HBCU Innovation Fund Act

Summary: HBCU Innovation Fund Act This bill amends title VII (Graduate and Postsecondary Improvement Programs) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a competitive grant program for historically black colleges and universities to plan, develop, and implement innovations that enable disadvantaged students to enroll in, persist through, and graduate from college.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``HBCU Innovation Fund Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO PROMOTE INNOVATIONS AT HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES 
              AND UNIVERSITIES.

    Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1133 et 
seq.) is amended by inserting after part B the following new part:

   ``PART C--FUNDING INNOVATIONS AT HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND 
                              UNIVERSITIES

``SEC. 751. PURPOSE.

    ``It is the purpose of this part to assist historically Black 
colleges and universities in planning, developing, implementing, 
validating, and replicating innovations that provide solutions to 
persistent challenges in enabling economically and educationally 
disadvantaged students to enroll in, persist through, and graduate from 
college, including innovations designed to--
            ``(1) improve student achievement at historically Black 
        colleges and universities;
            ``(2) increase the successful recruitment at historically 
        Black colleges and universities of--
                    ``(A) students from low-income families of all 
                races;
                    ``(B) adults; and
                    ``(C) military-affiliated students;
            ``(3) increase the rate at which students enrolled in 
        historically Black colleges and universities make adequate or 
        accelerated progress toward graduation, and successfully 
        graduate from such colleges and universities;
            ``(4) increase the number of students pursuing and 
        completing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and 
        mathematics at historically Black colleges and universities and 
        pursuing graduate work in such fields, including through the 
        establishment of innovation ecosystems on the campuses of such 
        colleges and universities;
            ``(5) redesign course offerings and other instructional 
        strategies at historically Black colleges and universities to 
        improve student outcomes and reduce education costs;
            ``(6) enhance the quality and number of traditional and 
        alternative route teacher preparation programs offered by 
        historically Black colleges and universities;
            ``(7) expand the effective use of technology at 
        historically Black colleges and universities; and
            ``(8) strengthen postgraduate employment outcomes for 
        students enrolled in historically Black colleges and 
        universities.

``SEC. 752. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this part, the term `eligible entity' means--
            ``(1) a part B institution, as defined in section 322(2);
            ``(2) a part B institution, as so defined, applying in a 
        consortium with one or more other institutions of higher 
        education;
            ``(3) a part B institution, as so defined, applying in a 
        consortium with one or more private nonprofit organizations;
            ``(4) a part B institution, as so defined, applying in a 
        consortium with one or more local educational agencies; or
            ``(5) a part B institution, as so defined, applying in a 
        consortium that includes entities described in more than one of 
        subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D).

``SEC. 753. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

    ``(a) In General.--With funds made available for this part under 
section 757, the Secretary shall make competitive planning and 
implementation grants, as described in subsections (b) and (c), to 
eligible entities to enable such entities to plan for the 
implementation of, in the case of a planning grant, and implement, in 
the case of an implementation grant, innovations described in section 
751 and to support the planning, development, implementation, 
validation, scaling up, and replication of such innovations.
    ``(b) Planning Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--Of the funds made available under 
        section 757 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall use not more 
        than 5 percent or $12,500,000 (whichever is greater) to award 
        planning grants to enable eligible entities to plan, design, 
        and develop innovations described in section 751.
            ``(2) Duration.--A planning grant authorized under this 
        subsection shall be for the duration of 1 year.
            ``(3) Grant amounts.--Each planning grant authorized under 
        this subsection shall be in an amount that is not more than 
        $150,000.
    ``(c) Implementation Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--With funds made available for this part 
        under section 757, the Secretary shall award implementation 
        grants to enable eligible entities to further develop, pilot, 
        field-test, implement, document, validate, and, as applicable, 
        scale up and replicate, innovations described in section 751.
            ``(2) Duration.--An implementation grant authorized under 
        this subsection shall be for a duration of 5 years, except that 
        the Secretary may not continue providing funds under the grant 
        for more than 3 years unless the eligible entity demonstrates 
        that it has achieved satisfactory progress toward carrying out 
        the educational innovations, activities, and projects described 
        in section 754(d), as determined by the Secretary.
            ``(3) Grant amount.--Each implementation grant authorized 
        under this subsection shall be in an amount sufficient to 
        enable the eligible entity to achieve the purposes of its 
        proposed activities and projects, but shall not exceed 
        $10,000,000.
    ``(d) Special Rules for Consortiums.--
            ``(1) Fiscal agent.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In the case of an eligible 
                entity applying for a grant under this part as a 
                consortium described under paragraph (2), (3), (4), or 
                (5) of section 752, each member of the consortium shall 
                agree on 1 such member of such eligibility entity to 
                serve as a fiscal agent of such entity.
                    ``(B) Responsibilities.--The fiscal agent of an 
                eligible entity, as described in subparagraph (A), 
                shall act on behalf of such entity in performing the 
                financial duties of such entity under this part.
                    ``(C) Written agreement.--The agreement described 
                in subparagraph (A) shall be in writing and signed by 
                each member of the consortium.
            ``(2) Subgrants.--In the case of an eligible entity 
        applying for a grant under this part as a consortium described 
        in paragraph (2), (3), (4), or (5) of section 752, the fiscal 
        agent for such entity (as described in paragraph (1)) may use 
        the funds provided by the grant to make subgrants to members of 
        the consortium.

``SEC. 754. APPLICATIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--An eligible entity desiring to receive a grant 
under this part shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
may reasonably require.
    ``(b) Consortium Entities.--An application under this section which 
is submitted by an eligible entity applying as a consortium described 
in subparagraph (2), (3), (4), or (5) of section 752 shall include the 
written agreement described in section 753(d)(1)(C).
    ``(c) Planning Grants.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
application requirements under this section for a planning grant 
authorized under section 753(b) include, in addition to the requirement 
in subsection (b) (if applicable), only those minimal requirements that 
are necessary to review the proposed process of an eligible entity for 
the planning, design, and development of one or more of the innovations 
described in section 751.
    ``(d) Implementation Grants.--An application under this section for 
an innovation grant authorized under section 753(c) shall include, in 
addition to the requirement under subsection (b) (if applicable), 
descriptions of--
            ``(1) each innovation described in section 751 that the 
        eligible entity would implement using the funds made available 
        by such grant, including, as applicable, a description of the 
        evidence base supporting such innovation;
            ``(2) how each such innovation will address the purpose of 
        this part, as described in section 751, and how each such 
        innovation will further the institutional or organizational 
        mission of the part B institution that is part of the eligible 
        entity;
            ``(3) the specific activities that the eligible entity will 
        carry out with funds made available by such grant, including, 
        in the case of an eligible entity applying as a consortium 
        described in paragraph (2), (3), (4), or (5) of section 752, a 
        description of the activities that each member of the 
        consortium will carry out and a description of the capacity of 
        each such member to carry out those activities;
            ``(4) the performance measures that the eligible entity 
        will use to track its progress in implementing each such 
        innovation, including a description of how the entity will 
        implement those performance measures and use information on 
        performance to make adjustments and improvements to its 
        implementation activities, as needed, over the course of the 
        grant period;
            ``(5) how the eligible entity will provide for an 
        independent evaluation of the implementation and impact of the 
        projects funded by such grant, including--
                    ``(A) an interim report (evaluating the progress 
                made in the first 3 years of the grant); and
                    ``(B) a final report (completed at the end of the 
                grant period); and
            ``(6) the plan of the eligible entity for continuing each 
        proposed innovation after the grant has ended.

``SEC. 755. PRIORITY.

    ``In awarding grants under this part, the Secretary shall give 
priority to applications that address issues of major national need, 
including--
            ``(1) educational innovations designed to increase the 
        number of African-American males who attain a postsecondary 
        degree;
            ``(2) innovative partnerships between part B institutions 
        and local educational agencies that are designed to increase 
        the enrollment and successful completion of historically 
        underrepresented populations in higher education;
            ``(3) educational innovations that support developing 
        programs and initiatives in part B institutions to enhance 
        undergraduate and graduate programs in science, technology, 
        engineering, and mathematics;
            ``(4) innovative partnerships between part B institutions 
        and other organizations to establish innovation ecosystems in 
        support of economic development, entrepreneurship, and the 
        commercialization of technology supported by funded research;
            ``(5) educational innovations that enhance the quality and 
        number of traditional and alternative route teacher preparation 
        programs at part B institutions to enable teachers to be highly 
        effective in the classroom and to enable such programs to meet 
        the demands for diversity and accountability in teacher 
        education; and
            ``(6) educational innovations that strengthen postgraduate 
        employment outcomes of part B institutions through the 
        implementation of comprehensive and strategic career pathways 
        for students.

``SEC. 756. USES OF FUNDS.

    ``(a) Planning Grants.--An eligible entity receiving a planning 
grant under section 753(b) shall use funds made available by such grant 
to conduct a comprehensive institutional planning process that 
includes--
            ``(1) an assessment of the needs of the part B institution;
            ``(2) research on educational innovations described in 
        section 751 that will meet the needs described in paragraph 
        (1);
            ``(3) the selection of one or more such educational 
        innovations for implementation;
            ``(4) an assessment of the capacity of the part B 
        institution to implement such educational innovation; and
            ``(5) activities to further develop such capacity.
    ``(b) Implementation Grants.--An eligible entity receiving an 
implementation grant under section 753(c) shall use the funds made 
available by such grant to further develop, pilot, field-test, 
implement, document, validate, and, as applicable, scale up, and 
replicate innovations described in section 751, such as innovations 
designed to--
            ``(1) improve student achievement, such as through 
        activities designed to increase the number or percentage of 
        students who successfully complete developmental or remedial 
        coursework (which may be accomplished through the evidence-
        based redesign of such coursework) and pursue and succeed in 
        postsecondary studies;
            ``(2) improve and expand institutional recruitment, 
        postsecondary school awareness, and postsecondary school 
        preparation efforts targeting students, including high-
        achieving students from low-income families, such as through 
        activities undertaken in partnership with local educational 
        agencies and nonprofit organizations (including the 
        introduction of dual-enrollment programs and the implementation 
        of activities designed to enable more students to enter college 
        without the need for remediation);
            ``(3) increase the number of minority males who attain a 
        postsecondary degree, such as through evidence-based 
        interventions that integrate academic advising with social and 
        cultural supports and assistance with job placement;
            ``(4) increase the number or percentage of students who 
        make satisfactory or accelerated progress toward graduation 
        from postsecondary school and the number or percentage who 
        graduate from postsecondary school on time, such as through the 
        provision of comprehensive academic and nonacademic student 
        support services;
            ``(5) increase the number or percentage of students, 
        particularly students who are members of historically 
        underrepresented populations, who enroll in science, 
        technology, engineering, and mathematics courses, graduate with 
        degrees in such fields, and pursue advanced studies in such 
        fields;
            ``(6) develop partnerships between part B institutions and 
        other organizations to establish innovation ecosystems in 
        support of economic development, entrepreneurship, and the 
        commercialization of technology supported by funded research;
            ``(7) implement evidence-based improvements to courses, 
        particularly high-enrollment courses, to improve student 
        outcomes and reduce education costs for students, including 
        costs of remedial courses;
            ``(8) enhance the quality and number of traditional and 
        alternative route teacher preparation programs at part B 
        institutions to enable graduates to be highly effective in the 
        classroom and to enable such programs to meet the demands for 
        diversity and accountability in teacher education;
            ``(9) expand the effective use of technology in higher 
        education, such as through collaboration between institutions 
        on implementing technology-enabled delivery models (including 
        hybrid models) or through the use of open educational resources 
        and digital content;
            ``(10) strengthen postgraduate employment outcomes through 
        the implementation of comprehensive and strategic career 
        pathways for students, which may include aligning curricula 
        with workforce needs, experiential learning, integration of 
        career services, and developing partnerships with employers and 
        business organizations; and
            ``(11) provide a continuum of solutions by incorporating 
        activities that address multiple objectives described in 
        paragraphs (1) through (10).

``SEC. 757. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out activities 
under this part--
            ``(1) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; and
            ``(2) such sums as may be necessary for each of the 6 
        succeeding fiscal years.''.