Federal and state policy and legislative updates

NIRSA’s Government Affairs Committee stays up-to-date on the latest federal and state policy and legislative news through a variety of scanning tools. One particular resource they use is the bi-weekly Policy Pages provided by Active Policy Solutions. (For more on this partnership, along with other SAHEC associations, have with Active Policy Solutions, see below.)

The policy issues included in the Policy Pages document are highlights of a point in time. They are by no means exhaustive and change continually – so matters discussed in the last issue normally will not carry over to the next unless there is some updated action to be discussed.

The Committee encourages NIRSA members to keep themselves informed on federal and state policy issues affecting their work as professionals on campuses. These issues could be specific to higher education, physical activity, or NIRSA’s strategic value areas. If you have an issue that is of concern to your campus, reach out the Government Affairs Committee.

Policy Page documents will be stored, as a resource for NIRSA members, in the NIRSA Connect Community library. You can find them within the “Member Benefits” folder in a subfolder titled “Federal and State Policy Pages.”

Full SAHEC Policy Pages

In this issue:

Government Updates

Federal Education

Student visa regulatory changes proposed by the Trump Administration

Federal Legislation

Sports participation by birth gender bill (S 4649) introduced
College athlete name, image, likeness (NIL) compensation bill (HR 8382) introduced
Parents PLUS loans transferability to students bill (HR 8400) introduced
Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act (S 2330) expected to be voted on in the House

State and Local Government News

California

California COVID-19 employer shut down due to risk to employees bill signed into law

Florida

Florida bill to restrict colleges from punishing students for COVID-19 restriction violations proposed by Florida governor

Louisiana

Louisiana certain immunity from civil liability during state of emergencies bill signed into law

New Jersey

New Jersey heat illness prevention in public colleges/“Braeden’s Law” bill referred to state senate Higher Education Committee and the state assembly version is introduced

Ohio

Ohio sports official assault penalty bill informally passed by state house

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania school sports during COVID-19 bill vetoed; state house fails to override

Virginia

Virginia COVID-19 civil action immunity bill introduced

Other News

Return to activities updates
More concussion recovery time needed for high school athletes, more sports at risk than thought according to new study
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has no legal duty to protect athletes from sex abuse according to NCAA in brief to California Supreme Court

Full SAHEC Policy Pages

About NIRSA’s partnership with Active Policy Solutions

As an association, NIRSA strives to monitor and track policy and legislative issues with the potential to impact our members or the campus communities they serve. These issues are wide ranging and may pertain to higher education, employment law, physical fitness, or our strategic values areas.

NIRSA has joined with a subset of SAHEC members (ACUHO-I, ACPA, ASCA, NASPA, and NIRSA) in hiring Active Policy Solutions to assist with monitoring, tracking, analyzing, and determining appropriate action on issues relevant to our associations. Through our partnership with SAHEC, NIRSA continues to monitor policy, legislation, and advocacy work that affects both the higher education and physical activity space. Active Policy Solutions provides government relations and advocacy support to NIRSA and the Association’s SAHEC partners.