| | | | |  | | By Juan Perez Jr. | | Presented by |  | | | |  Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Greensboro, North Carolina. | Chris Carlson/AP | MAKING THEIR CASE — Labor leaders are gathering in Philadelphia today for a public attempt to influence the broad strokes of Vice President Kamala Harris’ higher education agenda in the closing weeks of the 2024 campaign. — The unions are issuing some familiar policy demands for Harris, including calls to boost federal support for schools, end student debt and enact comprehensive immigration reform. Other priorities are a bit more esoteric, such as a request for the vice president to support federal legislation that would guarantee public employees’ right to organize and bargain in states that don't offer such labor protections. — But union officials are making another thing clear: They want Harris to pick an education secretary “who demonstrates a clear record of supporting higher education as a truly public good,” according to a joint statement signed by AFT President Randi Weingarten, National Education Association President Becky Pringle, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, American Association of University Professors President Todd Wolfson and Service Employees International Union President April Verrett, among others. — Officials will make their pitch during a press conference at a Philadelphia community college this morning, in the same town where President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona are scheduled to deliver remarks later today for the Education Department’s National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week conference. — “Higher education workers have been organizing for change, but obstacles remain in our long fight to protect our institutions’ roles in our democracy,” the unions added. “We call on leaders at the national level to join our struggle to reclaim public higher education for the public good by fully funding our institutions to ensure that higher education can be a place for learning, training, and discovery.” IT’S MONDAY, SEPT. 16. WELCOME TO WEEKLY EDUCATION. In the waning days of his political career, Biden is putting together a national campaign to defend his economic record — both for his sake and for Harris’. Reach out with tips to today’s host at jperez@politico.com and also my colleagues Becca Carballo (rcarballo@politico.com), Bianca Quilantan (bquilantan@politico.com) and Mackenzie Wilkes (mwilkes@politico.com). Days until government funding runs out: 15 Days until the 2024 election: 50 Days until the FAFSA is fully available: 76
| | | | A message from the Coalition to Advance Future Student Success: Federal relief funds have fueled high-impact investments in accelerated learning, the educator workforce and well-being initiatives. Learn how school communities funded this work and are now sustaining these investments in a new three-state video series from the Coalition to Advance Future Student Success. Learn more. | | | 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.
| | |  Then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (center) poses for a group photo with leaders from historically black colleges and universities during a Thurgood Marshall College Fund event at the JW Marriott, Feb. 07, 2019, in Washington, D.C. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | HBCU HEFT — Biden’s and Cardona’s scheduled addresses at the national HBCU conference in Philadelphia today underscore the unique political opportunity facing the storied institutions. — Biden on Friday issued a formal proclamation that designates the days ahead as National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week — and notes Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ status as an HBCU alumnus. Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, met last week with HBCU leaders to discuss campus threats and how to increase students’ pathways into national security work. — This week’s events in Philadelphia offer HBCUs a showcase to direct federal and private sector resources to their campuses and connect with government agencies, companies and philanthropic groups on ways to boost instruction, degree completion and federal engagement. — The institutions produce nearly 20 percent of Black graduates, and they often serve as polling places and play a critical role in educating voters in their communities — particularly in Southern swing states, such as Georgia and North Carolina, where many HBCUs are located. — But as Bianca and Mackenzie recently noted, Democrats have a tangled history with the institutions’ leaders. HBCU presidents have also stayed uncharacteristically quiet in the 2024 election, due in part to the candidates’ thin policy agendas and concerns about how their historically underfunded institutions will benefit.
| | WAR OVER WOKE — Congressional lawmakers are scheduled to take up legislation this week that advances a conservative crusade against “woke” colleges and universities. But higher education institutions are pushing back against provisions they say would hinder efforts to police campus protests. — House Republicans have scheduled a vote on H.R. 3724, the Accreditation for College Excellence Act, which would prohibit college accreditors from requiring colleges and universities to adopt diversity, equity and inclusion standards as a condition of accreditation. The legislation incorporates H.R. 7683, the Respecting the First Amendment Act, which would require colleges and universities to disclose their free speech policies to students and faculty — or risk losing their federal aid. — The Association of American Universities contends other free speech provisions would broaden legal standards that currently allow some restrictions on noisy, large and disruptive campus gatherings. The legislation would designate generally accessible areas of campus at public institutions as traditional public forums, regulate schools’ ability to crack down on demonstrations in those spaces and allow protesters the right to distribute literature at spontaneous assemblies. — In a letter to lawmakers, the AAU says the legislation could leave them struggling to “prevent hostile groups from gathering near religious or cultural centers” and “make it nearly impossible” for colleges to meet their responsibilities to protect students from discrimination, while still allowing free expression. — “It is puzzling that, at a time when the House has been focused on what colleges and universities are doing to protect students from hateful, intimidating, or harassing actions which impede an atmosphere conducive to effective learning, this legislation would actually remove critical tools that campuses use to protect students and reduce the likelihood of such outcomes,” AAU President Barbara Snyder wrote.
| | | | A message from the Coalition to Advance Future Student Success:   | | | | | WHAT THEY’RE THINKING — Most high school students say they want to help others, but less than half of them say their schools are helping them learn civic skills needed to translate their feelings into action, according to survey results out today from the YouthTruth Civic Empowerment Project. Here’s a summary of some of the findings:
- Sixty-eight percent of surveyed students believe that helping others is important, yet just 44 percent feel confident in their ability to make a difference. Girls and students whose parents or caregivers hold college or graduate degrees were more likely to agree — compared with students overall — that they learned in school how to make a difference in the world.
- Hispanic youth are the least civically empowered group among high school students. While 65 percent of those students believe helping others is important, only 39 percent feel they can effect change.
- Overall, 53 percent of high school students believe that voting is important. Yet only 34 percent believe that being actively involved in national, state or local issues is important.
- Students described clubs and sports as vital for enhancing their civic-mindedness and offering them opportunities to take action that contributes to their community.
Survey data was collected from October 2023 through February 2024 from 115,473 high school students across 12 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. | | ICYMI — The Education Department announced Friday it will give colleges until Jan. 15 to meet new financial transparency rules following significant pressure from trade groups, lobbyists and lawmakers to extend the deadline. — Many schools cited fallout from the botched rollout of the department’s new federal financial aid form as a reason to push back the most recent Oct. 1 deadline, Rebecca reports. — The department’s Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment rule is meant to help students choose degree or certificate programs that won't leave them saddled with unmanageable loans. New reporting requirements mandate that schools publicly post data showing graduates can afford their debt payments. If a program doesn’t meet the gainful employment requirements for two consecutive years, it risks losing federal funding. — Higher education groups are still pushing the department for additional delays. — “Already strained by the delayed and ongoing implementation of the new FAFSA, institutions need additional time and detailed guidance from the Department to successfully implement these new regulations,” Association of Public and Land-grant Universities President Mark Becker said in a statement. "We urge the Department to further delay the reporting deadline to July 2025 with the recognition that institutions are still dealing with an extraordinarily disruptive FAFSA implementation."
| | | | — Affirmative action was banned. What happened next was confusing: The New York Times — Why schools are ripping up playgrounds across the U.S.: The Washington Post — A tech company hired the NYC school chief’s brother. A private meeting and $1.4M in contracts followed: The Associated Press — Parents want cellphones in the classroom. Here’s why: Education Week — Texas Jews say state’s new Bible-influenced curriculum is ‘wildly problematic’: The 74
| | | | A message from the Coalition to Advance Future Student Success: The Coalition to Advance Future Student Success, led by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), is proud to share a three-state video series on how federal relief funds are making an impact on students and educators across the nation.
As the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds obligation deadline nears on September 30, 2024, the Coalition is excited to showcase how school communities funded high-impact investments and are now sustaining these investments to support students and educators long term.
These stories highlight how federal relief funds were used to create an initiative in Henry County, Georgia, to promote the wellbeing of students and staff, strengthen Nevada’s educator workforce through a partnership between the Nevada Department of Education and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and to implement innovative approaches to boost academic recovery in school communities in Saint Paul and Northfield, Minnesota. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
