SCOTUS Ruling on Chevron Deference | Top 5 Articles | Experts Weigh in on Potential Enrollment Cliff | ETS Downsize Signals Strategic Shift

Anna Kimsey Edwards , W/A Chief Advocacy Officer co-founder, is filling in for Ben this week.

Our team just returned from an incredible week in Denver at ISTELive 24—edtech’s biggest annual conference. This year, Whiteboard Advisors partnered with ISTE to produce the Solutions Summit, an invitation-only event that brought together more than 250 edtech leaders, innovators, and experts to tackle key questions in product design and evaluation to maximize impact and discuss broader policy and funding trends shaping the education market today.

I had the pleasure of hosting the Summit with long-time friend and Chief Innovation Officer of ASCD + ISTE Joseph South. The two of us, and everyone in the audience, wished that there’d been more time to engage with insightful speakers, and for the design-thinking activity led by USC’s Doug Lynch and the LA County Office of Education. Guess that’s an indicator of a good collab, like Target x Missoni or Doritos x Taco Bell…

Here are a few takeaways that I walked away with, before hitting the Expo floor:

• Quality: State and district budget uncertainty will increase pressure on solution providers to demonstrate outcomes. The good news is that the edtech industry—harnessing technology advancements, new methods for evaluating efficacy—supported by critical partners seem ready to meet this moment. Richard Cullatta, CEO of ASCD + ISTE, gave a preview of the new five quality indicators of edtech and AI products at the Summit before a fireside chat with US Assistant Secretary of Education Roberto Rodriguez. Stay tuned for what Auditi Chakravarty and AERDF and LearnPlatform (now part of Instructure) have coming on this front.
• Inclusion: while significant strides have been made in expanding student access to broadband and technology, there was an inspiring focus on ensuring that all students benefit from it—including students with learning and language differences. Carrying forward a key theme from the National Ed Tech Plan, Universal Design for Learning in edtech was discussed in a number of sessions, and it was great to facilitate a lively discussion with Lindsey Jones from CAST and Louisa Rosenheck from Kahoot!, talking about the process Kahoot! deploys in inclusive product design.
• AI: In 2024, at an edtech conference, you can’t NOT talk about AI. At the Summit, UT Superintendent Syd Dickson talked about how Utah has approached AI policy development, and optimism for AI tools that support students and teachers. Leaders from GoGuardian, Seesaw, HMH, and MerlynMind talked about how they’re infusing AI into the classroom and school experience, and key considerations for equity, privacy, and security; Alyson Klein, Jeff Livingston, and Claire Zau did a great job of framing the conversations. It’s clear that we’re only starting to scratch the surface, and that AI literacy efforts (along with digital literacy more broadly), are imperative.

We’re already looking forward to next year’s ISTELive 25 in San Antonio, TX — see you there!

In this week’s edition of Notes:

• Top 5 Articles of the Week
• SCOTUS Ruling on Chevron Deference: Implications for Higher Ed Regulations
• How Bad Will the FAFSA-driven Enrollment Cliff Really Be?
• ETS Downsizes Again; Recent Acquisitions Signal Strategic Shift

SCOTUS Ruling on Chevron Deference: Implications for Higher Ed Regulations

This week, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision by ruling on Chevron deference, a 40-year old doctrine that guides how courts interact with federal agencies' interpretation of ambiguous laws. The long-awaited ruling, decided by a 6-3 vote on ideological lines, will likely have significant implications across policymaking, including for higher education rulemaking. [Bloomberg, subscription model]

• What is Chevron Deference? Chevron deference, a constitutional standard established through the 1984 case Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., mandated that courts defer to a federal agency's interpretation of ambiguous laws as long as the interpretation is reasonable. For the past four decades, the influential legal precedent has given federal agencies broad latitude in how they implement and enforce regulations.

The ruling: The Supreme Court's recent decision effectively curtails the extent of Chevron deference, meaning that courts will now have more authority to review and potentially overturn federal agencies' interpretations of statutes. This shift moves the power of final interpretation from regulatory agencies to the judiciary.

Why it matters: The Supreme Court's decision to limit Chevron deference represents a significant shift in the balance of power between federal agencies and the judiciary, and it will have potentially far-reaching implications for the U.S. Department of Education, which has historically used broad regulatory authority to set policy. Recent administrations have utilized negotiated rulemaking as a critical policy lever across a wide range of issues from student loans and accountability policies like Gainful Employment and Borrower Defense to Repayment to Title IX and policies governing international student visas.

Our take: Look for an increase in legal cases challenging the Department of Education's authority to create and enforce new regulations beyond the existing powers established under the Higher Education Act, which—by the way—has not been updated since 2008 and President George W. Bush.

With the federal bench given an even more expansive role in interpreting statutes, current and future Education Department regulations could face heightened scrutiny and litigation. The Supreme Court’s decision to limit Chevron deference may embolden critics of a strong federal role in higher education policy, funding, and oversight—and crimp the Department's ability to create or enforce policies across a broad spectrum of issues.

Top 5 “What We’re Reading” Articles of the Week

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1. Schools Got a Record $190 Billion in Pandemic Aid. Did It Work? [The New York Times, subscription model]
2. Train-the-trainer models improve student supports (opinion) [Inside Higher Ed]
3. How Districts Can Keep High-Impact Tutoring Going After ESSER Money Expires [The 74]
4. One year after ban on race-conscious admissions, Black and Hispanic student applications are up [WGBH]
5. Math ends the education careers of thousands of community college students. A few schools are trying something new [The Hechinger Report]

Experts Weigh In: How Bad Will the FAFSA-Driven Enrollment Cliff Really Be?

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an analysis earlier this week, revealing that the Pell grant program would not be in a budgetary shortfall for the 2026 fiscal year. In other circumstances, a federal entitlement program not operating in shortfall would be something to cheer.

“The Pell Grant program functions as an entitlement, meaning every student who qualifies for a grant receives a grant, regardless of available federal funding. However, funding the program relies on discretionary appropriations by Congress. The appropriations cycle and the academic calendar are not aligned, making it incredibly difficult to know actual program costs that drive funding allocations,” said W/A Senior Vice President Alison Griffin. “Year over year, Congress is making an educated guess, at best. And in some years, that guess results in a program shortfall – in others, a surplus.”

Unfortunately, this budgetary update is not because of an unusually strong Congressional appraisal, but is instead attributable to the complications with last year's Better FAFSA—CBO estimates that at a minimum, 1.1 million fewer Pell-eligible students will receive a Pell grant.

For many students with financial need (often students of color and first-generation students), the failure to not just provide timely financial aid packages, but financial aid entirely, results in the decision to not enroll in college at all.

Postsecondary dreams, dashed en masse? It’s possible.

The botched rollout of the Better FAFSA has been discussed ad nauseum over the last several months. Now, organizations, experts, and officials are looking toward the fall. Some are considering the possibility of an “enrollment cliff,” in which the failures surrounding the FAFSA accelerate pre-existing enrollment declines. [Inside Higher Ed]

Enrollment has been steadily dropping over the past decade, largely driven by the pandemic, concerns about value, and chronically high costs. Gen Z is increasingly rejecting the traditional four-year degree pathway in favor of jobs in the skilled trades, so much so that the generation is being coined the “Toolbelt Generation.” [CNBC; Inside Higher Ed; NPR]

Enrollment declines put some institutions in financial jeopardy, resulting in closures. 95% of colleges, particularly smaller institutions, rely on tuition to keep the doors open and lights on. According to an analysis of federal data by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), more than 30 schools—a mix of nonprofit and for-profit—were shuttered in 2023 alone, and now, colleges are closing at a pace of one a week. For schools already under financial strain, a FAFSA-driven enrollment cliff might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. [CNBC; CNN; Inside Higher Ed; The Hechinger Report]

We won’t know how badly enrollment was impacted by the FAFSA until National Student Clearinghouse data is released next spring. But higher education experts and reporters are already trying to predict what the enrollment cliff will look like for students and colleges, how far the free-fall might be, and how fixing the issues with the FAFSA can help alleviate the impact going forward.

Here’s what they’re saying:

• Elizabeth Morgan, Chief External Relations Officer, NCAN: “Longer term, we must fulfill the promise of what truly is, when the technology works, a simpler and better FAFSA. It isn’t enough to regain the FAFSA completion rates of prior years. The point of simplifying the FAFSA was to enable many more students—mostly from families with low incomes—to complete the application and gain access to the Pell grants and other need-based aid that makes postsecondary study possible for them. This goal will require sustained investment in effective, targeted outreach and universally available support for those who need assistance in completing the application.”
• Liam Knox, Admissions and Enrollment Reporter, Inside Higher Ed: “Enrollment is absolutely a priority issue for my sources in higher ed. For tuition-dependent colleges barely scraping by each semester, keeping enrollment steady—if not growing—is the only way to avoid massive cuts or closure. Their strategies range from investing in athletics to pumping money into recruitment and marketing to investing in financial aid and affordability initiatives, and their success varies widely. But between the pandemic’s aftereffects, demographic shifts, and now the FAFSA fiasco, there isn’t a single small private college or regional public institution that isn’t worried about their future enrollment prospects, and some public flagships and once-stable liberal arts colleges are starting to sweat, too.”

ETS Downsizes Again; Recent Acquisitions Signal Strategic Shift

Global assessment nonprofit Educational Testing Service (ETS) announced “massive downsizing” earlier this month, representing the second round of job cuts in under a year and fifth in the last five. [Inside Higher Ed]

Catch up quick: This news comes after the signing of a new contract with College Board, under which ETS will no longer administer the SAT after nearly two decades. According to a FY 2023 audit, the contract with College Board accounts for about one-third of ETS’ total revenue.

• Zoom in: This switch-up reflects changing standardized testing norms. The National Center for Fair and Open Testing found that more than 80%—or over 1,800—of U.S. colleges and universities will remain test-optional or test-blind for the 2025-26 admissions cycle. And fewer students are submitting test scores at all: recent research from the Common App revealed that growth in students not reporting test scores is “meaningfully faster” than students reporting test scores.
• However, millions of students still take the SAT; 1.9 million students in the graduating class of 2023 took the SAT at least once. The SAT is still highly relevant, especially for students interested in attending selective and Ivy League institutions. [Education Week; Fast Company]
• Additionally, ETS’s primary product, the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), has seen steep declines in the volume of test-takers over the last several years, and higher education institutions and researchers have mixed feelings on the significance and fairness of the exam. [Inside Higher Ed]

Strategic evolution: ETS is making an effort to retool to respond to 21st-century assessment needs. Since Amit Sevak took over as CEO in 2022, ETS has acquired two companies, Wheebox and PSI, to expand its global reach and delve into the world of workforce certification. As more employers shift to skills-based hiring practices, demand rises for skills validation, or standardized assessments of job-oriented competencies.

• This week, HR Brew reported that ETS is partnering with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to develop new assessments and tools to help HR teams gauge the skills of their workforce. These new resources will help businesses clarify what subject areas in need of upskilling, target training opportunities, and evaluate candidates during the hiring process.
• Earlier this year, ETS released a report called “Charting the Future of Assessments,” which asserted that lifelong learning and workforce-related measurement (e.g., skills validation, badging, credentialing) are new frontiers for assessment.

The big picture: Layoffs are an unfortunate outcome for workers, but a means to an end as ETS charts a new course in search of long-term sustainability. In an interview with Education Week, Sevak said of the future of assessment: “There’s much more of an awareness that education inside the classroom is only a small portion of the totality of learning and education that one gets… How do we start to capture and give recognition, badging, credentialing, for learning that’s happening outside?”

Quick Takes

The Right to Read Now Streaming

The Whiteboard Advisors team is excited to share that The Right to Read—a documentary on solving the civil rights crisis of illiteracy, executive produced by former Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton—is now streaming on Vudu, Apple TV+, kanopy, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play! Over the last year and a half, the W/A team has helped execute the documentary's social impact campaign, organizing screenings across the nation, including in Washington, D.C.; Birmingham, Alabama; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Columbus, Ohio; with plans to show the film in Baltimore, Maryland in the coming weeks.

Watch the Film

Complete College America Alliance Grows

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) announced this week that the state is joining the Complete College America Alliance, a national coalition committed to improving college completion and degree and credential attainment. As an Alliance member, Kansas will collaborate with other states, systems, higher education institutions, and organizations to advance policies and practices that help students from historically excluded backgrounds and under-resourced households successfully complete college.

Handshake Data: AI Impacts Job Postings

The share of job descriptions mentioning AI tools across online recruiting platform Handshake has tripled over the last year. According to Handshake’s latest data on AI and the workforce, about half of 2024 graduates are worried about the impact of AI on their careers, and nearly 80% have begun to teach themselves how to use AI tools in the absence of widely available formal training.

State Budget News and Updates

The Whiteboard Advisors research team keeps tabs on the movement of education budgets in statehouses across the nation. Here are a few key legislative updates that caught our attention this week:

• California: Officials have agreed to a $297.9 billion spending plan that reduces the proposed school funding cuts. [CalMatters]
• Illinois: The state has established the new Department of Early Learning as part of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D) budget proposal. [ABC 7 Chicago]
• Rhode Island: Gov. Daniel McKee (D) signed a $14 billion state budget that includes K-12 funding and out-of-school learning support. [WPRI 12]
• South Carolina: The budget negotiating committee agreed to a $14.4 billion spending package, including teacher pay raises. [South Carolina Daily Gazette]

People on the Move

• Henry Jackson joined AI curriculum development nonprofit aiEDU as its new Head of Communications. Jackson will continue as Adjunct Instructor at the University of Southern California (USC) and previously served as Senior Director of Executive Communications at Guild.
• StandardWorks announced Kristen McQuillan as its new Chief Program Officer. McQuillan previously served as Partner at The New Teacher Project (TNTP), Faculty Associate at Johns Hopkins University; and as a teacher, instructional coach, and district administrator with Baltimore City Public Schools.
• The 74 announced Nicole Ridgway as the publication’s next Editor in Chief. Ridgway previously served as Managing Editor of CNN Business and succeeds The 74’s founding editorial director, Steve Snyder.
• Jobs for the Future (JFF) is searching for its next Chief Operating Officer to support the Executive Team and help lead and define the organization’s strategic direction. Apply here.
• The Maryland Governor’s Office for Children is hiring an ENOUGH Director to lead the design and implementation of the ENOUGH Act, a novel effort to end concentrated poverty. Apply here.
• ClassDojo seeks a District Leader to grow ClassDojo for Districts, the organization’s first ever offering for K-12 school districts. Apply here.

Upcoming Events and Convenings

• UWill + Online Learning Consortium: New Horizons in Online Student Mental Health Support: Research Findings and Support Options, July 18 from 2-3 p.m. ET, Virtual
• Ad Astra: Student Success Symposium 2024: Unlock Innovation in Higher Education, August 5 from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C.
• Opportunity@Work + ACCT: Serving as a Bridge: Community College Skills-Based Hiring Playbook, August 15 from 2-3 p.m. ET, Virtual
• National Fund for Workforce Solutions: SHIFT Toward an Equitable Future 2024, September 24-26, Memphis, TN
• Competency-Based Education Network: CBExchange 2024, November 11-14, Colorado Springs, CO
• Complete College America: All In: The 2024 CCA Annual Convening, November 18-20, Indianapolis, IN

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