Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa College Access Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3729 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a program that enables college-bound residents of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa to have greater choices among institutions of higher education, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2021 Mr. SABLAN (for himself and Mrs. RADEWAGEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a program that enables college-bound residents of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa to have greater choices among institutions of higher education, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Mariana Is- 4 lands and American Samoa College Access Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3729 IH SEC. 2. NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS AND AMERICAN 1 SAMOA COLLEGE ACCESS. 2 Subpart 10 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu- 3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070h) is amended to read 4 as follows: 5 ‘‘Subpart 10—Northern Mariana Islands and 6 American Samoa College Access 7 ‘‘SEC. 420R. PUBLIC SCHOOL GRANTS. 8 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this subpart to 9 establish a program that enables college-bound residents 10 of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa to 11 have greater choices among institutions of higher edu- 12 cation. 13 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro- 15 priated under subsection (j), the Secretary shall pro- 16 vide— 17 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of such amount to the 18 Northern Mariana Islands for the Governor to 19 award grants to eligible institutions that enroll 20 eligible students to pay the difference between 21 the tuition and fees charged for in-State stu- 22 dents and the tuition and fees charged for out- 23 of-State students on behalf of each eligible stu- 24 dent enrolled in the eligible institution; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3729 IH ‘‘(B) 50 percent of such amount to the 1 American Samoa for the Governor to award 2 grants to eligible institutions that enroll eligible 3 students to pay the difference between the tui- 4 tion and fees charged for in-State students and 5 the tuition and fees charged for out-of-State 6 students on behalf of each eligible student en- 7 rolled in the eligible institution. 8 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM STUDENT AMOUNTS.—The 9 amount paid on behalf of an eligible student under 10 this section shall be— 11 ‘‘(A) not more than $15,000 for any one 12 award year (as defined in section 481); and 13 ‘‘(B) not more than $45,000 in the aggre- 14 gate. 15 ‘‘(3) PRORATION.—The Governor shall prorate 16 payments under this section for students who attend 17 an eligible institution on less than a full-time basis. 18 ‘‘(c) REDUCTION FOR INSUFFICIENT APPROPRIA- 19 TIONS.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the funds appropriated 21 pursuant to subsection (j) for any fiscal year are in- 22 sufficient to award a grant in the amount deter- 23 mined under subsection (a) on behalf of each eligible 24 student enrolled in an eligible institution, then the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3729 IH Governor, in consultation with the Secretary of Edu- 1 cation, shall— 2 ‘‘(A) first, ratably reduce the amount of 3 the tuition and fee payment made on behalf of 4 each eligible student who has not received funds 5 under this section for a preceding year; and 6 ‘‘(B) after making reductions under sub- 7 paragraph (A), ratably reduce the amount of 8 the tuition and fee payments made on behalf of 9 all other eligible students. 10 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Governor, in con- 11 sultation with the Secretary of Education, may ad- 12 just the amount of tuition and fee payments made 13 under paragraph (1) based on— 14 ‘‘(A) the financial need of the eligible stu- 15 dents to avoid undue hardship to the eligible 16 students; or 17 ‘‘(B) undue administrative burdens on the 18 Governor. 19 ‘‘(3) FURTHER ADJUSTMENTS.—Notwith- 20 standing paragraphs (1) and (2), the Governor may 21 prioritize the making or amount of tuition and fee 22 payments under this subsection based on the income 23 and financial need of eligible students. 24 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpart: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3729 IH ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi- 1 ble institution’ means an institution that— 2 ‘‘(A) is a public four-year institution of 3 higher education located in one of the several 4 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 5 the United States Virgin Islands, or Guam; 6 ‘‘(B) is eligible to participate in the stu- 7 dent financial assistance programs under this 8 title; and 9 ‘‘(C) enters into an agreement with the 10 Governors of the Northern Mariana Islands and 11 American Samoa containing such conditions as 12 each Governor may specify, including a require- 13 ment that the institution use the funds made 14 available under this section to supplement and 15 not supplant assistance that otherwise would be 16 provided to eligible students from the Northern 17 Mariana Islands and American Samoa. 18 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘eligible 19 student’ means an individual who— 20 ‘‘(A) graduated from a public institution of 21 higher education located in the Northern Mar- 22 iana Islands or American Samoa; 23 ‘‘(B) begins the individual’s course of 24 study within the 3 calendar years (excluding 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3729 IH any period of service on active duty in the 1 Armed Forces or service under the Peace Corps 2 Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) or subtitle D of 3 title I of the National and Community Service 4 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.)) of grad- 5 uation from a public institution of higher edu- 6 cation located in the Northern Mariana Islands 7 or American Samoa; 8 ‘‘(C) is enrolled or accepted for enrollment, 9 on at least a half-time basis, in a baccalaureate 10 degree or other program (including a program 11 of study abroad approved for credit by the insti- 12 tution at which such student is enrolled) lead- 13 ing to a recognized educational credential at an 14 eligible institution; 15 ‘‘(D) if enrolled in an eligible institution, is 16 maintaining satisfactory progress in the course 17 of study the student is pursuing in accordance 18 with section 484(c); and 19 ‘‘(E) has not completed the individual’s 20 first undergraduate baccalaureate course of 21 study. 22 ‘‘(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 23 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 24 meaning given the term in section 101. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3729 IH ‘‘(4) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘Governor’ means 1 the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern 2 Mariana Islands or American Samoa. 3 ‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this subpart shall 4 be construed to require an institution of higher education 5 to alter the institution’s admissions policies or standards 6 in any manner to enable an eligible student to enroll in 7 the institution. 8 ‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS.—Each student desiring a tuition 9 payment under this section shall submit an application to 10 the eligible institution at such time, in such manner, and 11 accompanied by such information as the eligible institution 12 may require. 13 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Governor shall carry 15 out the program under this section in consultation 16 with the Secretary. Each Governor may enter into a 17 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement with an- 18 other public or private entity to administer the pro- 19 gram under this section if the Governor determines 20 that doing so is a more efficient way of carrying out 21 the program. 22 ‘‘(2) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—Each Gov- 23 ernor, in consultation with institutions of higher 24 education eligible for participation in the program 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3729 IH authorized under this section, shall develop policies 1 and procedures for the administration of the pro- 2 gram. 3 ‘‘(3) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—Each 4 Governor and the Secretary shall enter into a Memo- 5 randum of Agreement that describes— 6 ‘‘(A) the manner in which the Governor 7 shall consult with the Secretary with respect to 8 administering the program under this section; 9 and 10 ‘‘(B) any technical or other assistance to 11 be provided to the Governor by the Secretary 12 for purposes of administering the program 13 under this section (which may include access to 14 the information in the common financial report- 15 ing form developed under section 483). 16 ‘‘(h) GOVERNOR’S REPORT.—Each Governor shall re- 17 port to the Secretary and the authorizing committees an- 18 nually regarding— 19 ‘‘(1) the number of eligible students attending 20 each eligible institution and the amount of the grant 21 awards paid to those institutions on behalf of the eli- 22 gible students; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3729 IH ‘‘(2) the extent, if any, to which a ratable re- 1 duction was made in the amount of tuition and fee 2 payments made on behalf of eligible students; and 3 ‘‘(3) the progress in obtaining recognized aca- 4 demic credentials of the cohort of eligible students 5 for each year. 6 ‘‘(i) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 24 months of the 7 date of enactment of the Northern Mariana Islands and 8 American Samoa College Access Act, the Comptroller Gen- 9 eral of the United States shall report on the effect of the 10 program assisted under this section on educational oppor- 11 tunities for eligible students. The Comptroller General 12 shall analyze whether eligible students had difficulty gain- 13 ing admission to eligible institutions because of any pref- 14 erence afforded to in-State residents by eligible institu- 15 tions, and shall expeditiously report any findings regard- 16 ing such difficulty to Congress. In addition the Comp- 17 troller General shall— 18 ‘‘(1) analyze and identify any challenges eligible 19 students face in gaining admission to eligible institu- 20 tions, including admission aided by assistance pro- 21 vided under this subpart, due to— 22 ‘‘(A) caps on the number of out-of-State 23 students the institution will enroll; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3729 IH ‘‘(B) significant barriers imposed by aca- 1 demic entrance requirements (such as grade 2 point average and standardized scholastic ad- 3 missions tests); and 4 ‘‘(C) absence of admission programs bene- 5 fitting minority students; and 6 ‘‘(2) report the findings of the analysis de- 7 scribed in paragraph (1) and the assessment de- 8 scribed in paragraph (2) to Congress and the Gov- 9 ernor. 10 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 11 are authorized to be appropriated to the Commonwealth 12 of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa to 13 carry out this subpart $5,000,000, to be available until 14 expended, for fiscal year 2022 and each of the 5 suc- 15 ceeding fiscal years. 16 ‘‘(k) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subpart shall take ef- 17 fect with respect to payments for periods of instruction 18 that begin on or after the date of enactment of the North- 19 ern Mariana Islands and American Samoa College Access 20 Act.’’. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3729.IH H3729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS