Supporting Academic Freedom through Regulatory Relief Act

Summary: Supporting Academic Freedom through Regulatory Relief Act Repeals certain Department of Education (ED) regulations that for purposes of determining whether a school is eligible to participate in programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA): (1) require institutions of higher education (IHEs) and postsecondary vocational institutions (except religious schools) to be legally authorized by the state in which they are situated, (2) delineate what such legal authorization requires of states and schools, (3) impose standards and disclosure requirements on programs that prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation, and (4) define "credit hour."  Prohibits ED from promulgating or enforcing any regulation or rule not in effect on the date of this Act's enactment regarding: (1) the state authorization for IHEs to operate within a state, (2) the definition or application of the term &quot;gainful employment,&quot; or (3) a teacher preparation program accountability system. Ends that prohibition when a law is enacted that extends by at least two fiscal years the authorization or duration of one or more programs under the HEA. Prohibits ED from promulgating or enforcing any regulation or rule that defines "credit hour" for any purpose under the HEA. Prohibits ED from carrying out, developing, refining, promulgating, publishing, implementing, administering, or enforcing a postsecondary institution ratings system or any other performance system to rate IHEs. Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the HEA to authorize nonprofit IHEs to make payments to third-party entities for services that include student recruitment and are based on the amount of tuition that the IHE generates from student enrollment if the third-party entity: (1) is not affiliated with the IHE, (2) does not provide incentive payments to its employees for their success in enrolling students or securing financial aid for them, (3) is not paid by the IHE solely or separately for student recruitment services, and (4) will not make student recruitment information available to any other person or entity.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting Academic Freedom through 
Regulatory Relief Act''.

SEC. 2. REGULATORY RELIEF.

    (a) Regulations Repealed.--
            (1) Repeal.--The following regulations (including any 
        supplement or revision to such regulations) are repealed and 
        shall have no legal effect:
                    (A) State authorization.--Sections 600.4(a)(3), 
                600.5(a)(4), 600.6(a)(3), 600.9, and 668.43(b) of title 
                34, Code of Federal Regulations (relating to State 
                authorization), as added or amended by--
                            (i) the final regulations published by the 
                        Department of Education in the Federal Register 
                        on October 29, 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 66832 et 
                        seq.); or
                            (ii) the negotiated rulemaking committee 
                        established after the notice of intention to 
                        establish such committee published in the 
                        Federal Register on November 20, 2013 (78 Fed. 
                        Reg. 69612 et seq.).
                    (B) Definition of credit hour.--The definition of 
                the term ``credit hour'' in section 600.2 of title 34, 
                Code of Federal Regulations, as added by the final 
                regulations published by the Department of Education in 
                the Federal Register on October 29, 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 
                66946), and clauses (i)(A), (ii), and (iii) of 
                subsection (k)(2) of section 668.8 of such title, as 
                amended by such final regulations (75 Fed. Reg. 66949 
                et seq.).
                    (C) Gainful employment.--Sections 600.10(c), 
                600.20(d), 668.6, and 668.7, of title 34, Code of 
                Federal Regulations as added or amended by the final 
                regulations published by the Department of Education in 
                the Federal Register on October 31, 2014 (79 Fed. Reg. 
                64889 et seq.).
            (2) Effect of repeal.--To the extent that regulations 
        repealed by paragraph (1) amended regulations that were in 
        effect on June 30, 2011, the provisions of the regulations that 
        were in effect on June 30, 2011, and were so amended are 
        restored and revived as if the regulations repealed by 
        paragraph (1) had not taken effect.
    (b) Certain Regulations and Other Actions Prohibited.--
            (1) State authorization, gainful employment, and teacher 
        preparation.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary of Education shall 
                not, during the period described in subparagraph (B), 
                promulgate or enforce any regulation or rule not in 
                effect on the date of enactment of this Act for any 
                purpose under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) with respect to--
                            (i) the State authorization for 
                        institutions of higher education to operate 
                        within a State;
                            (ii) the definition or application of the 
                        term ``gainful employment''; or
                            (iii) a teacher preparation program 
                        accountability system.
                    (B) Period of prohibition.--The period during which 
                the Secretary is prohibited from promulgating or 
                enforcing a regulation described in subparagraph (A) 
                shall be the period beginning on the date of enactment 
                of this Act and ending on the date of enactment of a 
                law that extends by not less than 2 fiscal years the 
                authorization or duration of one or more programs under 
                the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 
                seq.).
            (2) Credit hour.--The Secretary of Education shall not, on 
        or after the date of enactment of this Act, promulgate or 
        enforce any regulation or rule with respect to the definition 
        of the term ``credit hour'' for any purpose under the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
            (3) Postsecondary institution ratings system.--The 
        Secretary of Education shall not carry out, develop, refine, 
        promulgate, publish, implement, administer, or enforce a 
        postsecondary institution ratings system or any other 
        performance system to rate institutions of higher education (as 
        defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1002)).

SEC. 3. THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS.

    Section 487(a)(20) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)(20)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
``Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, an institution described in 
section 101 may provide payment, based on the amount of tuition 
generated by the institution from student enrollment, to a third-party 
entity that provides a set of services to the institution that includes 
student recruitment services, regardless of whether the third-party 
entity is affiliated with an institution that provides educational 
services other than the institution providing such payment, if--
                    ``(A) the third-party entity is not affiliated with 
                the institution providing such payment;
                    ``(B) the third-party entity does not make 
                compensation payments to its employees that are 
                prohibited under this paragraph;
                    ``(C) the set of services provided to the 
                institution by the third-party entity include services 
                in addition to student recruitment services, and the 
                institution does not pay the third-party entity solely 
                or separately for student recruitment services provided 
                by the third-party entity; and
                    ``(D) any student recruitment information available 
                to the third-party entity, including personally 
                identifiable information, will not be used by, shared 
                with, or sold to any other person or entity, including 
                any institution that is affiliated with the third-party 
                entity.''.