Higher Education Removed from Governor’s Consolidation Plans

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Last week in the Washington Senate, the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee passed legislation to implement the Governor’s proposed Department of Education (SB 5639).

The Committee amended the legislation to remove all higher education state level entities (i.e. the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and the Higher Education Coordinating Board) from the bill. The new language in the bill would provide the opportunity, after the P-12 transition to the Department is complete, for the Governor to assemble a new transition team to consider, and if appropriate, coordinate inclusion of state level higher education agencies in the new Department.

The new language continues to eliminate the Professional Educators Standards Board (PESB), which  transfers the powers of the Board and its duties/employees to the new Department of Education. PESB is responsible for policy and oversight of Washington State’s system of educator preparation, certification, continuing education and assignment.

Despite the removal of higher education from the Governor’s proposal, discussions and legislation continue to move forward on proposals that would restructure higher education in Washington at the state level. 

Senate Bill 5182, which is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee, would eliminate the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) and create the Office of Student Financial Assistance and the Council of Higher Education. The Office of  Student Financial Assistance would absorb the HECB’s current work on student aid and the GET program. The Council of Higher Education would house many of the coordinating functions that are currently the responsibility of the HECB.

The Council would be responsible for developing performance-based measures and goals for the public, baccalaureate instituitions and oversee a work group focused on strategic planning and statewide policies.

In the House conversations continue with regard to restructuring higher education in Washington.  This week the House passed House Bill 1849 which establishes the Washington State Education Council.

The Council is charged with recommending policies, strategies, and a governance structure to make the public education system student-focused and able to provide seamless sevice delivery across all sectors. Higher Education would be represented thourhg a four faculty representatives from the public baccalaureate institution and two representatives from the four-year baccalaureates submitted by the Council of Presidents. In addition representatives would be appointed from the community and technical colleges and the private sector.  

None of these proposals include or are likely to include the elimination of the Board of Trustees and Regents that govern Washington’s public, baccalaureate institutions.

President Signs Stopgap Bill; Negotiations Begin Again

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Yesterday President Obama signed a two-week continuing resolution that reduces current federal spending by $4 billion and effectively eliminates the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) program.

The bill does not impact the current maximum Pell Grant.

With this  final hurdle for a short-term, stopgap bill completed, Congress now will begin to negotiate another continuing resolution to provide funding for the remainder of the c urrrent fiscal year. 

Last week the U.S. House passed H.R. 1 which would reduce federal spending by $61 billion, including reductions to higher education.  The U.S. Senate however has indicated that it will not pass a budget bill containing such deep reductions.

The Senate is currently drafting its own budget bill that is likely to include approximately $25 billion in reductions mosttly from President Obama’s FY12 budget request.  It is unclear at this time whether or not the Senate version will include similar cuts to higher education, in particular reductions to the maximum Pell Grant and the elimination of funding for the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity (FSEOG) program.

Several Bills Still Active After Second Deadline in Legislature

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Several bills failed to make the legislative fiscal deadline. The next deadline – March 7 – requires all bills to move from their chamber of origin to the opposite chamber unless the bill is deemed “necessary to implement the budget” or NTIB and is not subject to the deadline.

The Evergreen State College is continuing to track approximately 100 bills, these bills and others can be found at the Legislature’s website.

As  a reminder committees will begin meeting again on March 8 through March 25 for policy bills, and for another week on fiscal matters. April 12 is the last day to consider bills introduced in the opposite chamber.

House Higher Education Committee Holds Work Session and Hearing

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This morning members of the Washington House Higher Education Committee took a break from the floor.  The Committee held a work session on innovations in higher education and a public hearing.

The Committee heard two bills – HB 1816 and HB 1551.

House Bill 1816 is another bill that would look to restructure the current relationship between state funding, tuition, and financial aid for higher education in Washington. The bill suggests restructuring funding for higher education in the following ways:

 

  • Establishes a state funding/tuition balance for resident undergraduate and graduate students based on the cost of attendance and prohibits over-enrollment.
  • Eliminates Global Challenge States as a comparison model for funding.
  • Eliminates the role of the Higher Education Coordinating Board with respect to financial aid, eliminates state financial aid programs, and transfers responsibility for financial aid to the individual institutions.
  • Creates an internship program for which businesses may get a Business and Occupation tax credit based upon the salaries and benefits paid to interns.
  • Establishes a new loan program for upper division undergraduates and graduate students.
  • Requires students pursuing a bachelor’s degree to take a Rising Juniors test.
  • Directs adoption of articulation and transfer policies and establishes financial penalties for failure to meet the statutory implementation deadline.
  • Allows school districts to be charged for the cost of remedial education required by their students.
  • Abolishes the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, and transfers responsibilities to the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.

The Council of Presidents testified in support of continuing discussions about the relationship between state funding, financial aid, and tuition but with concerns regarding specifics in the bill such as the proposed distribution of financial aid in the bill and transfer policy.

The Committee also heard House Bill 1551 which would add regional universities and community and technical college Centers of Excellence to the membership of the Washington Technology Center and eliminates the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute and transfers its functions to the Washington Technology Center.

U.S. Senate Budget Committee Hears the Obama Administration’s Proposed FY12 Budget

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Yesterday U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan  presented President Obama’s FY 12 budget to members of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee.

The president’s budget would boost FY2012 discretionary spending for Pell Grants by $5.4 billion above spending levels in the FY2011 continuing resolution (CR) that is set to expire on March 4.  The increased funding would bring the total FY2012 discretionary funding for Pell to $28.6 billion.

The administration proposes reining in the cost of the Pell Grant program in FY2012 by eliminating the newly enacted “year-round” Pell Grant program that is designed to accelerate a student’s time to completion. The president’s budget would also eliminate interest subsidies for graduate student loans and direct those savings to the Pell grant program. The administration projects that its proposal — known as the Pell Grant Protection Act — would reduce the discretionary need for the Pell Grant program by $100 billion over the next 10 years. Legislative text for the Pell Grant Protection Act has yet to be released.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) highlighted the challenge that growth of the Pell Grant program presents to Congress.

“The rising cost of college has outpaced the increases in the Pell award,” he said. “At the same time, due to the recession and increased demand for Pell grants, as well as changes that we made as to who qualifies, the cost of the program has increased. So, we’re paying a smaller share of the cost of college, but the overall cost of the Pell program has increased.”

Republicans argued that the administration’s proposal does not go far enough to rein in Pell spending.

“In 2008, we provided Pell Grants for 6 million, now we’re providing Pell Grants, under your proposal, for 9.6 million, doubling the entire budget and we don’t have the money,” said the committee’s Ranking Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL). “You haven’t cut Pell Grants. Pell Grants are increasing dramatically.”

U.S. Senate Passes Stopgap Legislation

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This morning the Senate voted – 91 to 9 – to keep the federal government operating another two weeks through March 18 and cut $4 billion from the federal budget.    

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the two-week continuing resolution (CR) yesterday.

Education programs received a disproportionate 22 percent of the cuts, but the maximum Pell Grant would remain at $5,550 under the bill.

The only student aid cut in the bill was the elimination of funding for the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) program. This cut would provide $64 million in savings.   The bill would also make cuts several cuts to unfunded earmarks proposed by President Obama in his FY 2012 budget.

 The measure now goes to President Obama, who is expected to sign it.

U.S. House Passes Short-Term Stopgap Legislation

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Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed emergency short-term legislation  to reduce  federal spending by $4 billion.

The bill that cleared the House on a bipartisan vote of 335-91 eliminates the threat of a shutdown on March 4, when existing funding authority expires. At the same time, it creates a compressed two-week timeframe for the White House and lawmakers to engage in negotiations on a follow-up bill to set spending levels through the end of the fiscal year.

The Senate is set to vote on the short-term measure tomorrow morning, the final step before it goes to President Barack Obama for his signature.

The White House, which earlier in the day called publicly for an interim measure of up to five weeks, stopped short of saying the president would sign the legislation.

U.S. House Education Committee Holds Hearing on Regulatory Burdens at the Federal Level

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On Tuesday the U.S. House education committee held the first in what is expected to be a series of hearings on the regulatory burden on colleges and schools.

In an opening statement, Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, the panel’s chairman, promised to root out rules that “hinder job creation and economic growth.”

Much of the hearing focused on education mandates imposed on elementary and secondary schools under the No Child Left Behind Act.

But lawmakers also heard from Christopher B. Nelson, president of St. John’s College, in Maryland, about the “massive” federal regulation of higher education. He urged Congress to apply its “pay as you go” budget rules to regulation, eliminating old requirements as new ones are added. “There are things we are measuring because they can be measured, not because they are good, and those are the most dangerous,” he said.

Mr. Nelson drew sympathy from Mr. Kline, who said he knew regulations were “a real burden” on colleges. “We want to get at that,” he added.

2011 Legislative Session: Week 8

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This week the Legislature will turn its focus to the chamber floors.

On Friday, the Legislature passed another major deadline requiring all fiscal related bills to move from an appropriation committee to the floor.

With that in mind, this week’s schedule includes limited committee meetings with most of the time spent on the House and Senate floor as another major deadline looms.

Both the House and the Senate must move bills from the chamber in which the legislation originated to the opposite chamber by end of day March 7.

What is Going on in D.C. with Higher Education Funding?

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Over the past month Congress has taken a series of steps that would impact federal funding for higher education.

On February 19 the U.S. House passed a seven-month long continuing resolution (H.R. 1) to fund federal programs for the remainder of FY2011. H.R. 1 reduced spending by almost $60 billion compared to FY10 spending levels.  Among the reductions included in H.R. 1 are several that would reduce funding for higher education.

  • Reduces discretionary-funded maximum awards for the Pell Grant from $4,860 to $4,105.  When the mandatory funds ($690) are considered the 2011-12 maximum Pell Grant award would be $4,705. This is a 15% decrease from 2010-11;
  • Makes proportionate reductions to awards below the maximum;
  • Reduces Pell eligibility for some of the highest eligible Expected Family Contribution groups;
  • Prohibits the U.S. Department of Education from using FY11 appropriations to implement, administer, or enforce gainful employment regulations;
  • Provides no funding for the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP). Both programs provide financial grants to students who qualify for financial aid; and
  • Reduces President Obama’s proposed FY11 budget request by $100 billion.

An unintended consequence of the reduction to the Pell Grant included in H.R. 1 is the potential for the bill to trigger a provision in last year’s student-loan-overhaul law that conditions additional support for the Pell on Congress’ maintaining a “base” maximum award of $4,860. Under the overhaul, if lawmakers reduced the base below $4,860 the Pell Grant would become ineligile for mandatory “add ons” to the maximum starting in 2014.

According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, reducing the base by $845 to $4,105 as H.R. 1 proposes would result in the loss of $870 in mandatory money in 2014. Taken together, those reductions would cut the maximum award from the current $5,550 to $4,025.

The Senate has indicated that the reductions in H.R. 1 are too deep and are expected to release their version of a spending bill this week. It is expected that the Senate version will include nearly $25  billion in reductions, most of which were proposed by the Obama administration’s FY12 budget request. 

Despite all of this Congress has only five days to agree on a FY11 spending bill before the current continuing resolution bill expires on March 4 (this Friday). 

In a move that could temporarily prevent a government shutdown, if no agreement is reached by March 4, the House Republicans have proposed a short-term extension of federal funding that would continue to fund most federal programs at current levels for an additional two weeks (until March 18). In addition the extension would trim $4 billion from the budget. 

The reductions in the short-term Republican funding bill include earmarks that Congress had already agreed not to continue and programs that the President targeted for elimination in his FY12 budget, including LEAP. 

Senate Democrats have signaled some acceptance to the short-term proposal to allow more time to negotiate out a FY10 bill.