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

  • Title IX guidance for pregnant college students clarification requested by Members of Congress according to Inside Higher Ed
  • College admission affirmative action cases will receive separate rulings from the US Supreme Court according to Higher Ed Dive
  • College accrediting agencies guidelines released by US Dept. of Education
  • US Dept. of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) releases FY 2021 annual report

Federal Legislation

  • College public service loan indefinite waivers favored by some Members of Congress according to Inside Higher Ed
  • College student incorrect billing from off-campus hospital rectifying bill, “Transparency of Hospital Billing Act” (HR 8133), introduced
  • College physical injury or death incident reporting requirement bill (HR 8406) introduced
  • College student income-contingent repayment program bill (HR 8457) introduced
  • Federal student loan reform bill (HR 8472) introduced
  • Contraception access protection bill, “Rights to Contraception Act” (HR 8373), passes the House

Other Federal News

  • Community colleges and minority serving institutions receive $198 million in American Rescue Plan funding from the US Dept. of Education
  • New Mexico college student campus mental health services receive $1 million in state funding according to the Daily Los Alamos Post

State and Local Government

California

  • California leaders cite anti-discrimination efforts as reason for banning state-funded travel to states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws according to The New York Times
  • California college system implementing gender identity recognition policy according to The College Fix
  • California college housing survey request bill hearing in the state senate cancelled by bill sponsor
  • California college sexual assault information and policies standardization bill signed into law
  • California private colleges’ trespassing policing bill signed into law

Massachusetts

  • Massachusetts hairstyles discrimination protections bill passed by legislature and sent to the governor
  • Massachusetts college medication abortions fund providing bill combined into new bill

Pennsylvania

  • Pennsylvania school and college sports participation by sex assigned at birth bill vetoed by the governor

Education

  • More than half of college staffers thinking about quitting according to survey results published in The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • College campus housing shortages for fall 2022 semester subject of The Chronicle of Higher Education article
  • College student who are parents subject of new study

Health and Wellness

  • California colleges seeing return of mask mandates according to Inside Higher Ed

Civil Rights

  • HBCU students disproportionately affected by overturn of Roe according to The Washington Post
  • Campus abortion access policies proposed by Vanderbilt University’s student government according to campus student newspaper, Vanderbilt Hustler

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.

Headshot of Erin O'Sullivan
Director of Advocacy & Strategic Partnerships at | NIRSA Profile

Erin O'Sullivan is currently the Director of Advocacy & Strategic Partnerships at NIRSA.