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Ten years after it was last renewed, the federal Higher Educa-tion Act is close to final passage. Panelists at the closing plenary of the NEA-AFT conference believe Congress will pass a reauthorization bill by early summer.
A joint conference committee has been hammering out the differences between the House version of the bill approved in February, and the U.S. Senate’s version passed last July. The legislation governs most federal student-aid programs.
“We have a very powerful piece of legislation that will help students and their families pay the costs of higher education,” said J.D. LaRock, the senior education adviser on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Julie Radocchia, an education policy adviser in the House, said lawmakers are looking beyond the traditional college student to make sure federal aid is available to them.
“We recognize that higher education is not just 18-year-olds starting out in community colleges. Nontraditional students must be taken into account,” she said.
The House bill boosts the maximum Pell Grant to $9,000, up from $5,800, and allows students to receive the grants year-round instead of only during the academic year.
The House bill also eases requirements for compliance with the “90/10 rule.” The rule requires that higher education institutions receiving federal aid must have at least 10 percent of their income coming from nonfederal sources.
The Senate bill contains some language on academic freedom relating to the so-called “Academic Bill of Rights.” The AFT has been working to further soften that language to stop government intrusion into the classroom.
— Donald Feldstein