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American Dental Education Association


Volume 2, No. 100, May 24, 2023

ED Releases Gainful Employment Proposed Rule
 
The Department of Education (ED) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [ [link removed] ] that would significantly restrict operations at for-profit and career colleges, along with new measures to increase transparency across all post-secondary programs. ED stated that the proposed rule would create “the strongest-ever Gainful Employment (GE) rule,” which would cut federal funding for programs and institutions that repeatedly fail to produce graduates whose incomes can adequately cover their yearly debt payments.
 
The proposed rule establishes two new performance standards that must be met to maintain access to federal financial aid. Specifically, programs would have to show the following:
 • Graduates can afford their yearly debt payments. In particular, the share of their annual earnings needed to devote to paying their debt (i.e., their “debt-to-earnings ratio”) must be equal to or less than 8%, or equal to or less than 20% of their discretionary earnings (i.e., their annual earnings above 150% of the federal poverty guideline).
 • At least half of graduates have higher earnings than a typical high school graduate in their state’s labor force who never pursued a post-secondary education.

Programs would be assessed separately on each metric. Programs that fail at least one metric would need to warn students that the program is at risk of losing access to federal aid. Those that fail to meet the standards on the same metric twice in a three-year period would lose access to federal aid.
 
Additionally, post-secondary programs would have to satisfy transparency requirements. Programs would have to report costs, including tuition and fees, books and supplies; non-federal grant aid; typical borrowing amounts (both private and federal loans); earnings; any applicable occupational and licensing requirements; and licensure exam passage rates, where relevant.
 
Comments on the proposed rule are due June 20, 2023. ED plans to release a final rule later this year, with an implementation date of July 1, 2024.
 
ED made a fact sheet [ [link removed] ] on the GE and transparency parts of the rule available. There is also a fact sheet [ [link removed] ] on the other provisions in the regulatory package.

HRSA Now Accepting Applications for the Faculty Loan Repayment Program
 
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has released applications for the Faculty Loan Repayment Program. The program provides up to $40,000 in loan repayment assistance. The Faculty Loan Repayment Program application will close on Thursday, June 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
 
If your application is accepted, you must commit to two years of full- or part-time service as a faculty member at an eligible school.
 
HRSA will hold an Application Assistance Webinar on Thursday, June 8 at 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET. The Zoom link for the webinar as well as additional information about the application process can be found on the HRSA website [ [link removed] ] .

Washington State and Tennessee Join Licensure Compact
 
Washington state [ [link removed] ] and Tennessee [ [link removed] ] became the second and third states respectively to join the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact [ [link removed] ] .
 
Once enacted by seven states, the compact will create a pathway to licensure portability for dentists and dental hygienists who are licensed in member states. Licensees who live in states that are members of the compact will have the opportunity to apply for a “compact privilege” that will allow them to practice in another member state. Under the current draft [ [link removed] ] of the model compact that was written by The Council for State Governments, license holders will be granted the opportunity to apply for compact privilege if they:
 • Hold a license as a dentist or dental hygienist;
 • Graduate from a Commission on Dental Accreditation-accredited program;
 • Successfully complete a clinical assessment for licensure, with “clinical assessment” currently defined as an examination or process required for licensure as a dentist or dental hygienist, as applicable, that provides evidence of clinical competence in dentistry or dental hygiene;
 • Have passed a National Board Examination of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations or another examination accepted by rule as a requirement for licensure;
 • Meet any jurisprudence requirements;
 • Complete a criminal background check;
 • Submit an application and pay applicable fees; and
 • Comply with requirements to submit specified information for administrative purposes.

Iowa [ [link removed] ] became the first state to join the Compact on April 27. A bill to join the Compact has also passed the Texas [ [link removed] ] House of Representatives, and to date, legislation that would allow states to join the Compact has been introduced in seven states [ [link removed] ] .

Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact Webinar Recording Now Available
 
On May 11, the ADEA Advocacy and Government Relations team hosted the second of our new series of web-based discussions, ADEA Advocacy Insights. For this discussion, the ADEA team invited two guest speakers to present on the topic of the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact: Dr. Cecile Feldman, Dean of Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, and Matt Shafer, Deputy Policy Director at the National Center for Interstate Compacts. Dr. Feldman and Mr. Shafer joined the discussion to provide expert-level opinion and analysis.
 
A recording of the presentation is now available [ [link removed] ] .

Washington State Gov. Signs Bill to Allow Dental Therapists to Practice Statewide
 
On May 15, Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed legislation [ [link removed] ] that will allow dental therapists to practice anywhere in the state. Currently, Washington state limits the practice of dental therapy to tribal lands.
 
The bill establishes requirements for licensure, scope of practice and elements that must be included in a collaborative practice agreement with a licensed dentist. The new law also limits dental therapists to practicing only in federally qualified health centers, tribal federally qualified health centers and federally qualified health center look-alikes. To be eligible for licensure, an applicant would be required to successfully:
 • Complete a dental therapy program that is accredited or has received initial accreditation by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA);
 • Complete a dental therapy program that has not been accredited by CODA if the applicant successfully completed the dental therapy program before Sept. 30, 2022, and the Commission determines the program is substantially equivalent to CODA standards;
 • Pass an examination approved by the Dental Commission; and
 • Pay applicable fees.

The practice of dental therapy is permitted in 13 states [ [link removed] ] .

ADEA Advocacy in Action
This appears weekly in the ADEA Advocate to summarize and provide direct links to recent advocacy actions taken by ADEA. Please let us know what you think and how we might improve its usefulness.
 
Issues and Resources
 • Applications open [ [link removed] ] for Ryan White Part F Dental Reimbursement Program
 • Applications open [ [link removed] ] for HRSA Dental Public Health Research Fellowship
 • ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on teledentistry
 • ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on U.S. Dental Schools
 • ADEA policy brief [ [link removed] ] regarding overprescription of antibiotics
 • For a full list of ADEA memos, briefs and letters click here [ [link removed] ] .

Key Federal Issues [ [link removed] ]

ADEA U.S. Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map [ [link removed] ]

Key State Issues [ [link removed] ]

The ADEA Advocate [ [link removed] ] is published weekly. Its purpose is to keep ADEA members abreast of federal and state issues and events of interest to the academic dentistry and the dental and research communities.
 
©2023
American Dental Education Association
655 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: 202-289-7201
Website: www.adea.org [ [link removed] ]

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B. Timothy Leeth, CPA
ADEA Chief Advocacy Officer
 
Bridgette DeHart, J.D.
ADEA Director of Federal Relations and Advocacy
 
Phillip Mauller, M.P.S.
ADEA Director of State Relations and Advocacy
 
Brian Robinson
ADEA Program Manager for Advocacy and Government Relations
 
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