It’s no secret the president’s health care law is making life difficult for working families. Many of the ObamaCare problems plaguing the nation’s workplaces – lower wages, loss of existing coverage, higher costs – are emerging in classrooms across the country as well. To learn more about the consequences of the health care law on the nation’s schools and students, the Education and the Workforce ... Read more »
On Wednesday House and Senate leaders announced a bipartisan deal to reform the nation’s workforce development system. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) will streamline a maze of duplicative programs and help hardworking Americans prepare for in-demand careers. Read highlights from press reports on the compromise: The compromise measure would eliminate 15 of 47 existing federal w... Read more »
The House Education and the Workforce Committee held a hearing on Thursday to examine a recent National Labor Relations Board decision to define certain student athletes “employees.” As various news reports show, members discussed the challenges facing student athletes and expressed concerns that unionization would hurt students’ athletic and academic careers: The debate over whether college athle... Read more »
Education and community leaders are voicing support for the Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act (H.R. 10), bipartisan legislation to support charter school growth that is expected to be considered by the House this week. Stakeholders praise the legislation for bolstering local charter school initiatives, aiding the expansion and replication of quality charter school models,... Read more »
Proponents created public charter schools, in part, to use them to incubate new educational approaches, then replicate the successes. Charters started in Minnesota about 20 years ago, and today there are thousands of them with nearly a million students nationwide. But not nearly enough of the highest-quality programs have been emulated. For a variety of reasons, few schools have used the best cha... Read more »
Today Education Secretary Arne Duncan will testify before the House Education and the Workforce Committee on the department’s budget and policy priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. Nearly one year has passed since the secretary last appeared before the committee, and members are eager to discuss the president’s latest education proposals. Here are five questions for the secretary that should h... Read more »
Despite facing broad opposition from the education stakeholders, elected officials, and the federal court system, the Obama administration is moving forward with a so-called gainful employment regulation that will harm low-income students and threaten the strength of our higher education system. In their zeal to gin up public support for its misguided regulatory proposal, the administration is ci... Read more »
By Representatives Todd Rokita (R-IN) and Jared Polis (D-CO) As strong advocates for parental school choice, we were pleased that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was open to learning about the tremendous opportunities that charter schools can offer students and families. His decision to allow continued access to high-quality charter school options will ensure that the best curriculum, programs... Read more »
ObamaCare continues to harm American families through canceled plans, lower wages, and skyrocketing costs. This week the House will vote on a bill to provide relief from one of the law’s most onerous provisions. The Save American Workers Act (H.R. 2575) will repeal ObamaCare’s 30-hour definition of “full-time” employment and restore the traditional 40-hour work week. The so-called “30-hour rule” i... Read more »
By Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Representatives John Kline (R-MN) and Phil Roe (R-TN) The president is waging a public-relations campaign about income inequality in this country, but rather than focus on growing the economy and encouraging businesses to hire, this administration has fallen back on stale, bankrupt ideas that don’t help workers achieve more. The latest is a rule proposed by t... Read more »
