SARA: Department of Education Negotiated Rulemaking Update

NC-SARA staff in partnership with NC-SARA Board's Consumer Protection Taskforce have been monitoring the evolving situation with the Department of Education regarding Negotiated Rulemaking and potential regulatory changes impacting SARA. On April 12, 2023, NC-SARA Board Member Eduardo Ochoa shared comments on behalf of the SARA community during the Department of Education's public hearings related to negotiated rulemaking. NC-SARA has also submitted a letter regarding the Department's Announcement of Intent to Establish Negotiated Rulemaking Committee, Hold Public Hearings, and Seek Comments on Regulatory Topics.

NC-SARA's request made in both the public hearings and the letter is as follows: 

• We respectfully request that ED not move forward with changes discussed during the 2022 negotiated rulemaking sessions related to “Certification Procedures” that would impact state authorization reciprocity, and thus State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA). Should ED decide to move forward with changes that would impact state authorization reciprocity, we request that such changes be addressed as a part of the upcoming negotiated rulemaking.

More information about the history and context of this concern can be found on the SARA Call to Action webpage. We will continue to post updates there.