Remedial Education Improvement Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3950 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a grant program for the improvement of remedial education programs at institutions of higher education, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 24, 2019 Mr. NORCROSS (for himself, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. KIM, Mr. COX of California, and Ms. CRAIG) 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 establish a grant program for the improvement of remedial edu- cation programs at institutions of higher education, 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 ‘‘Remedial Education 4 Improvement Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 6 The purpose of this Act is to— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3950.IH H3950 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3950 IH (1) improve remedial education and support 1 students as they move throughout credit and non- 2 credit bearing course work and complete postsec- 3 ondary education; 4 (2) provide funding to improve remedial edu- 5 cation based on five models found to have success on 6 a small scale; 7 (3) through collection of data, reports, and eval- 8 uations, compare within and between models of re- 9 medial education and the impact of such models on 10 postsecondary education completion; and 11 (4) develop strategies to replicate successful 12 models and improve the sustainability of remedial 13 education programs. 14 SEC. 3. REMEDIAL EDUCATION GRANTS. 15 Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 16 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by inserting 17 after section 486A the following: 18 ‘‘SEC. 486B. REMEDIAL EDUCATION GRANTS. 19 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the funds appro- 21 priated under subsection (k) (and not reserved under 22 subsection (c)(4)), the Secretary, in consultation 23 with the Director of the Institute of Education 24 Sciences, shall award grants, on a competitive basis, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3950.IH H3950 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3950 IH to eligible entities to improve remedial education in 1 higher education. 2 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—A grant under this section 3 shall be awarded for a period of 5 years. 4 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM AWARDS.—The total amount of 5 funds provided under each grant awarded under this 6 section shall not be less than $500,000. 7 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires to 8 receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica- 9 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 10 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 11 require, which shall include the following: 12 ‘‘(1) A description of how the eligible entity will 13 use the grant funds to develop or improve a remedial 14 education program that includes evidence-based, ef- 15 fective strategies for providing instruction to ensure 16 that students are prepared for courses at the post- 17 secondary level. 18 ‘‘(2) An assurance that the eligible entity will 19 use more than two measures (such as a student’s 20 college entrance examination score, grade point aver- 21 age, high school course list, or a placement examina- 22 tion) to identify students in need of remedial edu- 23 cation who may be eligible to participate in the re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3950.IH H3950 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3950 IH medial education program developed or improved 1 under the grant. 2 ‘‘(3) A description of how the eligible entity, in 3 developing or improving such a program, will consult 4 with stakeholders, including individuals with exper- 5 tise in remedial education, students enrolled in reme- 6 dial education, and faculty instructors for remedial 7 education. 8 ‘‘(4) The eligible entity’s plan for sustaining the 9 program after the grant period has ended. 10 ‘‘(5) The eligible entity’s plan for monitoring 11 and evaluating the program, including how the eligi- 12 ble entity will use the data collected under sub- 13 section (h) to continually update and improve the 14 program. 15 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION AND INDEPENDENT EVALUA- 16 TION.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before selecting eligible en- 18 tities to receive grants under this section for a fiscal 19 year, the Secretary shall— 20 ‘‘(A) ensure that the consultation required 21 under paragraph (3) is carried out; and 22 ‘‘(B) consider the results of the consulta- 23 tion in selecting eligible entities to receive such 24 grants. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3950.IH H3950 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3950 IH ‘‘(2) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary, 1 acting through the Director, shall seek to enter into 2 a contract with an independent evaluator under 3 which the evaluator will provide the consultation and 4 evaluation required under paragraph (3). 5 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION AND INDEPENDENT EVAL- 6 UATION REQUIRED.—The independent evaluator 7 shall carry out the following activities: 8 ‘‘(A) CONSULTATION.—For each fiscal 9 year of the grant program under this section, 10 the independent evaluator shall consult with, 11 and provide advice to, the Secretary regarding 12 which eligible entities should receive grants 13 under this section for such fiscal year. 14 ‘‘(B) EVALUATION.—Throughout the dura- 15 tion of the grant program under this section, 16 the independent evaluator shall independently 17 evaluate the impact of the remedial education 18 programs funded with the grants, which shall 19 include evaluation of— 20 ‘‘(i) the effectiveness of the remedial 21 education programs in increasing course 22 and degree completion at the postsec- 23 ondary level; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3950.IH H3950 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3950 IH ‘‘(ii) the outcomes of the remedial 1 education programs within and among 2 models of remedial education described in 3 subsection (d). 4 ‘‘(4) RESERVATION.—The Secretary may re- 5 serve not more than 15 percent of the funds appro- 6 priated under subsection (k) for a fiscal year to 7 carry out this subsection for such fiscal year. 8 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 9 a grant under this section shall use the grant to develop 10 or improve a remedial education program through one or 11 more of the following models: 12 ‘‘(1) ALIGNING COURSE WORK.—Working with 13 a local educational agency or State educational agen- 14 cy that is part of the eligible entity to develop or im- 15 prove programs that provide alignment between high 16 school coursework and postsecondary education, and 17 that may include— 18 ‘‘(A) assessments in high school to meas- 19 ure student readiness for courses at the post- 20 secondary level; or 21 ‘‘(B) interventions in high school that im- 22 prove student competencies for courses at the 23 postsecondary level. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3950.IH H3950 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3950 IH ‘‘(2) ACCELERATED COURSE WORK.—Rede- 1 signing or improving remedial education that— 2 ‘‘(A) allows students to enroll in more than 3 one sequential remedial education course or 4 training in a semester, or the equivalent; 5 ‘‘(B) condenses the time of the remedial 6 education; or 7 ‘‘(C) provides shortened, intensive courses 8 or training to improve competencies of students 9 for courses at the postsecondary level. 10 ‘‘(3) MODULAR INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS.— 11 Developing or improving remedial education that— 12 ‘‘(A) specifically targets the skills that stu- 13 dents need to move forward in courses at the 14 postsecondary level; and 15 ‘‘(B) may be used to develop new assess- 16 ments, redesign courses to provide targeted skill 17 instruction, or provide faculty professional de- 18 velopment. 19 ‘‘(4) CO-REQUISITE MODEL.—Developing or im- 20 proving remedial education programs that allow a 21 student to enroll in remedial education (which may 22 be provided through a modular instructional meth- 23 od) while also enrolled in a course at the postsec- 24 ondary level. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3950.IH H3950 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3950 IH ‘‘(5) SYSTEMIC REFORM TO IMPLEMENT COM- 1 PREHENSIVE, INTEGRATED SUPPORT PROGRAMS.— 2 Implementing and improving comprehensive, inte- 3 grated, evidence-based support programs that— 4 ‘‘(A) enable students enrolled in remedial 5 education to complete a course of study leading 6 to a recognized educational credential within 7 150 percent of the normal time for completion; 8 and 9 ‘‘(B) may include financial supports, aca- 10 demic tutoring or support, and advising that 11 enable students to find success in remedial edu- 12 cation and courses at the postsecondary level. 13 ‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants under 14 this section, the Secretary, in consultation with the Direc- 15 tor, shall— 16 ‘‘(1) ensure— 17 ‘‘(A) a minimum of 30 eligible entities are 18 awarded grants for each 5-year grant period; 19 ‘‘(B) an equitable geographic distribution 20 of such grants, including an equitable distribu- 21 tion between urban and rural areas; and 22 ‘‘(C) that grants are used to develop or im- 23 prove remedial education programs— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3950.IH H3950 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3950 IH ‘‘(i) under each model described in 1 subsection (d) to enable, to the extent 2 practicable, statistical comparisons of the 3 relative effectiveness of the models and the 4 programs within each model; and 5 ‘‘(ii) for a range of types and sizes of 6 institutions of higher education; and 7 ‘‘(2) give preference to eligible entities that pri- 8 marily serve low-income students. 9 ‘‘(f) FISCAL REQUIREMENTS.— 10 ‘‘(1) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—A grant 11 awarded under this section shall be used to supple- 12 ment, not supplant, funds that would otherwise be 13 used to carry out the activities described in this sec- 14 tion. 15 ‘‘(2) MATCHING FUNDS.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 17 graph (B), an eligible entity that receives a 18 grant under this section shall provide, from 19 non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 10 20 percent of the amount of the grant for the cost 21 of activities assisted under the grant. 22 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirements of 23 subparagraph (A) shall not apply to— 24 ‘‘(i) Tribal Colleges or Universities; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3950.IH H3950 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3950 IH ‘‘(ii) institutions of higher education 1 located in the Commonwealth of Puerto 2 Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United 3 States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth 4 of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Re- 5 public of the Marshall Islands, the Fed- 6 erated States of Micronesia, or the Repub- 7 lic of Palau. 8 ‘‘(g) EXPERIMENTAL AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding 9 any other provision of this title, a student may be eligible 10 to receive loans or grants under this title for up to 2 aca- 11 demic years for enrollment in a remedial education pro- 12 gram under this section. 13 ‘‘(h) DATA COLLECTION, REPORTS, EVALUATIONS, 14 AND DISSEMINATION.— 15 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION.— 16 ‘‘(A) STUDENT-LEVEL DATA.—Each eligi- 17 ble entity that receives a grant under this sec- 18 tion shall provide to the Director and the Sec- 19 retary, on an annual basis for each year of the 20 grant period and for 5 years after such grant 21 period, the student-level data with respect to 22 the students who are or were enrolled in a re- 23 medial education program funded with the 24 grant. The Director and the Secretary shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3950.IH H3950 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3950 IH share such data with the independent evaluator 1 to enable the evaluator, for each such year, to 2 determine the information described in subpara- 3 graph (B) with respect to each such remedial 4 education program. 5 ‘‘(B) AGGREGATE STUDENT DATA.—The 6 independent evaluator shall determine, with re- 7 spect to each remedial education program for 8 which an eligible entity provides student-level 9 data under subparagraph (A), the following in- 10 formation: 11 ‘‘(i) The number of students who are 12 or were enrolled in such remedial education 13 program. 14 ‘‘(ii) The cost of such remedial edu- 15 cation program. 16 ‘‘(iii) The amount of grant or loan 17 funds under this title awarded to students 18 for enrollment in such remedial education 19 program. 20 ‘‘(iv) The type of remedial education 21 offered under the program. 22 ‘‘(v) The length of time students 23 spend in such remedial education program, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3950.IH H3950 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3950 IH as measured by semester, trimester, or 1 clock hours. 2 ‘‘(vi) The number of students who 3 complete such remedial education program. 4 ‘‘(vii) Of the students who complete 5 such remedial education program— 6 ‘‘(I) the number and percentage 7 of such students who later enroll in 8 postsecondary-level courses at an in- 9 stitution of higher education; 10 ‘‘(II) the number and percentage 11 of such students who receive a recog- 12 nized educational credential from an 13 institution of higher education; 14 ‘‘(III) the average length of time 15 required for a student described in 16 subclause (II) to complete the course 17 of study leading to such credential; 18 and 19 ‘‘(IV) the number and percentage 20 of students described in subclause (II) 21 who complete the course of study 22 leading to such credential within 150 23 percent of the normal time for com- 24 pletion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3950.IH H3950 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 3950 IH ‘‘(C) DISAGGREGATION.—The information 1 determined under subparagraph (B) shall be 2 disaggregated by race, gender, socioeconomic 3 status, Federal Pell Grant eligibility status, sta- 4 tus as a first generation college student, vet- 5 eran or active duty s [Text truncated for display. 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