II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4379 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to change certain grant 

requirements for certain students with disabilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2024 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to change 

certain grant requirements for certain students with disabilities, 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 Grant Flexibility Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FEDERAL PELL GRANTS. 

7 Section 401(b)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 

8 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(2)), as amended by section 703 


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1 of division FF of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2 2021 (Public Law 116–260), is amended— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘In any case’’ and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(A) REDUCTION.—Except as provided in 

6 subparagraph (B), in any case’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(B) STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

10 student with a disability (as defined in sec11 tion 3 of the Americans with Disabilities 

12 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)) for whom 

13 a reduced course load has been approved 

14 as a reasonable accommodation under sec15 tion 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

16 (29 U.S.C. 794) or the Americans with 

17 Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 

18 et seq.), the student’s enrollment in the re19 duced course load or 5 credits (or the 

20 equivalent), whichever is greater, shall be 

21 deemed to be enrollment on a full-time 

22 basis for purposes of calculating the ele23 ments of cost of attendance for such stu24 dent under paragraphs (2) through (14) of 

25 section 472(a) for purposes of determining 


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1 the amount of the Federal Pell Grant to 

2 which the student is entitled. Subsection 

3 (b) of section 472 shall not apply with re4 spect to such student. 

5 ‘‘(ii) LIMITED APPLICATION.—A de6 termination under clause (i) shall not be 

7 used in the calculation of Federal Pell 

8 Grant semester eligibility under subsection 

9 (d)(5).’’. 

10 SEC. 3. FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPOR11 TUNITY GRANTS. 

12 Section 413B(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

13 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b–2(d)) is amended by adding at 

14 the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

16 this subpart or part F of this title, in the case of 

17 a student with a disability (as defined in section 3 

18 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 

19 U.S.C. 12102)) for whom a reduced course load has 

20 been approved as a reasonable accommodation under 

21 section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

22 U.S.C. 794) or the Americans with Disabilities Act 

23 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the student’s en24 rollment in the reduced course load or 5 credits (or 

25 the equivalent), whichever is greater, shall be 


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1 deemed to be enrollment on a full-time basis for pur2 poses of calculating the elements of cost of attend3 ance for such student under paragraphs (2) through 

4 (14) of section 472(a) for purposes of determining 

5 the amount of the supplemental grant to which the 

6 student is entitled in accordance with the provisions 

7 of part F of this title. Subsection (b) of section 472 

8 shall not apply with respect to such student.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. TEACH GRANTS. 

10 Section 420M(c) of the Higher Education Act of 

11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g–1(c)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘In any case’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (3), in any 

14 case’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(3) TEACHER CANDIDATES WITH A DIS17 ABILITY.—In the case of a teacher candidate with a 

18 disability (as defined in section 3 of the Americans 

19 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)) for 

20 whom a reduced course load has been approved as 

21 a reasonable accommodation under section 504 of 

22 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) or 

23 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 

24 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the teacher candidate’s en25 rollment in the reduced course load or 5 credits (or 


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1 the equivalent), whichever is greater, shall be 

2 deemed to be enrollment on a full-time basis for pur3 poses of calculating the elements of cost of attend4 ance for such student under paragraphs (2) through 

5 (14) of section 472(a) for purposes of determining 

6 the amount of the grant under this subpart to which 

7 the teacher candidate is entitled. Subsection (b) of 

8 section 472 shall not apply with respect to such 

9 teacher candidate.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 The amendments made by this section shall take ef12 fect as if included in section 703 of division FF of the 

13 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116– 

14 260) and subject to the effective date of section 701(b) 

15 of such FAFSA Simplification Act, as amended by section 

16 102(a) of the FAFSA Simplification Act Technical Cor17 rections Act (division R of Public Law 117–103) (includ18 ing the authorization provided under section 102(c)(1)(A) 

19 of such Act). 

Æ 


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