Student Veterans Transparency and Protection Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1309 To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve how the Department of Veterans Affairs discloses to individuals entitled to educational assist- ance from the Department risks associated with using such assistance at particular educational institutions and to restore entitlement of stu- dents to such assistance who are pursuing programs of education at educational institutions that are subject to Federal or State civil enforce- ment action, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 26, 2023 Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Mr. ROUNDS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve how the Department of Veterans Affairs discloses to individuals entitled to educational assistance from the Department risks associated with using such assistance at particular educational institutions and to restore enti- tlement of students to such assistance who are pursuing programs of education at educational institutions that are subject to Federal or State civil enforcement action, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.IS S1309 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1309 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Veterans 2 Transparency and Protection Act of 2023’’. 3 SEC. 2. IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY 4 OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS FOR PUR- 5 POSES OF VETERANS EDUCATIONAL ASSIST- 6 ANCE. 7 (a) REQUIREMENT RELATING TO G.I. BILL COM- 8 PARISON TOOL.— 9 (1) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN TOOL.—The 10 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall maintain the G.I. 11 Bill Comparison Tool that was established pursuant 12 to Executive Order 13607 (77 Fed. Reg. 25861; re- 13 lating to establishing principles of excellence for edu- 14 cational institutions serving service members, vet- 15 erans, spouses, and other family members) and in 16 effect on the day before the date of the enactment 17 of this Act, or successor tool, to provide relevant and 18 timely information about programs of education ap- 19 proved under chapter 36 of title 38, United States 20 Code, and the educational institutions that offer 21 such programs. 22 (2) DATA RETENTION.—The Secretary shall en- 23 sure that historical data that is reported via the tool 24 maintained under paragraph (1) remains easily and 25 prominently accessible on the benefits.va.gov website, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.IS S1309 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1309 IS or successor website, for a period of not less than 1 seven years from the date of initial publication. 2 (b) PROVIDING TIMELY AND RELEVANT EDUCATION 3 INFORMATION TO VETERANS, MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 4 FORCES, AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 7 retary of Veterans Affairs, in coordination with the 8 Secretary of Education, shall make such changes to 9 the tool maintained under subsection (a) as the Sec- 10 retary determines appropriate to ensure that such 11 tool is an effective and efficient method for providing 12 information pursuant to section 3698(b)(5) of title 13 38, United States Code. 14 (2) MODIFICATION OF SCOPE OF COMPREHEN- 15 SIVE POLICY ON PROVIDING EDUCATION INFORMA- 16 TION.—Section 3698 of title 38, United States Code, 17 is amended— 18 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘veterans 19 and members of the Armed Forces’’ and insert- 20 ing ‘‘individuals entitled to educational assist- 21 ance under laws administered by the Secretary 22 of Veterans Affairs’’; and 23 (B) in subsection (b)(5)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.IS S1309 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1309 IS (i) by striking ‘‘veterans and members 1 of the Armed Forces’’ and inserting ‘‘indi- 2 viduals described in subsection (a)’’; and 3 (ii) by striking ‘‘the veteran or mem- 4 ber’’ and inserting ‘‘the individual’’. 5 (3) G.I. BILL COMPARISON TOOL REQUIRED 6 DISCLOSURES.—Paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of 7 such section is amended— 8 (A) by striking subparagraph (B) and in- 9 serting the following: 10 ‘‘(B) for each individual described in sub- 11 section (a) seeking information provided under 12 subsection (b)(5) the name of each Federal stu- 13 dent aid program, and a description of each 14 such program, from which the individual may 15 receive educational assistance.’’; 16 (B) in subparagraph (C)— 17 (i) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and a 18 definition of each type of institution;’’ be- 19 fore the semicolon; 20 (ii) in clause (iv), by inserting ‘‘and if 21 so, which programs;’’ before the semicolon; 22 (iii) by striking clause (v) and insert- 23 ing the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.IS S1309 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1309 IS ‘‘(v) the average annual cost to earn an as- 1 sociate’s degree and a bachelor’s degree, with 2 available cost information on any other degree 3 or credential the institution awards;’’; 4 (iv) in clause (vi), by inserting before 5 the semicolon ‘‘disaggregated by— 6 ‘‘(I) individuals who received a cre- 7 dential and individuals who did not; and 8 ‘‘(II) individuals using educational as- 9 sistance under laws administered by the 10 Secretary and individuals who are not’’; 11 (v) in clause (xv), by striking the pe- 12 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 13 and 14 (vi) by adding at the end the following 15 new clauses: 16 ‘‘(xvi) transfer-out rates; 17 ‘‘(xvii) credentials available and the aver- 18 age time for completion of each credential; 19 ‘‘(xviii) employment rate and median in- 20 come of graduates of the institution in general, 21 disaggregated by— 22 ‘‘(I) specific credential; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.IS S1309 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1309 IS ‘‘(II) individuals using educational as- 1 sistance under laws administered by the 2 Secretary and individuals who are not; 3 ‘‘(xix) the number of individuals using edu- 4 cational assistance under laws administered by 5 the Secretary who are enrolled in the institution 6 per year; and 7 ‘‘(xx) a list of each civil settlement or find- 8 ing resulting from a Federal or State action in 9 a court of competent jurisdiction against the in- 10 stitution for violation of a provision of Federal 11 or State law that materially affects the edu- 12 cation provided at the institution or is the re- 13 sult of illicit activity, including deceptive mar- 14 keting or misinformation provided to prospec- 15 tive students or current enrollees.’’. 16 (4) CLARITY OF INFORMATION PROVIDED.— 17 Paragraph (2) of such subsection is amended— 18 (A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘To the ex- 19 tent’’; and 20 (B) by adding at the end the following new 21 subparagraph: 22 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall ensure that information 23 provided under subsection (b)(5) is provided in a manner 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.IS S1309 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1309 IS that is easy and accessible to individuals described in sub- 1 section (a).’’. 2 (c) IMPROVEMENTS FOR STUDENT FEEDBACK.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b)(2) of such 4 section is amended— 5 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 6 as follows: 7 ‘‘(A) provides institutions of higher learn- 8 ing up to 90 days to review and respond to any 9 feedback and address issues regarding the feed- 10 back before the feedback is published;’’; 11 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; 12 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 13 (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 14 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 15 and 16 (D) by adding at the end the following new 17 subparagraphs: 18 ‘‘(D) for each institution of higher learning 19 that is approved under this chapter, retains, 20 maintains, and publishes all of such feedback 21 for the entire duration that the institution of 22 higher is approved under this chapter; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.IS S1309 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1309 IS ‘‘(E) is easily accessible to individuals de- 1 scribed in subsection (a) and to the general 2 public.’’. 3 (2) ACCESSIBILITY FROM G.I. BILL COMPARISON 4 TOOL.—The Secretary shall ensure that— 5 (A) the feedback tracked and published 6 under subsection (b)(2) of such section, as 7 amended by paragraph (1), is prominently dis- 8 played in the tool maintained under subsection 9 (a) of this section; and 10 (B) when such tool displays information 11 for an institution of higher learning, the appli- 12 cable feedback is also displayed for such institu- 13 tion of higher learning. 14 (d) TRAINING FOR PROVISION OF EDUCATION COUN- 15 SELING SERVICES.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than one year after 17 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 18 shall ensure that personnel employed or contracted 19 by the Department of Veteran Affairs to provide 20 education benefits counseling, vocational or transi- 21 tion assistance, or similar functions, including em- 22 ployees or contractors of the Department who pro- 23 vide such counseling or assistance as part of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.IS S1309 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1309 IS Transition Assistance Program, are trained on 1 how— 2 (A) to use properly the tool maintained 3 under subsection (a); and 4 (B) to provide appropriate educational 5 counseling services to individuals described in 6 section 3698(a) of such title, as amended by 7 subsection (b)(2)(A). 8 (2) TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM DE- 9 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘Transition 10 Assistance Program’’ means the program of coun- 11 seling, information, and services under section 1142 12 of title 10, United States Code. 13 SEC. 3. RESTORATION OF ENTITLEMENT TO VETERANS 14 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE AND OTHER RE- 15 LIEF FOR VETERANS AFFECTED BY CIVIL EN- 16 FORCEMENT ACTIONS AGAINST EDU- 17 CATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3699(b)(1) of title 38, 19 United States Code, is amended— 20 (1) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 21 and inserting a semicolon; 22 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 23 and inserting a semicolon; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.IS S1309 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1309 IS (3) by adding at the end the following new sub- 1 paragraphs: 2 ‘‘(D) a Federal or State civil enforcement 3 action against the education institution; or 4 ‘‘(E) an action taken by the Secretary; 5 and’’. 6 (b) MECHANISM.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 7 shall establish a simple mechanism that can be used by 8 an individual described in subsection (b)(1) of section 9 3699 of such title by reason of subparagraph (C) or (D) 10 of such subsection, as added by subsection (a)(3) of this 11 section, to obtain relief under section 3699(a) of such title. 12 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 13 (1) SECTION HEADING.—The heading for sec- 14 tion 3699 of such title is amended by striking ‘‘or 15 disapproval of educational institution’’ 16 and inserting ‘‘of, disapproval of, or civil en- 17 forcement actions against educational in- 18 stitutions’’. 19 (2) SUBSECTION HEADING.—The heading for 20 subsection (a) of such section is amended by striking 21 ‘‘OR DISAPPROVAL’’ and inserting ‘‘, DISAPPROVAL, 22 CIVIL ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS, AND OTHER AC- 23 TIONS BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.IS S1309 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1309 IS (3) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 1 at the beginning of chapter 36 of such title is 2 amended by striking the item relating to section 3 3699 and inserting the following new item: 4 ‘‘3699. Effects of closure of, disapproval of, or civil enforcement actions against educational institutions.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1309.IS S1309 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS