Federal

Higher Education Act May Finally See Action

By Alyson Klein — January 09, 2007 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Teacher-quality programs could get extra attention—and resources—when Congress finally tackles the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, a piece of unfinished business that the incoming chairmen of the House and Senate education committees say will be a priority this year.

The reauthorization of the HEA, which was last renewed in 1998, has been languishing on Capitol Hill. Many of the law’s provisions were set to expire in 2003, but Congress has passed numerous extensions. The most recent renewal extends the measure to June 30.

The broad legislation authorizes many federal higher education programs, including Pell Grants, student loans, and initiatives in teacher education.

Democratic victories in the midterm elections have placed two lawmakers with a long interest in teacher quality at the helms of the education committees. During the last Congress, Rep. George Miller of California, who now chairs the House Education and Labor Committee, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, sponsored the proposed Teacher Excellence for All Children Act. Known as the TEACH Act, the measure would have bolstered professional development for new and veteran educators, expanded loan forgiveness for some teachers, and helped ensure that proven teachers were working in high-poverty schools.

“I think it’s all about teachers now,” Jane E. West, the vice president of government relations for the Washington-based American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, said of the effort to improve education. “There just seems to be an increasing consensus that we really need to address the critical shortage of teachers, and we need to move from thinking about highly qualified teachers to thinking about effectiveness. Knowing your content doesn’t necessarily mean you can instruct well.”

Some of the provisions from the TEACH proposal could be attached to the HEA renewal, possibly including a proposal calling for more money to develop data systems that track teachers’ quality by measuring their students’ gains from year to year. The data systems could eventually be used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of individual teacher education programs.

A Senate Democratic aide said that the bulk of the TEACH bill could be incorporated into a reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, which is also on Congress’ plate for this year, rather than into the HEA.

Student Loans

Higher education advocates also expect the new Democratic majority to place a higher priority on financing higher education programs, particularly federal student aid. During the midterm election campaign, House Democrats sharply criticized Republican leaders for trimming over $12 billion from the student-lending program through the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and pledged to cut federal student-loan interest rates in half, from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent.

That proposal, which Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the new speaker of the House, has said would be passed within the Democrats’ first 100 hours in the majority, could eventually be attached to the HEA reauthorization, some lobbyists speculated. In the Senate, Mr. Kennedy has called for an expansion of the direct-lending program, which allows students to borrow from the federal treasury rather than from subsidized lenders, and expanding student-loan forgiveness for public-sector employees, such as teachers.

Democrats have generally been critical of Republicans’ flat-funding or outright cuts to Pell Grants, campus-based aid programs, including federal work-study, and college-preparation programs, such as TRIO. Education lobbyists say the Democratic-controlled House and Senate could bolster funding for those programs.

“While the new majority will undoubtedly face fiscal constraints,” said Bill Parsons, an associate director of government relations for the American Council on Education, an association representing 1,800 colleges and universities, “their stated commitment to halve at least some student-loan interest rates and achieve a $5,100 maximum Pell award has begun a completely different conversation on higher education policy in Washington, D.C.”

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the January 10, 2007 edition of Education Week as Higher Education Act May Finally See Action

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum Big AI Questions for Schools. How They Should Respond 
Join this free virtual event to unpack some of the big questions around the use of AI in K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in Schools
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by Panorama Education
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Spark Minds, Reignite Students & Teachers: STEM’s Role in Supporting Presence and Engagement
Is your district struggling with chronic absenteeism? Discover how STEM can reignite students' and teachers' passion for learning.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Jimmy Carter and Education: Highlights of a Long Record on School Policy
The 39th president oversaw the creation of the U.S. Department of Education.
5 min read
President Jimmy Carter gets a round applause as he passes out pens at the White House in Washington, Oct. 17, 1979 following the signing legislation establishing a Department of Education. From left are: Dr. Benjamin Mays former president of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Rep. Jack Brooke (D-Texas), Carter, Sen. Abraham Ribicoff (D-Connecticut).
President Jimmy Carter gets a round of applause as he passes out pens at the White House in Washington, Oct. 17, 1979, following the signing of legislation that established a federal department of education. From left are: Dr. Benjamin Mays, former president of Morehouse College in Atlanta; Rep. Jack Brooke, D-Texas; Carter; and Sen. Abraham Ribicoff, D-Conn. Carter died on Dec. 29, 2024, at age 100.
Charles Tasnadi/AP
Federal Jimmy Carter's Education Legacy Stretched From the School Board to the White House
The 39th president helped create the U.S. Department of Education. He had also been a school board member and an education-minded governor.
19 min read
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter waves to the congregation after teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia on April 28, 2019. Carter, 94, has taught Sunday school at the church on a regular basis since leaving the White House in 1981, drawing hundreds of visitors who arrive hours before the 10:00 am lesson in order to get a seat and have a photograph taken with the former President and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
Former President Jimmy Carter waves to the congregation after teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Ga., on April 28, 2019. He died Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, at age 100.
Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via ZUMA Press
Federal White House Starts Scrapping Pending Regulations on Transgender Athletes, Student Debt
The Biden administration plans to jettison pending regulations to prevent President-elect Trump from retooling them to achieve his own aims.
6 min read
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering prices for American families during an event at the YMCA Allard Center on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, N.H.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering prices for American families during an event at the YMCA Allard Center on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, N.H. His administration is withdrawing proposed regulations that would provide some protections for transgender student<ins data-user-label="Matt Stone" data-time="12/26/2024 12:37:29 PM" data-user-id="00000185-c5a3-d6ff-a38d-d7a32f6d0001" data-target-id="">-</ins>athletes and cancel student loans for more than 38 million Americans.
Evan Vucci/AP
Federal Then & Now Will RFK Jr. Reheat the School Lunch Wars?
Trump's ally has said he wants to remove processed foods from school meals. That's not as easy as it sounds.
6 min read
Image of school lunch - Then and now
Liz Yap/Education Week with iStock/Getty and Canva