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Higher Education
The Higher Education Act (HEA) authorizes the federal
government’s major student-aid programs and other important
postsecondary education initiatives. The last comprehensive revision of
the HEA was completed in 1998. The current authorization of the Act
expired 4 years ago, although Congress has passed intermediate measures
to extend HEA funding provisions without actually reauthorizing the
entire Act. Over the last two years, congressional consideration of HEA
has intensified, resulting in several initiatives to reauthorize the
Act, including enactment of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act
(PL 110-84) in September, 2007.
That law includes several measures to make postsecondary education
more affordable and accessible, including changes in HEA’s student
loan programs. The 110th Congress has expressed its intent to complete
reauthorization of the remaining HEA programs before it adjourns in the
fall of 2008. Towards this end, the Senate passed its HEA
reauthorization bill (S. 1642) in July, 2007. On February 7, 2008 the
House passed its HEA bill, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act
of 2007 (H.R. 4137). These bills address a wide range of issues
including college pricing and cost transparency, increasing access to
postsecondary education, federal tax benefits, standards and
accountability for higher education in general and for teacher
preparation in particular, need analysis, distance education, and
teacher quality and quantity.
CEC is pleased that these bills include measures that are important
to and have been actively endorsed by CEC members over the last several
years as Congress has worked towards completion of the HEA
reauthorization process. Advocacy by the CEC network has been important
in securing provisions in these bills that can provide greater access to
higher education to students with disabilities, expand support for
special education and related-services personnel training, and give
priority to training and retention of faculty at institutes of higher
education who train special educators. If eventually enacted, the
bills’ collective proposals for increasing postsecondary education
opportunities and improving the higher education experience for
individuals with disabilities will represent a historic step
forward.
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