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We updated this website on January 5, 2022. We updated "Session Summaries," with a new summary from session three. We've added several recordings and transcripts of sessions. In "Additional Resources & Materials," we added several resources.

Did you miss a session of neg reg or are looking for a summary of any of the sessions? Find them here!

Session 1

• Searching for Common Ground: Week One of Negotiated Rulemaking (�鶹������ý/TICAS Summary)

Session 2

• Halt and Make Edits: Assessing the Second Work Period of Negotiated Rulemaking

Session 3

• One Last Time: The Affordability & Student Loans Negotiated Rulemaking Committee Wraps Up Its Work

Prison Education Subcommittee Summaries

• What Happened at Negotiated Rulemaking’s Prison Education Program Subcommittee (Session One)
• Now Negotiated Rulemaking's Prison Education Subcommittee Meetings are Over, What's Next for the Reinstatement of Pell? (Session Two)

While Congress passes laws, it is up to the Executive Branch (usually in the form of federal agencies, like the Department of Education) to implement the laws. In order to implement the law, the Department needs to resolve ambiguity or clarify the meaning around certain terms in order to make implementation possible. It does this by creating “rules,” through a process known as regulation.

While most other federal agencies are allowed to issue regulations without going through a “negotiated rulemaking” process, the Department of Education is different. The requires that the Department obtain “the advice of and recommendations from individuals and representatives of the groups involved in student financial assistance programs” before issuing regulations on federal financial aid programs (e.g. grants, loans, work-study). The Department must convene a group of stakeholders to provide input on the proposed set of issues, topics, and regulatory language the Department is considering for regulation. According to the law, these representatives, or negotiators, may include “students, legal assistance organizations that represent students, institutions of higher education, State student grant agencies,” and more. If the stakeholders and the Department negotiate and reach agreement, or consensus, on what the proposed regulatory language should look like, the Department is required to propose that language when developing its regulations. If an agreement is not reached, the Department is provided wide latitude in developing its regulations. This process is known as , or “neg-reg.”

This year's negotiated rulemaking will be unlike any other in that it will likely be held virtually due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic. Before the actual rulemaking begins, the Department will hold three days of virtual hearings to establish the rulemaking agenda and committees on June 21st, 23rd, and 24th. You can find the official notice in the federal register .

Public hearing transcripts and recordings can be found below:

• June 21, 2021 and
• June 23, 2021 and
• June 24, 2021 and
• October 26, 2021 and (90/10 comments only)
• October 27, 2021 and (90/10 comments only)

The Department invited organizations and groups that are significantly affected by the topics covered in the rulemaking to submit comments—these can be oral comments presented during the hearings or written comments submitted by July 1st. Organizations can also submit comments suggesting ED consider topics not listed in the original agenda. You can find �鶹������ý's submitted written comments here. Other comments can be found .

The Department of Education proposed rulemaking on a whopping fourteen topics, arguably the most ambitious neg reg list of possible topics to date. ED’s suggested topics in this year's negotiated rulemaking include:

1. Change of ownership and change in control of institutions of higher education under ;
2. Certificates of procedures for participation in Title IV, HEA programs under ;
3. Standards of administrative capability under ;
4. Ability to benefit under ;
5. Borrower defense to repayment under , , , and ;
6. Discharges for borrowers with a total and permanent disability under , , and ;
7. Closed school discharges under and ;
8. Discharges for false certification of student eligibility under (a)(1) and ;
9. Loan repayment plans under , , , and ;
10. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program under ;
11. Mandatory pre-dispute arbitration and prohibition of class action lawsuits provision in institutions' enrollment agreements (formerly under ) and associated counseling about such agreements under ;
12. Financial responsibility for participating institutions of higher education, under , such as events that indicate heightened financial risk;
13. Gainful employment (formerly located in ); and
14. Pell Grant eligibility for prison education programs under .

Additionally, the Department invited public input on how it could address gaps in student outcomes such as retention, completion, loan repayment, and student loan default by race, ethnicity, gender, and other key student characteristics through its regulation. These topics are just the ones the Department has suggested, but it will be listening for other topics that the public suggests in oral and written comments.

On October 4th, 2021, the Department to establish a negotiated rulemaking committee on the 90/10 rule.

The current negotiated rulemaking covers a broad set of topics. To manage the process, the Department has broken the rulemaking bodies into committees. The Department established two committees so far: one full committee with voting rights (Affordability and Student Loans Committee) and a non-voting subcommittee that will debate the content of the proposed regulations in the context of incarcerated students (Prison Education Program Subcommittee).

The subcommittee, which may include negotiators from the full committee as well as individuals not on that committee, will each make recommendations to the full committee, but only the full committee will get to vote on consensus or what the final regulatory language should look like.

This year's negotiated rulemaking will cover the following topics:

• (1) Borrower defense to repayment under , 682.411, 685.206, and 685.222;
• (2) Closed school discharges under and 682.402(d);
• (3) Discharges for borrowers with a total and permanent disability under , 682.402(c), and 685.213;
• (4) Discharges for false certification of student eligibility under and 682.402(e);
• (5) Loan repayment plans under , 682.215, 685.208, and 685.209;
• (6) Interest capitalization on Federal student loans under , 685.202, 685.209, and 685.220;
• (7) Mandatory pre-dispute arbitration and prohibition of class action lawsuits provisions in institutions’ enrollment agreements (formerly under ) and associated counseling about such arrangements under ;
• (8) Pell Grant eligibility for prison education programs under ; and
• (9) The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program under .
• (10) The 90/10 Rule under

Seven of the fourteen topics originally listed in the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee Notice will not be considered by the Affordability and Student Loans Committee. These topics and others suggested during the negotiated rulemaking public hearings and written comments may be considered by a different committee at a later negotiated rulemaking date. This additional round of negotiated rulemaking will be announced in a Federal Register Notice.

For more information about the negotiated rulemaking process as a whole, please click .

The negotiated rulemaking hearings will take place during three separate virtual sessions. These hearings are open to the public and will be open for interested parties who registered in advance to provide oral comment.

• Session 1: October 4-8, 2021; Agenda .
• Session 2: November 1-5, 2021; Agenda .
• Session 3: December 6-10, 2021; Agenda .

Session times are 10am-12pm and 1pm-4pm eastern with a public comment period from approximately 3:30-4pm.

The full committee and subcommittees will each meet during three separate sessions. Timing of all meetings is to be determined. All full committee meetings are open to the public.

Negotiated rulemaking meetings for both the full committee and the subcommittees are open to the public and will be livestreamed by the Education Department. You must register in advance to watch the rulemaking and can do so on the Department's . You can register directly for the third session . Protocols for the rulemaking can be found here.

The Department has selected negotiators for rulemaking by reviewing public nominations for negotiators. These negotiators usually are knowledgeable about the topic, represent the interests of those significantly affected by the topics proposed for rulemaking, and reflect the diversity of program participants. The Department generally selects one negotiator and one alternate negotiator. The primary negotiator participates in the negreg discussion and votes to reach consensus. The alternate negotiator does so only if the primary negotiator is absent. The subcommittee will only have primary negotiators but is nonvoting and will only present recommendations to the main committee.

The Department identified several constituencies that they would like to see represented at the negotiation table, and the full list of negotiators can be downloaded (revised list ) and will be available on the Department's . The Prison Education Program subcommittee original members are with a revised list . The constituencies represented include:

• (1) Dependent students – these are undergraduate students who are typically traditionally-aged college students. A student is a dependent student if they were required to enter both their and their parents’ information on their most recent FAFSA submission.
• (2) Independent students – these are often older or nontraditional students, such as students over the age of 24. Students who are married, have children or other dependents, or who were unaccompanied and homeless or at risk of being homeless are independent students. Independent students can be pursuing undergraduate or graduate studies. A student is an independent student if they were not required to enter their parents' information on their most recent FAFSA submission.
• Note: Students who were formerly incarcerated and participated in postsecondary education while in prison are included in the independent and dependent student categories regardless of whether they received Federal student aid, and we encourage nominations for individuals with those experiences. For both student spots, we also encourage individuals or organizations representing low-income students to apply.
• (3) Student loan borrowers. This includes but is not limited to: student loan borrowers who are currently repaying their student loans, student loan borrowers who defaulted or are currently in default, student loan borrowers who were in forbearance or are currently in the administrative (automatic) forbearance due to COVID-19, and student loan borrowers who prior to the administrative forbearance were delinquent (late) on their student loans payments.
• (4) Legal assistance organizations that represent students and/or borrowers.
• (5) U.S. military service members, veterans, or groups representing them.
• (6) State attorneys general.
• (7) State higher education executive officers, State authorizing agencies, and/or State regulators of institutions of higher education and/or loan servicers.
• (8) Individuals with disabilities or groups representing them.
• (9) Financial aid administrators at postsecondary institutions.
• (10) Two-year public institutions of higher education.
• (11) Four-year public institutions of higher education.
• (12) Private nonprofit institutions of higher education.
• (13) Proprietary institutions.
• (14) Minority-serving institutions – institutions of higher education eligible to receive Federal assistance under title III, parts A, B, and F, and title V of the HEA, which include Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, Predominantly Black Institutions, Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions, and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions.
• (15) Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) lenders and/or guaranty agencies.
• (16) Accrediting agencies.

The Department also asked for nominations for advisors. Advisors are not be members of committees nor do they participate in reaching consensus. Instead, they serve as a resource to committee members. The list of these non-voting advisors is in the downloadable link above of the full list of negotiators. In addition, that document contains information on the Prison Education Programs Subcommittee which will be held October 18-20, 2021 and November 8-10, 2021.

Session 1

• October 4th, 2021: () and ()
• October 5th, 2021: () and ()
• October 6th, 2021: () and ()
• October 7th, 2021: () and ()
• October 8th, 2021: () and ()

Subcommittee on Prison Education Session 1

• October 18, 2021: () and ()
• October 19, 2021: () and ()
• October 20, 2021: () and ()

Session 2

• November 1st, 2021: () and (Transcript currently unavailable)
• November 2nd, 2021: () and ()
• November 3rd, 2021: () and ()
• November 4th, 2021: () and ()
• November 5th, 2021: () and ()

Subcommittee on Prison Education Session 2

• November 8th, 2021: and
• November 9th, 2021: and
• November 10th, 2021: and

The Department has provided issue papers that contain background information on each topic it will consider for regulation, along with regulatory text and other resources, depending on the topic:

Total and Permanent Disability Discharge

Session One

• (Original)
• (09/30/2021)

Session Two

• (submitted by Daniel Barkowitz)

Session Three

• Total and Permanent Disability Discharge proposal (submitted by Bethany Lilly and John Whitelaw) coming soon

Closed School Discharge

Session One

• Advisor Raj Darolia's presentation to the committee on Closed School Discharges

Session Two

• (submitted by Daniel Barkowitz, Heather Perfetti, Jessica Barry, and Carol Colvin)
• (submitted by Michaela Martin and Dixie Samaniego)
• (submitted by Raj Darolia, Advisor)
• (submitted by Marjorie Dorimé-Williams, Bobby Ayala, and Rachelle Feldman)

Session Three

Interest Capitalization

Session One

Session Two

• (submitted by Raj Darolia, Advisor)

Session Three

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Session One

• and associated

Session Two

• (submitted by Heather Jarvis)
• (submitted by Bobby Ayala)
• PSLF suggestions (submitted by Marjorie Dorimé-Williams) coming soon
• (submitted by Jeri O'Bryan-Lossee)

Session Three

• (submitted by advisor Heather Jarvis on behalf of non-federal negotiators)
• (submitted by Michaela Martin)
• (submitted by Joe Sanders and Eric Apar)
• (submitted my advisor Heather Jarvis)
• (submitted by advisor Heather Jarvis)
• (submitted by advisor Heather Jarvis)

Borrower Defense to Repayment

Session One

Session Two

• (submitted by Joe Sanders and Eric Apar)

Session Three

• (submitted by Persis Yu and Joshua Rovenger)
• (submitted by Justin Hauschild and Emily DeVito)
• (submitted by Persis Yu and Joshua Rovenger)
• (submitted by Joe Sanders)

Predispute Arbitration and Class Action Waivers

Session One

Session Two

Session Three

Income-Driven Repayment

Session One

• (supplied by Rajeev Darolia, Advisor)
• (supplied by Rajeev Darolia, Advisor)
• (submitted by multiple negotiators)
• (supplied by Rajeev Darolia, Advisor)

Session Two

• (submitted by Persis Yu and Joshua Rovenger)
• (submitted by Persis Yu and Joshua Rovenger)
• (submitted by Persis Yu and Joshua Rovenger)
• (submitted by Persis Yu and Joshua Rovenger)
• (submitted by Raj Darolia, Advisor)
• (submitted by Raj Darolia, Advisor)
• (submitted by Raj Darolia, Advisor)
• (submitted by Raj Darolia, Advisor)
• (submitted by Persis Yu)

Session Three

• (submitted by Persis Yu and Joshua Rovenger)
• (submitted by Persis Yu and Joshua Rovenger)
• (Submitted by Jaye O'Connell and Will Shaffner)

False Certification Discharge

Session One

Session Two

Session Three

• (submitted by Justin Hauschild and Emily DeVito)
• False Certification Proposals: Disqualifying Status and Group Process (submitted by Persis Yu and Joshua Rovenger) coming soon

Pell Grants for Prison Education Programs

Session One

• (supplied by Dr. McTier)
• (supplied by Dr. McTier)

Session Two

• (submitted from the subcommittee on Prison Education Programs)
• (submitted by Belinda Wheeler)
• (submitted by Belinda Wheeler)
• PEP Amendatory Text v. 2.0 coming soon
• Pell Lifetime Eligibility Examples coming soon
• PEP Suggested Text additions (submitted by Kim Carey) coming soon
• Waiver Amendatory Language (submitted by Belinda Wheeler) coming soon
• PEP Amendatory Language Additions (submitted by Belinda Wheeler) coming soon
• Updated PEP Amendatory Language Additions (submitted by Stan Andrisse) coming soon
• (submitted by Belinda Wheeler)

Session Three

• (Submitted by Terrell Bount)

Public Comments

Check out �鶹������ý's comments to the Education Department related to this rulemaking , and all public comments .

Total and Permanent Disability Discharge

Closed School Discharge

Interest Capitalization

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Borrower Defense to Repayment

Predispute Arbitration and Class Action Waivers

Income-Driven Repayment

�鶹������ý/TICAS blos: Income-Driven Repayment and Negotiated Rulemaking

False Certification Discharge

Pell Grants for Prison Education Programs

�鶹������ý: Equipping Individuals for Life Beyond Bars

�鶹������ý: How Would a 5-Year Restriction on Pell Eligibility Impact Incarcerated Students if the Pell Ban is Lifted?

Please follow the conversation using #NegReg. Follow our negotiated rulemaking official account , and , , , , and for further commentary.