Higher Education Act (HEA) Services
The Higher Education Act (HEA) provides federal funding for major student aid programs as well as other significant post-secondary education initiatives. In exchange, States and local educational agencies (SEAs and LEAs) must meet numerous program rules and requirements.
The law firm of Brustein & Manasevit, PLLC in Washington, D.C. provides opinions and legal advice to help public and private colleges and universities and state educational agencies nationwide comply with the statutes, regulations and programs of the Higher Education Act, including:
- The Higher Education Opportunity Act, the latest reauthorized version of the HEA, particularly the Title IV student financial aid programs such as the Stafford Loan Program and Pell Grants.
- The General Education Provisions Act (GEPA).
- The Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA).
- The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR).
- Current higher education reform proposals in Congress on the current Administration.
We represent post-secondary schools in a variety of legal matters such as:
- Negotiating with regional Case Management Teams to avoid additional adverse actions while an appeal is pending.
- Working closely with experienced financial aid consultants and statisticians to challenge development of liabilities.
- Assisting the development of certification, recertification and reinstatement applications under Title IV of the Higher Education Act.
- Challenging cohort default rate (CDR) calculations.
- Title IV Student Financial Aid (SFA) refunds.
- Reviews and audits of student financial aid such as subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford Loan Program and Pell Grants.
- Programmatic issues.
- Grants management.
Learn More about the Higher Education Act
The most proactive approach to resolving federal education program compliance problems is to avoid their occurrence. To this end, the firm provides training seminars and workshops on the Higher Education Act statutes, regulations and programs. Our attorneys also provide legislative services to keep state and local educational agencies informed about changes important to the higher education community.