Issue Position: The Higher Education Reform and Opportunity Act

Issue Position

Washington should be opening up new avenues of opportunity that make education more affordable and accessible, without driving students or taxpayers deeper into debt. The HERO Act would not only lower the cost of higher education, but also make it easier for students to customize their own educational experience and gain the specific skills they need to compete in today's economy. It would make higher education available to many non-traditional students, such as single parents, and open doors for those seeking alternatives to the traditional four-year college. The HERO Act would enable every good teacher to teach and every willing student to learn.
*Authorizes states to develop alternative higher education accreditation systems, including for apprenticeships, job training programs, and even individual courses
*Allows institutions under these new systems to be eligible for Title IV funding (federal student loan dollars).
*Does not alter the current accreditation system in any way
*Spurs innovation, competition and experimentation in higher education
*Drives down costs and lowers barriers to the middle class
(Source: Senator Mike Lee's website)
Head Start Improvement Act (S. 2119)
Rethinking early education to meet the needs of the next generation
We need to create new partnerships between the states and the federal government that help facilitate early education, serve the interests of parents and young children, and produce better results. The Head Start Improvement Act promotes greater efficiency, flexibility and accountability among the states.
*Block grants Head Start's $8.6 billion budget to the states
*Reduces federal regulations
*Offers states and parents flexibility to tailor programs specifically designed to help the children who need it most

A-PLUS Act (S. 1210)
The Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success (A-PLUS) Act would reduce the heavy burdens on state and local education agencies that make it difficult for administrators to reform and improve their education programs. It ensures greater public scrutiny of the use of federal K-12 funds and allows parents to better evaluate student achievement.
*Under A-PLUS, states would be allowed to obtain federal Elementary and Secondary EducationAct (ESEA)/No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education funding in the form of block grants.
*States would submit a "declaration of intent" to the U.S. Department of Education to consolidate federal education programs and funding and redirect resources toward state-directed education reform initiatives.
*The terms of the "declaration of intent" apply for five years, and require assurances that states will continue to abide by Federal civil rights laws in advancing educational opportunities for all students.
*States would also be required to disseminate annual reports to the public and parents regarding student achievement data and fiscal accountability.

Source