Debt-Free College Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1571 To establish State-Federal partnerships to provide students the opportunity to attain higher education at in-State public institutions of higher edu- cation without debt, to provide Federal Pell Grant eligibility to DREAM- er students, to repeal suspension of eligibility under the Higher Edu- cation Act of 1965 for drug-related offenses, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 6, 2019 Mr. POCAN (for himself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsyl- vania, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. DEAN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. HILL of California, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. NAPOLI- TANO, Ms. OMAR, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mis- sissippi, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Education and Labor A BILL To establish State-Federal partnerships to provide students the opportunity to attain higher education at in-State public institutions of higher education without debt, to provide Federal Pell Grant eligibility to DREAMer stu- dents, to repeal suspension of eligibility under the Higher Education Act of 1965 for drug-related offenses, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1571.IH H1571 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1571 IH 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 ‘‘Debt-Free College Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEBT-FREE COLLEGE PARTNERSHIP. 6 Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 7 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 8 the following: 9 ‘‘PART J—DEBT-FREE COLLEGE PARTNERSHIP 10 ‘‘SEC. 499A–1. PURPOSE. 11 ‘‘The purpose of this part is to establish State-Fed- 12 eral partnerships that will— 13 ‘‘(1) increase investment in public higher edu- 14 cation; and 15 ‘‘(2) provide students the opportunity to attain 16 higher education at in-State public institutions of 17 higher education without debt (‘debt-free college’). 18 ‘‘SEC. 499A–2. DEFINITIONS. 19 ‘‘In this part: 20 ‘‘(1) COLLEGE COMPLETION PROGRAM.—The 21 term ‘college completion program’ means a program 22 or service at an institution of higher education that 23 is dedicated to addressing barriers to degree attain- 24 ment, particularly for low-income students, for the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1571.IH H1571 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1571 IH purpose of increasing the percentage of students 1 completing programs of study in their entirety and 2 attaining related degrees. 3 ‘‘(2) COST OF ATTENDANCE.—The term ‘cost of 4 attendance’ means— 5 ‘‘(A) tuition and fees normally assessed a 6 student carrying the same academic workload 7 as determined by the institution, and including 8 costs for rental or purchase of any equipment, 9 materials, or supplies required of all students in 10 the same course of study; 11 ‘‘(B) an allowance for books, supplies, 12 transportation, and miscellaneous personal ex- 13 penses, including a reasonable allowance for the 14 documented rental or purchase of a personal 15 computer, for a student attending the institu- 16 tion on at least a half-time basis, as determined 17 by the institution; and 18 ‘‘(C) an allowance (determined by the in- 19 stitution) for room and board costs incurred by 20 the student which— 21 ‘‘(i) shall be an allowance determined 22 by the institution for a student without de- 23 pendents residing at home with parents; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1571.IH H1571 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1571 IH ‘‘(ii) for students without dependents 1 residing in institutionally owned or oper- 2 ated housing, shall be a standard allowance 3 determined by the institution based on the 4 amount normally assessed most of its resi- 5 dents for room and board; 6 ‘‘(iii) for students who live in housing 7 located on a military base or for which a 8 basic allowance is provided under section 9 403(b) of title 37, United States Code, 10 shall be an allowance based on the ex- 11 penses reasonably incurred by such stu- 12 dents for board but not for room; and 13 ‘‘(iv) for all other students shall be an 14 allowance based on the expenses reason- 15 ably incurred by such students for room 16 and board. 17 ‘‘(3) DEBT-FREE COLLEGE COMMITMENT.—The 18 term ‘debt-free college commitment’ means a com- 19 mitment by a State participating in the State-Fed- 20 eral partnership under this part to cover the unmet 21 financial need for all eligible students. 22 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘eligible 23 student’ means an individual who— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1571.IH H1571 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1571 IH ‘‘(A) is enrolled, or is eligible to enroll, in 1 a public institution of higher education in the 2 State in which the individual resides; 3 ‘‘(B) completes a Free Application for 4 Federal Student Aid; and 5 ‘‘(C) demonstrates satisfactory academic 6 progress, as defined under the Federal Pell 7 Grant program under subpart 1 of part A, once 8 enrolled in a public institution of higher edu- 9 cation in the State in which the individual re- 10 sides. 11 ‘‘(5) FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDENTS.—The 12 term ‘full-time equivalent students’ means the sum 13 of the number of students enrolled full time at an 14 institution, plus the full-time equivalent of the num- 15 ber of students enrolled part time, which shall be de- 16 fined and calculated in the manner determined most 17 appropriate by the Secretary. 18 ‘‘(6) NET STATE OPERATING SUPPORT.—The 19 term ‘net State operating support’ means an amount 20 that is equal to the amount of State funds and local 21 government appropriations used to support public 22 higher education annual operating expenses in the 23 State, calculated in accordance with subparagraphs 24 (A) and (B). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1571.IH H1571 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1571 IH ‘‘(A) CALCULATION.—A State’s net State 1 operating support shall, for a fiscal year, be an 2 amount that is equal to the difference resulting 3 from the gross amount of State funds appro- 4 priated and disbursed by the State and ex- 5 pended by the recipient institutions in the fiscal 6 year for public higher education operating ex- 7 penses in the State, minus— 8 ‘‘(i) such appropriations that are re- 9 turned to the State; 10 ‘‘(ii) State-appropriated funds derived 11 from Federal sources, including funds pro- 12 vided under this part; 13 ‘‘(iii) local government funds not ap- 14 propriated for operating support for public 15 higher education; 16 ‘‘(iv) amounts that are portions of 17 multi-year appropriations to be distributed 18 over multiple years that are not to be 19 spent for the year for which the calculation 20 is being made; 21 ‘‘(v) tuition charges remitted to the 22 State to offset State appropriations; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1571.IH H1571 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1571 IH ‘‘(vi) State funding for students in 1 non-credit continuing or adult education 2 courses and non-credit extension courses; 3 ‘‘(vii) sums appropriated to private 4 nonprofit institutions of higher education, 5 or to proprietary institutions of higher 6 education, for capital outlay or operating 7 expenses; and 8 ‘‘(viii) any other funds excluded under 9 subparagraph (B). 10 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—Net State operating 11 support does not include— 12 ‘‘(i) funds for— 13 ‘‘(I) student aid programs that 14 provide grants to students attending 15 in-State private nonprofit institutions 16 of higher education, in-State propri- 17 etary institutions of higher education, 18 independent institutions, and out-of- 19 State institutions; 20 ‘‘(II) capital outlay; 21 ‘‘(III) deferred maintenance; or 22 ‘‘(IV) research and development; 23 or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1571.IH H1571 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1571 IH ‘‘(ii) any other funds that the Sec- 1 retary may exclude. 2 ‘‘(7) NET STATE OPERATING SUPPORT PER FTE 3 STUDENT.—The term ‘net State operating support 4 per FTE student’ means, for a fiscal year— 5 ‘‘(A) the net State operating support for 6 the previous fiscal year; divided by 7 ‘‘(B) the full-time equivalent students for 8 the previous fiscal year. 9 ‘‘(8) PARTNERSHIP OFFICE.—The term ‘Part- 10 nership Office’ means the Office created under sec- 11 tion 499A–4(a). 12 ‘‘(9) PUBLIC INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU- 13 CATION.—The term ‘public institution of higher edu- 14 cation’ means an educational institution in any State 15 that— 16 ‘‘(A) admits as regular students only per- 17 sons having a certificate of graduation from a 18 school providing secondary education, or the 19 recognized equivalent of such a certificate, or 20 persons who are eligible students; 21 ‘‘(B) is legally authorized within such 22 State to provide a program of education beyond 23 secondary education; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1571.IH H1571 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1571 IH ‘‘(C) provides an educational program for 1 which the institution awards a bachelor’s degree 2 or provides not less than a 2-year program that 3 is acceptable for full credit toward such a de- 4 gree, or awards a degree that is acceptable for 5 admission to a graduate or professional degree 6 program, subject to review and approval by the 7 Secretary; 8 ‘‘(D) has the full faith and credit of the 9 State; and 10 ‘‘(E) is accredited by a nationally recog- 11 nized accrediting agency or association, or if 12 not so accredited, is an institution that has 13 been granted preaccreditation status by such an 14 agency or association that has been recognized 15 by the Secretary for the granting of preaccredi- 16 tation status, and the Secretary has determined 17 that there is satisfactory assurance that the in- 18 stitution will meet the accreditation standards 19 of such an agency or association within a rea- 20 sonable time. 21 ‘‘(10) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CON- 22 GRESS.—The term ‘relevant committees of Congress’ 23 means the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 24 and Pensions and the Committee on Appropriations 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1571.IH H1571 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1571 IH of the Senate and the Committee on Education and 1 Labor and the Committee on Appropriations of the 2 House of Representatives. 3 ‘‘(11) UNMET NEED.—The term ‘unmet need’ 4 means the difference between a student’s cost of at- 5 tendance to attend an in-State public institution of 6 higher education and the student’s expected family 7 contribution plus any Federal, State, or local sources 8 of grant aid. 9 ‘‘SEC. 499A–3. ESTABLISHMENT OF A STATE-FEDERAL PART- 10 NERSHIP GRANT PROGRAM. 11 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall 12 award grants to States to establish State-Federal partner- 13 ships with a goal of providing debt-free college for all eligi- 14 ble students at in-State public institutions of higher edu- 15 cation. 16 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—A State that desires to partici- 17 pate in the State-Federal partnership under this part shall 18 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 19 such manner, and accompanied by such information as the 20 Secretary may require. 21 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 23 a grant to a State that submits an application under 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1571.IH H1571 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1571 IH subsection (b) for a fiscal year in an amount that is 1 equal to State’s net State operating support. 2 ‘‘(2) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the amount ap- 3 propriated to carry out this part for a fiscal year is 4 insufficient to award each State the State’s full 5 grant amount pursuant to paragraph (1), the Sec- 6 retary shall establish procedures for ratably reducing 7 each State’s award amount for such fiscal year. 8 ‘‘(d) AMOUNTS NOT EXPENDED.—Any amount of a 9 grant awarded under this part that is not expended on 10 allowable expenditures by the end of the fiscal year for 11 which the grant was awarded shall be applied to the fol- 12 lowing year’s grant award amount, if the State remains 13 eligible to receive a grant under this part for such fol- 14 lowing year. If such State is not eligible to receive a grant 15 under this part for such following year, the State shall 16 return the unexpended balance amount to the Federal 17 Government. 18 ‘‘SEC. 499A–4. STATE-FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP RESPON- 19 SIBILITIES. 20 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall create 22 an office in the Department of Education to admin- 23 ister the State-Federal partnerships established 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1571.IH H1571 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1571 IH under this part. Such Partnership Office shall be re- 1 sponsible for— 2 ‘‘(A) administering grant awards; 3 ‘‘(B) monitoring compliance with partner- 4 ship requirements; 5 ‘‘(C) providing technical assistance to 6 States in applying for participation in, and im- 7 plementing, a partnership; and 8 ‘‘(D) providing information to students in 9 participating States. 10 ‘‘(2) EVALUATIONS.—The Partnership Office 11 shall develop metrics of evaluation and perform an 12 annual evaluation of each State participating in a 13 State-Federal partnership under this part. The eval- 14 uation shall assess the State’s success in meeting the 15 partnership’s goals, including— 16 ‘‘(A) providing debt-free college for all eli- 17 gible students; 18 ‘‘(B) increasing State investment in higher 19 education; 20 ‘‘(C) maintaining access to in-State public 21 institutions of higher education for low-income 22 and underserved students; 23 ‘‘(D) maintaining an [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]