We Did it: Student athletes sue NCAA over image, name and likeness policy — Harvard temporarily goes test-optional — Education Department reviews SCOTUS ruling

Jun 16, 2020

With help from Juan Perez Jr. and Nicole Gaudiano

Programming announcement: This 10 a.m. version of Morning Education will end daily publication on July 10 and move to a week-ahead style newsletter that publishes on Monday mornings. For information on how you can continue to receive daily policy content, as well as information for current POLITICO Pro subscribers, please visit our website.

Quick Fix

— Student-athletes are suing the NCAA and the Power Five conferences to end their ban on allowing athletes to be compensated for their image, name and likeness. Despite pressure from states, student athletes and Congress, the NCAA has yet to finalize its expected new policy on the issue.

— Harvard University announced it will temporarily go standardized test-optional for fall 2021 applicants. It's the latest college to join a growing list of institutions reevaluating their use of the SAT and ACT in admissions decisions.

— The Supreme Court's decision in an LGBTQ workplace rights case could change how the Education Department interprets Title IX, especially as it concerns transgender students. The department is reviewing the ruling.

Get the free POLITICO news app for the critical updates you need. Breaking news, analysis, videos, and podcasts, right at your fingertips. Download for iOS and Android.

IT'S TUESDAY, JUNE 16. WELCOME TO MORNING EDUCATION. WHAT DOES YOUR INSTITUTION NEED TO SUCCESSFULLY REOPEN THIS FALL? Ping me at bquilantan@politico.com with your answer. Send tips to your host or to my colleagues, Juan Perez Jr. at jperez@politico.com, Michael Stratford at mstratford@politico.com and Nicole Gaudiano at ngaudiano@politico.com. Share event listings: educalendar@politicopro.com. Share event listings: educalendar@politicopro.com. And follow us on Twitter: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro.

Driving the Day

ATHLETES SUE NCAA: Current and former NCAA athletes filed a class-action lawsuit Monday seeking an injunction to stop the NCAA's policy prohibiting student-athletes from receiving benefits for the use of their name, image and likeness. They also want damages "based on payments college athletes would have received if not for the NCAA's restraints."

The NCAA headquarters | AP Photo

The NCAA headquarters. | AP Photo/Darron Cummings

— The lawsuit, filed in the district court for the Northern District of California, was filed on behalf of Grant House, a member of Arizona State University's men's swimming and diving team, and Sedona Prince, who is on the University of Oregon women's basketball team.

— They are accusing the NCAA, the Pacific-12 Conference, the Big Ten Conference, the Big Twelve Conference, Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference of illegally limiting the compensation that Division I college athletes may receive for the use of their names, images and likenesses. The lawsuit also charges that the NCAA violated federal antitrust laws.

— "The college sports industry has been immensely profitable for every party involved except the players themselves — the very ones who make the business of college sports possible and fill seats and build cult followings of fans," said Steve Berman, the attorney representing the students.

HARVARD TEMPORARILY DITCHES STANDARDIZED TESTING REQUIREMENT: Students looking to attend Harvard in fall 2021 will "not be disadvantaged" by choosing not to send in their SAT or ACT scores, the university announced Monday night. Harvard cited difficulty in scheduling tests due to the coronavirus as the main reason for the temporary change.

— Harvard's decision follows moves by other colleges to go test-optional. Your host reported last month that colleges were dropping their requirements for the ACT and SAT, fueling a movement to eliminate the high-stakes tests from admissions decisions altogether.

— The University of California's decision to phase out the exams entirely by 2025 is the biggest example. The pandemic's upheaval of the traditional admissions calendar has forced universities to reevaluate their admissions criteria, and more could follow suit.

— The College Board, which administers the SAT, and ACT have said millions of students have expressed that they still want to take the exams, but their capacities have been constrained by social distancing guidelines and space-limited testing centers.

SCHOOL BUDGETS COULD STRAIN FALL RETURN: Witnesses at Monday's hearing on the impact of Covid-19 on public education said state budgets devastated by the economic consequences of the virus could lead to teacher layoffs.

— Nearly 500,000 public education jobs have been lost because of the pandemic, according to the National Education Association, and it projects a loss of 1.9 million education jobs in public schools and universities over the next three years.

— Witnesses called on the Senate to join the House in passing the Heroes Act, H.R. 6800 (116), which would provide nearly $60 billion in K-12 emergency funding. Read more from Nicole Gaudiano.

WINNERS PLAY THE LONG GAME : Our sustainability newsletter, "The Long Game," is designed for executives, investors and policymakers leading the conversations about how society can grow and thrive in the future. Interested in building a sustainable future for generations to come? Join the sharpest minds for a discussion about the most significant challenges from pandemics to plastics, climate change to land use, inequality and the future of work. Subscribe today for a nuanced look at these issues and potential solutions.

Education Department

DEVOS' INTERIM FINAL RULE TO DROP WEDNESDAY: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' regulation that would require colleges to limit emergency coronavirus relief grants only to students who qualify for federal financial aid will publish in the Federal Register on Wednesday.

— The policy, which was announced in April, prevents emergency grants from going to undocumented students, among others. It is being challenged in federal courts in California and Washington.

— Under the CARES Act, H.R. 748 (116) , Congress set aside at least $6.25 billion to help students pay for expenses such as food, housing, health care, technology and child care. But the Trump administration argues that Congress never defined "student" for the purposes of those grants, and therefore the Education Department is entitled to come up with its own definition.

— The rule will take effect immediately after it is published. The agency will also accept public comments on the policy for 30 days.

DEPARTMENT 'REVIEWING' SCOTUS LGBTQ RULING: Monday's Supreme Court decision on LGBTQ workplace rights carries uncertain implications for DeVos' department and its stances on transgender students' rights. The decision could affect how Title IX is interpreted, especially in ongoing cases challenging policies that bar transgender student athletes from participating on sports teams that align with their gender identity.

— The core of the high court's ruling: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964's prohibition on sex discrimination in the workplace protects LGBTQ employees from being disciplined or fired based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

—DeVos' Education Department has taken aim at policies related to transgender students. It scrapped an Obama-era directive aimed at protecting transgender students' rights under Title IX, and, separately, threatened Connecticut's high school sports authority and a half-dozen local school boards with legal action or a loss of funding, after concluding their adherence to a state transgender athlete policy violated federal sexual discrimination laws.

— "We are currently reviewing the Supreme Court's opinion," said Education Department spokesperson Angela Morabito. Read more from Nicole Gaudiano and Juan Perez Jr.

Higher Education

GRAD STUDENTS URGE AGAINST LIMITING OPT PROGRAM: In a letter to the White House , led by the MIT Graduate Student Council and the Carnegie Mellon University Graduate Student Assembly, more than 70 student government bodies representing the nation's top universities asked the Trump administration to preserve the Optional Practical Training program, which allows international students to work while on a student visa.

— "We strongly urge you to maintain the OPT program and the STEM OPT extension in their entirety, as suspending or limiting them would hurt the U.S. economy, American workers and American innovation," the students wrote.

— The letter comes as many believe the Trump administration's release of a new rule regarding non-immigrant visas and the OPT program is imminent. This could affect student visas.

VIRTUAL NATIONAL HBCU WEEK, CONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER: The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Executive Office of the President and Education Department will host a 2020 Virtual National HBCU Week and Conference Sept. 20-26. The event, which was pushed online by the coronavirus, is expected to draw in HBCU students, stakeholders and supporters.

Report Roundup

— The Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, along with Tuscany Strategy Consulting and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, released the "COVID-19 Planning Guide and Self-Assessment for Higher Education Globally," which aims to help higher education institutions gauge how effectively they are addressing a range of Covid-19 scenarios.

— A study from the American Educational Research Association found that Black and female assistant principals are "systematically delayed promotion to principal," compared to their white or male peers. The delay happens despite having equivalent qualifications, according to the study.

— Nearly three in 10 U.S. parents say their child is experiencing harm to their emotional or mental health because of social distancing practices, a new Gallup Panel poll found.

HAPPENING TODAY at 12 p.m. EDT/9 a.m. PDT: A VIRTUAL INTERVIEW WITH LOS ANGELES MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI: Los Angeles is grappling with a rising number of Covid-19 cases and a wave of protests for racial justice after the killing of George Floyd. California Playbook authors Carla Marinucci and Jeremy White will find out how Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is dealing with these twin crises during a virtual interview TODAY. REGISTER HERE.