Final Title IX rule from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is expected to set off a fight on Capitol Hill, and one of the casualties could be reauthorizing the Higher Education Act.
Any deal to update the law governing federal student aid would have to overcome concerns about the highly charged new rule U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is about to release on what colleges are required do about allegations of sexual assault or harassment on campuses.
‘That was the message from an aide to Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate education committee, who said the Title IX rule would be a stumbling block toward reauthorizing the Higher Education Act.
“Senator Murray is a vocal opponent of Secretary DeVos’ efforts to roll back Title IX protections for students and has made clear from the start of negotiations that any reauthorization of our country’s higher education laws must address the four key challenges of affordability, accountability, accessibility and campus safety,” the aide to the Washington Democrat said Friday in a statement. “So the question is how much Senate Republicans will be willing to work with her in a serious way to protect students.”