Higher Education Reform and Opportunity Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4098 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for accreditation reform, to require institutions of higher education to publish information regarding student success, to provide for fiscal accountability, and to provide for school accountability for student loans. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 30, 2019 Mr. ROONEY of Florida (for himself, Mr. RATCLIFFE, and Mr. BUDD) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu- cation and Labor A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for accreditation reform, to require institutions of higher education to publish information regarding student suc- cess, to provide for fiscal accountability, and to provide for school accountability for student loans. 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 ‘‘Higher Education Re- 4 form and Opportunity Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4098.IH H4098 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4098 IH TITLE I—ACCREDITATION 1 REFORM 2 SEC. 101. ACCREDITATION REFORM. 3 (a) DEFINITION OF INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU- 4 CATION.—Section 102(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act 5 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)(1)) is amended— 6 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 7 (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and 8 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(B) if accredited by an authorized accred- 11 itation authority in a State that has an alter- 12 native accreditation agreement with the Sec- 13 retary, as described in section 498C— 14 ‘‘(i) an institution that provides post- 15 secondary education; 16 ‘‘(ii) a postsecondary apprenticeship 17 program; or 18 ‘‘(iii) a postsecondary education 19 course or program provided by an institu- 20 tion of postsecondary education, a non- 21 profit organization, or a for-profit organi- 22 zation or business;’’. 23 (b) STATE ALTERNATIVE ACCREDITATION.—Part H 24 of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4098.IH H4098 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4098 IH 1099a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 1 lowing: 2 ‘‘Subpart 4—State Alternative Accreditation 3 ‘‘SEC. 498C. STATE ALTERNATIVE ACCREDITATION. 4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 5 vision of law, a State may establish an alternative accredi- 6 tation system for the purpose of establishing institutions 7 that provide postsecondary education and postsecondary 8 education courses or programs as eligible for funding 9 under title IV if the State submits a plan to the Secretary 10 for the establishment of the alternative accreditation sys- 11 tem. Such institutions, courses, or programs may in- 12 clude— 13 ‘‘(1) institutions that provide postsecondary 14 education that culminates in a certification, creden- 15 tial, or degree; 16 ‘‘(2) postsecondary apprenticeship programs 17 that culminate in a certification, credential, or de- 18 gree; 19 ‘‘(3) any other postsecondary education course 20 or program offered at an institution of postsec- 21 ondary education, a nonprofit organization, or a for- 22 profit organization or business, that culminates in a 23 certification, credential, or degree; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4098.IH H4098 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4098 IH ‘‘(4) any of the entities described in paragraphs 1 (1) through (3) that do not award a postsecondary 2 certification, credential, or degree, provided that 3 such entity provides credit that will be accepted to- 4 ward a postsecondary certification, credential, or de- 5 gree at one or more of the entities described in para- 6 graphs (1) through (3). 7 ‘‘(b) ALTERNATIVE ACCREDITATION NOTIFICA- 8 TION.—The alternative accreditation plan described in 9 subsection (a) shall include the following: 10 ‘‘(1) The State’s plan for designating one or 11 more authorized accrediting entities within the 12 State, such as the State Department of Education, 13 another State agency, an industry-specific accred- 14 iting agency, or another entity, and an explanation 15 of the process through which the State will select 16 such authorized accrediting entities. 17 ‘‘(2) The standards or criteria that an institu- 18 tion that provides postsecondary education and a 19 postsecondary education course or program must 20 meet in order to— 21 ‘‘(A) receive an initial accreditation as part 22 of the alternative accreditation system; and 23 ‘‘(B) maintain such accreditation. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4098.IH H4098 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4098 IH ‘‘(3) A description of the appeals process 1 through which an institution that provides postsec- 2 ondary education or a postsecondary education 3 course or program may appeal to an authorized ac- 4 crediting entity if such institution, course, or pro- 5 gram is denied accreditation under the State alter- 6 native accreditation system. 7 ‘‘(4) Any State policy regarding public accessi- 8 bility to certain information relating to institutions 9 that provide postsecondary education and postsec- 10 ondary education courses and programs accredited 11 under the State alternative accreditation system, in- 12 cluding— 13 ‘‘(A) the information described in sub- 14 section (e)(1); and 15 ‘‘(B) information about the rates of job 16 placement for individuals that have graduated 17 from an institution or completed a course or 18 program that is accredited under the State al- 19 ternative accreditation system, if available. 20 ‘‘(5) An assurance by the State that under the 21 State alternative accreditation system, only institu- 22 tions that provide postsecondary education and post- 23 secondary education courses or programs that pro- 24 vide a postsecondary certification, credential, or de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4098.IH H4098 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4098 IH gree, or credits toward a postsecondary certification, 1 credential, or degree (as defined by the State in ac- 2 cordance with paragraph (6)) will be accredited. 3 ‘‘(6) The State’s definition of a postsecondary 4 certification, credential, or degree, as such term ap- 5 plies to the requirement described in paragraph (5). 6 ‘‘(7) A description of the agreements that the 7 State will enter into with institutions that provide 8 postsecondary education and postsecondary edu- 9 cation courses or programs that are accredited 10 under the alternative accreditation system for pur- 11 poses of accreditation regarding requirements for in- 12 structional time, in lieu of the requirements de- 13 scribed under section 481(a)(2). 14 ‘‘(8) A description of the agreements that the 15 State will enter into with institutions that provide 16 postsecondary education and postsecondary edu- 17 cation courses or programs that are accredited 18 under the alternative accreditation system regarding 19 requirements for credit hours or clock hours, or 20 other measures of student learning, in lieu of the re- 21 quirements described under section 481(b). 22 ‘‘(c) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—Not later than 30 23 days after the Secretary receives a plan from a State re- 24 garding an alternative accreditation system, the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4098.IH H4098 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 4098 IH shall submit to the State and Congress, and make publicly 1 available, a response to the State’s plan. The Secretary 2 shall approve the plan and allow the State to establish the 3 alternative accreditation system if the plan meets the re- 4 quirements described in subsection (b). 5 ‘‘(d) TIME LIMIT.—Each plan approved under sub- 6 section (c) shall allow a State to carry out an alternative 7 accreditation system in the State for a period of 5 years. 8 ‘‘(e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—States that es- 9 tablish an alternative accreditation system shall submit a 10 report to the Secretary every 3 years following the imple- 11 mentation of the alternative accreditation system. The re- 12 port shall include— 13 ‘‘(1) in the case of a postsecondary education 14 course or program that is accredited through the 15 State alternative accreditation system— 16 ‘‘(A) the number and percentage of stu- 17 dents who successfully complete each such post- 18 secondary education course or program; and 19 ‘‘(B) for postsecondary education courses 20 or programs that lead to a certification, creden- 21 tial, or degree, the number of students in such 22 course or program; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4098.IH H4098 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 4098 IH ‘‘(2) in the case of an institution that provides 1 postsecondary education that is accredited through 2 the State alternative accreditation system— 3 ‘‘(A) the number and percentage of stu- 4 dents who successfully obtain a postsecondary 5 certification, credential, or degree from such in- 6 stitution; and 7 ‘‘(B) the number and percentage of stu- 8 dents who do not successfully obtain a postsec- 9 ondary certification, credential, or degree from 10 such institution but do obtain credit from such 11 institution toward a postsecondary degree, cre- 12 dential, or certification; and 13 ‘‘(3) a description of any requirements for 14 third-party verification of information contained in 15 the report.’’. 16 (c) TITLE IV ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—Part G 17 of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 18 1088 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 19 lowing: 20 ‘‘SEC. 493E. STATE ACCREDITED INSTITUTIONS, PRO- 21 GRAMS, OR COURSES. 22 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an in- 23 stitution, program, or course that is eligible for funds 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4098.IH H4098 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 4098 IH under this title in accordance with section 102(a)(1)(B) 1 and meets the requirements of section 498C— 2 ‘‘(1) shall not be required to meet the require- 3 ments of section 496; and 4 ‘‘(2) shall not be required to meet the require- 5 ments described in subsections (a)(2) and (b) of sec- 6 tion 481.’’. 7 TITLE II—TRANSPARENCY IN 8 HIGHER EDUCATION 9 SEC. 201. TIME FOR TRANSPARENCY IN HIGHER EDU- 10 CATION. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Higher Education 12 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended— 13 (1) in section 487(a), by adding at the end the 14 following: 15 ‘‘(30) The institution will publish information 16 in compliance with section 493E.’’; and 17 (2) in part G, by adding at the end the fol- 18 lowing: 19 ‘‘SEC. 493E. INSTITUTIONAL PUBLICATION OF INFORMA- 20 TION. 21 ‘‘(a) PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each institution of higher 23 education participating in a program under this title 24 shall publish on the institution’s website and in an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4098.IH H4098 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 4098 IH alternative format, on an annual basis, the informa- 1 tion described in paragraphs (2) and (3). To the ex- 2 tent that such data is available, an institution may 3 use data that the institution is already collecting in 4 accordance with other Federal requirements. 5 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION.—Each institution of higher 6 education described in paragraph (1) shall publish, 7 with respect to the institution as a whole and with 8 respect to each program of study offered by the in- 9 stitution, the following information for the most re- 10 cent fiscal year for which the information is avail- 11 able: 12 ‘‘(A) For each of the following, the per- 13 centage and number of students enrolled at the 14 institution or in the program of study, as appli- 15 cable, who receive the following: 16 ‘‘(i) Federal grant aid, including Fed- 17 eral Pell Grants under subpart 1 of part 18 A, Federal Supplemental Educational Op- 19 portunity Grants under subpart 3 of part 20 A, or any other Federal postsecondary edu- 21 cation grant aid or subsidy. 22 ‘‘(ii) Federal student loans, including 23 Federal loans under part D. 24 ‘‘(iii) State grant aid. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4098.IH H4098 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 4098 IH ‘‘(iv) Institutional grants. 1 ‘‘(v) A student loan from a State. 2 ‘‘(B) Student body enrollment status, in- 3 cluding as a— 4 ‘‘(i) first-time, full-time student; 5 ‘‘(ii) first-time, part-time student; 6 ‘‘(iii) non-first-time, full-time student; 7 and 8 ‘‘(iv) non-first-time, part-time student. 9 ‘‘(C) Information about students that in- 10 cludes the following: 11 ‘‘(i) The percentage of students who 12 do not complete the program of study the 13 student initially started upon enrollment. 14 ‘‘(ii) The percentage of students who 15 transfer. 16 ‘‘(iii) The percentage of students who 17 complete the program of study the student 18 initially started upon enrollment. 19 ‘‘(iv) The average length of time for a 20 student to complete the program of study. 21 ‘‘(v) The percentage of students who 22 continue on to higher levels of education. 23 ‘‘(vi) The percentage of former stu- 24 dents who received financial aid who are 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Aug 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4098.IH H4098 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 4098 IH employed at 2, 4, and 6 years after grad- 1 uating, disaggregated by program of study. 2 ‘‘(vii) The median earnings of former 3 students who earned a degree or credential 4 and received financial aid on the date that 5 is 10 years after the date the students first 6 enrolled in a program of study at the insti- 7 tution, disaggregated by program of study. 8 ‘‘(viii) The median earnings of former 9 students who received financial aid on the 10 date that is 10 years after the date the 11 students first enrolled in a program of 12 study at the institution, disaggregated by 13 program of study. 14 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION OF DEFAULT AND NON-RE- 15 PAYMENT RATES.—In addition to the information 16 described in paragraph (2), each institution of high- 17 er education described in paragraph (1) shall pub- 18 lish, with res [Text truncated for display. 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