On June 20, 2007, the U.S. Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) unanimously passed S. 1642, the Higher Education Amendments of 2007. This legislation provides the foundation for the federal government's investment in post-secondary study. The law addresses a wide range of important education policy areas including pre-service teacher education; aid to institutions; federal grant programs; support services for first generation college students; graduate education; and international education to name a few. Over the past two Congresses, Education Government Relations Office (GRO) staff has advocated for a number of changes to the Higher Education Act. These amendments to the Higher Education Act seek to better integrate psychology and psychological research into teaching and learning, as well as expand opportunities for psychology education and training. APA's recommended definition for "teaching skills" is included in S. 1642 and departments of psychology are included as optional partners under Title II - Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants. To date, the House Education and Labor Committee has not yet considered its Higher Education Act reauthorization bill. Action is expected by the end of this year, or early next year.

On a related note, the Senate passed an amendment by Sen. Brown (D-OH) that calls on the Department of Education to update a 2002 Secret Service document entitled, "Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates" to address the recommendations from "A Report to the President On Issues Raised by the Virginia Tech Tragedy." In addition, it directs the Department to include information about the need to provide schools guidance about what can be shared legally under the regulations for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

In early September, Congress passed the "College Cost Reduction Act of 2007." On September 27th, the President signed this important legislation. This law amended many Title IV (Student Assistance) federal higher education programs as part of the budget reconciliation. It includes an expanded loan forgiveness program for people working in public service and provides opportunities for psychologists to have their loans forgiven after 10 years of services in certain public service careers. Further, the law made changes to the student loan programs to provide more favorable interest rates to students - a benefit to psychology graduate students.

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