The year 2022 began with the number of Covid-19 case counts mounting steadily due to the more transmissible Omicron variant. Some leaders of higher education institutions have responded by either choosing to begin the spring semester online or delay the date when faculty, staff, and students will be allowed to return to campus. Administrators in school districts around the nation have had to make similar decisions for elementary and secondary institutions. Apart from risks associated with experiencing physical symptoms of the disease, adverse mental health effects related to the coronavirus also are considered to be quite worrisome.
The Biden Administration has played an active role in trying to keep schools safely open for full-time, in-person instruction. These efforts have resulted in 96% of schools opening on an in-person basis in January 2022, up from 46% of schools in January 2021. New initiatives will lead to an increase in the number of COVID-19 tests available to schools by 10 million per month. During the past year, federal funding provided to states and school districts across the nation, including $130 billion in the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief is directed toward safely reopening schools and addressing students’ academic and mental health needs. Another $10 billion in the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) cooperative agreement is being used to support COVID-19 testing for students and staff.
Unified Agenda And Regulatory Plan
The Fall 2021 Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plan was published on December 10, 2021. The U.S. Department of Education anticipates issuing the Title IX notice of proposed rulemaking by April 2022, a month earlier than the May 2022 date listed in the Spring 2021 Unified Agenda. The Department is deeply committed to: ensuring that schools are providing students with educational environments free from discrimination in the form of sexual harassment; ensuring that schools have grievance procedures that provide for the fair, prompt, and equitable resolution of reports of sexual harassment and other sex discrimination; and addressing discrimination based on sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity, in educational environments. In line with those commitments, the Department also has expressed its intent to propose amendments to its regulations implementing Title IX to address these issues.
Student Loan Pause Extended
The Department on December 22, 2021 announced a 90-day extension of the pause on student loan repayment, interest, and collections through May 1, 2022. The extension will allow the Administration to assess the impacts of the Omicron variant on student borrowers and provide additional time for borrowers to plan for the resumption of payments and reduce the risk of delinquency and defaults after restart. The pause will help 41 million borrowers save $5 billion per month. This action is part of a series of steps the Biden Administration has taken to support students and borrowers, make higher education more affordable, and improve student loan servicing, including providing nearly $13 billion in targeted loan relief to over 640,000 borrowers. Specific examples include providing $7.0 billion in relief for 401,000 borrowers who have a total and permanent disability, and helping 30,000 small business owners with student loans seeking help from the Paycheck Protection Program.
Negotiated Rule-Making Committee Expected To Address Unresolved Issues
As the year 2022 unfolds, it is likely that efforts will be undertaken by the Department’s Negotiated Rule-Making Committee to reach agreement on some contentious issues. Prominent examples are:
How the Education Department processes and adjudicates claims for loan forgiveness by borrowers who are defrauded by their college as well as the circumstances in which borrowers are entitled to loan forgiveness when their college suddenly closes.
How to structure the administration’s new income-driven repayment plan and how to expand the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.