Congressional aides working on a compromise bill to renew, or reauthorize, the Higher Education Act have reached tentative agreements on several sections of the measure, but negotiations continue over some of the most contentious provisions.
Aides to members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have been meeting informally over the past several weeks to negotiate their chambers’ differences, with the hope of producing a bill that lawmakers can vote on by Memorial Day. While it remains unclear if they will reach that goal, a draft of the agreements reached so far is being circulated in Washington this week.
Among the issues that appear to be resolved: college-cost watch lists, accreditation, and campus piracy. Among the unresolved: state higher-education spending, textbooks, and a controversial 30-minute emergency-notification rule.