News
House Democrats Prepare to Scrutinize DeVos’s Education Department
by Erica L. Green
02.19.19 WASHINGTON - The last face-to-face meeting between Representative Robert C. Scott and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos ended in an awkward cliffhanger. At a hearing last May of the House Education Committee, Mr. Scott, Democrat of Virginia, challenged the secretary's assertion that she was holding states accountable for achievement gaps between white and minority students as required by a new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act. Mr. Scott, unconvinced, asked more pointedly: How… Continue Reading
House Democrats advance gun background checks on eve of Parkland anniversary
by Michael Stratford
02.14.19 With help from Kimberly Hefling and Benjamin Wermund QUICK FIX - House Democrats advanced bills to tighten gun laws on the eve of today's one-year anniversary of the Parkland, Fla., shooting. The legislation now heads to the House floor, where its expected to pass with mostly Democratic support but isn't likely to go anywhere in the GOP-controlled Senate. - The Harvard affirmative action trial has come to a close. The university and the anti-affirmative-action group suing it squ… Continue Reading
Bobby Scott is right about falling value of minimum wage
by Warren Fiske
02.13.19 U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-3rd, recently touted his bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 a hour before the House Education and Labor Committee. "Today's minimum wage worker making $7.25 an hour has less buying power than a minimum wage worker in the 1960s," he said during a Feb. 7 hearing. We wondered if Scott was correct, so we looked at the data. In 1960, the federal minimum wage was $1 an hour. That's equivalent to $8.57 an hour in today's dollars. (We used the Bureau of Labor Stati… Continue Reading
At House Education Hearing, Lawmakers Differ Sharply on Why Teachers Are Underpaid
by Andrew Ujifusa
02.12.19 Washington At the first House education committee hearing on K-12 schools this Congress, Democrats in control of the committee pushed Tuesday for more resources from the federal government to raise teacher pay and repair schools. But Republicans said that education spending increases have failed to adequately address these issues or to help students academically. Democrats took control of the House in the November midterms for the first time since 2011, and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., now the com… Continue Reading
At House Education Hearing, Lawmakers Differ Sharply on Why Teachers Are Underpaid
by Andrew Ujifusa
02.12.19 At the first House education committee hearing on K-12 schools this Congress, Democrats in control of the committee pushed Tuesday for more resources from the federal government to raise teacher pay and repair schools. But Republicans said that education spending increases have failed to adequately address these issues or to help students academically. Democrats took control of the House in the November midterms for the first time since 2011, and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., now the committee chair… Continue Reading
As teachers in Denver demand better pay, Republicans in Washington say lack of money isn't what ails public education
by Alexander Nazaryan
02.12.19 WASHINGTON - In Denver, a teachers strike entered its second day. In Gary, Ind., a school has not had heating for several weeks. In San Diego, a high school senior found rat feces in his school lunch. And in Washington, a conservative economist said that school funding was not what contributed to what is widely agreed to be the sorry state of American public education. The remarks came during a hearing of the House Committee on Education and Labor titled, tellingly, "Underpaid Teachers and Cr… Continue Reading
House Democrats’ new plan for a $15 minimum wage, explained
by Alexia Fernandez Campbell
02.08.19 First it was Seattle, then San Francisco. Later, it was the entire state of California, then Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, DC. In January, New Jersey became the latest state to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour. Now Democrats in Congress are pushing for a $15 minimum wage in every state. On Thursday, the House Committee on Education and Labor held its first hearing on the Raise the Wage Act, which would eventually double the federal minimum wage by 2024. The current minimum has … Continue Reading
House Democrats’ new plan for a $15 minimum wage, explained
by Alexia Fernández Campbell
02.08.19 First it was Seattle, then San Francisco. Later, it was the entire state of California, thenMassachusetts, New York, and Washington, DC. In January, New Jersey became the latest state to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour. Now Democrats in Congress are pushing for a $15 minimum wage in every state. On Thursday, the House Committee on Education and Labor held its first hearing on the Raise the Wage Act, which would eventually double the federal minimum wage by 2024. The current minimum has b… Continue Reading
Scott Seeks 'Comprehensive' Reform for Higher Education Act
by Sara Friedman
02.08.19 As the newly elected chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) is willing to work across the aisle with Senate and House Republicans to authorize the Higher Education Act. But he is looking to make significant changes to the law that was last modified more than 10 years ago. "We don't do a narrow compromise just to get something passed," Scott said Feb. 7 at an Insider Higher Ed event. "The opportunity to reauthorize the Higher Education Act comes only on… Continue Reading
Scott seeks a sweeping higher education law, not 'narrow compromise'
by Michael Stratford
02.07.19 "One thing I hope we don't do is a narrow compromise just to get something passed," Rep. Bobby Scott said.Getty Images Rep. Bobby Scott, the chairman of the House education committee, said Thursday that he's not interested in striking a "narrow compromise" to update federal higher education policy this year but instead wants a broader approach to tackle college costs and expand protections for students. Scott (D-Va.), speaking at an event hosted by Inside Higher Ed and Gallup, outlined his… Continue Reading
Democrats Insist Higher Education Bill Must Be All or Nothing
by Emily Wilkins
02.07.19 A new higher education law must be comprehensive, a key House lawmaker said, setting up a potential roadblock for narrower legislation his Senate counterpart has floated as an option. "The opportunity to reauthorize the Higher Education Act comes only once a decade," House Education and Labor Chairman Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said Thursday. "We cannot waste this moment by passing a bill that only changes higher education at the margins," he said at an Inside Higher Education event. Current law… Continue Reading
Call For $15 National Minimum Wage Grows Louder In Democrat-Controlled House
by Tracey Longo
02.07.19 House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said today he plans to push ahead with his "Raise the Wage" legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024, despite opponents' claims that it might create the loss of jobs and economic disruption. The bill would require all employers nationwide to raise the minimum wage they pay employees to $15 over the next five years. "The evidence clearly demonstrates the Raise the Wage Act is a reasonable proposal that… Continue Reading
Trump in State of the Union Speech: 'Pass School Choice,' Fund Family Leave
by Alyson Klein
02.05.19 President Donald Trump used his second State of the Union address to call on Congress to enact new school choice legislation-without offering any details on what it would look like-and fund paid family leave for new parents. "To help support working parents, the time has come to pass school choice for America's children," Trump said. "I am also proud to be the first president to include in my budget a plan for nationwide paid family leave-so that every new parent has the chance to bond with th… Continue Reading
Don't get your hopes up for education talk in Trump's State of the Union
by Benjamin Wermund
02.05.19 With help from Kimberly Hefling - President Donald Trump is set to deliver his State of the Union address tonight - but don't expect to hear much on education. A few things - school choice and career and technical education, specifically - could get passing mentions, though. - Sen. Lamar Alexander's push to overhaul the federal higher education law has begun. He's laid out his priorities and touted "a lot of other good ideas" pitched by his colleagues on the Senate HELP committee that co… Continue Reading
Lawmakers Call For End To Subminimum Wage
by Michelle Diament
02.05.19 There is a new effort underway in Congress to do away with rules that allow employers to pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage. A bill recently introduced in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives would put an end to what's known as subminimum wage. Under a law dating back to the 1930s, employers can obtain 14(c) certificates from the Department of Labor allowing them to pay people with disabilities less than the federal minimum, currently $7.25 per hour. Workers… Continue Reading
$15 US Minimum Wage Bill Could Be Helped Along With Sweeteners
by Tyrone Richardson
02.04.19 Workers in some parts of New York have already started earning the state's new $15 hourly minimum wage, while those in lower-cost regions of the Empire State will see their raises phased in later, to make the change more palatable to businesses. In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) is expected to sign legislation that would gradually increase the state's hourly minimum wage to $15 over the next five years. The measure provides a longer phase-in period for small businesses and tax credits for emp… Continue Reading
White House rescinds Education Dept. watchdog pick after ethics concerns
by Suzy Khimm, Heidi Przybyla and Laura Strickler
02.01.19 The White House on Friday backtracked on its decision to install an Education Department official to serve as the agency's acting watchdog after criticism that the designation posed a serious conflict of interest. On Wednesday evening, the administration unexpectedly appointed Phil Rosenfelt, the Education Department's deputy general counsel, as the agency's acting inspector general, a development first reported by Politico on Thursday morning. The choice immediately sparked an outcry from cong… Continue Reading
Trump administration's rollback of worker protection rules is under investigation
by Suzy Khimm
01.31.19 The federal watchdog for the Department of Labor is conducting a broad investigation into the Trump administration's process for making regulatory changes, following allegations that officials are undoing worker protections without following the proper procedures, according to a letter obtained by NBC News. The investigation will include the Labor Department's effort to undo a child labor regulation affecting teenagers who work in hospitals and nursing homes, according to the Jan. 25 letter by … Continue Reading
Agency Attacked for Approving Workplace Regulation During Shutdown
by Heidi Vogt
01.31.19 WASHINGTON-The Trump administration is coming under fire from Democrats for greenlighting a rule easing workplace injury reporting requirements for employers as an essential measure during the partial federal government shutdown. The Labor Department rule was cleared by the government's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs-the final hurdle for new regulations before they take effect-on Jan. 17. OIRA wasn't funded during the partial shutdown, limiting it to urgent work such as that ne… Continue Reading
Acting Education Department inspector general replaced
by Kimberly Hefling
01.31.19 With help from Benjamin Wermund - The Trump administration has replaced the acting inspector general at the Education Department, who served just two months in the role. - Nearly 97,000 comments have been filed in response to Title IX proposalreleased by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. DeVos says the department's focus is on "being fair and balanced for all students." - Democrats release their legislative plan to inject $100 billion in improving school buildings. High-poverty, unsa… Continue Reading