I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7497 

To establish a rural postsecondary and economic development grant program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 6, 2020 

Ms. STEFANIK (for herself, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mrs. 

BUSTOS, Mr. VELA, and Mr. LONG) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To establish a rural postsecondary and economic development 

grant program. 

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 ‘‘Success for Rural Stu5 dents and Communities Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RURAL POSTSECONDARY AND ECONOMIC DEVEL7 OPMENT GRANT PROGRAM. 

8 Part Q of title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161q) is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 862. RURAL POSTSECONDARY AND ECONOMIC DE2 VELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are 

4 to— 

5 ‘‘(1) increase enrollment and graduation rates 

6 of secondary school graduates and nontraditional 

7 students from rural areas at 2-year and 4-year insti8 tutions of higher education, their articulation from 

9 2-year degree programs into 4-year degree pro10 grams, and their attainment of market-relevant cre11 dentials and certificates; 

12 ‘‘(2) ensure rural communities benefit from 

13 their students’ success by advancing rural economic 

14 development and cultivation of a skilled local work15 force with employment opportunities for college 

16 graduates; 

17 ‘‘(3) promote economic growth and development 

18 in the rural United States through partnership 

19 grants to consortia of rural serving institutions of 

20 higher education, local educational agencies, and re21 gional economic development entities; 

22 ‘‘(4) foster innovation and development of effec23 tive practices, identify and document effective prac24 tices for the purpose of continuous quality improve25 ment, and ensure that additional rural areas benefit 


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1 from innovations through dissemination of practices 

2 that are most effective in rural areas; and 

3 ‘‘(5) foster elevated levels of investment in rural 

4 students and communities by State, private sector, 

5 and philanthropic partners. 

6 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) NONTRADITIONAL STUDENT.—The term 

8 ‘nontraditional student’ means an individual who— 

9 ‘‘(A) delays enrollment in an institution of 

10 higher education by 3 or more years after sec11 ondary school graduation; 

12 ‘‘(B) attends an institution of higher edu13 cation part-time; or 

14 ‘‘(C) attends an institution of higher edu15 cation and— 

16 ‘‘(i) works full-time; 

17 ‘‘(ii) is an independent student, as de18 fined in section 480; 

19 ‘‘(iii) has 1 or more dependents other 

20 than a spouse; 

21 ‘‘(iv) is a single parent or is the pri22 mary caregiver for a family member; 

23 ‘‘(v) is aging out of foster care; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) has been involved in the juvenile 

2 justice system or the adult criminal justice 

3 system; or 

4 ‘‘(vii) is in recovery from a substance 

5 use disorder. 

6 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EN7 TITY.—The term ‘regional economic development en8 tity’ means an entity working to promote economic 

9 development in, or employing residents of, a rural 

10 area, which may include local boards (as defined in 

11 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor12 tunity Act), Chambers of Commerce, and employers 

13 in the rural region covered by the grant. 

14 ‘‘(3) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ 

15 means an area that is defined, identified, or other16 wise recognized as rural by a governmental agency 

17 of the State in which the area is located. 

18 ‘‘(4) RURAL SERVING INSTITUTION OF HIGHER

19 EDUCATION.—The term ‘rural serving institution of 

20 higher education’ means an institution of higher 

21 education that serves rural areas. 

22 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—A partnership 

24 eligible to apply for a grant and carry out activities 

25 under this section (referred to in this section as an 


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1 ‘eligible partnership’) shall include partners rep2 resenting not less than 3 of the following types of 

3 organizations: 

4 ‘‘(A) A local educational agency or edu5 cational service agency (as such term is defined 

6 in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec7 ondary Education Act of 1965) serving a rural 

8 area. 

9 ‘‘(B) An institution of higher education. 

10 ‘‘(C) A regional economic development en11 tity. 

12 ‘‘(D) A rural community-serving organiza13 tion, including a philanthropy, with dem14 onstrated success supporting rural students in 

15 accessing higher education and attaining 2-year 

16 or 4-year degrees, including supporting students 

17 articulating from a 2-year to a 4-year college. 

18 ‘‘(2) OPTIONAL PARTNERS.—Other organiza19 tions serving rural students, families, or commu20 nities, including agencies of Tribal, State, or local 

21 government, community action agencies, or other 

22 non-governmental agencies, and local elected officials 

23 may participate in the eligible partnership as op24 tional partners. 


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1 ‘‘(3) LEAD APPLICANT.—Any required partner 

2 in an eligible partnership described in paragraph (1) 

3 may be designated by the eligible partnership to 

4 serve as the lead applicant and submit a competitive 

5 application on behalf of the eligible partnership of 

6 which that partner entity is a member. 

7 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—No more than 1 partner 

8 may submit a grant application under this section 

9 on behalf of an eligible partnership. 

10 ‘‘(d) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail12 able under subsection (j), the Secretary may award 

13 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible partner14 ships to carry out the activities described in sub15 section (f). 

16 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

17 section shall be awarded for a period of not less than 

18 5 years and not more than 9 years. 

19 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM GRANTS.—A grant awarded 

20 under this section shall be in an amount not less 

21 than $1,000,000. 

22 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible partnership 

24 desiring a grant under this section shall submit to 

25 the Secretary an application at such time, in such 


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1 manner, and containing such information as the Sec2 retary may reasonably require. 

3 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding 

4 grants under this section, the Secretary shall give 

5 special consideration to applications that dem6 onstrate the most potential and propose the most 

7 promising and innovative approaches for— 

8 ‘‘(A) increasing the number and percent9 age of graduates from rural secondary schools 

10 who enroll in and graduate from institutions of 

11 higher education; 

12 ‘‘(B) increasing the number of market-rel13 evant credentials and certificates awarded to 

14 students in rural communities; 

15 ‘‘(C) meeting the employment needs of re16 gional employers; 

17 ‘‘(D) strengthening the regional economy 

18 of a rural area; 

19 ‘‘(E) utilizing Labor Market Information 

20 data to determine regional job growth opportu21 nities and connect that information to edu22 cation and other partners; and 

23 ‘‘(F) creating shared data systems acces24 sible to all partners. 


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1 ‘‘(f) MATCH.—As part of the application, each eligi2 ble partnership applying for a grant under this section 

3 shall secure and document commitments of matching 

4 funds, in cash or in kind, totaling not less than 20 percent 

5 of the amount of grant funding that the eligible partner6 ship is requesting in the application. Matching funds may 

7 be contributed from any non-Federal source, including a 

8 State, local, private, nonprofit, or philanthropic source. 

9 ‘‘(g) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible partnership that 

10 receives a grant under this section shall use grant and 

11 matching funds to carry out not less than 2 of the fol12 lowing 4 activities: 

13 ‘‘(1) Improving postsecondary enrollment rates 

14 for rural secondary school students by providing 

15 supports to students, beginning as early as middle 

16 school, but in no case later than grade 11, and con17 tinuing through completion of postsecondary edu18 cation. Such supports may include— 

19 ‘‘(A) providing students and families with 

20 counseling related to applying for postsecondary 

21 education, and Federal and State financial as22 sistance for postsecondary education; 

23 ‘‘(B) providing students at rural high 

24 schools, and their families, with exposure and 

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1 ternships of institutions of higher education, in2 cluding covering the cost of transportation to 

3 and from such institutions; 

4 ‘‘(C) providing students of rural high 

5 schools exposure and access to courses offering 

6 dual or concurrent enrollment that will earn 

7 credits towards postsecondary degrees, creden8 tials, or certificates; 

9 ‘‘(D) supporting early connectivity to re10 gional employment opportunities for rural stu11 dents, including early opportunities for career 

12 exploration and exposure, expanding career 

13 counseling and opportunities for work-based 

14 learning experiences, opportunities available 

15 through career and technical education schools, 

16 and designing and implementing college and ca17 reer pathways in secondary schools that align to 

18 local labor market demands; 

19 ‘‘(E) supporting the transition of students 

20 from high school to postsecondary education; 

21 ‘‘(F) supporting students in completing 

22 their postsecondary degree or credential; 

23 ‘‘(G) supporting the transition of students 

24 articulating from 2-year degree programs to 4- 

25 year degree programs; and 


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1 ‘‘(H) other initiatives that assist students 

2 and families in developing interest in, applying 

3 for, attending, and graduating from rural serv4 ing institutions of higher education. 

5 ‘‘(2) Increasing enrollment and completion rates 

6 of rural nontraditional students in degree programs 

7 at institutions of higher education, which may in8 clude— 

9 ‘‘(A) programs to provide nontraditional 

10 students with counseling related to applying for 

11 postsecondary education, and Federal and State 

12 financial assistance for postsecondary edu13 cation; 

14 ‘‘(B) community outreach initiatives to en15 courage nontraditional students to enroll in an 

16 institution of higher education; 

17 ‘‘(C) programs to increase rural nontradi18 tional student persistence in and completion of 

19 postsecondary education; or 

20 ‘‘(D) programs to improve the enrollment 

21 of nontraditional students in 2-year degree pro22 grams and the transition of nontraditional stu23 dents articulating from 2-year degree programs 

24 to 4-year degree programs. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Creating or strengthening academic pro2 grams at rural serving institutions of higher edu3 cation to prepare graduates to enter into high-need 

4 occupations in the regional and local economies, and 

5 to provide additional career training to such stu6 dents in fields relevant to the regional economy. 

7 Such activities may include— 

8 ‘‘(A) developing and expanding work-based 

9 learning opportunities, such as apprenticeships 

10 or paid internships, including covering the cost 

11 of transportation or the cost of internet access 

12 for virtual opportunities; 

13 ‘‘(B) establishing policies and processes for 

14 assessing and awarding course credit for prior 

15 learning; 

16 ‘‘(C) developing and expanding programs 

17 that accelerate learning and recognized postsec18 ondary credential attainment, including com19 petency-based education, corequisite remedi20 ation, and other strategies for acceleration; 

21 ‘‘(D) developing and expanding efficient 

22 career pathways to credentials, including the 

23 development of stackable credentials and inte24 grated education and training strategies; 


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1 ‘‘(E) working with local boards on the use 

2 of labor market information for making pro3 gram decisions; or 

4 ‘‘(F) engaging employers in the develop5 ment of programs and curricula. 

6 ‘‘(4) Generating local and regional economic de7 velopment that creates employment opportunities for 

8 rural students with postsecondary degrees, which 

9 may include— 

10 ‘‘(A) promoting and incentivizing remote 

11 work opportunities to connect local talent with 

12 non-local employers; 

13 ‘‘(B) supporting entrepreneurship as a 

14 part of career pathways in secondary school and 

15 postsecondary academic and career programs; 

16 ‘‘(C) developing strategies to address 

17 transportation and internet connectivity gaps 

18 that create barriers to employment opportuni19 ties in rural areas; 

20 ‘‘(D) designing and implementing mar21 keting efforts to attract employers and talent to 

22 the region or community; or 

23 ‘‘(E) developing strategies to identify start24 up funding for local entrepreneurs. 


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1 ‘‘(h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

2 reserve not more than 5 percent of funds authorized to 

3 be appropriated to carry out this section to provide tech4 nical assistance to assist eligible partnerships in preparing 

5 and submitting successful applications, and to support 

6 grantees in the successful implementation of grant awards 

7 under this section. 

8 ‘‘(i) RESEARCH, EVALUATION, AND DISSEMINATION

9 OF PROMISING PRACTICES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ONGOING DATA COLLECTION AND RE11 SEARCH.—The Secretary shall reserve not less than 

12 10 percent of the amount appropriated to carry out 

13 this section for the purpose of— 

14 ‘‘(A) ongoing data collection and research 

15 to— 

16 ‘‘(i) identify innovative practices that 

17 improve attainment of market-relevant cre18 dentials, certificates, and degrees for rural 

19 students; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) enhance rural economic develop21 ment that results in employment opportu22 nities for graduates of postsecondary edu23 cation in rural areas; and 

24 ‘‘(B) dissemination of the findings related 

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1 ular basis throughout the duration of the grant 

2 period. 

3 ‘‘(2) DATA COLLECTION AND RESEARCH BY

4 GRANTEES.—At the Secretary’s discretion, data col5 lection and research under this subsection may be 

6 conducted by eligible partnerships. 

7 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE; PROHIBITED USE.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The purpose of data 

9 collection and research under this subsection 

10 shall be to identify, document, and disseminate 

11 effective practices throughout the duration of 

12 the grant period in order to support continuous 

13 quality improvement of programs funded under 

14 this section. 

15 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITED USE.—To incentivize in16 novation, experimentation, and collaboration, 

17 findings that result from data collection and re18 search under this subsection shall not be used 

19 for the purpose of denying subsequent applica20 tions for Federal funds. 

21 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

23 $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 and each of the 5 suc24 ceeding fiscal years.’’. 

Æ 


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