Good morning MACRAO membership-
The Government Relations Committee wanted to provide you the latest legislative update.
MISSOURI LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
There has not been much higher education related movement in the Missouri legislature so far this session. Senate Bill 69 (described below) did move to Senate Education Committee hearing on February 18.
SB 69 (https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=423)
Sponsor: Mike Henderson (R)
Synopsis: Modifies the “Higher Education Core Curriculum Transfer Act.” Would require the transition of Core 42 to a 60-credit hour program that must be in place by June 30, 2027 for the 2028-2029 academic year. Would require 60 transferable, lower-division credits to receive academic credit towards their specific degree program and the student shall not be required to take additional core curriculum courses at the receiving institution for the same degree program. The five proposed areas are a) general business, b) elementary education and teaching, c) general psychology, d) registered nursing, and 3) general biology or biological science, or both.
Status: Prefiled
FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
On Friday, February 14, 2025, the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a Dear Colleague letter. The purpose of this letter was to explain the OCR’s view that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) related practices contribute to racial discrimination. As such, they have given institutions 14 days to take appropriate measures to ensure compliance or risk the loss of ability to receive federal funding. Examples provided of programs that could be out of compliance would be using “personal essays, writing samples, participation in extracurriculars, or other cues” as a method of determining/predicting race or “eliminate standardized testing to achieve desired racial balance or to increase racial diversity.” The letter goes on to provide examples of race cannot be taken into consideration for items such as “admission, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.” A link to the Dear Colleague letter is provided below along with a related Inside Higher Ed article related to this letter.
US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Dear Colleague Letter:
https://www.ed.gov/media/document/dear-colleague-letter-sffa-v-harvard-109506.pdf
Inside Higher Ed: ED Department: DEI Violates Civil Rights Law:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/diversity/race-ethnicity/2025/02/15/trump-admin-threatens-rescind-federal-funds-over-dei?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=4c09993f89-DNU_2021_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-4c09993f89-236709166&mc_cid=4c09993f89&mc_eid=5a3a566a01
An additional topic that is being discussed nationally is higher education’s responsibility as it relates to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) . Below are some information items provided by the President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration and the Higher Ed Immigration Portal related to this.
Presidents Alliance: https://www.presidentsalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/FAQs-ICE-Enforcement-on-Campuses-Feb-2025.pdf
NOTE: Question 8 is likely to be the primary interest for MACRAO membership, which relates to release of records.
Higher Ed Immigration Portal: https://www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Guidance-for-Higher-Education-on-Immigrant-Student-Privacy-and-FERPA-2.pdf
Additionally, there are links to several other topics that have been published since our last post that may be of interest to the membership.
Inside Higher Ed: Ed Department Mulls Replacing FAFSA Call Centers with AI:
Inside Higher Ed: OCR Halts Investigations, Switches Focus to Trump Priorities:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/02/17/ocr-halts-investigations-switches-focus-trump-priorities?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=4c09993f89-DNU_2021_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-4c09993f89-236709166&mc_cid=4c09993f89&mc_eid=5a3a566a01
Inside Higher Ed: Education Department Granted Stay on Gainful Employment Lawsuit:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/02/11/ed-department-granted-stay-gainful-employment-lawsuit
US Department of Education Announces Extension of Financial Value Transparency (FVT) and Gainful Employment (GE) Reporting to September 30, 2025:
https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2025-02-14/extension-completers-list-and-reporting-processes-financial-value-transparency-and-gainful-employment-until-september-30-2025
Reuters: Trump seeks executive order, cooperation with Congress to shut Education Department:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-would-like-close-dept-education-with-executive-action-2025-02-04/
We will continue to provide you updates as the legislative season progresses.
MACRAO Government Relations Committee
[email protected]
