Title IX —
The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights announced on Tuesday that, responding to the president’s executive order, it would review the Title IX regulations put in place last August. It is doing so as part of implementing President Biden’s March 8 Executive Order on Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity. It also clarified that the current regulations are still in force and that it will be issuing FAQs to provide guidance.
As you may recall the rulemaking that resulted in the current Title IX regulations was a process that took about two years. There’s every reason to expect the same timeframe for another round of rulemaking.
Appropriations Bill —
Last week the Biden administration sent Congress its initial discretionary funding request, totaling $1.5 trillion, of which $769 billion is non-defense spending. Think of it as the president’s budgetary wish list.
The request includes good news for higher education. The president proposes increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $400, the largest one-time increase since 2009. However, the request goes on to note the $400 increase is one piece “…of a more comprehensive proposal to double the maximum Pell Grant.” Doubling Pell is one of SCICU’s top federal legislative priorities – this is a good start.
The discretionary budget would also ensure that DACA students would be “eligible for Pell Grants if they meet the standard requirements for that aid.” In total, the discretionary request invests an additional $3 billion in Pell Grants.
