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 Government News

Congressional leaders reach agreement to avoid government shutdown
Federal COVID-19 relief of $908 billion proposed by group of bipartisan lawmakers

Federal Education

Cleary Act guidance including COVID-19 information provided to colleges by the U.S. Department of Education
Cleary Act guidelines from U.S. Department of Education create ambiguity, article says
Student loan forgiveness denials halted as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos faces lawsuit
Higher Education organizations send list of priorities to President-elect Biden

State and Local Government News

California

California removing voluntary sexual contact from mandatory reporting bill signed into law

Georgia

Georgia college athlete compensation bill introduced

Illinois

Illinois COVID-19 civil suit immunity bill introduced

Massachusetts

Massachusetts criminal harassment against a sports official bills ordered for study, see H5081
Massachusetts college personal protective equipment manufacturing liability shield bill ordered for study, see S2953
Massachusetts omnibus college sexual misconduct bill gains momentum with support from the speaker of the state house

New Jersey

New Jersey constitutional amendment on college sports betting bill introduced

Ohio

Ohio sports official assault penalty bill passed by state house
Ohio anti-bullying and hazing policies and penalties at public schools and colleges bill heads to state senate
Ohio bill banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports scheduled for committee hearing
Ohio public college free speech bill reported favorably out of house committee

Tennessee

Tennessee school sports participation based on sex at birth bill pre-filed for 2021

Texas

Texas has several bills pre-filed

Other News

College COVID-19 updates
Activities COVID-19 updates
High school and college football player risks explored in article
College athletic department financial difficulties due to the pandemic explored in article
College cheerleaders’ ability to profit despite NCAA regulations highlighted in article
Athlete COVID-19 testing availability versus other sectors of society critically examined in article
Fitness and mental health association shown in new study
Student shares perspective on her Title IX filing process
College student’s anti-male bias claim against university rejected by federal 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.