I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5148 

To improve program integrity through State evaluation of institutions of 

higher education, requirements for student complaint submissions, and 

the establishment of policies and procedures to address closure of institutions of higher education, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2019 

Mr. LEVIN of California (for himself, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, and Mr. 

CISNEROS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To improve program integrity through State evaluation of 

institutions of higher education, requirements for student 

complaint submissions, and the establishment of policies 

and procedures to address closure of institutions of higher education, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Higher Education 

5 Standards Improvement Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STATE RESPONSIBILITIES. 

2 Section 495(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

3 (20 U.S.C. 1099a(a)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘and the accrediting agen6 cy or association involved’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’; 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘revokes a license’’ and in8 serting ‘‘takes a negative action, or revokes a li9 cense,’’; and 

10 (C) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

11 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

12 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(4) evaluate each institution of higher edu15 cation located in the State or seeking authorization 

16 to operate in the State to determine if such institu17 tion of higher education meets the applicable stand18 ards of the State relating to— 

19 ‘‘(A) facilities, equipment, and supplies; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) measures of program length and 

22 other factors relevant for a student or graduate 

23 to receive a professional license from the State; 

24 ‘‘(5) certify to the Secretary that the State 

25 shall— 

26 ‘‘(A) accept student complaints from— 


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1 ‘‘(i) all students attending an institu2 tion of higher education located in the 

3 State; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) all students who are residents of 

5 the State and attend an institution of 

6 higher education not located in the State 

7 through correspondence or distance edu8 cation; and 

9 ‘‘(B) report to the Secretary and accred10 iting bodies— 

11 ‘‘(i) relevant student complaints re12 ceived by the State, including multiple stu13 dent complaints that present consistent al14 legations with respect to an institution of 

15 higher education in the State; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) such other complaints the Sec17 retary determines necessary; and 

18 ‘‘(6) establish policies and procedures to antici19 pate and respond to the closure of an institution of 

20 higher education, which shall include— 

21 ‘‘(A) the maintenance of sufficient cash re22 serves (or an equivalent alternative) in accord23 ance with regulations issued pursuant to section 

24 498(c)(6)(A) to ensure repayment of any re25 quired refunds; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a plan to address ensuring custodial 

2 record-keeping of institutional records and stu3 dent transcripts in the case of such a closure; 

4 ‘‘(C) the maintenance of contact informa5 tion adequate to ensure communication directly 

6 between the State and each student in the case 

7 of such a closure; and 

8 ‘‘(D) in the case of an institution of higher 

9 education located in the State, to develop a 

10 process to identify when a campus of such insti11 tution of higher education closes in any State.’’. 

Æ 


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