116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 461 

AN ACT 

To strengthen the capacity and competitiveness of historically 

Black colleges and universities through robust publicsector, private-sector, and community partnerships and 

engagement, 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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†S 461 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘HBCU Propelling 

3 Agency Relationships Towards a New Era of Results for 

4 Students Act’’ or the ‘‘HBCU PARTNERS Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) As many colleges and universities across the 

8 country kept their doors closed to African American 

9 applicants, historically Black colleges and univer10 sities (referred to in this section as ‘‘HBCUs’’) 

11 played a central role in ensuring that African Ameri12 cans could attain an excellent education. 

13 (2) Today, HBCUs continue to play a critical 

14 role in ensuring that African Americans, and those 

15 of all races, can access high-quality educational op16 portunities. 

17 (3) HBCUs enroll nearly 300,000 students, an 

18 estimated 70 percent of whom come from low-income 

19 backgrounds and 80 percent of whom are African 

20 American. 

21 (4) According to the National Association For 

22 Equal Opportunity In Higher Education, HBCUs 

23 make up just 3 percent of American institutions of 

24 higher education but serve more than a fifth of Afri25 can American college students. 
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1 (5) A March 2017 report from the Education 

2 Trust concluded that HBCUs have higher comple3 tion rates for African American students than other 

4 institutions serving similar student populations. 

5 (6) In 2014, HBCUs generated a total direct 

6 economic impact of $14,800,000,000 and created 

7 more than 134,000 jobs, according to a study com8 missioned by the United Negro College Fund (re9 ferred to in this section as ‘‘UNCF’’). 

10 (7) According to the Thurgood Marshall College 

11 Fund (referred to in this section as ‘‘TMCF’’), 40 

12 percent of African American Members of Congress, 

13 50 percent of African American lawyers, and 80 per14 cent of African American judges are graduates of 

15 HBCUs. 

16 (8) According to UNCF, in 2013, HBCUs 

17 awarded a quarter of all science, technology, engi18 neering, and mathematics bachelor’s degrees award19 ed to African Americans. 

20 (9) According to TMCF, approximately 9 per21 cent of all African American college students attend 

22 HBCUs. 

23 (10) According to UNCF, African American 

24 graduates of HBCUs are almost twice as likely as 

25 African Americans who graduated from other insti-
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1 tutions to report that their university prepared them 

2 well for life. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

4 (1) to strengthen the capacity and competitive5 ness of HBCUs to fulfill their principal mission of 

6 equalizing educational opportunity, as described in 

7 section 301(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

8 (20 U.S.C. 1051(b)); 

9 (2) to align HBCUs with the educational and 

10 economic competitiveness priorities of the United 

11 States; 

12 (3) to provide students enrolled at HBCUs with 

13 the highest quality educational and economic oppor14 tunities; 

15 (4) to bolster and facilitate productive inter16 actions between HBCUs and Federal agencies; and 

17 (5) to encourage HBCU participation in and 

18 benefit from Federal programs, grants, contracts, 

19 and cooperative agreements. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) APPLICABLE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘applica23 ble agency’’ means any Federal agency designated 

24 by the Secretary, in accordance with section 4. 
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1 (2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Execu2 tive Director’’ means— 

3 (A) the Executive Director of the White 

4 House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges 

5 and Universities, as designated by the Presi6 dent; or 

7 (B) if no such Executive Director is des8 ignated, such person as the President may des9 ignate to lead the White House Initiative on 

10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. 

11 (3) HBCU.—The term ‘‘HBCU’’ means a his12 torically Black college or university. 

13 (4) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI14 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or 

15 university’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B 

16 institution’’ under section 322 of the Higher Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 

18 (5) PRESIDENT’S BOARD OF ADVISORS.—The 

19 term ‘‘President’s Board of Advisors’’ means the 

20 President’s Board of Advisors on historically Black 

21 colleges and universities. 

22 (6) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided, 

23 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Edu24 cation. 
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1 (7) WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE.—The term 

2 ‘‘White House Initiative’’ means the White House 

3 Initiative on historically Black colleges and univer4 sities. 

5 SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING HBCUS THROUGH FEDERAL 

6 AGENCY PLANS. 

7 (a) DESIGNATING APPLICABLE AGENCIES.—The 

8 Secretary, in consultation with the Executive Director, 

9 shall identify those Federal agencies that regularly inter10 act with HBCUs and designate them as applicable agen11 cies. 

12 (b) SUBMITTING AGENCY PLANS.—Not later than 

13 February 1 of each year, the head of each applicable agen14 cy shall submit to the Secretary and the Executive Direc15 tor an annual Agency Plan describing efforts to strength16 en the capacity of HBCUs to participate in relevant Fed17 eral programs and initiatives under the jurisdiction of the 

18 applicable agency. 

19 (c) FURTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION AND

20 ACCESSIBILITY.—The head of each applicable agency shall 

21 submit each annual Agency Plan described in subsection 

22 (b) to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

23 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education 

24 and Labor of the House of Representatives. 
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1 (d) AGENCY PLAN CONTENT.—Where appropriate, 

2 each Agency Plan shall, among other things— 

3 (1) establish how the applicable agency intends 

4 to increase the capacity of HBCUs to compete effec5 tively for grants, contracts, or cooperative agree6 ments; 

7 (2) identify Federal programs and initiatives 

8 under the jurisdiction of the applicable agency where 

9 HBCUs are not well-represented; 

10 (3) outline proposed efforts to improve HBCUs’ 

11 participation in such programs and initiatives in 

12 which they are underrepresented; 

13 (4) describe any progress made towards advanc14 ing or achieving goals and efforts from previous 

15 Agency Plans; 

16 (5) encourage public-sector, private-sector, and 

17 community involvement in improving the capacity of 

18 HBCUs; and 

19 (6) meet, where relevant, any additional criteria 

20 established by the Secretary or the White House Ini21 tiative. 

22 (e) AGENCY ENGAGEMENT.—To help fulfill the objec23 tives of the Agency Plans, the head of each applicable 

24 agency— 
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1 (1) may provide, as appropriate, technical as2 sistance and information to the Executive Director 

3 to enhance communication with HBCUs concerning 

4 the applicable agency’s program activities and the 

5 preparation of applications or proposals for grants, 

6 contracts, or cooperative agreements; and 

7 (2) shall appoint a senior official to report di8 rectly to the agency head on the applicable agency’s 

9 progress under this section. 

10 SEC. 5. PRESIDENT’S BOARD OF ADVISORS ON HBCUS. 

11 (a) ADMINISTRATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the 

13 President’s Board of Advisors on historically Black 

14 colleges and universities in the Department of Edu15 cation or, if the President so elects, within the Exec16 utive Office of the President. 

17 (2) FUNDING FROM ED.—Except as provided in 

18 paragraph (3), the Secretary shall provide funding 

19 and administrative support for the President’s 

20 Board of Advisors, subject to the availability of ap21 propriations. 

22 (3) FUNDING FROM THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF

23 THE PRESIDENT.—If the President elects to locate 

24 the President’s Board of Advisors within the Execu25 tive Office of the President, the Executive Office of 
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1 the President shall provide funding and administra2 tive support for the President’s Board of Advisors, 

3 subject to the availability of appropriations. 

4 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The President shall appoint not 

5 more than 23 members to the President’s Board of Advi6 sors, and the Secretary and Executive Director or their 

7 designees shall serve as ex officio members. The President 

8 shall designate one member of the President’s Board of 

9 Advisors to serve as its Chair, who shall help direct the 

10 Board’s work in coordination with the Secretary and in 

11 consultation with the Executive Director. The Chair shall 

12 also consult with the Executive Director regarding the 

13 time and location of meetings of the President’s Board 

14 of Advisors, which shall take place not less frequently than 

15 once every 6 months. Members of the President’s Board 

16 of Advisors shall serve without compensation, but shall be 

17 reimbursed for travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 

18 of subsistence, as authorized by law. Insofar as the Fed19 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) may apply 

20 to the Board, any functions of the President under such 

21 Act, except for those of reporting to the Congress, shall 

22 be performed by the Chair, in accordance with guidelines 

23 issued by the Administrator of General Services. 

24 (c) MISSION AND FUNCTIONS.—The President’s 

25 Board of Advisors shall advise the President, through the 
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1 White House Initiative, on all matters pertaining to 

2 strengthening the educational capacity of HBCUs. In par3 ticular, the President’s Board of Advisors shall advise the 

4 President in the following areas: 

5 (1) Improving the identity, visibility, distinctive 

6 capabilities, and overall competitiveness of HBCUs. 

7 (2) Engaging the philanthropic, business, gov8 ernment, military, homeland-security, and education 

9 communities in a national dialogue regarding new 

10 HBCU programs and initiatives. 

11 (3) Improving the ability of HBCUs to remain 

12 fiscally secure institutions that can assist the Nation 

13 in achieving its educational goals and in advancing 

14 the interests of all Americans. 

15 (4) Elevating the public awareness of, and fos16 tering appreciation of, HBCUs. 

17 (5) Encouraging public-private investments in 

18 HBCUs. 

19 (6) Improving government-wide strategic plan20 ning related to HBCU competitiveness to align Fed21 eral resources and provide the context for decisions 

22 about HBCU partnerships, investments, perform23 ance goals, priorities, human capital development 

24 and budget planning. 
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1 (d) REPORT.—The President’s Board of Advisors 

2 shall report annually to the President on the Board’s 

3 progress in carrying out its duties under this section. 

Passed the Senate February 12, 2019. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 461 

AN ACT 

To strengthen the capacity and competitiveness of 

for other purposes. community partnerships and engagement, and through robust public-sector, private-sector, and historically Black colleges and universities