Fostering Success in Higher Education Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1650 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide formula grants to States to improve higher education opportunities for foster youth and homeless youth, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 23 (legislative day, MAY 22), 2019 Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. JONES, and Mr. BROWN) introduced the fol- lowing 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 provide formula grants to States to improve higher education opportunities for foster youth and homeless youth, 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 ‘‘Fostering Success in 4 Higher Education Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1650 IS SEC. 2. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATES TO IMPROVE HIGH- 1 ER EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOSTER 2 YOUTH AND HOMELESS YOUTH. 3 Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 4 U.S.C. 1133 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 5 the following: 6 ‘‘PART F—GRANTS FOR IMPROVING ACCESS TO 7 AND SUCCESS IN HIGHER EDUCATION FOR 8 FOSTER YOUTH AND HOMELESS YOUTH 9 ‘‘SEC. 791. DEFINITIONS. 10 ‘‘In this part: 11 ‘‘(1) FOSTER YOUTH.—The term ‘foster 12 youth’— 13 ‘‘(A) means an individual whose care and 14 placement is the responsibility of the State or 15 tribal agency that administers a State or tribal 16 plan under part B or E of title IV of the Social 17 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.; 670 et 18 seq.), without regard to whether foster care 19 maintenance payments are made under section 20 472 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on behalf of 21 the individual; and 22 ‘‘(B) includes any individual— 23 ‘‘(i) whose care and placement was 24 the responsibility of such a State or tribal 25 agency when, or at any time after, the in- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1650 IS dividual attained 13 years of age, without 1 regard to whether foster care maintenance 2 payments were made under section 472 of 3 such Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on behalf of the 4 individual; and 5 ‘‘(ii) who is no longer under the care 6 and responsibility of such a State or tribal 7 agency, without regard to any subsequent 8 adoption, guardianship arrangement, or 9 other form of permanency option. 10 ‘‘(2) HOMELESS YOUTH.—The term ‘homeless 11 youth’ has the meaning given the term ‘homeless 12 children and youths’ in section 725 of the McKin- 13 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 14 11434a). 15 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 16 The terms ‘Indian Tribe’ and ‘tribal organization’ 17 have the meanings given the terms in section 4 of 18 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist- 19 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 20 ‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 21 the several States and the District of Columbia. 22 ‘‘(5) TERRITORY.—The term ‘territory’ means 23 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 24 States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1650 IS Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 1 the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 2 States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. 3 ‘‘SEC. 792. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATES TO IMPROVE AC- 4 CESS TO AND SUCCESS IN HIGHER EDU- 5 CATION FOR FOSTER YOUTH AND HOMELESS 6 YOUTH. 7 ‘‘(a) GRANT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—From the 8 amount appropriated under subsection (h), the Secretary 9 shall make allotments under subsection (b), to States hav- 10 ing applications approved under subsection (c), to enable 11 each State to— 12 ‘‘(1) carry out the Statewide transition initia- 13 tive described in subsection (d); and 14 ‘‘(2) make subgrants described in subsection 15 (e). 16 ‘‘(b) ALLOTMENTS.— 17 ‘‘(1) FORMULA.— 18 ‘‘(A) RESERVATION FOR INDIAN TRIBES 19 AND TERRITORIES.— 20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—From the amount 21 appropriated under subsection (h) for a 22 fiscal year and subject to clause (ii), the 23 Secretary shall reserve— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1650 IS ‘‘(I) not more than 3 percent for 1 grants to Indian Tribes, consortia of 2 Indian Tribes, or Tribal organiza- 3 tions; and 4 ‘‘(II) not more than 2 percent for 5 grants to territories. 6 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—In awarding 7 grants under this subparagraph, the Sec- 8 retary— 9 ‘‘(I) shall not award a grant 10 under subclause (I) or (II) of clause 11 (i) for a fiscal year for which no In- 12 dian Tribe (or consortium of Indian 13 Tribes) or Tribal organization, or ter- 14 ritory, respectively, submits a satisfac- 15 tory application for a grant under 16 such subclause; 17 ‘‘(II) shall require that any In- 18 dian Tribe, consortium, Tribal organi- 19 zation, or territory that receives a 20 grant under this subparagraph pro- 21 vide an assurance of a partnership 22 among relevant education, child wel- 23 fare, and homeless agencies or organi- 24 zations; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1650 IS ‘‘(III) may determine any other 1 requirements with respect to such 2 grants (including the allocation, appli- 3 cation, and use of fund requirements), 4 which to the extent possible, shall be 5 consistent with the requirements for 6 States under this part, except that ap- 7 propriate adjustments shall be made 8 based on the needs and size of popu- 9 lations served by the Indian Tribe, 10 consortium, Tribal organization, or 11 territory applying for the grant. 12 ‘‘(B) RESERVATION FOR DEPARTMENT AC- 13 TIVITIES.—From the amount appropriated 14 under subsection (h) for a fiscal year, the Sec- 15 retary may reserve— 16 ‘‘(i) not more than 7 percent to— 17 ‘‘(I) provide technical assistance, 18 in consultation with the Secretary of 19 Health and Human Services, to 20 States carrying out activities under 21 this section; and 22 ‘‘(II) complete the evaluations re- 23 quired by subsection (g)(1); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1650 IS ‘‘(ii) not more than 3 percent for ad- 1 ministrative expenses. 2 ‘‘(C) ALLOTMENTS.—From the amount 3 appropriated under subsection (h) for fiscal 4 year and remaining after the Secretary reserves 5 funds under subparagraphs (A) and (B), the 6 Secretary shall allot to each State the greater 7 of— 8 ‘‘(i) $500,000; or 9 ‘‘(ii) the amount that bears the same 10 proportion to the remaining appropriated 11 amount for such fiscal year as the number 12 of foster youth and homeless youth in the 13 State bears to the number of foster youth 14 and homeless youth in all States. 15 ‘‘(D) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the 16 amount appropriated under subsection (h) for a 17 fiscal year and remaining after the Secretary 18 reserves funds under subparagraphs (A) and 19 (B) is less than the amount required to be allot- 20 ted to States under subparagraph (C), then the 21 amount of the allotment to each State shall be 22 ratably reduced. 23 ‘‘(2) STATE RESERVATION.—From the amounts 24 awarded a State under paragraph (1)(C) for a fiscal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1650 IS year, the State may reserve not more than 5 percent 1 for administrative expenses. 2 ‘‘(3) TEMPORARY INELIGIBILITY FOR SUBSE- 3 QUENT PAYMENTS.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 5 determine a State to be temporarily ineligible to 6 receive a grant payment under this subsection 7 for a fiscal year if— 8 ‘‘(i) the State fails to submit an an- 9 nual report under subsection (f) for the 10 preceding fiscal year; or 11 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines, based 12 on information in such annual report, that 13 the State is not effectively— 14 ‘‘(I) meeting the outcomes de- 15 scribed in the application of such 16 State under subsection (c)(2)(C), and 17 does not have a plan to improve the 18 outcomes; 19 ‘‘(II) monitoring and evaluating 20 the activities under subsections (d) 21 and (e); or 22 ‘‘(III) using funds as required 23 under subsections (d) and (e). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1650 IS ‘‘(B) REINSTATEMENT.—If the Secretary 1 determines that a State is ineligible under sub- 2 paragraph (A), the Secretary may enter into an 3 agreement with the State setting forth the 4 terms and conditions under which the State 5 may regain eligibility to receive payments under 6 this section. 7 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year for 9 which a State desires an allotment under subsection 10 (b), the State shall submit an application to the Sec- 11 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing 12 the information described in paragraph (2). 13 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—An application 14 submitted under paragraph (1) shall include the fol- 15 lowing: 16 ‘‘(A) A plan for how the State will carry 17 out the activities under subsections (d) and (e). 18 ‘‘(B) A description of the State’s capacity 19 to carry out such activities. 20 ‘‘(C) A description of intended outcomes 21 for such activities. 22 ‘‘(D) A plan for how the State will monitor 23 and evaluate such activities, including how the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1650 IS State will use data to continually update and 1 improve such activities. 2 ‘‘(E) A description of how students will be 3 identified and recruited for participation in the 4 Statewide transition initiative under subsection 5 (d). 6 ‘‘(F) An estimate of the number and char- 7 acteristics of the populations targeted for par- 8 ticipation in the Statewide transition initiative 9 under subsection (d) with attention to the di- 10 verse needs of homeless youth and foster youth 11 in the State. 12 ‘‘(G) A description of how the State will 13 coordinate services provided under the grant 14 with services provided to foster youth and 15 homeless youth under the McKinney-Vento 16 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et 17 seq.), the Elementary and Secondary Education 18 Act of 1965, and the Runaway and Homeless 19 Youth Act (34 U.S.C. 11201 et seq.), and other 20 services provided to foster youth and homeless 21 youth by the State. 22 ‘‘(H) An assurance that the State will 23 comply with subtitle B of title VII of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1650 IS McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 1 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.). 2 ‘‘(I) An assurance that the State will part- 3 ner with State educational agencies, local edu- 4 cational agencies, institutions of higher edu- 5 cation, State and local child welfare authorities, 6 and other relevant organizations that serve fos- 7 ter youth or homeless youth. 8 ‘‘(J) An assurance that the State will sub- 9 mit the annual report required under subsection 10 (f). 11 ‘‘(K) A budgetary analysis of the use of 12 funds awarded under this section. 13 ‘‘(L) Such other information as the Sec- 14 retary may require. 15 ‘‘(d) STATEWIDE TRANSITION INITIATIVE.— 16 ‘‘(1) USE OF FUNDS.—Subject to subsection 17 (b)(2), and in consultation and coordination with the 18 entities described in paragraph (2), a State receiving 19 a grant award under this section shall use not less 20 than 25 percent of the funds to— 21 ‘‘(A) provide intensive outreach and sup- 22 port to foster youth and homeless youth to— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1650 IS ‘‘(i) improve the understanding and 1 preparation of such youth for enrollment in 2 institutions of higher education; 3 ‘‘(ii) increase the number of applica- 4 tions to institutions of higher education 5 submitted by such youth; and 6 ‘‘(iii) increase the number of enroll- 7 ments of such youth at institutions of 8 higher education; 9 ‘‘(B) provide education to foster youth and 10 homeless youth with respect to— 11 ‘‘(i) the benefits and opportunities of 12 postsecondary education; 13 ‘‘(ii) planning for postsecondary edu- 14 cation; 15 ‘‘(iii) financial aid opportunities for 16 enrollment at an institution of higher edu- 17 cation; 18 ‘‘(iv) the Federal and State services 19 and benefits available to foster youth and 20 homeless youth while enrolled at an insti- 21 tution of higher education, including health 22 and mental health services; 23 ‘‘(v) career exploration; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1650 IS ‘‘(vi) financial literacy training, in- 1 cluding security from identity theft; 2 ‘‘(C) assist foster youth and homeless 3 youth with submitting applications for— 4 ‘‘(i) enrollment at an institution of 5 higher education; 6 ‘‘(ii) financial aid for such enrollment; 7 and 8 ‘‘(iii) scholarships available for such 9 students, including under a State edu- 10 cational and training voucher program re- 11 ferred to in section 477(i) of the Social Se- 12 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 677(i)); and 13 ‘‘(D) provide free programming, which may 14 include free transportation to and from such 15 programming, for foster youth and homeless 16 youth to prepare such individuals socially and 17 academically for the rigors of postsecondary 18 education during the summer before such indi- 19 viduals first attend an institution of higher edu- 20 cation. 21 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED CONSULTATION AND COORDI- 22 NATION.—In carrying out the activities described in 23 paragraph (1), a State shall consult and coordinate 24 with State educational agencies, local educational 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1650.IS S1650 pamtm [Text truncated for display. 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