II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4595 

To improve the structure of the Federal Pell Grant program, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 20, 2024 

Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. REED, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. 

PADILLA, Mr. KAINE, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. WARREN, 

Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BENNET, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. WELCH, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. 

BUTLER, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. COONS, Mr. BROWN, Mr. FETTERMAN, 

Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. OSSOFF, 

and Ms. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To improve the structure of the Federal Pell Grant program, 

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 ‘‘Pell Grant Preserva5 tion and Expansion Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The United States needs individuals with 

2 the knowledge, skills, and abilities that enable them 

3 to thrive as educated citizens in society and success4 fully participate in an interconnected economy. 

5 (2) Investments in higher education through 

6 student aid such as the Federal Pell Grant program 

7 under section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 

8 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) help students and families 

9 reach, afford, and complete education and training 

10 opportunities beyond high school. 

11 (3) The Federal Pell Grant program is the larg12 est source of federally funded grant aid for postsec13 ondary education. 

14 (4) The Federal Pell Grant program allows mil15 lions of people of the United States to attend college 

16 and is especially vital for students of color. Three in 

17 5 African American undergraduate students, and 

18 one-half of all Latino undergraduate students, rely 

19 on the Federal Pell Grant program. 

20 (5) The Federal Pell Grant program should 

21 continue to be a reliable source of funding for aspir22 ing students, their families, and future generations 

23 that they can count on to be there for them when 

24 they seek higher education. 


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1 (6) To stabilize Federal Pell Grant funding and 

2 ensure the grant will continue to serve millions of 

3 students now and in the future, the program should 

4 become a fully mandatory program that grows with 

5 inflation. 

6 (7) Restoring prior eligibility cuts and expand7 ing access to underserved students will give millions 

8 of students and families the critical student aid sup9 port they need and deserve. 

10 SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS; REFERENCES. 

11 (a) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

12 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Table of contents; references. 

Sec. 4. Doubling Federal Pell Grants and providing all Federal Pell Grants 

through mandatory funding. 

Sec. 5. Providing increased Federal Pell Grants and other assistance for recipients of means-tested benefits. 

Sec. 6. Federal aid eligibility for dreamer students. 

Sec. 7. Restoring the total semesters of Federal Pell Grant eligibility. 

Sec. 8. Reducing financial aid penalties from satisfactory academic progress determinations. 

Sec. 9. Conforming amendments. 

Sec. 10. Effective date. 

13 (b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly 

14 provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal 

15 is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, 

16 a section or other provision, the reference shall be consid17 ered to be made to a section or other provision of the 

18 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 4. DOUBLING FEDERAL PELL GRANTS AND PRO2 VIDING ALL FEDERAL PELL GRANTS 

3 THROUGH MANDATORY FUNDING. 

4 (a) AMOUNT OF MINIMUM FEDERAL PELL

5 GRANTS.—Section 401 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(F), by striking ‘‘10 per7 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘5 percent’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (b)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking 

10 ‘‘paragraph (5)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

11 (5)’’; 

12 (B) by striking paragraph (5) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(5) TOTAL MAXIMUM FEDERAL PELL

15 GRANT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) AWARD YEAR 2025–2026.—For award 

17 year 2025–2026, the total maximum Federal 

18 Pell Grant award shall be $10,000. 

19 ‘‘(B) AWARD YEAR 2026–2027.—For award 

20 year 2026–2027, the total maximum Federal 

21 Pell Grant award shall be $11,000. 

22 ‘‘(C) AWARD YEAR 2027–2028.—For award 

23 year 2027–2028, the total maximum Federal 

24 Pell Grant award shall be $12,000. 


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1 ‘‘(D) AWARD YEAR 2028–2029.—For award 

2 year 2028–2029, the total maximum Federal 

3 Pell Grant award shall be $13,000. 

4 ‘‘(E) AWARD YEAR 2029–2030.—For award 

5 year 2029–2030, the total maximum Federal 

6 Pell Grant award shall be $14,000. 

7 ‘‘(F) AWARD YEAR 2030–2031 AND SUBSE8 QUENT YEARS.—For award year 2030–2031, 

9 and each subsequent award year, the total max10 imum Federal Pell Grant award shall be 

11 $14,000— 

12 ‘‘(i) increased by the adjustment per13 centage for the award year for which the 

14 amount under this subparagraph is being 

15 determined; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) rounded to the nearest $50. 

17 ‘‘(G) DEFINITION OF ADJUSTMENT PER18 CENTAGE.—In this paragraph, the term ‘adjust19 ment percentage,’ as applied to an award year, 

20 is equal to the percentage increase in the Con21 sumer Price Index, as defined in section 478(f), 

22 for the most recent calendar year ending prior 

23 to the beginning of the award year.’’; 

24 (C) by striking paragraphs (6) and (7) and 

25 inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(6) APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS.—There are 

2 authorized to be appropriated, and there are appro3 priated, out of any money in the Treasury not other4 wise appropriated, such sums as may be necessary 

5 for fiscal year 2025 and each subsequent fiscal year 

6 to provide the Federal Pell Grant for which a stu7 dent shall be eligible under this section during an 

8 award year.’’; and 

9 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and 

10 (9) as paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; 

11 (3) in subsection (d)(5)(B)— 

12 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘subclause (I) 

13 or (II)’’ and inserting ‘‘subclause (I), (II), or 

14 (III)’’; and 

15 (B) in clause (ii)— 

16 (i) in subclause (I)(bb), by striking 

17 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 

18 (ii) in subclause (II)(bb)(CC), by 

19 striking the period and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

20 and 

21 (iii) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(III) during a period for which 

24 the student did not receive a loan 

25 under this title but for which, if the 


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1 student had received such a loan, such 

2 loan would have been discharged 

3 under the circumstances described in 

4 subclause (II)(bb)(CC).’’; 

5 (4) by striking subsections (g) and (h); and 

6 (5) by redesignating subsections (i) and (j) as 

7 subsections (g) and (h), respectively. 

8 (b) REPEAL OF SCORING REQUIREMENT.—Section 

9 406 of H. Con. Res. 95 (109th Congress) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking subsection (b); and 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon’’ and 

12 inserting the following: ‘‘Upon’’. 

13 (c) STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES.—Section 

14 402D(d)(1) (20 U.S.C. 1070a–14(d)(1)) is amended by 

15 striking ‘‘the minimum’’ and inserting ‘‘10 percent of the 

16 total maximum’’. 

17 (d) SCHOLARSHIP COMPONENT.—Section 404E(d) 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–25(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘less 

19 than the minimum’’ and inserting ‘‘less than 10 percent 

20 of the total maximum’’. 

21 SEC. 5. PROVIDING INCREASED FEDERAL PELL GRANTS 

22 AND OTHER ASSISTANCE FOR RECIPIENTS 

23 OF MEANS-TESTED BENEFITS. 

24 (a) INCREASED AMOUNT OF MAXIMUM FEDERAL

25 PELL GRANTS FOR STUDENTS WITH NEGATIVE STUVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:45 Aug 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4595.IS S4595

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1 DENT AID INDEXES.—Section 401(b)(1) (20 U.S.C. 

2 1070a(b)(1)), as amended by section 4 of this Act, is fur3 ther amended— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

5 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

6 striking ‘‘A student’’ and inserting ‘‘Except in 

7 the case of a student with a student aid index 

8 of less than zero, a student’’; 

9 (B) by striking clause (i); and 

10 (C) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) 

11 as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; 

12 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

13 through (E) as subparagraphs (C) through (F), re14 spectively; 

15 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(B) A student with a student aid index of 

18 less than zero shall be eligible for a Federal 

19 Pell Grant award that exceeds the total max20 imum Federal Pell Grant by an amount equal 

21 to the amount by which the student’s student 

22 aid index is less than zero.’’; 

23 (4) in subparagraph (C), as redesignated by 

24 paragraph (2)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

2 striking ‘‘subparagraph (A) for an academic 

3 year,’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A), or an 

4 increased Federal Pell Grant under subpara5 graph (B), for an academic year,’’; and 

6 (B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘, except that 

7 a student aid index of less than zero shall be 

8 considered to be zero for the purposes of this 

9 clause’’; 

10 (5) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated by 

11 paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘(A) or (B)’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘(A), (B), or (C)’’; 

13 (6) in subparagraph (E), as redesignated by 

14 paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or an increased Federal 

15 Pell Grant under subparagraph (B)’’ after ‘‘subpara16 graph (A)’’; or 

17 (7) in subparagraph (F), as redesignated by 

18 paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or a minimum Federal 

19 Pell Grant under subparagraph (C)’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘an increased Federal Pell Grant under subpara21 graph (B), or a minimum Federal Pell Grant under 

22 subparagraph (D)’’. 

23 (b) SPECIAL STUDENT AID INDEX RULE FOR RE24 CIPIENTS OF MEANS-TESTED BENEFITS.—Section 473 


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1 (20 U.S.C. 1087mm) is amended by adding at the end 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR MEANS-TESTED BENEFIT

4 RECIPIENTS.—Notwithstanding subsection (b), for an ap5 plicant (or, as applicable, an applicant and spouse, or an 

6 applicant’s parents) who, at any time during the previous 

7 2 -year period, received a benefit under a means-tested 

8 Federal benefit program, as defined in section 

9 479(b)(4)(H), (or whose parent or spouse received such 

10 a benefit, as applicable), the Secretary shall for the pur11 poses of this title consider the student aid index as equal 

12 to –$1,500 for the applicant.’’. 

13 SEC. 6. FEDERAL AID ELIGIBILITY FOR DREAMER STU14 DENTS. 

15 Section 484 (20 U.S.C. 1091) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(5), by inserting ‘‘, or be a 

17 Dreamer student, as defined in subsection (u)’’ after 

18 ‘‘becoming a citizen or permanent resident’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(u) DREAMER STUDENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

22 ‘Dreamer student’ means an individual who— 

23 ‘‘(A)(i) is not a citizen or national of the 

24 United States; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is inadmissible or deportable under 

2 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

3 1101 et seq.)); and 

4 ‘‘(B)(i) in the case of such an individual 

5 who was younger than 18 years of age on the 

6 date on which the individual initially entered 

7 the United States— 

8 ‘‘(I) has earned a high school diploma, 

9 the recognized equivalent of such diploma 

10 from a secondary school, or a high school 

11 equivalency diploma recognized by State 

12 law, or is scheduled to complete the re13 quirements for such a diploma or equiva14 lent before the next academic year begins; 

15 ‘‘(II) is enrolled at an institution of 

16 higher education pursuant to subsection 

17 (d); 

18 ‘‘(III) has served in the uniformed 

19 services (as such term is defined in section 

20 101 of title 10, United States Code) for 

21 not less than 2 years and, if discharged, 

22 received an honorable discharge; 

23 ‘‘(IV) has acquired a degree, certifi24 cate, or recognized postsecondary creden25 tial from an institution of higher education 


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1 or area career and technical education 

2 school (as such term is defined in section 

3 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech4 nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 

5 2302)); or 

6 ‘‘(V) has completed not less than 2 

7 years in a postsecondary program at an in8 stitution of higher education, or area ca9 reer and technical education school, in the 

10 United States; or 

11 ‘‘(ii)(I) is, or at any time was, eligible for 

12 a grant of deferred action pursuant to— 

13 ‘‘(aa) the memorandum of the De14 partment of Homeland Security entitled 

15 ‘Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with 

16 Respect to Individuals Who Came to the 

17 United States as Children’ issued on June 

18 15, 2012; or 

19 ‘‘(bb) the memorandum of the De20 partment of Homeland Security entitled 

21 ‘Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with 

22 Respect to Individuals Who Came to the 

23 United States as Children and with Re24 spect to Certain Individuals Who Are the 

25 Parents of U.S. Citizens or Permanent 


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1 Residents’ issued on November 20, 2014; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(II) would have been eligible for such a 

4 grant of deferred action if the applicable memo5 randum described in subclause (I) had been 

6 fully in effect since the date on which it was 

7 issued. 

8 ‘‘(2) HARDSHIP EXCEPTION.—The Secretary 

9 shall issue regulations that direct when the Depart10 ment shall waive the age requirement of paragraph 

11 (1)(B)(i) for an individual to qualify as a Dreamer 

12 student under such paragraph, if the individual dem13 onstrates compelling circumstances, such as eco14 nomic hardship (as defined in section 435(o)).’’. 

15 SEC. 7. RESTORING THE TOTAL SEMESTERS OF FEDERAL 

16 PELL GRANT ELIGIBILITY. 

17 Section 401(d)(5)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘12’’ 

18 each place the term appears and inserting ‘‘18’’. 

19 SEC. 8. REDUCING FINANCIAL AID PENALTIES FROM SATIS20 FACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS DETERMINA21 TIONS. 

22 Section 484(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

23 (20 U.S.C. 1091(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(c) SATISFACTORY PROGRESS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(A) APPEAL.—The term ‘appeal’ means a 

2 process by which a student who is not meeting 

3 the institution’s satisfactory academic progress 

4 standards petitions the institution for reconsid5 eration of the student’s eligibility for assistance 

6 under this title. 

7 ‘‘(B) FINANCIAL AID PROBATION.—The 

8 term ‘financial aid probation’ means a status 

9 assigned by an institution to a student who fails 

10 to make satisfactory academic progress and 

11 who has appealed and has had eligibility for aid 

12 reinstated. 

13 ‘‘(C) FINANCIAL AID WARNING.—The term 

14 ‘financial aid warning’ means a status assigned 

15 to a student who fails to make satisfactory aca16 demic progress at the end of the semester or 

17 equivalent period in which the student first fails 

18 to make such progress. 

19 ‘‘(D) PAYMENT PERIOD.—The term ‘pay20 ment period’ means the applicable payment pe21 riod described in section 668.4 of title 34, Code 

22 of Federal Regulations, or any successor regula23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(2) SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS POL25 ICY.—An institution shall establish a reasonable satVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:45 Aug 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4595.IS S4595

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1 isfactory academic progress policy for determining 

2 whether an otherwise eligible student is making sat3 isfactory academic progress in the student’s edu4 cational program and may receive assistance under 

5 this title. The Secretary shall consider the institu6 tion’s policy to be reasonable if— 

7 ‘‘(A) the policy is not more burdensome 

8 than the policy the institution applies to a stu9 dent who is not receiving assistance under this 

10 title; 

11 ‘‘(B) the policy provides for consistent ap12 plication of standards to all students, including 

13 full-time, part-time, undergraduate, and grad14 uate students, and all educational programs es15 tablished by the institution; 

16 ‘‘(C)(i) the policy specifies the grade point 

17 average that a student must achieve at each 

18 evaluation, or if a grade point average is not an 

19 appropriate qualitative measure, a comparable 

20 assessment measured against a norm; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) if a student is enrolled in an edu22 cational program of more than 2 academic 

23 years, the policy specifies that at the end of the 

24 second academic year, the student must have a 

25 grade point average of at least a ‘C’ or its 


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1 equivalent, or have academic standing con2 sistent with the institution’s requirements for 

3 graduation; 

4 ‘‘(D) the policy provides for measurement 

5 of the student’s progress at each evaluation; 

6 ‘‘(E) the policy describes— 

7 ‘‘(i) how a student’s grade point aver8 age and the pace at which the student pro9 gresses toward completion are affected by 

10 course incompletes, withdrawals, or repeti11 tions, or transfers of credit from other in12 stitutions, including that credit hours from 

13 another institution that are accepted to14 ward the student’s educational program 

15 are counted as both attempted and com16 pleted hours; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) how after a student reenrolls 

18 after the student’s satisfactory academic 

19 progress was reset pursuant to paragraph 

20 (3)(B), the student may have any credits 

21 that were earned before the student was 

22 determined not to be making satisfactory 

23 academic progress counted for purposes of 

24 determining progress when the student re25 enrolls, but any attempted hours that were 


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1 not earned by the student (including in2 completes, withdrawn courses, and failed 

3 courses) before the student was determined 

4 not to be making satisfactory academic 

5 progress will not negatively impact the de6 termination of whether the student made 

7 satisfactory academic progress after such 

8 reset; 

9 ‘‘(F) the policy provides that, except as 

10 provided in subparagraph (G) with respect to a 

11 student placed on financial aid warning or fi12 nancial aid probation and paragraph (3), a stu13 dent is no longer eligible to receive assistance 

14 under this title if the student has not achieved 

15 the required grade point average or who is not 

16 making progress toward completion in the stu17 dent’s educational program— 

18 ‘‘(i) at the time of each evaluation 

19 with respect to a student who is in an edu20 cational program of 2 academic years or 

21 less in length; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) at the end of the second aca23 demic year with respect to a student who 

24 is in an educational program of more than 

25 2 academic years in length; 


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1 ‘‘(G) the policy describes when students 

2 will be placed on financial aid warning or finan3 cial aid probation, in accordance with para4 graph (4), and provides that— 

5 ‘‘(i) a student on financial aid warn6 ing— 

7 ‘‘(I) shall continue to be eligible 

8 for assistance under this title for one 

9 payment period despite a determina10 tion that the student is not making 

11 satisfactory academic progress; and 

12 ‘‘(II) may be assigned such sta13 tus without an appeal or other action 

14 by the student; and 

15 ‘‘(ii)(I) a student on financial aid pro16 bation may receive assistance under this 

17 title for one payment period and the insti18 tution may require the student to fulfill 

19 specific terms and conditions, such as tak20 ing a reduced course load or enrolling in 

21 specific courses; and 

22 ‘‘(II) at the end of such one payment 

23 period, the student is required to meet the 

24 institution’s satisfactory academic progress 

25 standards, or meet the requirements of the 


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1 academic plan developed by the institution 

2 and the student, in order to qualify for 

3 continued assistance under this title; 

4 ‘‘(H) if the institution permits a student to 

5 appeal a determination by the institution that 

6 the student is not making satisfactory academic 

7 progress, the policy describes— 

8 ‘‘(i) how the student may reestablish 

9 the student’s eligibility to receive assist10 ance under this title; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the basis on which the student 

12 may file an appeal, including because of 

13 the death of a relative, an injury or illness 

14 of the student, or another special cir15 cumstance; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) information the student is re17 quired to submit regarding why the stu18 dent failed to make satisfactory academic 

19 progress, and what has changed in the stu20 dent’s situation that will allow the student 

21 to demonstrate satisfactory academic 

22 progress at the next evaluation; 

23 ‘‘(I) if the institution does not permit a 

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1 tory academic progress, the policy describes 

2 how the student may reestablish the student’s 

3 eligibility to receive assistance under this title; 

4 ‘‘(J) the policy provides for notification to 

5 students of the results of an evaluation that im6 pacts the student’s eligibility for assistance 

7 under this title; and 

8 ‘‘(K) the policy does not impose satisfac9 tory progress limitations on need-based institu10 tional aid that are more stringent than the 

11 standard applied under this subsection, unless 

12 the institution demonstrates to the satisfaction 

13 of the Secretary that the policy improves stu14 dent persistence in, and completion of, postsec15 ondary education for all students. 

16 ‘‘(3) REGAINING ELIGIBILITY.— 

17 ‘‘(A) STUDENTS WHO REMAIN IN

18 SCHOOL.—Whenever a student fails to meet the 

19 eligibility requirements of subsection (a)(2) as a 

20 result of the application of this subsection and, 

21 subsequent to that failure, the student has aca22 demic standing for any grading period con23 sistent with the requirements for staying on 

24 track to graduate within 150 percent of the 

25 published length of the educational program, as 


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1 determined by the institution, the student shall 

2 again be eligible under subsection (a)(2) for a 

3 grant, loan, or work assistance under this title, 

4 as long as the student maintains satisfactory 

5 academic progress under paragraph (2) begin6 ning on and after the date that the student re7 gains eligibility. 

8 ‘‘(B) STUDENTS WHO LEAVE SCHOOL.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a student has 

10 not been enrolled in any institution of 

11 higher education for the immediately pre12 ceding 2 years, any previous failure to 

13 meet the eligibility requirements of sub14 section (a)(2) shall not be used in any de15 termination of eligibility of such student 

16 under such subsection. Such student shall, 

17 on the date of enrollment subsequent to 

18 such 2-year period, have the student’s eli19 gibility for a grant, loan, or work assist20 ance under this title reset and be deemed 

21 as meeting the requirements described in 

22 paragraph (2). Beginning on and after 

23 such date, the student’s satisfactory aca24 demic progress shall be determined in ac25 cordance with paragraph (2)(E)(ii). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF

2 RESETS.—A student shall be eligible for a 

3 reset of eligibility pursuant to this sub4 paragraph not more than 2 times. 

5 ‘‘(C) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—The 

6 Secretary shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) send, to each student who failed 

8 to meet the eligibility requirements of sub9 section (a)(2) and who has not regained 

10 eligibility for a grant, loan, or work assist11 ance under subparagraph (A), a notice, 

12 two years after such failure, that in13 cludes— 

14 ‘‘(I) a notification that, if the 

15 student has not been enrolled in any 

16 institution of higher education for the 

17 preceding two years and has not re18 ceived two resets of eligibility under 

19 subparagraph (B), the student may 

20 use grant, loan, or work assistance 

21 under this title for enrollment at any 

22 eligible institution, including an insti23 tution other than the institution in 

24 which the student was previously en25 rolled; 


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1 ‘‘(II) a notification that, if the 

2 student has remained enrolled, or re3 sumed enrollment, at an institution of 

4 higher education, the student may be 

5 eligible for a grant, loan, or work as6 sistance under this title subject to the 

7 requirements of subparagraph (A); 

8 ‘‘(III) information on how many 

9 semesters of eligibility for a grant, 

10 loan, or work assistance under this 

11 title to which the student still has ac12 cess; and 

13 ‘‘(IV) a notification that the stu14 dent should ask any prospective eligi15 ble institution how many of the stu16 dent’s previously completed credits the 

17 student would be able to transfer; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) submit an annual report to Con19 gress on the outcomes of students who 

20 have received a reset of eligibility pursuant 

21 to this paragraph, including— 

22 ‘‘(I) the number of students who 

23 reenroll in an eligible institution after 

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1 nicity, sex, age, socioeconomic status, 

2 and disability status; 

3 ‘‘(II) the 250 eligible institutions 

4 with the highest numbers of enrolled 

5 students receiving grant, loan, or 

6 work assistance under this title after 

7 such a reset; 

8 ‘‘(III) the 250 eligible institu9 tions with the highest share of en10 rolled students receiving grant, loan, 

11 or work assistance under this title 

12 after such a reset; and 

13 ‘‘(IV) the average completion 

14 rate and time to completion for stu15 dents who reenroll in an eligible insti16 tution after such reset, disaggregated 

17 by institution. 

18 ‘‘(4) EVALUATION OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An institution that 

20 determines that a student is not making satis21 factory academic progress under its policy may 

22 disburse funds provided through student finan23 cial assistance programs under this title (in24 cluding work-study programs under subtitle C) 


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1 to the student in accordance with subpara2 graphs (B), (C), and (D). 

3 ‘‘(B) PAYMENT PERIOD FOLLOWING NOT

4 MAKING SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS.— 

5 For the payment period following the payment 

6 period in which a student did not make satis7 factory academic progress, the institution shall 

8 place the student on financial aid warning and 

9 disburse funds under this title to the student. 

10 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT PERIOD FOLLOWING FI11 NANCIAL AID WARNING.—For the payment pe12 riod following a payment period during which a 

13 student was on financial aid warning, the insti14 tution may place the student on financial aid 

15 probation, and disburse funds under this title to 

16 the student if— 

17 ‘‘(i) the institution evaluates the stu18 dent’s progress and determines that stu19 dent did not make satisfactory academic 

20 progress during the payment period the 

21 student was on financial aid warning; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the student appeals the deter23 mination; and 

24 ‘‘(iii)(I) the institution determines 

25 that the student should be able to meet the 


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1 institution’s satisfactory academic progress 

2 standards by the end of the subsequent 

3 payment period; or 

4 ‘‘(II) the institution develops an aca5 demic plan for the student that, if fol6 lowed, will ensure that the student is able 

7 to meet the institution’s satisfactory aca8 demic progress standards by a specific 

9 point in time. 

10 ‘‘(D) PAYMENT PERIOD FOLLOWING FI11 NANCIAL AID PROBATION.—A student on finan12 cial aid probation for a payment period may not 

13 receive funds under this title for the subsequent 

14 payment period unless the student makes satis15 factory academic progress or the institution de16 termines that the student met the requirements 

17 specified by the institution in the academic plan 

18 for the student developed under subparagraph 

19 (C)(iii)(II). 

20 ‘‘(E) FREQUENCY OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS

21 EVALUATION AND COMMUNICATION.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

23 (ii), for the purpose of determining wheth24 er presently enrolled students are main25 taining satisfactory progress, each instituVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:45 Aug 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4595.IS S4595

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1 tion of higher education that enrolls stu2 dents who receive any grant, loan, or work 

3 assistance under this title shall review the 

4 progress of such students at the end of 

5 each payment period. 

6 ‘‘(ii) SHORTER PAYMENT PERIODS.— 

7 For each institution described in clause (i) 

8 that has payment periods that are shorter 

9 than on the semester system basis (such as 

10 on a quarterly or trimester system basis or 

11 by clock hour program or non-term pro12 gram), such institution shall review the 

13 progress of presently enrolled students at 

14 the end of each semester or equivalent pe15 riod of 12 to 18 weeks. 

16 ‘‘(iii) FINANCIAL AID WARNING.—At 

17 the end of each payment period (or, in the 

18 case of an institution described in clause 

19 (ii), at the end of each semester or equiva20 lent period), each institution shall send a 

21 financial aid warning to presently enrolled 

22 students that do not meet the grade point 

23 average requirement described in para24 graph (2), or its equivalent or academic 

25 standing consistent with the requirements 


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1 for graduation, as determined by the insti2 tution, that informs the students of their 

3 risk of being determined to not be main4 taining satisfactory progress and therefore 

5 losing eligibility for grant, loan, or work 

6 assistance under this title and provides in7 formation on— 

8 ‘‘(I) the specific criteria of the in9 stitution’s academic requirements that 

10 the student is not meeting and the 

11 specific improvements needed to meet 

12 the requirements; and 

13 ‘‘(II) how to meet with the stu14 dent’s academic advisor to get the 

15 academic support the student needs. 

16 ‘‘(5) DETAILING REQUIREMENTS TO STU17 DENTS.—Each institution of higher education that 

18 enrolls students who receive any grant, loan, or work 

19 assistance under this title shall detail the institu20 tion’s requirements regarding students maintaining 

21 satisfactory academic progress— 

22 ‘‘(A) to such students before the students 

23 begin classes at the institution through a de24 tailed communication that may be separate 

25 from a financial aid offer; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) on the financial aid webpage of the 

2 website of the institution. 

3 ‘‘(6) CONSUMER TESTING.—The Secretary shall 

4 conduct consumer testing to develop exemplary prac5 tices and templates— 

6 ‘‘(A) to support institutions of higher edu7 cation in carrying out paragraph (5); and 

8 ‘‘(B) which shall be available as resources 

9 for institutions of higher education.’’. 

10 SEC. 9. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

11 The Act (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended— 

12 (1) in section 401A(d)(1)(B)(i) (20 U.S.C. 

13 1070a–1(d)(1)(B)(i)), by striking ‘‘section 

14 401(b)(2)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 401(b)(2)’’; 

15 (2) in section 402D(d)(1) (20 U.S.C. 1070a– 

16 14(d)(1))— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘section 401(b)(2)(A)’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘section 401(b)(1)’’; and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘described in section 

20 401(b)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘as described in sec21 tion 401(b)(5)’’; 

22 (3) in section 435(a)(5)(A)(i)(I) (20 U.S.C. 

23 1085(a)(5)(A)(i)(I)), by striking ‘‘under section 

24 401(b)(2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘under section 

25 401(b)(1)’’; and 


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1 (4) in section 894(f)(2)(C)(ii)(I) (20 U.S.C. 

2 1161y(f)(2)(C)(ii)(I)), by striking ‘‘section 

3 401(b)(2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 401(b)(1)’’. 

4 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

5 Except as otherwise provided, this Act, and the 

6 amendments made by this Act to the Higher Education 

7 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), shall take effect 

8 on July 1, 2025, and apply with respect to award year 

9 2025–2026 and each subsequent award year, as deter10 mined under the Higher Education Act of 1965. The Sec11 retary of Education shall have the authority to take such 

12 steps as are necessary before July 1, 2025, to provide for 

13 the orderly implementation on such date of the amend14 ments to the Higher Education Act of 1965 made by this 

15 Act. 

Æ 


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