cover tuition and fees for in-state Indigenous students from any federally recognized tribe: CNN — LGBTQ bill on child abuse creates uproar in Virginia and beyond: The Washington Post
| | | | 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 | | | | |
Comments
Post a Comment