Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1724 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve the financial aid process for homeless and foster care youth. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 13, 2019 Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts (for herself, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. LANGEVIN) 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 improve the financial aid process for homeless and foster care youth. 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 ‘‘Higher Education Ac- 4 cess and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 (a) INDEPENDENT STUDENT.—Section 480(d)(1)(H) 7 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8 1087vv(d)(1)(H)) is amended— 9 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i)— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1724.IH H1724 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1724 IH (A) by striking ‘‘during the school year in 1 which the application is submitted’’; 2 (B) by inserting ‘‘age 23 or younger’’ after 3 ‘‘unaccompanied youth’’; and 4 (C) by striking ‘‘terms are’’ and inserting 5 ‘‘term is’’; 6 (2) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, or a designee 7 of the liaison’’ after ‘‘Act’’; 8 (3) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘a program fund- 9 ed under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act’’ 10 and inserting ‘‘an emergency or transitional shelter, 11 street outreach program, homeless youth drop-in 12 center, or other program serving homeless youth,’’; 13 and 14 (4) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘program funded 15 under subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento 16 Homeless Assistance Act (relating to emergency 17 shelter grants)’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal TRIO pro- 18 gram or a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness 19 for Undergraduate program under chapter 1 or 2 of 20 subpart 2 of part A,’’. 21 (b) FOSTER CARE YOUTH.—Section 103 of the High- 22 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003) is amended 23 by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1724.IH H1724 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1724 IH ‘‘(25) FOSTER CARE YOUTH.—The term ‘foster 1 care youth’— 2 ‘‘(A) means children and youth whose care 3 and placement are the responsibility of the 4 State or Tribal agency that administers a State 5 or Tribal plan under part B or E of title IV of 6 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. 7 and 670 et seq.), without regard to whether fos- 8 ter care maintenance payments are made under 9 section 472 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on be- 10 half of such children and youth; and 11 ‘‘(B) includes individuals who were age 13 12 or older when their care and placement were 13 the responsibility of a State or Tribal agency 14 that administered a State or Tribal plan under 15 part B or E of title IV of the Social Security 16 Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.) 17 and who are no longer under the care and re- 18 sponsibility of such a State or Tribal agency, 19 without regard to any such individual’s subse- 20 quent adoption, guardianship arrangement, or 21 other form of permanency outcome.’’. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1724.IH H1724 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1724 IH SEC. 3. STREAMLINING DETERMINATIONS AND 1 VERIFICATION. 2 Section 480(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 3 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(d)) is amended by adding at the end 4 the following: 5 ‘‘(3) SIMPLIFYING THE DETERMINATION PROC- 6 ESS FOR UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH.— 7 ‘‘(A) VERIFICATION.—A financial aid ad- 8 ministrator shall accept a determination of 9 independence made by any individual author- 10 ized to make such determinations under clause 11 (i), (ii), or (iii) of paragraph (1)(H) in the ab- 12 sence of conflicting information. A documented 13 phone call with, or a written statement from, 14 one of the authorized individuals is sufficient 15 verification when needed. For purposes of this 16 paragraph, a financial aid administrator’s dis- 17 agreement with the determination made by an 18 authorized individual shall not be considered 19 conflicting information. 20 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF INDEPEND- 21 ENCE.—A financial aid administrator shall 22 make a determination of independence under 23 paragraph (1)(H) if a student does not have, 24 and cannot get, documentation from any of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1724.IH H1724 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1724 IH other designated authorities described in such 1 paragraph. Such a determination shall be— 2 ‘‘(i) based on the definitions outlined 3 in paragraph (1)(H); 4 ‘‘(ii) distinct from a determination of 5 independence under paragraph (1)(I); 6 ‘‘(iii) based on a documented inter- 7 view with the student; and 8 ‘‘(iv) limited to whether the student 9 meets the definitions in paragraph (1)(H) 10 and not about the reasons for the student’s 11 homelessness. 12 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL STREAMLINING PER- 13 MITTED.—Nothing in this paragraph prohibits 14 an institution from implementing polices that— 15 ‘‘(i) streamline the determination of 16 independence under paragraph (1)(H); and 17 ‘‘(ii) improve a student’s access to fi- 18 nancial aid because that student is an un- 19 accompanied youth. 20 ‘‘(4) SIMPLIFYING THE VERIFICATION PROCESS 21 FOR FOSTER CARE YOUTH.— 22 ‘‘(A) VERIFICATION OF INDEPENDENCE.— 23 If an institution requires documentation to 24 verify that a student is independent based on a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1724.IH H1724 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1724 IH status described in paragraph (1)(B), a finan- 1 cial aid administrator shall consider any of the 2 following as adequate verification: 3 ‘‘(i) Submission of a court order or of- 4 ficial State documentation that the student 5 received Federal or State support in foster 6 care. 7 ‘‘(ii) A documented phone call with, 8 written statement from, or verifiable elec- 9 tronic data match with— 10 ‘‘(I) a child welfare agency au- 11 thorized by a State or county; 12 ‘‘(II) a Tribal child welfare au- 13 thority; 14 ‘‘(III) an Independent Living 15 case worker; 16 ‘‘(IV) a public or private foster 17 care placing agency or foster care fa- 18 cility or placement; 19 ‘‘(V) another program serving or- 20 phans, foster care youth, or wards of 21 the court; or 22 ‘‘(VI) a probation officer. 23 ‘‘(iii) A documented phone call with, 24 or a written statement from, an attorney, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1724.IH H1724 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1724 IH a guardian ad litem, or a Court Appointed 1 Special Advocate, documenting that per- 2 son’s relationship to the student. 3 ‘‘(iv) A documented phone call with, 4 or a written statement from, a representa- 5 tive of a Federal TRIO program or a 6 Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness 7 for Undergraduate program under chapter 8 1 or 2 of subpart 2 of part A. 9 ‘‘(v) Verification of the student’s eligi- 10 bility for an education and training vouch- 11 er under the John H. Chafee Foster Care 12 Independence Program (42 U.S.C. 677). 13 ‘‘(vi) Submission of a copy of the stu- 14 dent’s biological or adoptive parents’ or 15 legal guardians’— 16 ‘‘(I) Certificates of Death; or 17 ‘‘(II) verifiable obituaries. 18 ‘‘(vii) An attestation from the student, 19 which includes a description of why the 20 student may qualify for a status described 21 in paragraph (1)(B), including the approxi- 22 mate dates that the student was in foster 23 care, dependent, or a ward of the court, to 24 the best of the student’s knowledge after 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1724.IH H1724 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1724 IH making reasonable efforts to provide any 1 requested documentation. 2 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL STREAMLINING PER- 3 MITTED.—Nothing in this paragraph prohibits 4 an institution from implementing polices that 5 streamline the determination of independent 6 status and improve a student’s access to finan- 7 cial aid because that student is an orphan, in 8 foster care, or a ward of the court, or was an 9 orphan, in foster care, or a ward of the court 10 at any time when the student was 13 years of 11 age or older. 12 ‘‘(5) TIMING; USE OF EARLIER DETERMINA- 13 TION.— 14 ‘‘(A) TIMING.—A determination under 15 subparagraph (B) or (H) of paragraph (1) for 16 a student— 17 ‘‘(i) shall be made as quickly as prac- 18 ticable; 19 ‘‘(ii) may be made as early as the year 20 before the award year for which the stu- 21 dent initially submits an application; and 22 ‘‘(iii) shall be made no later than dur- 23 ing the award year for which the student 24 initially submits an application. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1724.IH H1724 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1724 IH ‘‘(B) USE OF EARLIER DETERMINATION.— 1 Any student who is determined to be inde- 2 pendent under subparagraph (B) or (H) of 3 paragraph (1) for a preceding award year at an 4 institution shall be presumed to be independent 5 for each subsequent award year at the same in- 6 stitution unless— 7 ‘‘(i) the student informs the institu- 8 tion that circumstances have changed; or 9 ‘‘(ii) the institution has specific con- 10 flicting information about the student’s 11 independence, and has informed the stu- 12 dent of this information and the oppor- 13 tunity to challenge such information 14 through a documented interview or an im- 15 partial review by the Student Loan Om- 16 budsman pursuant to section 141(f)(3)(C). 17 ‘‘(6) RETENTION OF DOCUMENTS.—A financial 18 aid administrator shall retain all documents related 19 to the determination of independence under subpara- 20 graph (B) or (H) of paragraph (1), including docu- 21 mented interviews, for the duration of the student’s 22 enrollment at the institution and for a minimum of 23 1 year after the student is no longer enrolled at the 24 institution.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1724.IH H1724 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1724 IH SEC. 4. STUDENT LOAN OMBUDSMAN. 1 Section 141(f)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 2 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1018(f)(3)) is amended— 3 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ 4 after the semicolon; 5 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 6 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 7 (3) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(C) receive, review, and resolve expedi- 9 tiously complaints regarding a student’s inde- 10 pendence under subparagraph (B) or (H) of 11 section 480(d)(1), in consultation with knowl- 12 edgeable parties, including child welfare agen- 13 cies, local educational agency liaisons for home- 14 less individuals designated under section 15 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento Home- 16 less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 17 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)), or State Coordinators for 18 Education of Homeless Children and Youth es- 19 tablished in accordance with section 722 of 20 such Act (42 U.S.C. 11432).’’. 21 SEC. 5. HOUSING AND DESIGNATION OF LIAISONS. 22 (a) ACCESS TO HOUSING.—Section 487(a)(19) of the 23 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(19)) 24 is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1724.IH H1724 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1724 IH (1) by striking ‘‘The institution will not’’ and 1 inserting the following: ‘‘The institution— 2 ‘‘(A) will not’’; 3 (2) inserting ‘‘housing facilities,’’ after ‘‘librar- 4 ies,’’; 5 (3) by striking ‘‘institution.’’ and inserting ‘‘in- 6 stitution; and’’; and 7 (4) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(B) will provide a means for students to 9 access institutionally owned or operated housing 10 if a student is temporarily unable to meet fi- 11 nancial obligations related to housing, including 12 deposits, due to delayed disbursement of vouch- 13 ers for education and training made available 14 under section 477 of part E of title IV of the 15 Social Security Act or delays attributable to the 16 institution.’’. 17 (b) LIAISON.—Section 485 of the Higher Education 18 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092) is amended by adding at 19 the end the following: 20 ‘‘(n) Each institution of higher education partici- 21 pating in any program under this title shall— 22 ‘‘(1) have designated an appropriate staff per- 23 son as a liaison to assist homeless individuals de- 24 scribed in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1724.IH H1724 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1724 IH Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a) and 1 foster care youth in accessing and completing post- 2 secondary education, including by ensuring that such 3 homeless individuals and foster care youth are con- 4 nected to applicable and available student support 5 services, programs, and community resources in 6 areas such as financial aid, academic advising, hous- 7 ing, food, public benefits, health care, health insur- 8 ance, mental health, child care, transportation bene- 9 fits, and mentoring; 10 ‘‘(2) post public notice about student financial 11 assistance and other assistance available to such 12 homeless individuals and foster care youth, including 13 their eligibility as independent students under sub- 14 paragraphs (B) and (H) of sections 480(d)(1); 15 ‘‘(3) give priority for any institutionally owned 16 or operated housing facilities, including student 17 housing facilities that remain open for occupation 18 during school breaks or on a year-round basis, to— 19 ‘‘(A) homeless individuals described in sec- 20 tion 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As- 21 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a); 22 ‘‘(B) youth who are unaccompanied, at 23 risk of homelessness, and self-supporting; and 24 ‘‘(C) foster care youth; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1724.IH H1724 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 1724 IH ‘‘(4) have developed a plan for how such home- 1 less individuals, youth who are unaccompanied, at 2 risk of homelessness, and self-supporting, and foster 3 care youth can access housing r [Text truncated for display. 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