Capito, Jenkins call on Department of Education to reverse sanction on W. Va. higher ed

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-WV) led West Virginia’s delegation in calling on the Department of Education to put the needs of low-income students ahead of bureaucratic technicalities on Friday.

In a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Capito and Jenkins wrote that the decision to impose provisional status and heightened cash monitoring on the state, which will hamper the ability of schools to receive and distribute financial aid, will most affect low-income college students.

The Department of Education previously imposed the sanction on West Virginia schools because a statewide audit was submitted for review after the deadline. Capito, Jenkins and other bipartisan members of West Virginia’s delegation requested reconsideration, but the department denied that request on July 17.

“The people who will be harmed most by these sanctions are the low income students who rely on federal financial assistance to attend college,” the letter states. “All of these students and their institutions will be critically impacted when the heightened cash monitoring delays the disbursement of federal funds to institutions. In fact, a delay in the disbursement of federal funds could result in institutions not being able to keep their lights on or make their payroll, which would disrupt services to students.”

West Virginia’s statewide higher education audit, the lawmakers noted, is submitted along with 150 other state agency audits under the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The higher education audit could not be submitted to the Department of Education until each agency submitted individual documentation to the government.

“We stand in total agreement that the state of West Virginia needs to reform its auditing process to enable the timely submission of important information to the federal government,” the letter states.

“Gov. Jim Justice has pledged to address this problem going forward, but our students need your help now. The decision to impose sanctions will not harm those at fault for the late submission, but would instead harm low-income West Virginia students. The students are completely innocent and in most need of our help, which is why we implore the Department to reconsider its decision to place schools on a provisional status and heightened cash monitoring,” the letter said.