Community College Student Success Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 5029 To direct the Secretary of Education to establish and carry out two grant programs to make grants to eligible institutions to plan and implement programs that provide comprehensive support services and resources de- signed to increase transfer and graduation rates at community colleges, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 16, 2020 Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Mr. BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To direct the Secretary of Education to establish and carry out two grant programs to make grants to eligible insti- tutions to plan and implement programs that provide comprehensive support services and resources designed to increase transfer and graduation rates at community colleges, 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 ‘‘Community College 4 Student Success Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5029.IS S5029 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 5029 IS SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. Sec. 3. Definitions. TITLE I—COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT SUCCESS PROGRAM Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. Community college student success grant program authorized. Sec. 103. Grants to plan community college student success programs. Sec. 104. Grants to implement community college student success programs. Sec. 105. Evaluations. Sec. 106. Outreach and technical assistance. Sec. 107. Report to Congress. Sec. 108. Supplement, not supplant. Sec. 109. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE II—PART TIME COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT SUCCESS PROGRAM Sec. 201. Definitions. Sec. 202. Part time community college student success grant program author- ized. Sec. 203. Grants to plan part time community college student success pro- grams. Sec. 204. Grants to implement part time community college student success programs. Sec. 205. Evaluations. Sec. 206. Outreach and technical assistance. Sec. 207. Report to Congress. Sec. 208. Supplement, not supplant. Sec. 209. Authorization of appropriations. SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act: 4 (1) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi- 5 ble institution’’ means a public 2-year institution of 6 higher education. 7 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 8 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 9 meaning given the term under section 101 of the 10 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5029.IS S5029 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 5029 IS (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of Education. 2 (4) TRANSFER RATE.—The term ‘‘transfer 3 rate’’, when used with respect to students enrolled in 4 a program of study at an eligible institution, means 5 that rate at which such students transfer to a 4-year 6 institution of higher education. 7 TITLE I—COMMUNITY COLLEGE 8 STUDENT SUCCESS PROGRAM 9 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 10 In this title: 11 (1) COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT SUCCESS 12 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘community college student 13 success program’’ means a program carried out by 14 an eligible institution under which the institution 15 carries out the following: 16 (A) Provides eligible students participating 17 in such program with an amount that covers 18 the cost of tuition and fees that are not covered 19 by any Federal, State, or institutional financial 20 assistance received by the student. 21 (B) Requires eligible students participating 22 in such program to— 23 (i) be enrolled in the eligible institu- 24 tion and carry a full-time academic work- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5029.IS S5029 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 5029 IS load during each fall and spring semester 1 (or equivalent terms) during which the stu- 2 dent participates in such program; 3 (ii) if the eligible student is referred 4 to remedial courses or on academic proba- 5 tion, meet, on at least a weekly basis or 6 under an alternate schedule, as determined 7 by the institution, with a tutor, except that 8 in the case of an eligible student who is 9 academically struggling, but who is not re- 10 ferred to remedial courses or on academic 11 probation, the student may meet with a 12 tutor as often as the program advisor for 13 such student requires or under an alter- 14 nate schedule, as determined by the insti- 15 tution; 16 (iii) meet with a program advisor— 17 (I) twice each month during the 18 first semester (or equivalent term) of 19 participation in such program; and 20 (II) as directed by the program 21 advisor in subsequent semesters (or 22 equivalent terms) under subparagraph 23 (C)(ii); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5029.IS S5029 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 5029 IS (iv) meet with an on-campus career 1 advisor or participate in a career services 2 event once each semester (or equivalent 3 term) or under an alternate schedule, as 4 determined by the institution. 5 (C) Provides a program advisor to each eli- 6 gible student participating in such program 7 who— 8 (i) provides comprehensive academic 9 and personal advising to the eligible stu- 10 dent, including— 11 (I) the creation and implementa- 12 tion of an academic plan for the stu- 13 dent to graduate from a program of 14 study at the eligible institution within 15 150 percent of the normal time for 16 graduation from such program; 17 (II) taking steps to enable an eli- 18 gible student referred to remedial 19 courses to complete college mathe- 20 matics and English in their first year; 21 and 22 (III) assisting the eligible student 23 with developing and achieving aca- 24 demic goals, including creating strong 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5029.IS S5029 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 5029 IS transfer pathways that demonstrate 1 programmatic transfer for students 2 interested in transferring to a 4-year 3 institution of higher education; 4 (ii) after the eligible student partici- 5 pating in such program completes a semes- 6 ter (or equivalent term), creates for the eli- 7 gible student a needs-based advising sched- 8 ule that indicates, based on the eligible 9 student’s academic performance, the fre- 10 quency with which such eligible student 11 shall be required to meet with a program 12 advisor for each subsequent semester (or 13 equivalent term) of program participation; 14 (iii) has a caseload of not more than 15 300 eligible students; 16 (iv) tracks the attendance of the eligi- 17 ble student at the meetings described in 18 clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv) of subparagraph 19 (B); 20 (v) monitors the academic progress of 21 the eligible student; and 22 (vi) provides each eligible student who 23 meets the requirements of subparagraph 24 (B), on at least a monthly basis, with fi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5029.IS S5029 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 5029 IS nancial incentives support that will en- 1 hance student success. 2 (D) Provides tutoring, academic support, 3 and career services at no cost to eligible stu- 4 dents participating in such program, and may 5 reserve places in select courses for such eligible 6 students in order to create community within 7 cohorts of eligible students. 8 (E) Provides information to eligible stu- 9 dents participating in such program about the 10 eligibility of such students for assistance under 11 the supplemental nutrition assistance program 12 under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 13 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) and the program of block 14 grants for States for temporary assistance for 15 needy families established under part A of title 16 IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et 17 seq.). 18 (2) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 19 student’’ means a student enrolled at an eligible in- 20 stitution who— 21 (A) on the date such eligible student would 22 begin participation in a community college stu- 23 dent success program at such eligible institu- 24 tion— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5029.IS S5029 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 5029 IS (i) is enrolled in a program of study 1 leading to an associate degree that pre- 2 pares students to transfer to a 4-year in- 3 stitution of higher education or advance in 4 the labor market; 5 (ii) is carrying a full-time academic 6 workload during each Fall and Spring se- 7 mester (or equivalent terms) during which 8 the student participates in such program; 9 (iii) takes at least 20 degree-applica- 10 ble, non-remedial credits in a given aca- 11 demic year; and 12 (iv) is— 13 (I) a first-time undergraduate 14 student; or 15 (II) a continuing or transfer stu- 16 dent with not more than 15 credits 17 and a minimum grade point average 18 of 2.0 (or its equivalent); 19 (B) if the student is eligible for financial 20 aid under title IV of the Higher Education Act 21 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), has com- 22 pleted the Free Application for Federal Student 23 Aid or other common financial reporting form 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5029.IS S5029 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 5029 IS under section 483(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1 1090(a)); and 2 (C) meets any other requirements estab- 3 lished by the institution. 4 (3) FULL-TIME ACADEMIC WORKLOAD.—The 5 term ‘‘full-time academic workload’’, when used with 6 respect to a semester or equivalent term, means at 7 least 12 credits (or the equivalent). 8 SEC. 102. COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT SUCCESS GRANT 9 PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 10 From the amounts appropriated under section 109, 11 the Secretary of Education shall establish and carry out 12 the community college student success grant program to 13 award grants under sections 103 and 104, on a competi- 14 tive basis, to eligible institutions to plan and implement 15 community college student success programs designed to 16 increase— 17 (1) the rate at which program participants from 18 a program of study at such eligible institution grad- 19 uate within 150 percent of the normal time for grad- 20 uation; 21 (2) transfer rates of program participants; and 22 (3) the number of credits that a program par- 23 ticipant takes that apply to a degree in the partici- 24 pant’s desired major. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5029.IS S5029 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 5029 IS SEC. 103. GRANTS TO PLAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE STU- 1 DENT SUCCESS PROGRAMS. 2 (a) PLANNING GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From the 3 amounts appropriated to carry out this section under sec- 4 tion 109 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award plan- 5 ning grants for such fiscal year, on a competitive basis, 6 to eligible institutions to develop plans for community col- 7 lege student success programs. 8 (b) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this section 9 shall be for a 1-year period. 10 (c) PEER REVIEW PROCESS; PRIORITY.—In award- 11 ing grants under this section for a fiscal year, the Sec- 12 retary shall— 13 (1) carry out a peer review process that— 14 (A) requires that each application sub- 15 mitted under subsection (d) be peer reviewed by 16 a panel of readers composed of individuals se- 17 lected by the Secretary, which shall include— 18 (i) not less than 50 percent of read- 19 ers— 20 (I) who are not employees of the 21 Federal Government; and 22 (II) who have relevant research 23 or practical experience with respect to 24 student support programs designed to 25 increase graduation rates and transfer 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5029.IS S5029 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 5029 IS rates at public 2-year institutions of 1 higher education; and 2 (ii) to the maximum extent prac- 3 ticable, individuals who are members of 4 groups underrepresented in higher edu- 5 cation, including African Americans, His- 6 panics, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, 7 Asian Americans, and Native American 8 Pacific Islanders (including Native Hawai- 9 ians), and individuals with disabilities; and 10 (B) ensures that no individual assigned 11 under subparagraph (A) to review an applica- 12 tion has any conflict of interest with regard to 13 that application that may make the individual 14 unable to impartially conduct such review; and 15 (2) give priority to eligible institutions that are 16 eligible to receive funding under title III or V of the 17 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1051 et 18 seq.; 20 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 19 (d) APPLICATION.—An eligible institution desiring a 20 grant under this section shall submit an application to the 21 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 22 such information as the Secretary may require, which shall 23 include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5029.IS S5029 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 5029 IS (1) the graduation rate, the number of credits 1 completed (disaggregated by remedial credits and 2 college-level credits for each program of study), and 3 the transfer rate for the most recent academic year 4 for which data are available for eligible students and 5 all students, respectively; 6 (2) an analysis of how implementing a commu- 7 nity college student success program may improve 8 the graduation rate or transfer rate for eligible stu- 9 dents; and 10 (3) a description of the methods the eligible in- 11 stitution has previously used to improve the gradua- 12 tion rate or transfer rate with respect to eligible stu- 13 dents and all students, respectively. 14 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible institution that re- 15 ceives a grant under this section shall use the grant to 16 develop a plan to implement a community college student 17 success program at the eligible institution. 18 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 19 on which an eligible institution receives a grant under this 20 section, such eligible institution shall submit to the Sec- 21 retary a report that includes— 22 (1) a plan for imp [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]