Protecting Access to Student Transcripts Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3761 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit institutions of higher education from denying students access to transcripts because of loan default. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 15, 2019 Mrs. LEE of Nevada (for herself, Ms. FINKENAUER, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. WIL- SON of Florida, and Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit institutions of higher education from denying students access to transcripts because of loan default. 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 ‘‘Protecting Access to 4 Student Transcripts Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3761.IH H3761 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3761 IH SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON LOSS OF ACCESS TO TRAN- 1 SCRIPTS FOR LOAN DEFAULT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 487(a) of the Higher 3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended 4 by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(30)(A) The institution will not prohibit a stu- 6 dent from accessing the student’s transcripts, degree 7 scrolls, or other certifications of coursework or edu- 8 cational attainments at the institution because the 9 student is in default on a loan made, insured, or 10 guaranteed under this title. 11 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term 12 ‘student’ includes former students.’’. 13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 14 subsection (a) shall take effect with respect to academic 15 year 2019–2020 and each succeeding academic year. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3761.IH H3761 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS