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| By Bianca Quilantan |
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 ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MAY 19: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the Morehouse College Commencement as a faculty member stands and faces away from the stage in protest of the Israel-Hamas war on May 19, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. President Biden is appearing at the school during a time when pro-Palestinian demonstrations are still occurring on campuses across the country to protest Israel's war in Gaza. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) | Getty Images |
WHAT BIDEN SAID ON SUNDAY — President Joe Biden delivered his commencement address at Morehouse College on Sunday without any significant disruptions, despite weeks of antiwar protests on college campuses. — But the war in Gaza still played a significant role at the commencement. Morehouse Valedictorian DeAngelo Fletcher ended his speech by calling for an “immediate and a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” and said the class of 2024 should “utilize any platform provided to stand in solidarity with peace and justice.” Morehouse President David Thomas’ introduction of Biden added that there is “much debate in the news about U.S. foreign relations.” And some students in the crowd silently protested Biden's speech by turning their backs to him. They also made noise or walked out when Biden was presented with an honorary degree. Even Biden himself spent more time talking about Gaza than his student debt relief wins. — Some protest was expected. And Biden responded by saying: “I support peaceful, nonviolent protest. Your voices should be heard. I promise you, I hear them.” The president decried the “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza and said what is happening there and in Israel is “heartbreaking.” He also said he is pushing for “an immediate ceasefire to stop the fighting and bring the hostages home.” — The president spent about two to three minutes addressing the war in Gaza, but mentioned student debt for less than a minute. “I'm relieving the burden of student debt,” he said. “Many of you have already had the benefit of it so you can chase your dream … When the Supreme Court told me I couldn't, I found two other ways to do it. And we were able to do it because it grows the economy.” — He also dedicated much of his speech to talking about threats to democracy and the challenges facing Black Americans and institutions like historically Black colleges and universities. Biden said extremists “close the doors of opportunity," pointing to the crackdown on affirmative action and diversity equality and inclusion. He acknowledged Morehouse's history which includes the work of Martin Luther King Jr., one of the school's most well-known graduates. Biden also touted his administration’s efforts to secure $16 billion for HBCUs, which have long been pushing the federal government for more cash to upgrade their aging campuses. “It is very clear that those investments are not charity, but represent a clear view of the value and excellence that is embodied in these institutions,” Thomas said in his introduction of Biden. IT’S MONDAY, MAY 20. WELCOME TO WEEKLY EDUCATION. WHAT SHOULD WE BE LOOKING OUT FOR THIS WEEK? Drop me a line at bquilantan@politico.com. Send tips to my colleagues Mackenzie Wilkes at mwilkes@politico.com and Juan Perez Jr. at jperez@politico.com. And follow us: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro.
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| A message from Sallie Mae®: One in four current undergraduate students say they are at-risk of not completing college, according to Sallie Mae’s How America Completes College 2024 report. Learn more about the barriers to college completion. |
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About 55 House Democrats, led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley, are urging the Biden administration to swiftly and effectively implement its new student loan debt relief plan. | Francis Chung/POLITICO |
LAWMAKERS RESPOND TO BIDEN’S NEW STUDENT DEBT RULE — In April, the Education Department published a rule that would codify Biden’s latest attempt to address student loan debt. It seeks to forgive unpaid interest for some 25 million Americans who now owe more on their loans than they originally borrowed. The rule also could help millions of borrowers who’ve carried their debts for decades and those who would have qualified for existing federal programs, but failed to enroll in them. Here’s what lawmakers on Capitol Hill have to say about it: — More than 50 House Democrats, led by Reps. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Jim Clyburn (S.C.) and Frederica Wilson (Fla.), strongly supported the rule. But they also demanded the administration release its proposal on addressing borrowers experiencing hardship. Administration officials in April said a separate draft rule would be released in the coming months. It is expected to include proposals to grant automatic forgiveness of loans for borrowers at a high risk of default and those who “show hardship due to other indicators,” like high medical and caregiving expenses. — The group of lawmakers are also calling on the Education Department to provide automatic “runaway interest relief for as many borrowers as possible,” “relief to borrowers with loans older than 20 years on a rolling basis,” and “relief to borrowers who have fallen victim to servicing failures and abuses.” — “The unjust decision by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court to strike down President Biden’s original debt relief plan has forced millions of Americans to wait for much-needed relief,” the lawmakers wrote. “The proposed NPRM marks a long-awaited opportunity to alleviate the burden of student debt for millions of borrowers and provide much-needed economic breathing room for working families.” — Meanwhile, lawmakers across the aisle are saying the complete opposite. About 130 House and Senate Republicans, led by Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.), demanded the administration withdraw the rule, calling it “illegal.”
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 Rep. Virginia Foxx has been demanding the Biden administration scrap its student debt relief efforts. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP |
— “The administration continues to use borrowers as political pawns knowing full well these proposed actions are illegal,” the lawmakers wrote. “The Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that there is zero authority to write-off federal student loans en masse last June when the Department’s ‘Plan A’ was ruled unconstitutional.” — The Republican lawmakers also slammed the administration for dedicating resources to draft the proposed rule while the Education Department “simultaneously failed” to smoothly launch the new streamlined Free Application for Federal Student Aid. “Failure to make the FAFSA available to these prospective students on time will have life-long consequences for many young Americans,” they wrote. — What’s next: The rule drew more than 92,000 comments ahead of the comment deadline, and the Biden administration has said it is aiming to finalize the rule by the Fall.
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PARENTS, CAREGIVERS BUCK BIDEN’S HEAD START RULE — Hundreds of parents and caregivers last week expressed concern about how the Biden administration’s new Head Start rule could affect the future of the federal program for preschool children from low-income families. In an open letter organized by the National Head Start Association, the signers took issue with the rule’s mandates to boost pay for Head Start workers without the funding to back it. They are concerned about the potential strain it could have on some Head Start programs. — "While we believe the proposed rule is well intentioned,” the group wrote, “we respectfully do not agree with the Administration trying to issue pay requirements without providing the additional money needed by our programs to be able to make these critical changes.” — They expressed concern with the salary rules, arguing that Head Start programs could be forced to reduce the number of children they enroll. The group also pushed back on additional reporting requirements that they said would be a “distraction from what is really going on in a classroom or center.”
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| A message from Sallie Mae®:   |
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CARDONA HEADS TO ALLENTOWN — Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is scheduled to meet with student loan borrowers in Allentown, Pennsylvania, who have been approved for student debt relief through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness, income-driven repayment, Saving On A Valuable Education and Total and Permanent Disability programs. The secretary will participate in a roundtable to highlight the programs. And the visit is part of the administration’s push to show what it has done to address student loan debt, a key Biden campaign promise, ahead of the November election.
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| — 70 years later, 1 in 3 Black people say integration didn’t help Black students: The Washington Post — These teens were missing too much school. Here's what it took to get them back.: NPR — As summer arrives and universities strike deals with students, campus protests taper off: USA Today — Protesters agreed to leave. This is what some colleges promised in return.: The New York Times — Segregation academies still operate across the South. One town grapples with its divided schools.: ProPublica
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| A message from Sallie Mae®: Completing college can be especially challenging for first-generation college students. While 88% of those first-in-their family to attend college agree it is an investment in their future, they are also twice as likely to have seriously considered leaving college compared to students from families with college experience. Learn why in Sallie Mae’s How America Completes College 2024 report. |
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