Early Pell Promise Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1364 To establish an Early Federal Pell Grant Commitment Program. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 8, 2019 Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. JONES) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish an Early Federal Pell Grant Commitment Program. 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 ‘‘Early Pell Promise 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. EARLY FEDERAL PELL GRANT COMMITMENT PRO- 6 GRAM. 7 Subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu- 8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a et seq.) is amended 9 by adding at the end the following: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1364.IS S1364 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1364 IS ‘‘SEC. 401B. EARLY FEDERAL PELL GRANT COMMITMENT 1 PROGRAM. 2 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is au- 3 thorized to carry out an Early Federal Pell Grant Com- 4 mitment Program (referred to in this section as the ‘Pro- 5 gram’) under which the Secretary shall— 6 ‘‘(1) award grants to States to pay the adminis- 7 trative expenses incurred in participating in the Pro- 8 gram; and 9 ‘‘(2) make a commitment to award Federal Pell 10 Grants to eligible students in accordance with this 11 section. 12 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The Program shall 13 meet the following requirements: 14 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A student shall be eli- 16 gible to receive a commitment from the Sec- 17 retary to receive a Federal Pell Grant early in 18 the student’s academic career if the student— 19 ‘‘(i) is in any of grades 8 through 12; 20 and 21 ‘‘(ii) is a member of a household re- 22 ceiving assistance under the supplemental 23 nutrition assistance program established 24 under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 25 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1364.IS S1364 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1364 IS ‘‘(2) FEDERAL PELL GRANT COMMITMENT.— 1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 2 subparagraph (B), each eligible student who 3 participates in the Program shall receive a com- 4 mitment from the Secretary to receive a Fed- 5 eral Pell Grant during the first 2 academic 6 years that the student is in attendance at an in- 7 stitution of higher education as an under- 8 graduate student, if the student— 9 ‘‘(i) applies for Federal financial aid 10 (via the FAFSA) for the award year that 11 the student will be in attendance at an in- 12 stitution of higher education; and 13 ‘‘(ii) enrolls at such institution of 14 higher education— 15 ‘‘(I) not later than 1 year after 16 such student receives a secondary 17 school diploma or its recognized equiv- 18 alent; or 19 ‘‘(II) if such student becomes a 20 member of the Armed Forces, not 21 later than 3 years after such student 22 is discharged, separated, or released 23 from the Armed Forces. 24 ‘‘(B) CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1364.IS S1364 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1364 IS ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If an eligible stu- 1 dent receives a commitment from the Sec- 2 retary to receive a Federal Pell Grant dur- 3 ing the first 2 academic years that the stu- 4 dent is in attendance at an institution of 5 higher education as an undergraduate stu- 6 dent and the student is not a member of 7 a household receiving assistance under the 8 supplemental nutrition assistance program 9 established under the Food and Nutrition 10 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) at the 11 time of the FAFSA application described 12 in subparagraph (A)(i), then such student 13 shall not receive a Federal Pell Grant pur- 14 suant to the commitment under this sec- 15 tion for the academic year, unless the stu- 16 dent, at the time of such FAFSA applica- 17 tion, is a member of a household that is el- 18 igible for benefits under— 19 ‘‘(I) the supplemental security in- 20 come program under title XVI of the 21 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 22 et seq.); 23 ‘‘(II) a State program funded 24 under the temporary assistance for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1364.IS S1364 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1364 IS needy families program under part A 1 of title IV of the Social Security Act 2 (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 3 ‘‘(III) the Medicaid program 4 under title XIX of the Social Security 5 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); or 6 ‘‘(IV) a means-tested Federal 7 benefit program, not described in sub- 8 clause (I), (II), or (III), that is deter- 9 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 10 ‘‘(ii) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER AID.— 11 A student who does not receive a Federal 12 Pell Grant pursuant to the commitment 13 under this section because such student is 14 not a member of a household receiving as- 15 sistance under the supplemental nutrition 16 assistance program established under the 17 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 18 2011 et seq.) at the time such student ap- 19 plies for Federal financial aid (via the 20 FAFSA) and the student is not eligible for 21 benefits under a program described in 22 clause (i), shall continue to be eligible for 23 any other Federal student financial aid for 24 which the student is otherwise eligible. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1364.IS S1364 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1364 IS ‘‘(C) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary 1 shall identify for each eligible institution, each 2 eligible student who attends that institution and 3 participates in the Program, including students 4 participating in accordance with subparagraph 5 (B). 6 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL PELL GRANT 7 REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of section 401 8 shall apply to Federal Pell Grants awarded pursuant 9 to this section, except that with respect to each eligi- 10 ble student who participates in the Program, the 11 amount of each such eligible student’s Federal Pell 12 Grant only shall be calculated by deeming such stu- 13 dent to have an expected family contribution equal 14 to zero. 15 ‘‘(c) STATE APPLICATIONS.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State desiring to par- 17 ticipate in the Program shall submit an application 18 to the Secretary at such time and in such manner 19 as the Secretary may require. 20 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each application shall in- 21 clude— 22 ‘‘(A) a description of the proposed targeted 23 information campaign for the Program and a 24 copy of the plan described in subsection (e)(2); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1364.IS S1364 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1364 IS ‘‘(B) an assurance that the State will fully 1 cooperate with the ongoing evaluation of the 2 Program; 3 ‘‘(C) a description of how the State will— 4 ‘‘(i) encourage participating students 5 to enroll in rigorous and challenging cur- 6 ricula and coursework, in order to reduce 7 the need for remedial coursework at the 8 postsecondary level; 9 ‘‘(ii) increase the number of partici- 10 pating students who— 11 ‘‘(I) obtain a secondary school di- 12 ploma; and 13 ‘‘(II) complete applications for 14 and enroll in a program of postsec- 15 ondary education; 16 ‘‘(iii) introduce participating students 17 to institutions of higher education, through 18 trips and school-based sessions; 19 ‘‘(iv) provide participating students 20 with assistance in the admissions and ap- 21 plication process for institutions of higher 22 education or other postsecondary education 23 programs; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1364.IS S1364 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1364 IS ‘‘(v) ensure that each participating 1 student has an educational development 2 plan; and 3 ‘‘(D) such other information as the Sec- 4 retary may require. 5 ‘‘(3) EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—In 6 this subsection, the term ‘educational development 7 plan’ means an individualized plan for a student 8 that— 9 ‘‘(A) contains a series of steps to help pro- 10 mote the student’s career awareness and explo- 11 ration; and 12 ‘‘(B) assists students in identifying— 13 ‘‘(i) career and technical education 14 programs or programs of study (as those 15 terms are defined in section 3 of the Carl 16 D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu- 17 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302), as in 18 effect on July 1, 2019); or 19 ‘‘(ii) other postsecondary options, in- 20 cluding baccalaureate and subbacca- 21 laureate degree programs. 22 ‘‘(d) EVALUATION.— 23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro- 24 priated under subsection (f) for a fiscal year, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1364.IS S1364 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1364 IS Secretary shall reserve not less than 2 percent and 1 not more than 5 percent to award a grant or con- 2 tract to an organization outside the Department for 3 an independent evaluation of the impact of the Pro- 4 gram. 5 ‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—The grant or con- 6 tract shall be awarded on a competitive basis. 7 ‘‘(3) MATTERS EVALUATED.—The evaluation 8 described in this subsection shall consider metrics 9 established by the Secretary that emphasize college 10 access and success, encouraging low-income students 11 to pursue higher education, and the cost effective- 12 ness of the program. 13 ‘‘(4) DISSEMINATION.—The findings of the 14 evaluation shall be widely disseminated to the public 15 by the organization conducting the evaluation as well 16 as by the Secretary. 17 ‘‘(e) TARGETED INFORMATION CAMPAIGN.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State receiving a 19 grant under this section shall, in cooperation with 20 the participating local educational agencies within 21 the State and the Secretary, develop a targeted in- 22 formation campaign for the Program. 23 ‘‘(2) PLAN.—Each State receiving a grant 24 under this section shall include in the application 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1364.IS S1364 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1364 IS submitted under subsection (c) a written plan for 1 their proposed targeted information campaign. The 2 plan shall include the following: 3 ‘‘(A) OUTREACH.—Outreach to students 4 and their families, at a minimum, at the begin- 5 ning and end of each academic year. 6 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION.—How the State 7 plans to provide the outreach described in sub- 8 paragraph (A) and to provide the information 9 described in subparagraph (C). 10 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION.—The annual provi- 11 sion by the State to all students and families 12 participating in the Program of information re- 13 garding— 14 ‘‘(i) the estimated national and state- 15 wide average higher education institution 16 cost data for each academic year, which 17 cost data shall be disaggregated by— 18 ‘‘(I) type of institution, includ- 19 ing— 20 ‘‘(aa) 2-year public colleges; 21 ‘‘(bb) 4-year public colleges; 22 ‘‘(cc) 4-year private colleges; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1364.IS S1364 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1364 IS ‘‘(dd) private, for-profit col- 1 leges; and 2 ‘‘(II) component, including— 3 ‘‘(aa) tuition and fees; and 4 ‘‘(bb) room and board; 5 ‘‘(ii) Federal Pell Grants, including— 6 ‘‘(I) the maximum Federal Pell 7 Grant for each academic year; 8 ‘‘(II) when and how to apply for 9 a Federal Pell Grant; and 10 ‘‘(III) what the application proc- 11 ess for a Federal Pell Grant requires; 12 ‘‘(iii) State-specific college savings 13 programs; 14 ‘‘(iv) State-based financial aid, includ- 15 ing State-based merit aid; 16 ‘‘(v) Federal financial aid available to 17 students, including eligibility criteria for 18 the Federal financial aid and an expla- 19 nation of the Federal financial aid pro- 20 grams; and 21 ‘‘(vi) financial aid that may be avail- 22 able from non-governmental sources. 23 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL INFORMATION.—The information 24 described in paragraph (2)(C) shall be provided to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1364.IS S1364 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1364 IS eligible students annually for the duration of the 1 students’ participation in the Program. 2 ‘‘(4) RESERVATION.—Each State receiving a 3 grant under this section shall reserve not less than 4 10 percent of the grant funds received each fiscal 5 year to carry out the targeted information campaign 6 described in this subsection. 7 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 8 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 9 such sums as may be necessary.’’. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1364.IS S1364 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS