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 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 NRISA 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.”

In this issue:

Government Updates

Federal Education

• K-12 school diversity and inclusion activities fact sheet released by the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
• Title IX enforcement for pregnant college students a new focus of US Department of Education according to Higher Ed Dive
• Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEER) Fund annual performance report released by US Dept. of Ed
• Defrauded college student-loan borrowers to receive help in obtaining loan debt cancellation from new US Department of Education website reports Business Insider
• College student debt one-time relief eligibility new data released by Biden Administration
• Federal Student Aid (FSA) office releases FY22 annual report

Federal Health

• Youth mental health disparities addressing strategic framework released by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Federal Legislation

• Abortion medication pharmacy provision FDA rule nullification bill (HR 383) introduced 3
• Abortion medication dispensing in-person requirement bill, “SAVE Moms and Babies Act” (HR 427/S 95), introduced
• Abortion medication access protection bills (HR 767/S 237) introduced

State and Local Government

• Florida college presidents get push back on critical race theory education stance reports Inside Higher Ed3 Massachusetts college student state aid declines according to study published in Inside Higher Ed

Federal Comment Opportunity

• Student loan form regulation changes by the US Department of Education comments sought

Funding

• Violence prevention program funding anticipated FY23 schedule published

Education

• Undergraduate college enrollment slips 0.6% for fall 2022 term but shows signs of stabilizing reports Higher Ed Dive
• College state funding has increased in 38 states reports Inside Higher Ed
• Collegiate student affairs educator certification introduced by new consortium
• College campus safety commitment by Uber and partners as students return to campus

Civil Rights

• Olympic female rowers’ protest of USRowing’s new gender identity policy subject of article in Sports Law Expert

Health and Wellness

• Post-concussion ‘cognitive rest’ may delay children’s recovery process reports The Washington Post
• College students turning to emotional support animals to help deal with mental health challenges subject of Syracuse University student newspaper article

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.