106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 974

AN ACT

To establish a program to afford high school gradother purposes. sities outside the District of Columbia, and for of in-State tuition at State colleges and univer- uates from the District of Columbia the benefits
106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 974

AN ACT

To establish a program to afford high school graduates from

the District of Columbia the benefits of in-State tuition

at State colleges and universities outside the District

of Columbia, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia

3 College Access Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

5 There is hereby established the District of Columbia

6 College Access Scholarship Program (hereafter in this Act

7 referred to as the ‘‘Program’’) under which the Mayor of

8 the District of Columbia shall award scholarships in ac9 cordance with section 4 using amounts in the District of

10 Columbia College Access Fund established under section

11 3.

12 SEC. 3. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE ACCESS FUND.

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

14 on the books of the government of the District of Colum15 bia the District of Columbia College Access Fund (here16 after in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’), which shall

17 consist of the following amounts:

18 (1) Amounts appropriated to the Fund under

19 law.

20 (2) Gifts and bequests.

21 (3) Refunds paid under section 4(b)(4).

22 (4) Interest earned on the balance of the Fund.

23 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Mayor of the District of

24 Columbia shall administer the Fund, in consultation with

25 the Secretary of Education.

26 (c) USE OF FUND.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund shall

2 be used solely to award scholarships in accordance

3 with section 4, except that not more than 10 percent

4 of the balance of the Fund with respect to a fiscal

5 year may be used for the administration of the Fund

6 during such year.

7 (2) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT AVAILABLE

8 FOR SCHOLARSHIPS.—With respect to each academic

9 year for which scholarships may be awarded under

10 this Act, the Mayor shall determine the amount

11 available from the Fund for awarding scholarships.

12 (d) INVESTMENT.—The Mayor shall invest such por13 tion of the Fund as is not in the judgment of the Mayor

14 required to make current payments for scholarships. Such

15 investments shall be in such form as the Mayor considers

16 appropriate.

17 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION OF SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

18 (a) APPLICATIONS.—Any qualified graduate seeking

19 a scholarship under the Program shall submit an applica20 tion to the Mayor in such form and containing such infor21 mation as the Mayor may prescribe by regulation. The

22 Mayor shall make applications for scholarships under the

23 Program available not later than October 1 of the aca24 demic year preceding the academic year for which the

25 scholarships will be awarded, and shall announce the re-
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1 cipients of scholarships under this section not later than

2 a date determined by the Mayor in consultation with the

3 Secretary of Education.

4 (b) AWARDS AUTHORIZED.—

5 (1) AWARDS TO EACH QUALIFIED GRADUATE.—

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount

7 available from the Fund under section 3(c)(2)

8 for any academic year, the Mayor shall award

9 scholarships to each qualified graduate submit10 ting an application that is approved pursuant to

11 subsection (a).

12 (B) AWARDS TO STUDENTS AT ELIGIBLE

13 PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS BASED ON IN-STATE TUI14 TION.—Subject to subparagraph (D) and para15 graph (2), such scholarship shall provide, for

16 attendance at an eligible public institution lo17 cated outside the District of Columbia, an

18 amount equal to the difference between—

19 (i) the amount of the tuition normally

20 charged by that institution to a student

21 who is not a resident of the State in which

22 that institution is located for the program

23 of instruction in which the qualified grad24 uate is enrolled or accepted for enrollment;

25 and
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1 (ii) the amount of the tuition normally

2 charged by that institution to a student

3 who is a resident of such State for such

4 program of instruction, or the amount of

5 the tuition normally charged by that insti6 tution to a student who is a resident of the

7 county in which the institution is located

8 for such program of instruction, whichever

9 is less.

10 (C) TUITION ASSISTANCE GRANTS TO STU11 DENTS AT ELIGIBLE PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS.—

12 Subject to paragraph (2), such scholarship shall

13 provide, for attendance at an eligible private in14 stitution, a tuition assistance grant in a uni15 form amount determined by the Mayor, not to

16 exceed $3,000 for the academic year.

17 (D) CAP ON AMOUNT PROVIDED.—The

18 amount of a scholarship provided to an indi19 vidual under subparagraph (B) for an academic

20 year may not exceed $10,000.

21 (2) RATABLE REDUCTION IF FUNDS INSUFFI22 CIENT.—If the amount available from the Fund

23 under section 3(c)(2) for any academic year is not

24 sufficient to pay the scholarship amount determined

25 under paragraph (1) for each qualified graduate
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1 submitting an application that is approved pursuant

2 to subsection (a), the amount of such scholarships

3 shall be ratably reduced. If additional sums become

4 available for such academic year, such reduced schol5 arships shall be increased on the same basis as they

6 were reduced (until the amount allotted equals the

7 amount determined under paragraph (1)).

8 (3) DISBURSEMENT.—The scholarships award9 ed under this section shall be disbursed to the eligi10 ble institution at which the qualified graduate is en11 rolled or accepted for enrollment by check or other

12 means that is payable to and requires the endorse13 ment or other certification by such graduate.

14 (4) REFUNDS.—The Mayor may prescribe such

15 regulations as may be necessary to provide for the

16 refund to the Fund of a portion of the amount

17 awarded under this section in the event a recipient

18 of a scholarship under this section withdraws from

19 an institution during a period of enrollment in which

20 the recipient began attendance.

21 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act

22 shall be construed to require an institution of higher edu23 cation to alter the institution’s admissions policies or

24 standards in any manner in order for a qualified graduate
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1 to receive a scholarship to attend such institution under

2 this Act.

3 (d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

4 (1) QUALIFIED GRADUATE.—The term ‘‘quali5 fied graduate’’ means an individual who—

6 (A) has been a resident of the District of

7 Columbia for not less than the 12 consecutive

8 months preceding the academic year for which

9 the scholarship is sought;

10 (B) begins his or her undergraduate course

11 of study within the 3 calendar years (excluding

12 any period of service on active duty in the

13 Armed Forces of the United States, in the

14 Peace Corps or Americorps) of graduating from

15 a secondary school, or receiving the recognized

16 equivalent of a secondary school diploma;

17 (C) is enrolled or accepted for enrollment

18 in a degree, certificate, or other program (in19 cluding a program of study abroad approved for

20 credit by the institution at which such student

21 is enrolled) leading to a recognized educational

22 credential at an eligible institution;

23 (D) if the student is presently enrolled at

24 an institution, is maintaining satisfactory

25 progress in the course of study the student is
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1 pursuing, as determined under section 484(c) of

2 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

3 1091(c));

4 (E) is a citizen or national of the United

5 States, a permanent resident of the United

6 States, able to provide evidence from the Immi7 gration and Naturalization Service that he or

8 she is in the United States for other than a

9 temporary purpose with the intention of becom10 ing a citizen or permanent resident, or a citizen

11 of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the

12 Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic

13 of Palau;

14 (F) does not owe a refund on grants pre15 viously received under title IV of the Higher

16 Education Act of 1965, and is not in default on

17 any loan made, insured, or guaranteed under

18 such title;

19 (G) has not completed his or her first un20 dergraduate baccalaureate course of study; and

21 (H) is not incarcerated.

22 (2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi23 ble institution’’ means eligible public institution or

24 an eligible private institution.
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1 (3) ELIGIBLE PUBLIC INSTITUTION.—The term

2 ‘‘eligible public institution’’ means an institution of

3 higher education that—

4 (A) is established as a State-supported in5 stitution of higher education by the State in

6 which such institution is located;

7 (B) is eligible to participate in student fi8 nancial assistance programs under title IV of

9 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

10 1001 et seq.); and

11 (C) has entered into an agreement with the

12 Mayor containing such requirements for the

13 management of funds provided under this Act

14 as the Mayor may specify, including a require15 ment that the institution use the funds to sup16 plement and not supplant assistance that other17 wise would be provided to students from the

18 District of Columbia.

19 (4) ELIGIBLE PRIVATE INSTITUTION.—The

20 term ‘‘eligible private institution’’ means an institu21 tion of higher education that—

22 (A) is located in the District of Columbia,

23 the State of Maryland, or the Commonwealth of

24 Virginia;
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1 (B) is not established as a State-supported

2 institution of higher education by the State in

3 which such institution is located;

4 (C) is eligible to participate in student fi5 nancial assistance programs under title IV of

6 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

7 1001 et seq.); and

8 (D) has entered into an agreement with

9 the Mayor containing such requirements for the

10 management of funds provided under this Act

11 as the Mayor may specify, including a require12 ment that the institution use the funds to sup13 plement and not supplant assistance that other14 wise would be provided to students from the

15 District of Columbia.

16 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The

17 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the

18 meaning given that term under section 101 of the

19 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).

20 (6) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec21 ondary school’’ has the meaning given that term

22 under section 14101 of the Elementary and Sec23 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).
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1 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM AND FUND.

2 In carrying out the Program and administering the

3 Fund, the Mayor of the District of Columbia—

4 (1) shall consult with the Secretary of Edu5 cation; and

6 (2) may enter into a contract with a nongovern7 mental agency to administer the Program and the

8 Fund if the Mayor determines that it is cost-effec9 tive and appropriate to do so.

10 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 There are authorized to be appropriated for payment

12 to the Fund such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year

13 2000 and for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

14 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR UNI15 VERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

16 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Univer17 sity of the District of Columbia for fiscal year 2000 and

18 each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years such sums as may

19 be necessary to enhance educational opportunities for the

20 University.

Passed the House of Representatives May 24, 1999.

Attest:

Clerk.