Advancing Educational Freedom

The House Education and the Workforce Committee today advanced three bipartisan bills to reform the nation’s higher education system. As part of an effort to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, the legislative proposals will support innovation, strengthen transparency, and enhance financial counseling. “Today we made important progress in our effort to strengthen the nation’s higher education sy... Read more »

On Thursday, July 10 at 10:00 a.m., the House Education and the Workforce Committee, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), will mark up the Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act (H.R. 3136), the Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act (H.R. 4983), and the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act (H.R. 4984). As part of an effort to reauthorize ... Read more »

THE PROBLEM The cost of obtaining a college degree has risen dramatically over the past decade. For example, since 2002 in-state tuition and fees at public four-year and two-year institutions increased by 51 percent and 35 percent, respectively. During this same period of time, the cost of attending a private four-year institution increased by approximately 25 percent. To exacerbate rising colleg... Read more »

House Education and the Workforce Committee leaders today joined a bicameral amicus brief to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as it considers whether to treat scholarship student athletes as “employees” under the National Labor Relations Act. The legal brief argues that college athletes are not employees under the law and treating student athletes as employees is unworkable: As a matter o... Read more »

House Education and the Workforce Committee members today introduced the first in a series of legislative proposals to reform the nation’s higher education system. The bills were introduced following the release earlier this week of a committee white paper outlining key principles for reauthorizing the Higher Education Act. “I want to thank all of my colleagues for their hard work crafting these c... Read more »

THE PROBLEM Across the country, tuition costs continue to go up and the job prospects many graduates face remain bleak. It has never been more critical for individuals to make responsible choices regarding how to pay for their postsecondary education. Unfortunately, many students are simply not equipped to make sound financial choices about their college careers. It’s not surprising considering t... Read more »

THE PROBLEM: Despite repeated attempts to enhance transparency in the higher education system, students and families still struggle to access important information that will assist in their search for the right college or university. The federal government provides financial assistance for millions of students to use at the institution of their choice. Yet students and families face a deluge of d... Read more »

THE PROBLEM: For many students and families, federal financial aid makes a postsecondary education possible. The time when a family begins the process of applying for financial aid is critical to ensuring students access the full range of assistance available to them. Unfortunately, the current process is not serving the best interests of students and families. A student’s application process sta... Read more »

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Higher Education and Workforce Training Subcommittee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) today released a white paper outlining key principles that will guide the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. As part of the committee’s continued effort to strengthen America’s higher education system, the white paper includes a n... Read more »

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN) issued the following joint statement in response to the agreement reached between the Department of Education and Corinthian Colleges Inc.: We are glad to see that the agreement reached between Corinthian and the Department of E... Read more »