Beyond the Box for Higher Education Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1338 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to issue guidance and recommendations for institutions of higher education on removing criminal and juvenile justice questions from their application for admissions process. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 7, 2019 Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. WARREN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. BROWN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. BALDWIN, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to issue guidance and rec- ommendations for institutions of higher education on removing criminal and juvenile justice questions from their application for admissions process. 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 ‘‘Beyond the Box for 4 Higher Education Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1338.IS S1338 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1338 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) An estimated 70,000,000 Americans have 3 some type of arrest or conviction record that would 4 appear in a criminal background check. 5 (2) Each year, more than 600,000 people re- 6 turn to society from State or Federal prison. 7 (3) Nearly 11,000,000 Americans are admitted 8 to city and county jails each year, with an average 9 daily population of more than 700,000 people. 10 (4) An estimated 2,100,000 youth under the 11 age of 18 are arrested every year in the United 12 States. 13 (5) 1,700,000 juvenile delinquency cases are 14 disposed of in juvenile courts annually. 15 (6) Juvenile records are not always confidential; 16 many States disclose information about youth in- 17 volvement with the juvenile justice system or do not 18 have procedures to seal or expunge juvenile records. 19 (7) The compounding effects of collateral con- 20 sequences due to criminal justice involvement hinder 21 the ability of individuals to reenter society success- 22 fully. 23 (8) People of color and low-income people are 24 disproportionately impacted by the collateral con- 25 sequences of criminal justice involvement. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1338.IS S1338 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1338 IS (9) Incarceration leads to decreased earnings, 1 unemployment, and poverty. 2 (10) Upon reentry, lower educational attain- 3 ment, a lack of work skills or history, and the stig- 4 ma of a criminal record can hinder a formerly incar- 5 cerated person’s ability to return to their commu- 6 nities successfully. 7 (11) One way to improve reentry outcomes is to 8 increase educational opportunities for people with a 9 criminal or juvenile justice history. 10 (12) By reducing rearrests and reconvictions, 11 and by increasing educational attainment, formerly 12 incarcerated individuals are better situated to find 13 stable employment, contributing to their commu- 14 nities. 15 SEC. 3. BEYOND THE BOX FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. 16 Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 17 (20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 18 the following: 19 ‘‘SEC. 124. BEYOND THE BOX FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. 20 ‘‘(a) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 22 through the Office of Policy, Planning, and Innova- 23 tion of the Office of Postsecondary Education of the 24 Department and with consultation from the Depart- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1338.IS S1338 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1338 IS ment of Justice and relevant community stake- 1 holders, shall issue guidance and recommendations 2 for institutions of higher education to remove crimi- 3 nal and juvenile justice questions from their applica- 4 tion for admissions process. 5 ‘‘(2) GUIDANCE AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 6 guidance and recommendations issued under para- 7 graph (1) shall include the following: 8 ‘‘(A) If an institution of higher education 9 collects criminal or juvenile justice information 10 on applicants for admission, it is recommended 11 that the institution determine whether this in- 12 formation is necessary to make an informed ad- 13 mission decision and whether it would be appro- 14 priate to remove these questions from the appli- 15 cation. 16 ‘‘(B) If an institution of higher education 17 determines that it is appropriate to remove 18 criminal or juvenile justice questions from the 19 institution’s application for admissions process, 20 it is recommended that the institution comply 21 with the following: 22 ‘‘(i) If criminal or juvenile justice 23 questions are necessary for the other as- 24 pects of the institution’s interactions with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1338.IS S1338 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1338 IS applicants, identify those specific inter- 1 actions in which it is appropriate to ask 2 such questions. 3 ‘‘(ii) In non-admissions interactions, 4 inquire about criminal or juvenile justice 5 history transparently and clearly inform 6 applicants as early as possible how to re- 7 spond to the inquiry. 8 ‘‘(iii) In non-admissions inquiries 9 about criminal or juvenile justice history, 10 ensure the questions are specific and nar- 11 rowly focused, and make it clear that an- 12 swering the questions may not negatively 13 impact applicants’ chances of enrollment. 14 ‘‘(iv) In non-admissions inquiries 15 about criminal or juvenile justice history, 16 give applicants the opportunity to explain 17 criminal or juvenile justice involvement and 18 preparedness for postsecondary study. 19 ‘‘(v) Provide staff of the institution 20 who have access to a prospective or current 21 student’s criminal or juvenile justice his- 22 tory, the necessary and proper training on 23 the effective use of criminal or juvenile jus- 24 tice history data, including the problems 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1338.IS S1338 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1338 IS associated with this information, the types 1 of supporting documents that may need to 2 be obtained, and the appropriate privacy 3 protections that must be put in place. 4 ‘‘(C) If an institution of higher education 5 determines that it is necessary to inquire about 6 the criminal or juvenile justice history of appli- 7 cants for admission, it is recommended that the 8 institution comply with the following: 9 ‘‘(i) Delay the request for, or consid- 10 eration of, such information until after an 11 admission decision has been made to avoid 12 a chilling effect on applicants whose crimi- 13 nal or juvenile justice involvement may ul- 14 timately be determined irrelevant by the 15 institution. 16 ‘‘(ii) Provide notice and justification 17 for applicants within 30 days if, upon re- 18 ceiving information regarding applicants’ 19 criminal or juvenile justice involvement, 20 the admission to the institution is denied 21 or rescinded based solely on the applicant’s 22 criminal or juvenile justice involvement. 23 ‘‘(iii) Inquire about criminal or juve- 24 nile justice history transparently and clear- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1338.IS S1338 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1338 IS ly inform applicants as early as possible in 1 the application process how to respond to 2 the inquiry. 3 ‘‘(iv) Ensure the questions are specific 4 and narrowly focused. 5 ‘‘(v) Give applicants the opportunity 6 to explain criminal or juvenile justice in- 7 volvement and preparedness for postsec- 8 ondary study. 9 ‘‘(vi) Provide admissions personnel, 10 registrars, and any other relevant staff of 11 the institution, as well as any other staff 12 that should have access to a prospective or 13 current student’s criminal or juvenile jus- 14 tice history, the necessary and proper 15 training on the effective use of criminal or 16 juvenile justice history data, including the 17 biases or limitations associated with this 18 information, the types of supporting docu- 19 ments that may need to be obtained, and 20 the appropriate privacy protections that 21 must be put in place. 22 ‘‘(3) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 24 through the Office of Postsecondary Education 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1338.IS S1338 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1338 IS of the Department, shall use funds available to 1 the Department to provide institutions of high- 2 er education with training and technical assist- 3 ance on developing policies and procedures 4 aligned with the recommendations described in 5 paragraph (2). 6 ‘‘(B) TRAINING.—The training described 7 in subparagraph (A) shall include— 8 ‘‘(i) training for admissions and finan- 9 cial aid personnel and enrollment manage- 10 ment staff of an institution of higher edu- 11 cation to understand and evaluate an ap- 12 plicant if— 13 ‘‘(I) the institution makes a de- 14 termination under paragraph (2)(A) 15 to continue asking criminal or juvenile 16 justice history questions in the admis- 17 sions process; or 18 ‘‘(II) the institution makes a de- 19 termination under paragraph (2)(A) 20 to remove criminal or juvenile justice 21 history questions in the admissions 22 process, but continues to make crimi- 23 nal or juvenile justice history inquiries 24 in non-admissions settings; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1338.IS S1338 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1338 IS ‘‘(ii) training to ensure that if an in- 1 stitution does not ask criminal or juvenile 2 justice history questions, that proxy ques- 3 tions or factors are not used in lieu of 4 criminal or juvenile justice history informa- 5 tion; 6 ‘‘(iii) training for financial aid per- 7 sonnel and any other staff of an institution 8 of higher education involved with campus 9 employment to provide guidance related to 10 work study programs or on campus em- 11 ployment available to formerly incarcerated 12 or juvenile adjudicated individuals; 13 ‘‘(iv) training for registrars, academic 14 counselors, student housing staff, student 15 life staff, and any other staff of an institu- 16 tion of higher education who would have 17 access to a student’s criminal or juvenile 18 justice information when the student is an 19 enrolled student; and 20 ‘‘(v) training for career counselors to 21 ensure that students with involvement in 22 the criminal or juvenile justice system are 23 provided with targeted career guidance, 24 made aware of potential barriers to em- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1338.IS S1338 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1338 IS ployment or licensure, and provided assist- 1 ance to respond to these barriers. 2 ‘‘(b) RESOURCE CENTER.—The Secretary shall de- 3 velop a resource center that will serve as the repository 4 for— 5 ‘‘(1) best practices as institutions of higher edu- 6 cation develop and implement practices aligned with 7 the recommendations described in subsection (a)(2) 8 to ensure the successful educational outcomes of stu- 9 dents with criminal or juvenile justice histories; and 10 ‘‘(2) supplemental research on criminal and ju- 11 venile justice-involved individuals and postsecondary 12 education.’’. 13 SEC. 4. FINANCIAL AID. 14 Section 483(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 15 (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 16 following: 17 ‘‘(13) RESTRICTION ON QUESTION OF CONVIC- 18 TION FOR POSSESSION OR SALE OF ILLEGAL 19 DRUGS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 20 law, the Secretary shall not include on any form de- 21 veloped under this section, a question about the con- 22 viction of an applicant for the possession or sale of 23 illegal drugs.’’. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1338.IS S1338 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS