I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4158 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reinstate the ability-tobenefit eligibility. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 2, 2015 

Mr. GIBSON (for himself and Ms. LEE) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reinstate 

the ability-to-benefit eligibility. 

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 ‘‘Restoring Investment 

5 in ATB Student Education Act’’ or the ‘‘RISE Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ABILITY-TO-BENEFIT ELIGIBILITY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 484(d) of the Higher 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(d)) is amended 

9 to read as follows: 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4158 IH

1 ‘‘(d) STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT HIGH SCHOOL

2 GRADUATES.—In order for a student who does not have 

3 a certificate of graduation from a school providing sec4 ondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such cer5 tificate, to be eligible for any assistance under subparts 

6 1, 3, and 4 of part A and parts B, C, D, and E of this 

7 title, the student shall meet one of the following standards: 

8 ‘‘(1) The student shall take an independently 

9 administered examination and shall achieve a score, 

10 specified by the Secretary, demonstrating that such 

11 student can benefit from the education or training 

12 being offered. Such examination shall be approved 

13 by the Secretary on the basis of compliance with 

14 such standards for development, administration, and 

15 scoring as the Secretary may prescribe in regula16 tions. 

17 ‘‘(2) The student shall be determined as having 

18 the ability to benefit from the education or training 

19 in accordance with such process as the State shall 

20 prescribe. Any such process described or approved 

21 by a State for the purposes of this section shall be 

22 effective 6 months after the date of submission to 

23 the Secretary unless the Secretary disapproves such 

24 process. In determining whether to approve or dis25 approve such process, the Secretary shall take into 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4158 IH

1 account the effectiveness of such process in enabling 

2 students without high school diplomas or the equiva3 lent thereof to benefit from the instruction offered 

4 by institutions utilizing such process, and shall also 

5 take into account the cultural diversity, economic 

6 circumstances, and educational preparation of the 

7 populations served by the institutions. 

8 ‘‘(3) The student has completed a secondary 

9 school education in a home school setting that is 

10 treated as a home school or private school under 

11 State law. 

12 ‘‘(4) The student shall be determined by the in13 stitution of higher education as having the ability to 

14 benefit from the education or training offered by the 

15 institution of higher education upon satisfactory 

16 completion of six credit hours or the equivalent clock 

17 hours that are applicable toward a degree or certifi18 cate offered by the institution of higher education.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

20 401(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(2)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking 

22 ‘‘484(d)(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘484(d)’’. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS