Latest news with #HouseCommitteeonEducationandWorkforce
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. Education Department to increase funds and grants for charter schools
The Department of Education is increasing the Charter Schools Program by nearly 15% this year, bumping the total budget to $500 million, per a press release from Education Secretary Linda McMahon. McMahon also announced that her department will launch new grant opportunities through Charter Schools Program called the Model Development and Dissemination Grant Program. 'Through this program, the department will showcase bold strategies and innovative education models from charter schools. We will particularly emphasize those that focus on classical education, civics, STEM programs and career focused education,' McMahon said in a video posted to X. There are currently over 8,000 operating charter schools in the U.S., and as of 2022, charter schools are legally recognized in 45 of 50 states, plus Washington D.C., per the Nation Center for Education Statistics. States without charter schools include Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Vermont. The announcement follows the conclusion of National Charter School Week, which the White House recognized on Monday. Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, a member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, has been a proponent of charter schools and increasing educational choice in Utah. In remarks on Friday, Owens referenced these new innovations. 'As a nation, we've entered a very exciting new era where every child, not just a lucky few, can access opportunities that fit their unique needs and abilities,' he said. He continued, 'And we've started to view education in the same way we view other parts of our economy — through the eyes of the American consumer. It is a culture built on capitalism. Competition drives innovation, accountability and better outcomes.'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. Education Department to increase funds and grants for charter schools
The Department of Education is increasing the Charter Schools Program by nearly 15% this year, bumping the total budget to $500 million, per a press release from Education Secretary Linda McMahon. McMahon also announced that her department will launch new grant opportunities through Charter Schools Program called the Model Development and Dissemination Grant Program. 'Through this program, the department will showcase bold strategies and innovative education models from charter schools. We will particularly emphasize those that focus on classical education, civics, STEM programs and career focused education,' McMahon said in a video posted to X. There are currently over 8,000 operating charter schools in the U.S., and as of 2022, charter schools are legally recognized in 45 of 50 states, plus Washington D.C., per the Nation Center for Education Statistics. States without charter schools include Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Vermont. The announcement follows the conclusion of National Charter School Week, which the White House recognized on Monday. Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, a member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, has been a proponent of charter schools and increasing educational choice in Utah. In remarks on Friday, Owens referenced these new innovations. 'As a nation, we've entered a very exciting new era where every child, not just a lucky few, can access opportunities that fit their unique needs and abilities,' he said. He continued, 'And we've started to view education in the same way we view other parts of our economy — through the eyes of the American consumer. It is a culture built on capitalism. Competition drives innovation, accountability and better outcomes.'
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah Rep. Burgess Owens spearheads efforts to codify Trump executive orders on education
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a slate of education-related executive orders this week, with lawmakers already preparing legislation to codify those directives into law. Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, is among those making efforts, with one bill making its way through Congress on the college accreditation process. The Accreditation for College Excellence Act, or ACE Act, would prohibit college accreditors from implementing certain standards related to diversity, equity and inclusion as part of their approval process. 'The ACE Act would make sure … (credits) are focused on merit and not DEI,' Owens told the Deseret News in an interview. 'Those kind of things will be very important for us to make sure we have transparency (and that) those who are supporting our colleges are friends and not putting ideologies and their thought process into our kids' minds.' Owens introduced that bill earlier this month, and it is currently making its way through the House Committee on Education and Workforce, of which the Utah Republican is a member. A similar bill passed the House last year, although it was never considered by the then-Democratically controlled Senate. The bill closely mirrors the executive order signed by Trump on Wednesday, which directs the Department of Education to consider revoking the recognition of some accreditors if they mandate DEI standards. Trump's executive order would direct the secretary of Education to hold accreditors accountable 'through denial, monitoring, suspension, or termination of accreditation recognition' if they are found 'to engage in unlawful discrimination in accreditation-related activity under the guise of 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' initiatives.' Accreditors have pushed back on accusations that they mandate DEI standards, pointing to colleges in states with DEI-related bans that have not had issues getting accreditation. Owens' bill has similar language that would prohibit agencies from requiring, encouraging or coercing an academic institution 'to support or oppose specific partisan or political beliefs, viewpoints on social or political issues, or support the disparate treatment of any individual or group.' Although the bill did not make it through Congress last year, Owens expressed confidence that Trump's executive could help spur a vote on the legislation relatively soon. 'No question about it,' Owens said when asked if the executive order will help speed along the process. 'We're getting things done the quickest way possible through executive orders,' Owens said. 'The people can understand what we're trying to get accomplished from the president from his pulpit, we can talk about why it's necessary — and all we do is just follow up with the legislation that will make sure that it stays there forever.' While presidents have the authority to issue executive orders, those can be easily overturned by the following president with a similar stroke of the pen. As a result, lawmakers in the president's party will typically seek to pass legislation codifying those orders into law so that it would be far more difficult to be repealed later on. Trump signed another executive order to require 'full and timely disclosure by higher education institutions' when they receive gifts by foreign nations. That order is similar to a bill that already passed the House earlier this year, which contained proposals drafted by Owens. The Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions, or DETERRENT Act, seeks to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand current requirements and in some cases ban certain contracts that have not received a waiver from the Department of Education. Under the DETERRENT Act, the foreign gift reporting threshold for colleges and universities would be significantly reduced from $250,000 to $50,000. That threshold would be further reduced to $0 for countries of concern. The bill includes several provisions in Owens' Reporting on Investments in Foreign Adversaries, which implements increased reporting requirements for private universities with endowments above $6 billion or investments above $250 million. Trump signed other orders, including one looking to crack down on behavioral issues in K-12 schools, which Owens says could be quickly followed by legislation. 'The upside is that we have things that we can push through. It's a slow process, but because of what the president can do with executive orders, we can start implementing it quicker and people can start to see the results of it,' Owens said. 'And it helps us on our side to get the support, the groundswell that we need to push things through.'
The Hill
08-04-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Democrats unveil legislation raising federal minimum wage to $17 an hour
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the Raise the Wage Act of 2025 on Tuesday in both chambers with hopes of increasing the federal minimum wage. The bill would raise the minimum wage to $17 by 2030 according to the Economic Policy Institute. The current federally mandated hourly wage is $7.25 and has not increased since 2009. 'No person working full-time in America should be living in poverty. The Raise the Wage Act will increase the pay and standard of living for nearly 22 million workers across this country,' said Scott, who is the ranking member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce. 'Raising the minimum wage is good for workers, good for business, and good for the economy. When we put money in the pockets of American workers, they will spend that money in their communities,' he added. The legislation, which has 142 co-sponsors in the House, would index future pay increases while phasing out the subminimum wage for tipped workers and subminimum wage for youth workers in addition to ending subminimum wage certificates for workers with disabilities. 'In the year 2025, a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it. At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, we can no longer tolerate millions of workers trying to survive on just $10 or $12 an hour,' Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, said in a release. He described current pay rates as a 'starvation wage.' 'Congress can no longer ignore the needs of the working class of this country. The time to act is now,' the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions continued. The lawmakers' proposed legislation would account for a gradual increase in the federal minimum wage over a five-year period.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oregon Rep. Suzanne Bonamici addresses dismantling of Dept. of Education, impact of DOGE cuts
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) has represented Oregon's first Congressional District since 2012. It includes most of Portland, west of the Willamette River, most of Washington County and all of Columbia, Clatsop and Tillamook counties. A member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Bonamici has rallied for workers and teachers. Further – like her fellow congresspeople at recent town halls – she has heard the frustrations of constituents about DOGE cuts and more. Rep. Bonamici joined this week's Eye on Northwest Politics to talk about the dismantling of the Department of Education, as well as how that and other DOGE cuts are causing real consequences for thousands of Oregonians. Watch the full interview in the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
