8/6/2020 'How many schools can you protect for this amount of dollars ... ?'

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N E W S L E T T E R 'How many schools can you protect for this amount of dollars ... ?'

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With help from Michael Stratford and Bianca Quilantan

QUICK FIX

— "How many schools can you protect for this amount of dollars ... ?" That's a top question congressional Democrats are asking as they size up Republican offers for the economic stimulus the two parties are now negotiating, according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Deal-making talks continue now, after Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spent a “good deal of time” during this week's initial back-and-forth with Treasury Secretary and White House chief of staff discussing reopening schools.

— Higher education groups are lobbying Congress to expand a range of coronavirus pandemic tax relief to colleges and universities in the next stimulus package.

— Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan took official action to block a local health directive that would have kept non-public schools in Montgomery County — including the one President ’s son Barron attends — closed for in-person instruction through Oct. 1.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Should private schools be allowed to physically reopen in areas where officials have kept public schools closed because of the coronavirus? Let us know, and we may publish your responses next week.

https://subscriber.politicopro.com/newsletter/2020/08/how-many-schools-can-you-protect-for-this-amount-of-dollars-789620 1/6 8/6/2020 'How many schools can you protect for this amount of dollars ... ?' IT’S TUESDAY, AUG. 4. WELCOME TO MORNING EDUCATION. Got news to share? Please send tips to your host at ngaudiano@.com or to my colleagues, Juan Perez Jr. at [email protected], Michael Stratford at [email protected] and Bianca Quilantan at [email protected]. Share event listings: [email protected]. And follow us on : @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro.

DRIVING THE DAY

NO DEAL IMMINENT: While stimulus negotiators are now discussing top line numbers, including funding to reopen schools, a final compromise might not come anytime soon, POLITICO’s John Bresnahan and Marianne LeVine report. The negotiations could drag into mid-August, Democrats warn.

— The Senate GOP bill, S. 4320 (116), calls for $105 billion to help schools and colleges reopen, but Democrats say that’s not enough. “This is the greatest problem we have faced in 100 years on the health front, the greatest problem we’ve faced in 75 years on the economic front and we think we need a much fuller, stronger response by the federal government to get out of this mess,” Schumer said.

— Senate GOP leaders and Trump administration officials are looking for ways to ramp up political pressure on Democrats as the negotiations stall. The White House has floated options for President Donald Trump to skirt Congress and take executive action on some of the policy issues that are being discussed. One idea? Extending the moratorium on federal payments that’s set to expire Sept. 30 — a possibility Trump raised last week.

HIGHER EDUCATION

COLLEGES SEEK TAX BREAKS: Higher education groups, led by the American Council on Education, are urging leaders of the congressional tax-writing committees to expand eligibility for existing coronavirus-related tax breaks lawmakers created earlier this year.

— They want public and private colleges to be eligible for the tax credits for employers that provide paid sick and family leave — which some colleges are now required to offer, creating what the groups called “a massive unfunded mandate.”

— In addition, the groups are calling on Congress to allow public colleges to access a payroll tax credit for employers that was included in the CARES Act, H.R. 748 (116). The benefit — meant to help employers whose operations were suspended because of coronavirus lockdowns — is currently available only to private colleges.

— Colleges also want to be included in the new payroll tax credit Senate Republicans proposed in their stimulus plan, S. 4318 (116), last month. The tax https://subscriber.politicopro.com/newsletter/2020/08/how-many-schools-can-you-protect-for-this-amount-of-dollars-789620 2/6 8/6/2020 'How many schools can you protect for this amount of dollars ... ?' break is aimed at helping employers defray the cost of reopening their workplaces, such as buying PPE and cleaning supplies. The higher education groups praised the plan as “smart tax policy” but criticized it for “expressly and inexplicably excluding public colleges and universities from utilizing it.” All colleges should be able to benefit from the tax break if Congress moves forward with it, the groups said.

IN THE STATES

HOGAN BLOCKS SCHOOL CLOSURE ORDER: The GOP governor on Monday made official his objections to the Montgomery County order for non-public schools by issuing an amended emergency order that ensures “local schools and school systems retain the primary authority to determine when to safely reopen their facilities,” he tweeted.

— “Private and parochial schools deserve the same opportunity and flexibility to make reopening decisions based on public health guidelines,” Hogan said in a statement.“The blanket closure mandate imposed by Montgomery County was overly broad and inconsistent with the powers intended to be delegated to the county health officer.”

— The county order would have affected Barron Trump’s school, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, which has been planning for distance learning or a hybrid model. The school plans to decide next week “about how to best begin the school year,” according to its website.

— Hogan’s intervention came as Trump continues to push for in-person learning, tweeting on Monday to “Open the Schools!” Hogan, in his statement, said “Maryland’s recovery continues to be based on a flexible, community-based approach that follows science, not politics. As long as schools develop safe and detailed plans that follow CDC and state guidelines, they should be empowered to do what’s best for their community.”

PATH TO OPENING IN GOLDEN STATE: California elementary schools that want to open for in-person learning must consult with parents, labor unions and others on campus and demonstrate their plans for contact-tracing and other public health measures that have been widely implemented in summer camps and child care settings, according to new guidelines released Monday night. Read more from our California team.

MASKS ORDERED IN NEW JERSEY SCHOOLS: Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy maintains that schools will reopen for in-person instruction in the fall, announcing on Monday that all students will be required to wear masks in school buildings, Carly Sitrin reports.

— Murphy said the state Department of Education has updated its reopening guidance document to require face coverings “for all students at all times while inside a school building regardless of social distancing,” unless doing so would inhibit the individual’s health. The updated guidance also includes exceptions for students with disabilities. https://subscriber.politicopro.com/newsletter/2020/08/how-many-schools-can-you-protect-for-this-amount-of-dollars-789620 3/6 8/6/2020 'How many schools can you protect for this amount of dollars ... ?' MORE ON MASKS: The Florida Department of Revenue on Monday said cloth and surgical face masks qualify as exempt items during the 2020 Back-to-school Sales Tax Holiday this weekend. Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama extended a state order requiring face coverings in public through Aug. 31 and expanded it to include students in second grade and above, in an attempt to slow the spread of Covid-19 as schools reopen, the reported.

K-12

MORE CALLS FOR TESTING: The Chiefs for Change board of Directors, on behalf of its members on Monday, argued that it’s “unacceptable for state leaders to call for a wholesale suspension of all state-required tests without offering an alternative vision that assures the rights of all children to learn, even amidst a pandemic.”

— The chiefs called for a “practical but principled approach” to testing, which they say is “more important now than ever before, even if traditional state tests and accountability systems may not be feasible.” They issued recommendations for congressional and state leaders, as well as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, which include continuing to administer the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or the Nation’s Report Card.

WHAT K-12 PARENTS WANT: If remote education continues, most want to see an increase in the time their kids spend receiving live instruction online (56 percent) and the amount of feedback students receive (54 percent), according to a survey released Monday by the University of Southern California.

— The survey of 1,400 U.S. residents with preschool through 12th grade children also found that 74 percent support or strongly support schools offering both remote and in- person instruction, while 43 percent thought schools should stay physically closed for the entire 2020-21 school year.

ON THE CALENDAR

— 12 p.m.: The Alliance for Health Policy holds a webinar on "The Immediate and Lasting Impacts of COVID-19 on Children."

— 1 p.m.: The Madison Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies holds a webinar with DeVos on the Education Department's Title IX regulation. The event is closed to the press.

— 3 p.m.: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute holds a webinar on "Learning in Uncertain Times: How School Leaders are Meeting Students' Academic, Social and Emotional Needs."

https://subscriber.politicopro.com/newsletter/2020/08/how-many-schools-can-you-protect-for-this-amount-of-dollars-789620 4/6 8/6/2020 'How many schools can you protect for this amount of dollars ... ?'

SYLLABUS

— How '' ended up on NBA jerseys: Education Week

— Opinion: Why saving Catholic schools from Covid’s impact is a national imperative: Forbes

— Unity College to explore selling main campus in moving to ‘hybrid’ model: CentralMaine.com

— 5 big takeaways from the POLITICO schools briefing: POLITICO Pro

— Michigan State tells students: Stay home for fall if you can:

A U T H O R S

Nicole Gaudiano [email protected] | @ngaudiano

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