Black colleges' funding hopes dim amid federal budget battle
Officials at historically Black colleges thought they might finally have a pipeline for long-term funding from the federal government after the Biden administration included at least $45 billion for them in its multitrillion dollar economic package.
Biden order could change how colleges handle sex misconduct
Biden also signed a second executive order formally establishing the White House Gender Policy Council, which his transition team had announced before he took office. Any effort to rewrite DeVosโ rules would have to go through a federal rulemaking process that can take years to complete. AdRepublicans slammed Bidenโs move and defended DeVosโ rules. The scope of cases that colleges must address is also likely to be expanded again under the Biden administration, he said. Biden is starting the process even as DeVos' policy faces ongoing legal challenges.
Radford superintendent weighs in on push for in-person learning
RADFORD, Va โ Superintendents in southwest Virginia are standing by the Department of Educationโs call for more in-person instruction. Radford City School Superintendent Robert Graham says while the hybrid learning model has done a great job of keeping his students safe during COVID-19 surges, Graham believes the best place for learning is in the classroom. Graham says he is grateful for the flexibility of parents, students and teachers throughout the school year. โWe have greater success with in-person learning than we do virtual, now thatโs not to say that some of our students arenโt excelling with virtual learning and they have an art teacher certainly have stepped up and provided just outstanding instruction,โ Radford City School Superintendent Robert Graham said. Graham says the division will be working with the Department of Education and the New River Health to make any adjustments.
Feds say US colleges 'massively' underreport foreign funding
Since coming under federal scrutiny, the 12 schools disclosed a combined $6.5 billion in foreign funding that was previously unreported, the department said. Yale said it failed to submit foreign funding reports for the years 2014 to 2017 but later corrected the omission. It's not unusual for U.S. colleges to accept foreign funding for research projects or exchange programs, but federal reporting requirements have long been treated as an honor system. That began to change last year, however, after a bipartisan report in Congress raised alarms about collegesโ ties with China. In response to that finding, DeVos began ordering broader investigations into universities' foreign funding.
Democrats say White House blocking CDC head from testifying
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Robert Redfield, speaks during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the Department of Education July 8, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)WASHINGTON House Democrats are criticizing the White House for blocking the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from testifying at a public hearing on safely reopening the nation's schools. Democrats said they invited CDC officials, including director Robert Redfield, to testify at a hearing next Thursday but were rebuffed by the White House. A committee spokesperson said the panel asked for any CDC official to testify but was rejected. A White House spokesperson said Friday that Dr. Redfield has testified on Capitol Hill at least four times over the last three months.
DeVos held in contempt for violating student loan collection court order
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education were held in civil contempt by a federal judge on Thursday and ordered to pay $100,000 to student borrowers who took out loans to attend a now defunct for-profit college. The judge had previously ordered the Department of Education to stop collecting on the loans. But last month, the department admitted that more than 16,000 borrowers were incorrectly informed that they owed a payment on their debt after the court order. It left thousands of students without a degree and saddled with student debt. But under the Trump administration, the department attempted to change the way it calculated how much of a borrower's debt would be forgiven.
'Good first steps': Jefferson Forest parent reacts to resolution for civil rights investigation
That's what one parent is saying now that the Department of Education is investigating Jefferson Forest High School for violating civil rights laws. School leaders in Bedford County have still not said what led to the investigation. A resolution agreement details what the school will do to resolve the issue, which includes allowing visits from the Office of Civil Rights. One man who removed his daughter from Jefferson Forest High after the incident said the investigation shows the leaders are taking parents' concerns very seriously. "Looking at what they've proposed and what they've asked Jefferson Forest to deliver, I think they're good first steps," said Lyman Connor, the parent of a Jefferson Forest High student.
Bedford County school leaders working to resolve federal civil rights complaint
BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. - Bedford County Public Schools has shared the steps it will take a resolve a complaint alleging that the division violated federal civil rights laws. As 10 News previously reported, the Office for Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into an alleged "racially hostile environment" at Jefferson Forest High School. On Monday, the school division shared a copy of a resolution agreement in regard to the OCR complaint. The agreement details the steps that the school and division will take to resolve the complaint, including that OCR may visit the school division and interview staff and students. Bedford County Public Schools released a statement Friday, saying it "firmly believes that it has not violated any federal civil rights laws."
US Dept. of Education investigating 'racially hostile environment' at Bedford County school
BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. - An office within the U.S. Department of Education is opening an investigation into an alleged "racially hostile environment" at Jefferson Forest High School, according to Bedford County Public Schools. The school division released a statement, saying it "firmly believes that it has not violated any federal civil rights laws." The Office for Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Education notified the school division earlier this year about the investigation, according to Bedford County Public Schools. Bedford County Public Schools did not explicitly mention an incident. Upon receiving the notice, the school division promptly complied with OCRs request for information and records related to the allegations.
Betsy DeVos violates court order on loan debt collections
(CNN) - Education Secretary Betsy DeVos violated a court order to stop collecting on the debts of some former Corinthian College students and now a judge is weighing sanctions or finding her in contempt of court. The Department of Education has said that more than 16,000 borrowers were incorrectly informed that they owed a payment on their debt, according to a September court filing. Both the Department of Education and the plaintiffs will have a chance to formally respond before the judge makes a ruling. When Corinthian College folded in 2015, it left thousands of students without a degree and saddled with student debt. But under the Trump administration, the department attempted to change the way it calculated how much of a borrower's debt would be forgiven.
Danville Superintendent responds to accreditation concerns
Danville Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Stan Jones is responding to criticism after the state Department of Education report noted that two Danville schools lost their full accreditation, leaving only two of 11 schools fully accredited in the system. The division said it was no surprise when the state removed full accreditation for two schools, leaving Forest Hills and Galileo Magnet as the only two fully accredited schools in the system. The superintendent argued the accreditation process overall is flawed and that it's more of a political metric than a scholastic one. And he said the other nine schools accredited with conditions don't mean failure. Jones added that he believes the accreditation process is deeply flawed and he predicts that in a decade the accreditation process as we know it will no longer be used.
ACLU demands DeVos back down from defunding threat
The program receives funding under Title VI and is meant for cultural and language programs designed to develop experts. CNN has reached out to the Department of Education for comment. The ACLU argues that such concern "suggests that the Department's investigation is motivated by its displeasure with the messages conveyed by the program's curriculum. It also raises concerns that the Department is injecting the current presidential administration's long pattern of anti-Muslim bigotry and discrimination into the Title VI funding process." "The administration's overzealous censorship efforts undermine academic freedom and have no factual or legal basis," she said in a statement.
99% of applicants rejected from US student loan forgiveness program
Mario Tama/Getty Images(CNN) - Congress tried to make it easier for borrowers to apply for federal student loan debt forgiveness, but almost everyone who's applied has been rejected, according to a government report released Thursday. The Education Department denied 99% of requests for relief processed under the newly expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, according to a review by the Government Accountability Office released Thursday. Congress set aside $700 million to expand the program in 2018 in response to the low number of people qualifying for forgiveness. The Government Accountability Office suggested that the Education Department integrate the request for relief under the temporary expansion program into the application for the original application process. Democrats have called on DeVos to better implement the forgiveness program.
Trump makes student loan cancellation automatic for disabled vets
CNN Video(CNN) - President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will sign an executive action making student loan cancellation for disabled veterans automatic -- about three months after 51 attorneys general urged the Department of Education to make the change. Current law says that the government will discharge the student debt for any borrower who is "permanently and totally" disabled, but they had to submit an application. They found that just 9,000 of 42,000 eligible veterans had applied for the loan discharge as of April 2018. Since then, more than $650 million in student loan relief was granted to more than 22,000 eligible veterans, the Department of Education said in a statement Wednesday. "You used to have to wait weeks and weeks and weeks and you don't wait anymore."