Correspondence

Dear Secretary Duncan:

On November 20, 2013, the Department of Education published a Federal Register notice announcing the formation of a new negotiated rulemaking panel to examine six issues related to higher education. As the deadline approaches for announcing the list of negotiators, we urge you to ensure the panel is fair and representative of all stakeholders who may be directly affected by the broad array of topics to be debated during the upcoming rulemaking session.

When assembling the negotiated rulemaking panel, section 492 of the Higher Education Act requires you to select individuals with demonstrated expertise or experience in the relevant subjects under negotiation. During previous rounds of negotiated rulemaking, however, the panels lacked a balanced perspective appropriate for any rulemaking process and disproportionately represented perspectives favorable to the administration's policy goals. We hope you take this opportunity to break from past tradition and select a fair and balanced panel of negotiators that represent diverse perspectives on the issues under consideration.

To read the full letter, click here.