College Equity Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2006 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide capacity-building assistance to institutions of higher education to examine and address inequities in college student access and success, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 1, 2019 Ms. SHALALA 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 provide capacity-building assistance to institutions of higher edu- cation to examine and address inequities in college stu- dent access and success, 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 ‘‘College Equity Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that institutions of higher 7 education should examine institutional policies related to 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2006 IH admissions, financial aid, remedial education, support 1 services, coursework, faculty, and staff that may have dif- 2 ferential impacts on historically underrepresented stu- 3 dents. 4 SEC. 3. EQUITY GRANTS. 5 Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 6 U.S.C. 1133 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 7 the following: 8 ‘‘PART F—EQUITY GRANTS 9 ‘‘SEC. 791. EQUITY PLANNING GRANTS. 10 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 12 planning grants to institutions of higher education 13 to encourage institutions to conduct equity audits. 14 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—A grant award under this 15 section shall be 2 years in duration. 16 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM GRANT AWARD.—A grant award 17 under this section shall be in an amount that is not 18 less than $100,000. 19 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—An institution of higher edu- 20 cation that desires to receive a planning grant under this 21 section shall submit an application to the Secretary at 22 such time, in such form, and containing such information, 23 as the Secretary may require, including not less than the 24 following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2006 IH ‘‘(1) A narrative statement with sufficient detail 1 regarding how the institution intends to conduct the 2 equity audit and that provides examples of certain 3 policies, practices, and trends the institution intends 4 to examine. 5 ‘‘(2) A description of all relevant offices and 6 staff who will be involved in implementing the equity 7 audit. 8 ‘‘(3) A description of what specific data and 9 outcome measures the institution will examine and 10 for which student populations. 11 ‘‘(c) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—An institution of high- 12 er education that receives a planning grant under this sec- 13 tion to conduct an equity audit shall undertake a thorough 14 internal review of the institution’s policies, practices, and 15 resources to identify areas that might produce gaps in out- 16 comes by gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, income, 17 criminal justice background, military service history, or 18 for first-generation students, students with disabilities, 19 student parents, and transfer students. The equity audit 20 shall examine, with respect to the institution of higher 21 education, the following: 22 ‘‘(1) Admissions policies, including the demo- 23 graphics of the State or region where the institution 24 is located, the demographics of communities where 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2006 IH the institution recruits, the makeup of students ad- 1 mitted through early admissions, early decision, 2 demonstrated interest, athletic preference admis- 3 sions, and legacy admissions, and the treatment and 4 admission of transfer students and credit transfer 5 policies. 6 ‘‘(2) Outreach, communication, and other inter- 7 actions with students who accept admission to the 8 institution to ensure they officially enroll when the 9 school term begins. 10 ‘‘(3) The financial aid awarding policies and 11 processes, including presentation of offer letters to 12 students, handling student accounts if funds are de- 13 layed due to verification, and institutional grant aid 14 policies, including the distribution of need-based and 15 non-need-based grants, which students receive insti- 16 tutional support and which students lose institu- 17 tional support and when that occurs. 18 ‘‘(4) Access to, and participation in, pre-college 19 and first-year experience offerings, such as orienta- 20 tion and bridge programs. 21 ‘‘(5) Educational supports, such as remedial 22 placement and success, academic resource center 23 usage, advisor to student ratios, and how students 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2006 IH are differentially affected by satisfactory academic 1 progress policies. 2 ‘‘(6) Student support services, including demo- 3 graphics of staff and students served by academic or 4 career advising, child care centers, mentoring pro- 5 grams, and mental health and counseling services. 6 ‘‘(7) Access to, and participation in, small aca- 7 demic programs, STEM programs, study abroad, 8 and undergraduate research opportunities. 9 ‘‘(8) Diversity among administrators, advisers, 10 faculty overall, adjunct faculty, and teachers of core 11 and introductory-level courses, and the demographics 12 of faculty teaching historically underrepresented stu- 13 dents. 14 ‘‘(9) Physical accessibility on the grounds of the 15 institution and programmatic accessibility of campus 16 services, activities, and programs. 17 ‘‘(10) Demographics of students hired by em- 18 ployers who recruit on campus or that the institu- 19 tion has partnerships with in work-based programs. 20 ‘‘(11) Any other policy, practice, or trend the 21 institution deems relevant to identify areas that 22 might produce gaps in access or outcomes. 23 ‘‘(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—An institution of 24 higher education that receives a grant under this section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2006 IH shall submit a report to the Secretary detailing findings 1 of the equity audit not later than 90 days after the date 2 that the grant period ends. 3 ‘‘SEC. 792. EQUITY IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS. 4 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 5 ‘‘(1) EDUCATIONAL AND RELATED EXPENDI- 6 TURES.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘educational 8 and related expenditures’ means, with respect 9 to an institution of higher education for an aca- 10 demic year, the total amount that is equal to 11 the sum of— 12 ‘‘(i) the amount expended by the insti- 13 tution of higher education in the academic 14 year for instruction and student services; 15 and 16 ‘‘(ii) the amount determined under 17 subparagraph (B) with respect to the insti- 18 tution of higher education for the academic 19 year. 20 ‘‘(B) EDUCATION SHARE.—With respect to 21 an institution of higher education for an aca- 22 demic year, the amount determined under this 23 subparagraph is equal to the product of— 24 ‘‘(i) the percentage that is equal to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2006 IH ‘‘(I) the amount expended by the 1 institution of higher education in the 2 academic year for instruction and stu- 3 dent services; divided by 4 ‘‘(II) the amount expended by 5 the institution of higher education in 6 the academic year for instruction, stu- 7 dent services, research, and public 8 service; and 9 ‘‘(ii) the amount expended by the in- 10 stitution of higher education in the aca- 11 demic year for instruction, student serv- 12 ices, and operation maintenance. 13 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 14 tity’ means an institution of higher education that 15 has received an equity planning grant under section 16 791. 17 ‘‘(3) FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT UNDER- 18 GRADUATE STUDENTS.—The term ‘full-time equiva- 19 lent undergraduate students’ means the sum of the 20 number of undergraduate students enrolled full time 21 at an institution of higher education, plus the full- 22 time equivalent of the number of undergraduate stu- 23 dents enrolled part time (determined on the basis of 24 the quotient of the sum of the credit hours of all 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2006 IH part-time students divided by 12) at such institu- 1 tion. 2 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award, 4 on a competitive basis, implementation grants to en- 5 able eligible entities to develop and execute an im- 6 provement plan to address the findings of the equity 7 audit. 8 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF GRANT SIZE.—The 9 Secretary shall award implementation grants under 10 this section in an amount based on— 11 ‘‘(A) the eligible entity’s enrollment size; 12 and 13 ‘‘(B) the severity of equity audit findings, 14 including low overall performance outcomes or 15 large performance gaps between groups of stu- 16 dents. 17 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—A grant award under this 18 section shall be 5 years in duration. 19 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that de- 21 sires to receive an implementation grant under this 22 section shall submit an application to the Secretary 23 at such time, in such form, and containing such in- 24 formation, as the Secretary may require. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2006 IH ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 1 under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 2 ‘‘(A) Demographic information and data 3 about the eligible entity, including a description 4 of the entity’s mission, history, enrollment size, 5 the student population it serves, and edu- 6 cational and related expenditures. 7 ‘‘(B) A description of equity audit find- 8 ings, including the gaps in outcomes identified 9 and for which group of students. 10 ‘‘(C) An improvement plan that includes a 11 description of the specific activities the eligible 12 entity will carry out with the funds made avail- 13 able by such grant to address the specific gaps 14 or problems identified by the equity audit. 15 ‘‘(D) A description of how the eligible enti- 16 ty will annually monitor and assess its progress 17 in closing achievement gaps. 18 ‘‘(E) A description of the level of institu- 19 tional commitment and which institutional lead- 20 ers and offices will be involved in the planning, 21 improvement, and assessment process. 22 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—An application submitted 23 under paragraph (1) shall receive priority based on 24 the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2006 IH ‘‘(A) The average educational and related 1 expenditures per full-time equivalent under- 2 graduate student of the eligible entity is low in 3 comparison with the average educational and 4 related expenditures per full-time equivalent un- 5 dergraduate student of institutions that offer 6 similar instruction. 7 ‘‘(B) The eligible entity demonstrates low 8 overall performance outcomes or large perform- 9 ance gaps between groups of students and sub- 10 mits additional written statements from select 11 executive-level institutional leaders, including 12 members of any governing board of trustees, to 13 demonstrate their interest and commitment to 14 executing the improvement plan. 15 ‘‘(C) The eligible entity has an enrollment 16 of students not less than 30 percent of whom 17 are eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant. 18 ‘‘(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 19 ‘‘(1) PROGRESS REPORTS.—An eligible entity 20 awarded an implementation grant under this section 21 shall submit a report detailing progress on its im- 22 provement plan to the Secretary not later than 3 23 years after being awarded the grant and again not 24 later than 5 years after being awarded the grant. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2006 IH ‘‘(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 1 after the date a grant period awarded under this 2 section ends, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 3 a report detailing the grantee’s initial equity audit 4 findings and progress in addressing identified equity 5 gaps. 6 ‘‘SEC. 793. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 7 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 8 this part such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 9 2019 and each succeeding fiscal year.’’. 10 SEC. 4. ACCREDITATION. 11 Section 496(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 12 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)) is amended— 13 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 14 the semicolon; 15 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 16 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(9) such agency or association shall— 19 ‘‘(A) assess findings from an equity audit 20 conducted under section 791 of any institution 21 of higher education the agency or association 22 accredits; and 23 ‘‘(B) provide ongoing feedback and tech- 24 nical assistance to help such institutions ad- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2006 IH dress the findings from the equity audit and 1 share best practices from the equity audits.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS