The AAUP's government relations office tracks legislation that is relevant to our mission at both the federal and state levels. We build relationships with policymakers, their staffs, and other higher education organizations to inform and influence policy discussions by offering our expertise as a resource. We also communicate legislative information to members and encourage them to become active in the issues affecting higher education in general and faculty in particular. The following are some of the issues we have been working on.
Capitol Hill Day 2008
This year's Capitol Hill Day will be held on Thursday, June 12.
The two lobbying topics for this year are:
1.) Ideological exclusions
2.) The factors behind rising college costs (and why it's not faculty salaries)
Materials to prepare for lobbying visits will be posted in this space as they are created. All briefing materials will be posted by the end of May.
May AAUP Government Relations Newsletter
The May AAUP Government Relations newsletter is available online. The April newsletter gives updates on protections for whistleblowers, student loans, and affirmative action.
The Higher Education Act
Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, after multiple temporary extensions, is nearly complete. The House passed its version in February (the Senate passed its version, S. 1642 in summer of 2007). The bills are currently in conference being reconciled. As of the beginning of May, the bill was anticipated to be finished by the Memorial Day recess.
The legislation raised the Pell Grant ceiling and continued to crack down on inappropriate institution-lender relationships. The Senate bill also addressed the 2007 tug-of-war over accreditation rules between the Department of Education and Congress and affirmed the need for institutional diversity of mission.
Ideological Exclusions Being Examined in Congress
Ideological exclusions of foreign scholars and students is the focus of a new series of hearings in the House Committee on Science & Technology. Representative Brian Baird held a hearing on February 7 to examine the issue and the impact of these exclusions on the U.S. higher education community and on the global scholarly community. The AAUP, which has been very active in casework pertaining to this issue, submitted a joint comment with the ACLU to the Committee.
“Academic Bill of Rights” Failed: “Intellectual Diversity” Continues to Be the Trend into 2008
David Horowitz’s so-called Bill of Rights was introduced in nearly half of states from 2003 to 2006, but failed to gain traction as legislators and campus communities saw past the misleading rhetoric. Though a few state legislatures compromised with university administrators to strengthen self-policing on campuses, in most places the proposals simply failed to take hold, many of them DOA in committee. In 2007, a crop of similar bills, dubbed “Intellectual Diversity” bills, were first introduced, and as of May 2008, had supplanted ABOR legislation. The bills in IN, VA, and OK have already been defeated or withdrawn. See Free Exchange on Campus for a comprehensive list of states with introduced legislation and status updates. See the AAUP statement on Horowitz and ACTA's proposals.
AAUP Endorsements of Issues of Concern
The AAUP has recently endorsed several multi-organization letters addressing issues of concern to the academic community.
1.) Letter regarding the "Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act"
2.) Letter regarding the "Aid Elimination Penalty"
3.) OpentheGovernment.org letter addressing new program to restrict unclassified materials
4.) Letter objecting to the seizing and searching of digital and electronic materials at the border by DHS
Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act
The AAUP advised the Senate Committee on Homeland Security of its concerns over HR 1955, the "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act ." Read the letter sent to Chairman Lieberman and his colleagues and the bill text. (.pdfs).
Aid Elimination Penalty
The AAUP offered comments at a Congressional briefing on November 1 regarding the possible repeal of the Aid Elimination Penalty in the Higher Education Act. The penalty punishes students convicted of drug-related crimes by revoking their eligibility for federal financial aid. The AAUP believes that this is a mistaken approach for several reasons. First, educational attainment is strongly correlated with lower crime rates and less need for public assistance, making clear the societal benefits of helping students earn their degrees, rather than holding them back from finishing college. Second, those convicted have already been punished by the judicial system, so revoking aid is above and beyond what the courts have seen as fitting sentences. Third, those most likely to be convicted are the same students most likely to have to drop out of school if their financial aid is revoked, encouraging social stratification. Read the complete comments offered at the briefing. (.pdf)
Free Exchange on Campus Coalition
The AAUP participates in the anti-"Academic Bills of Rights," pro-free speech Free Exchange on Campus Coalition. Together with our partners, we have helped defeat legislation based on ABOR; no such legislation has been passed in any state to date. To learn more about the coalition, read the statement of principles or look at our new brochure. For specific organizing efforts on your campus (or ideas on how to get started!), look through the Campus Voices organizing toolkit. To take a stand against "Intellectual Diversity" legislation before it comes to your campus, consider passing a Faculty Senate Resolution.
Department of Education Stands Down on Accreditation Changes
The Department of Education, under Secretary Margaret Spellings, had been continuing the work of its Commission on the Future of Higher Education by pushing for changes in the accreditation system. After the release of its final report (pdf) in September 2006, the Department convened a higher education "summit" in March 2007. It also set up multiple committees to continue discussion of different aspects of higher education. During the last week of April, a federally appointed panel considering rule changes to accreditation adjourned without recommendations due to inability to reach consensus in multiple areas.
The AAUP originally expressed its concern about the neglect of the role of the faculty, the narrow economic focus, and the view of higher education as a single system rather than in its institutional diversity. The report formulated a sense of crisis in almost purely financial and economic terms. Read the AAUP statement. Members of Congress got involved, publicly warning the Department not to overstep its boundaries in rule-making. Secretary Spellings acquiesced and affirmed in a letter that she would not push ahead with rule-making changes.
For background on the accreditation and rule-making change issue, please refer to the following articles from Inside Higher Ed:
The Flawed Metaphor of the Spellings Summit, Inside Higher Ed, 4/5/07
Explaining the Accreditation Debate, Inside Higher Ed, 3/29/07
Who's Who at the Spellings Summit, Inside Higher Ed, 3/20/07
Stacking the Deck?, Inside Higher Ed, 5/1/07