The Department of Energy sent a letter to academic institutions soliciting questions which might enable the Department to use its facilities, infrastructure, or computational resources in response to COVID-19. Although the DoE does not undertake medical or clinical work, it can be an important element of the Federal Government response. UW faculty wishing to respond can contact our office or follow the instructions in the letter.
Category: Administration
Education Department Releases FAQs on FERPA and COVID-19
Earlier this week, with the numbers of both K-12 districts and institutions of higher education trying to deal with COVID-19 concerns growing, the federal Department of Education released an FAQs document with respect to what institutions can and cannot do in the area of sharing of students’ educational records and personally identifiable information.
In the document, ED discusses a number of situations in which student information can and cannot be shared. The FAQs are available here.
Congress Looks to Correct COVID-19-related GI Bill Problems
Both chambers of Congress are expected to take up legislation that would correct a problem in the GI Bill program caused by Covid-19.
As a result of how the current statutes and regulations are written and interpreted, the sudden transition of academic programs from traditional on-campus models to on-line programs without prior approval would lead to the loss of education and associated housing benefits for the recipient of the GI Bill. The veterans community as well as the higher education community, including individual institutions like the University of Washington, have become aware of the problem and have weighed in, asking for a solution.
The letter to the Senate from the higher education associations is available here while the letter to the House is available here. We will share a letter led by Student Veterans of America as it becomes available.
Department of Education Rule Change Rebuked in Bipartisan Vote
Today the Senate voted 53-42 to block a rewrite from the Department of Education overturning the “borrower defense” rule. The rule was put in place during the Obama Administration and governs the process for wiping out student debt when the student has been defrauded by a predatory for-profit college.
Ten Republican senators broke with the Trump administration to vote in favor of the resolution, which now heads to President Trump to be signed into law. The legislation does not have a veto-proof majority, so the President can opt to veto.
President Signs Supplemental
President Trump has signed an $8.3 Billion supplemental appropriations bill, enacting the legislation into law. The additional funding to combat COVID-19 is appropriated for CDC, NIH, FDA, HHS, and the Department of State.