II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 357 

To expand and enhance postbaccalaureate opportunities at Hispanic-serving 

institutions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 10, 2005 

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mrs. 

CLINTON, and Mr. MARTINEZ) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

and Pensions 

A BILL

To expand and enhance postbaccalaureate opportunities at 

Hispanic-serving institutions, 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 ‘‘Next Generation His5 panic Serving Institutions Act’’. 
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1 TITLE I—GRADUATE OPPORTU2 NITIES AT HISPANIC-SERVING 

3 INSTITUTIONS 

4 SEC. 101. POSTBACCALAUREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HIS5 PANIC AMERICANS. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Title V of the 

7 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating part B as part C; 

10 (2) by redesignating sections 511 through 518 

11 as sections 521 through 528, respectively; and 

12 (3) by inserting after section 505 the following: 

13 ‘‘PART B—PROMOTING POSTBACCALAUREATE 

14 OPPORTUNITIES FOR HISPANIC AMERICANS 

15 ‘‘SEC. 511. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

16 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) According to the United States Census, by 

18 the year 2050, 1 in 4 Americans will be of Hispanic 

19 origin. 

20 ‘‘(2) Despite the dramatic increase in the His21 panic population in the United States, the National 

22 Center for Education Statistics reported that in 

23 1999, Hispanics accounted for only 4 percent of the 

24 master’s degrees, 3 percent of the doctor’s degrees, 
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1 and 5 percent of first-professional degrees awarded 

2 in the United States. 

3 ‘‘(3) Although Hispanics constitute 10 percent 

4 of the college enrollment in the United States, they 

5 comprise only 3 percent of instructional faculty in 

6 college and universities. 

7 ‘‘(4) The future capacity for research and ad8 vanced study in the United States will require in9 creasing the number of Hispanics pursuing 

10 postbaccalaureate studies. 

11 ‘‘(5) Hispanic-serving institutions are leading 

12 the Nation in increasing the number of Hispanics 

13 attaining graduate and professional degrees. 

14 ‘‘(6) Among Hispanics who received master’s 

15 degrees in 1999–2000, 25 percent earned them at 

16 Hispanic-serving institutions. 

17 ‘‘(7) Between 1991 and 2000, the number of 

18 Hispanic students earning master’s degrees at His19 panic-serving institutions grew 136 percent, the 

20 number receiving doctor’s degrees grew by 85 per21 cent, and the number earning first-professional de22 grees grew by 47 percent. 

23 ‘‘(8) It is in the national interest to expand the 

24 capacity of Hispanic-serving institutions to offer 

25 graduate and professional degree programs. 
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1 ‘‘(9) Research is a key element in graduate edu2 cation and undergraduate preparation, particularly 

3 in science and technology, and Congress desires to 

4 strengthen the role of research at Hispanic-serving 

5 institutions. University research, whether performed 

6 directly or through a university’s nonprofit research 

7 institute or foundation, is considered an integral 

8 part of the institution and mission of the university. 

9 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this part are— 

10 ‘‘(1) to expand postbaccalaureate educational 

11 opportunities for, and improve the academic attain12 ment of, Hispanic students; and 

13 ‘‘(2) to expand and enhance the 

14 postbaccalaureate academic offerings of high quality 

15 that are educating the majority of Hispanic college 

16 students and helping large numbers of Hispanic stu17 dents and low-income individuals complete postsec18 ondary degrees. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 512. PROGRAM AUTHORITY AND ELIGIBILITY. 

20 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail21 ability of funds appropriated to carry out this part, the 

22 Secretary shall award competitive grants to eligible insti23 tutions. 
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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—For the purposes of this part, an 

2 ‘eligible institution’ means an institution of higher edu3 cation that— 

4 ‘‘(1) is a Hispanic-serving institution (as de5 fined under section 502); and 

6 ‘‘(2) offers a postbaccalaureate certificate or de7 gree granting program. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 513. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 

9 ‘‘Grants awarded under this part shall be used for 

10 1 or more of the following activities: 

11 ‘‘(1) Purchase, rental, or lease of scientific or 

12 laboratory equipment for educational purposes, in13 cluding instructional and research purposes. 

14 ‘‘(2) Construction, maintenance, renovation, 

15 and improvement in classroom, library, laboratory, 

16 and other instructional facilities, including purchase 

17 or rental of telecommunications technology equip18 ment or services. 

19 ‘‘(3) Purchase of library books, periodicals, 

20 technical and other scientific journals, microfilm, 

21 microfiche, and other educational materials, includ22 ing telecommunications program materials. 

23 ‘‘(4) Support for needy postbaccalaureate stu24 dents including outreach, academic support services, 

25 mentoring, scholarships, fellowships, and other fi-
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1 nancial assistance to permit the enrollment of such 

2 students in postbaccalaureate certificate and degree 

3 granting programs. 

4 ‘‘(5) Support of faculty exchanges, faculty de5 velopment, faculty research, curriculum development, 

6 and academic instruction. 

7 ‘‘(6) Creating or improving facilities for Inter8 net or other distance learning academic instruction 

9 capabilities, including purchase or rental of tele10 communications technology equipment or services. 

11 ‘‘(7) Collaboration with other institutions of 

12 higher education to expand postbaccalaureate certifi13 cate and degree offerings. 

14 ‘‘(8) Other activities proposed in the application 

15 submitted pursuant to section 514 that— 

16 ‘‘(A) contribute to carrying out the pur17 poses of this part; and 

18 ‘‘(B) are approved by the Secretary as part 

19 of the review and acceptance of such applica20 tion. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 514. APPLICATION AND DURATION. 

22 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—Any eligible institution may 

23 apply for a grant under this part by submitting an applica24 tion to the Secretary at such time and in such manner 

25 as determined by the Secretary. Such application shall 
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1 demonstrate how the grant funds will be used to improve 

2 postbaccalaureate education opportunities for Hispanic 

3 and low-income students and will lead to such students’ 

4 greater financial independence. 

5 ‘‘(b) DURATION.—Grants under this part shall be 

6 awarded for a period not to exceed 5 years. 

7 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not award 

8 more than 1 grant under this part in any fiscal year to 

9 any Hispanic-serving institution.’’. 

10 (b) COOPERATIVE ARRANGEMENTS.—Section 524(a) 

11 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as redesignated by 

12 subsection (a)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and section 

13 513’’ after ‘‘section 503’’. 

14 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

15 528(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as redesig16 nated by subsection (a)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) PART A.—There are authorized to be ap19 propriated to carry out part A of this title 

20 $175,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and such sums as 

21 may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 

22 years. 

23 ‘‘(2) PART B.—There are authorized to be ap24 propriated to carry out part B of this title 

25 $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and such sums as 
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1 may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 

2 years.’’. 

3 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title V of the 

4 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in section 502— 

7 (A) in subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii), by striking 

8 ‘‘section 512(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

9 522(b)’’; and 

10 (B) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘sec11 tion 512(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 522(a)’’; 

12 (2) in section 521(c)(6) (as redesignated by 

13 subsection (a)(2)), by striking ‘‘section 516’’ and in14 serting ‘‘section 526’’; and 

15 (3) in section 526 (as redesignated by sub16 section (a)(2)), by striking ‘‘section 518’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘section 528’’. 

18 TITLE II—REDUCING REGU19 LATORY BARRIERS FOR HIS20 PANIC-SERVING INSTITU21 TIONS 

22 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

23 Section 502(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

24 (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)) is amended— 

25 (1) in paragraph (5)— 
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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

2 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; 

4 and’’ and inserting a period; and 

5 (C) by striking subparagraph (C); and 

6 (2) by striking paragraph (7). 

7 SEC. 202. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 

8 Section 503(b)(7) of the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101b(b)(7)) is amended to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(7) Articulation agreements and student sup12 port programs designed to facilitate the transfer 

13 from 2-year to 4-year institutions.’’. 

14 SEC. 203. ELIMINATION OF WAIT-OUT PERIOD. 

15 Section 504(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

16 (20 U.S.C. 1101c(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(a) AWARD PERIOD.—The Secretary may award a 

18 grant to a Hispanic-serving institution under this title for 

19 5 years.’’. 

20 SEC. 204. APPLICATION PRIORITY. 

21 Section 521(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

22 (as redesignated by section 101(a)(2)) is amended by 

23 striking ‘‘(from funds other than funds provided under 

24 this title)’’.

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