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| By Michael Stratford |
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With help from Mackenzie Wilkes BIDEN TOUTS STUDENT DEBT RELIEF IN SOUTH CAROLINA: President Joe Biden pitched his record on student debt as a “promise kept” to Black voters in South Carolina over the weekend ahead of the state’s first sanctioned Democratic primary this week.
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 President Joe Biden, right, greets patrons and staff at the Regal Lounge barber shop and spa in Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday. Jacquelyn Martin | AP |
— Student debt was among a litany of other economic advances and policies that Biden highlighted Saturday in his “amped-up message to Black voters, a key part of the state’s Democratic coalition and a constituency vital to Biden’s success in November,” as POLITICO’s Eugene Daniels and Myah Ward report. — Biden’s comments in South Carolina also reflect a concerted effort by the president’s reelection campaign to frame his work on student debt relief as a major accomplishment rather than a major disappointment to Democratic voters. — “I promised to help ease accumulated student debt for millions of folks carrying during the crisis of the pandemic,” Biden said Saturday. “The Supreme Court blocked me, but it didn’t stop me.” — Biden touted the more than $130 billion of student debt that his Education Department has approved for discharge for more than 3.7 million borrowers. He also underscored funding that his administration secured to help Historically Black Colleges and Universities. — Biden also claimed that his student debt relief was “causing the economy to grow faster.” And he said to expect next month that another 25,000 borrowers would be notified — with a letter from him — that they’ll have their loans canceled. The Education Department has previously announced that it’ll continue wiping out debt for borrowers with longstanding debts, including those working in public jobs, over the next few months. — “I’m not done,” Biden said. “Promises made and promises kept.” IT’S MONDAY, JAN. 29. WELCOME TO MORNING EDUCATION. Please send tips and feedback to the POLITICO education team: Michael Stratford (mstratford@politico.com), Mackenzie Wilkes (mwilkes@politico.com), Juan Perez Jr. (jperez@politico.com) and Bianca Quilantan (bquilantan@politico.com). Follow us: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro.
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| A message from Sallie Mae®: Many financial aid offer letters leave students and families confused about the total cost of their higher education and often borrowing more than necessary. Offer letters should include all college costs so families can make more informed financial decisions. Learn how Sallie Mae helps families responsibly plan and pay for higher education. |
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MEANWHILE, IN SOUTH CAROLINA, ON THE GOP SIDE: Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is looking to her home state as she tries to catch up to GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, who handily won contests in Iowa and New Hampshire this month. Haley said over the weekend that she’s committed to staying in the race until Super Tuesday.
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 Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign stop at the Franklin VFW in Franklin, New Hampshire, on Jan. 22, 2024. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO |
Education issues haven’t been a major part of her pitch in recent weeks, but here’s a refresher about what she’s said so far during the campaign and her record as governor: — “There’s a lot of crazy woke things happening in schools — but we’ve got to get these kids reading,” Haley said at the first Republican debate last fall. As a candidate, Haley has pressed many of the same education culture war issues as other Republican contenders, targeting school lessons on race and sexuality, for example. — Hayley has called for drastically reducing the size of the Education Department by sending federal funding to states through block grants. And she’s said she wants to boost school choice policies and increase transparency in schools so parents know what’s being taught. — Haley has opposed allowing transgender women and girls to play on school and college sports teams that match their gender identity. She last year called the controversy over transgender students’ participation in school sports the “women’s issue of our time.” — As governor, Haley opposed an effort in her state that would have required transgender students to use only the school bathrooms that match the gender on their birth certificate. Haley was also a prominent critic of Common Core and signed legislation to rescind the standards in the state. — On higher education, Haley has criticized the Biden administration’s efforts to cancel student debt. She’s also served on the board of trustees at Clemson University since 2021 and her family has donated to the university, according to financial disclosures.
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THIS WEEK — HOUSE SCRUTINIZES COVID SCHOOL CLOSURES: A House oversight panel this week plans to take a look at the effect of Covid-era school closures on the nation’s K-12 students. The Tuesday hearing by the health subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee will “examine the long-lasting impacts of pandemic-era school closures, current issues in K-12 education, and strategies for state and local school districts to help students get back on track.” Ginny Gentles of the Independent Women’s Forum and Nat Malkus of the American Enterprise Institute are set to testify. MORE MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS: Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) today are rolling out bipartisan legislation to expand the number of mental health professionals in schools. — The legislation would authorize grants to school districts and states to hire, recruit and train mental health professionals for schools. The bill specifically targets the grants to high-need school districts with large ratios of students to school counselors and other mental health professionals. — “It is time to maintain the momentum we have made in our efforts to ensure every child goes to a school with a qualified mental health professional in the building,” DeLauro said in a statement. —The grants would build on the more than $570 million of funding that Congress approved as part of the 2022 bipartisan gun safety law.
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| A message from Sallie Mae®:   |
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SCOTUS IS ASKED TO HALT USE OF RACE IN WEST POINT ADMISSIONS: Students for Fair Admissions is urging the Supreme Court to quickly intervene in the anti-affirmative action group's case challenging West Point’s use of race in admissions, Bianca Quilantan reports. — The group on Friday filed an emergency petition to overturn a lower court decision that temporarily allowed the United States military academy to use race in admissions while a challenge against the practice proceeds. — "It is our hope that the Supreme Court will forbid West Point from using racial classifications and preferences in their admissions process for their incoming class going forward from today,” SFFA President Edward Blum said in a statement. “These practices are antithetical to our nation's military institutions and mission." — Moving quickly: Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who oversees emergency requests from the 2nd Circuit, has asked the Biden administration to respond by the end of the day Tuesday. — Sotomayor has been a strong proponent of upholding the use of race in admissions and dissented in SFFA’s case against Harvard University’s race-conscious admissions policies. “By ending race-conscious college admissions, this Court closes the door of opportunity that the Court’s precedents helped open to young students of every race,” she wrote last summer.
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TOP APPROPRIATORS STRIKE KEY DEAL TO UNLOCK FUNDING PLANS: Congressional negotiators over the weekend reached a key deal needed to allow appropriators to hammer out government spending under a bipartisan framework ahead of major fiscal deadlines — including for education funding — in the coming weeks. — The lawmakers have reached a deal on the total funding levels for a dozen individual spending bills, POLITICO’s Caitlin Emma reports, a move that clears a critical hurdle toward a funding agreement that would avert a shutdown of some agencies in less than five weeks. — Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas) reached the deal late Friday night, two sources familiar with talks told Caitlin. Both sides aren’t releasing the numbers for the 12 funding bills, which will provide federal agencies with updated budgets for the current fiscal year. —The latest deal follows the announcement of a government funding framework earlier this month by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Appropriators have been anxious to get their hands on the total figures, acknowledging that time is short to finalize a government funding accord that will top $1.7 trillion. — Clock is ticking: Government funding for some agencies expires March 1. Funding for the rest of the government, including education programs, runs out on March 8.
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| — U.S. student loan restart sees borrowers spending less, adding more debt: Bloomberg. — What’s driving a special education teacher shortage and how schools are responding: PBS. — Ocasio-Cortez says Democrats can "do more" to tout accomplishments, including on student debt: The Hill. — Utah joins list of states to pass a bill banning diversity programs on campus: The Associated Press.
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| A message from Sallie Mae®: There’s currently no standard format for financial aid offer letters, making it difficult for students to compare offers from schools and differentiate free money like scholarships and grants from loans. When students and families understand the total cost of higher education, they’re better prepared to make informed financing decisions. Learn how creating simple, standardized financial aid offer letters can help students and families responsibly plan and pay for college. |
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