With President-elect Donald Trump waiting in the wings, the Republican majority in Congress will have the opportunity to tackle a host of education issues when its next session begins in 2017, from funding for disadvantaged and special education students and college access and affordability issues, to student-data privacy and career and technical education.
At the same time, there will be significant turnover in some key positions: In addition to Trump鈥檚 selection of school choice advocate Betsy DeVos to be education secretary, the House education committee will have a new leader, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.
But what鈥檚 probably at the top of the list for leading GOP lawmakers is deciding which regulations from President Barack Obama鈥檚 administration pertaining to the Every Student Succeeds Act they may wish to overturn through the Congressional Review Act. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. and the Senate education committee chairman, has indicated his intent to toss out final ESSA rules from the Obama administration if he decides they go beyond the scope of the law.
The outgoing administration has yet to release final ESSA spending regulations that could shift more state and local money to disadvantaged students. If it does before leaving office, the odds are that GOP lawmakers鈥攎any of whom have said the proposal represents federal overreach鈥攚ould use the review act to get rid of them.
Fate of Final Rules
Less certain is the fate of final ESSA accountability and testing regulations the department released in recent weeks, as well as rules on teacher preparation the administration released in October.
The future of the accountability regulations will be closely watched by states and districts, whose input could be a big factor in whether Republicans move to toss them and possibly start a new round of rulemaking. The year-old law, the successor to the No Child Left Behind Act, is due to kick in for the 2017-18 school year.
鈥淧eople are anxious to get going,鈥� said Michele McLaughlin, the president of the Knowledge Alliance, an advocacy and policy-research group.
Congress also already has a running start or has expressed clear interest in a number of specific policy areas. Earlier this year, bills to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act breezed through the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support, only to stall in the Senate. Both could have a relatively easy path through Congress starting next year.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a decent chance [DeVos] would be interested in CTE,鈥� said Sasha Pudelski, an assistant director of AASA, the Schools Superintendents Association. She cited the involvement by DeVos and her husband in an aviation-focused charter school in Michigan.
鈥淎nd I think Congress came pretty far [on passing a CTE bill],鈥� Pudelski said. 鈥淚 anticipate that will not be a difficult bill to pass next year.鈥�
But one of the education policy areas that could be at the top of the list for many members of Congress isn鈥檛 about public schools.
DeVos, the prominent GOP donor who is Trump鈥檚 education secretary nominee, is best known for her work to expand school choice. She does not have significant experience dealing with policies affecting colleges and universities. But Alexander, the chairman of the Senate education committee, used the Nov. 23 news of her selection to signal his interest in reauthorizing the Higher Education Act.
In a statement, the senator said DeVos鈥� work with Congress would provide 鈥渁n opportunity to clear out the jungle of red tape that makes it more difficult for students to obtain financial aid and for administrators to manage America鈥檚 6,000 colleges and universities.鈥� The HEA is now three years overdue for renewal.
Leadership Direction
Alexander鈥檚 omission of school choice in his initial public reaction to DeVos鈥� nomination could mean he鈥檚 more interested in revamping the higher education law than in pushing a major school choice plan like the $20 billion voucher program Trump proposed during the campaign. (Alexander previously proposed a 鈥淧ell Grants for Kids鈥� bill to allow states to redirect federal aid to school choice programs.)
鈥淒eVos is not experienced in [higher education]. The senator is absolutely experienced in this. That鈥檚 to his advantage,鈥� said David DeSchryver, the senior vice president and co-director of Whiteboard Advisors, a consulting organization. 鈥淭he majority of the work is going to be in higher education.鈥�
In a statement, Sheridan Watson, Foxx鈥檚 spokeswoman, said the North Carolina Republican 鈥渨ould like to see the next [Higher Education Act] reauthorization focus on increasing transparency, improving the accessibility and affordability of postsecondary education, reforming the accreditation process, and encouraging innovation in the classroom.鈥�
Watson added that reauthorizing the Perkins Career and Technical Education law and the Child Nutrition Act would also be top priorities for Foxx in the next Congress.
Right now, Foxx leads the subcommittee on higher education and workforce training. In 2014 she helped shepherd through a reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
Rep. Luke Messer, R-Ind., an education committee member, said in an interview last month that he was optimistic that reauthorization of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act would get consideration, given productive bipartisan work on the issue of student-data privacy over the last two years. Messer crafted a bill with Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., to overhaul federal law governing student-privacy issues.
鈥淭hey just have so much on their plate that they鈥檙e going to be focused on,鈥� Pudelski said of lawmakers.
