II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1754 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve the financial aid 

process for homeless children and youths and foster care children and youth. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2013 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms. LANDRIEU, and Ms. BALDWIN) 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 improve 

the financial aid process for homeless children and 

youths and foster care children and youth. 

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 Ac5 cess and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 (a) INDEPENDENT STUDENT.—Section 480(d) of the 

8 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(d)) is 

9 amended— 

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1 (1) in paragraph (1)(H)— 

2 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘during the school year 

4 in which the application is submitted’’; 

5 (ii) by inserting ‘‘age 23 or younger’’ 

6 after ‘‘unaccompanied youth’’; and 

7 (iii) by striking ‘‘terms are’’ and in8 serting ‘‘term is’’; 

9 (B) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, or a des10 ignee of the liaison’’ after ‘‘Act’’; 

11 (C) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘a program 

12 funded under the Runaway and Homeless 

13 Youth Act’’ and inserting ‘‘an emergency or 

14 transitional shelter, street outreach program, 

15 homeless youth drop-in center, or other pro16 gram serving homeless youth,’’; and 

17 (D) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘program 

18 funded under subtitle B of title IV of the 

19 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (re20 lating to emergency shelter grants)’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘Federal TRIO program or a Gaining Early 

22 Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate 

23 program under chapter 1 or 2 of subpart 2 of 

24 part A,’’; and 

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

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1 ‘‘(3) SIMPLIFYING THE DETERMINATION PROC2 ESS FOR UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH.— 

3 ‘‘(A) VERIFICATION.—A financial aid ad4 ministrator is not required to verify homeless5 ness determinations made by the individuals au6 thorized to make such determinations under 

7 clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of paragraph (1)(H) in 

8 the absence of conflicting information. A docu9 mented phone call with, or a written statement 

10 from, one of the relevant authorities is suffi11 cient verification when needed. 

12 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF INDEPEND13 ENCE.—A financial aid administrator shall 

14 make a determination of independence under 

15 paragraph (1)(H) if a student does not have, 

16 and cannot get, documentation from any of the 

17 other designated authorities. This determina18 tion is based on the definitions outlined in para19 graph (1)(H) and is distinct from a determina20 tion of independence under paragraph (1)(I). 

21 The determination may be based on a docu22 mented interview with the student if there is no 

23 written documentation available. 

24 ‘‘(C) DURATION OF DETERMINATION.—A 

25 student shall receive a determination under 

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1 paragraph (1)(H) during the school year in 

2 which the student initially submits the applica3 tion. In subsequent years, the student shall be 

4 presumed to be independent unless— 

5 ‘‘(i) the student informs the financial 

6 aid office that circumstances have changed; 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the financial aid administrator 

9 has specific conflicting information about 

10 the student’s independence.’’. 

11 (b) FOSTER CARE CHILDREN AND YOUTH.—Section 

12 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

13 1003) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(25) FOSTER CARE CHILDREN AND YOUTH.— 

15 The term ‘foster care children and youth’— 

16 ‘‘(A) means children and youth whose care 

17 and placement is the responsibility of the State 

18 or Tribal agency that administers a State plan 

19 under part B or E of title IV of the Social Se20 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et 

21 seq.), without regard to whether foster care 

22 maintenance payments are made under section 

23 472 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on behalf of 

24 the child; and 

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1 ‘‘(B) includes individuals whose care and 

2 placement was the responsibility of the State or 

3 Tribal agency that administers a State plan 

4 under part B or E of title IV of the Social Se5 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et 

6 seq.) when they were age 13 or older but are 

7 no longer the care and responsibility of the 

8 State or tribal agency.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. STUDENT LOAN OMBUDSMAN. 

10 Section 141(f)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 

11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1018(f)(3)) is amended— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

13 after the semicolon; 

14 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

15 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(C) receive, review, and resolve expedi18 tiously complaints regarding a student’s inde19 pendence under subparagraph (B) or (H) of 

20 section 480(d)(1), in consultation with knowl21 edgeable parties, including child welfare agen22 cies, local educational agency liaisons for home23 less children and youths designated under sub24 title B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento 

25 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et 

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1 seq.) or State Coordinators for Education of 

2 Homeless Children and Youths established 

3 under such subtitle.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS. 

5 Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

6 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (19), by inserting ‘‘housing fa8 cilities,’’ after ‘‘libraries,’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(30) The institution certifies that the institu11 tion— 

12 ‘‘(A) has designated an appropriate staff 

13 person, who may also be a coordinator for other 

14 programs, as a single point of contact to assist 

15 homeless children and youths (as such term is 

16 defined in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento 

17 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)) 

18 and foster care children and youth in accessing 

19 and completing postsecondary education; 

20 ‘‘(B) posts public notice about student fi21 nancial assistance and other assistance available 

22 to homeless children and youths and foster care 

23 children and youth, including their eligibility as 

24 independent students under subparagraphs (B) 

25 and (H) of sections 480(d)(1); 

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1 ‘‘(C) has developed a plan for how home2 less children and youths and foster care chil3 dren and youth can access housing resources 

4 during and between academic terms, through 

5 means that may include access to on-campus 

6 housing during breaks and a list of housing re7 sources in the community that provide short8 term housing; and 

9 ‘‘(D) has included in its application for ad10 mission questions (to be answered voluntarily) 

11 regarding the applicant’s status as a homeless 

12 child or youth or foster care child or youth, 

13 which the applicant can answer voluntarily for 

14 the limited purpose of being provided informa15 tion about financial aid or any other available 

16 assistance.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. FEDERAL TRIO PROGRAMS. 

18 Section 402A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

19 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (c), by striking the fourth sen21 tence and inserting the following: ‘‘The Secretary 

22 shall require each applicant for funds under the pro23 grams authorized by this chapter to identify, con24 duct specific outreach to, and recruit foster care 

25 children and youth and homeless children and 

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1 youths (as such term is defined in section 725 of the 

2 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 11434a)), in collaboration with child welfare 

4 agencies, homeless shelters, and local educational 

5 agency liaisons for homeless children and youths 

6 designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the 

7 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)), and make available to 

9 foster care children and youth and homeless children 

10 and youths services under such programs, including 

11 mentoring, tutoring, and other services provided by 

12 such programs.’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (f)(3)— 

14 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting 

15 ‘‘and to homeless children and youths and fos16 ter care children and youth’’ after ‘‘by the pro17 gram’’; 

18 (B) in subparagraph (B)(i), by inserting 

19 ‘‘and to homeless children and youths and fos20 ter care children and youth’’ after ‘‘by the pro21 gram’’; 

22 (C) in subparagraph (C)(iii), by inserting 

23 ‘‘and to homeless children and youths and fos24 ter care children and youth’’ after ‘‘total num25 ber of students’’; and 

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1 (D) in subparagraph (E)(iii), by inserting 

2 ‘‘and to homeless children and youths and fos3 ter care children and youth’’ after ‘‘by the pro4 gram’’. 

5 SEC. 6. TALENT SEARCH. 

6 Section 402B(d) of the Higher Education Act of 

7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–12(d)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

9 the semicolon; 

10 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

11 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(5) require that the project collect and submit 

14 to the Secretary data on the number of homeless 

15 children and youths and foster care children and 

16 youth served; 

17 ‘‘(6) require that the project review and revise 

18 policies and practices to remove barriers to the par19 ticipation and retention of homeless children and 

20 youths and foster care children and youth, including 

21 policies to allow immediate participation even if the 

22 child or youth is unaccompanied by a parent or 

23 guardian or is unable to produce records normally 

24 required for enrollment, such as previous academic 

25 records, medical records, proof of residency, or other 

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1 documentation, and other policies consistent with the 

2 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.); 

4 ‘‘(7) require that the project submit a descrip5 tion of the activities that will be undertaken to out6 reach to homeless children and youths and foster 

7 care children and youth; and 

8 ‘‘(8) require that the project submit a descrip9 tion of any strategies or program enhancements that 

10 were used that were effective in meeting the needs 

11 of homeless children and youths and foster care chil12 dren and youth.’’. 

13 SEC. 7. UPWARD BOUND. 

14 Section 402C(e) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

15 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–13(e)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

17 the semicolon; 

18 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

19 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(6) require that the project collect and submit 

22 to the Secretary data on the number of homeless 

23 children and youths and foster care children and 

24 youth served; 

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1 ‘‘(7) require that the project review and revise 

2 policies and practices to remove barriers to the par3 ticipation and retention of homeless children and 

4 youths and foster care children and youth, including 

5 policies to allow immediate participation even if the 

6 child or youth is unaccompanied by a parent or 

7 guardian or is unable to produce records normally 

8 required for enrollment, such as previous academic 

9 records, medical records, proof of residency, or other 

10 documentation, and other policies consistent with the 

11 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.); 

13 ‘‘(8) require that the project submit a descrip14 tion of the activities that will be undertaken to out15 reach to homeless children and youths and foster 

16 care children and youth; and 

17 ‘‘(9) require that the project submit a descrip18 tion of any strategies or program enhancements that 

19 were used that were effective in meeting the needs 

20 of homeless children and youths and foster care chil21 dren and youth.’’. 

22 SEC. 8. STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES. 

23 Section 402D(e) of the Higher Education Act of 

24 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–14(e)) is amended— 

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1 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

2 the semicolon; 

3 (2) in paragraph (6)(B), by striking the period 

4 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(7) require that the project collect and submit 

7 to the Secretary data on the number of homeless 

8 children and youths and foster care children and 

9 youth served; 

10 ‘‘(8) require that the project review and revise 

11 policies and practices to remove barriers to the par12 ticipation and retention of homeless children and 

13 youths and foster care children and youth, including 

14 policies to allow immediate participation even if the 

15 child or youth is unaccompanied by a parent or 

16 guardian or is unable to produce records normally 

17 required for enrollment, such as previous academic 

18 records, medical records, proof of residency, or other 

19 documentation; 

20 ‘‘(9) require that the project submit a descrip21 tion of the activities that will be undertaken to out22 reach to homeless children and youths and foster 

23 care children and youth; and 

24 ‘‘(10) require that the project submit a descrip25 tion of any strategies or program enhancements that 

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1 were used that were effective in meeting the needs 

2 of homeless children and youths and foster care chil3 dren and youth.’’. 

4 SEC. 9. EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY CENTERS. 

5 Section 402F(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

6 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–16(c)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

8 the semicolon; 

9 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

10 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) require that the project collect and submit 

13 to the Secretary data on the number of homeless 

14 children and youths and foster care children and 

15 youth served; 

16 ‘‘(5) require that the project review and revise 

17 policies and practices to remove barriers to the par18 ticipation and retention of homeless children and 

19 youths and foster care children and youth, including 

20 policies to allow immediate participation even if the 

21 child or youth is unaccompanied by a parent or 

22 guardian or is unable to produce records normally 

23 required for enrollment, such as previous academic 

24 records, medical records, proof of residency, or other 

25 documentation, and other policies consistent with the 

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1 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.); 

3 ‘‘(6) require that the project submit a descrip4 tion of the activities that will be undertaken to out5 reach to homeless children and youths and foster 

6 care children and youth; and 

7 ‘‘(7) require that the project submit a descrip8 tion of any strategies or program enhancements that 

9 were used that were effective in meeting the needs 

10 of homeless children and youths and foster care chil11 dren and youth.’’. 

12 SEC. 10. GAINING EARLY AWARENESS AND READINESS FOR 

13 UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS. 

14 Section 404C(a)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 

15 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–23(a)(2))— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

17 the semicolon; 

18 (2) in subparagraph (J), by striking the period 

19 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(K) describe how the eligible entity will 

22 facilitate the participation of foster care chil23 dren and youth and homeless children and 

24 youths (as such term is defined in section 725 

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1 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)), including— 

3 ‘‘(i) how the entity will identify foster 

4 care children and youth and homeless chil5 dren and youths, in collaboration with 

6 child welfare agencies, homeless shelters, 

7 and local educational agency liaisons for 

8 homeless children and youths designated 

9 under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the 

10 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 

11 (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)); 

12 ‘‘(ii) how the entity will collect and 

13 submit to the Secretary data on the num14 ber of homeless children and youths and 

15 foster care children and youth served; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) the policies and practices the en17 tity will adopt to remove barriers to the 

18 participation of homeless children and 

19 youths and foster care children and youth, 

20 including policies to facilitate continued 

21 participation despite changes in residence 

22 resulting from homelessness or foster care 

23 placement and policies consistent with the 

24 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 

25 (42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.).’’. 

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1 SEC. 11. IN-STATE TUITION RATES FOR HOMELESS CHIL2 DREN OR YOUTHS AND FOSTER CARE CHIL3 DREN AND YOUTH. 

4 Section 135 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

5 U.S.C. 1015d) is amended— 

6 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘, AND

7 HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS AND FOS8 TER CARE CHILDREN AND YOUTH’’ after ‘‘CHIL9 DREN’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—In 

12 the case’’ and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ARMED FORCES.—In the case’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(2) HOMELESS CHILDREN OR YOUTHS AND

17 FOSTER CARE CHILDREN OR YOUTH.—In the case of 

18 a homeless child or youth or a foster care child or 

19 youth, such State shall not charge such individual 

20 tuition for attendance at a public institution of high21 er education in the State at a rate that is greater 

22 than the rate charged for residents of the State.’’; 

23 and 

24 (3) by striking subsections (c) and (d) and in25 serting the following: 

26 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) ARMED FORCES.—With respect to an indi2 vidual described in subsection (a)(1), this section 

3 shall take effect at each public institution of higher 

4 education in a State that receives assistance under 

5 this Act for the first period of enrollment at such in6 stitution that begins after July 1, 2009. 

7 ‘‘(2) HOMELESS CHILDREN OR YOUTHS AND

8 FOSTER CARE CHILDREN OR YOUTH.—With respect 

9 to an individual described in subsection (a)(2), this 

10 section shall take effect at each public institution of 

11 higher education in a State that receives assistance 

12 under this Act for the first period of enrollment at 

13 such institution that begins after July 1, 2015. 

14 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) ARMED FORCES.—The terms ‘armed 

16 forces’ and ‘active duty for a period of more than 30 

17 days’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

18 101 of title 10, United States Code. 

19 ‘‘(2) HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS.—The 

20 term ‘homeless children and youths’ has the mean21 ing given the term in section 725 of the McKinney22 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 11434a).’’. 

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1 SEC. 12. GRANT FOR FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAMS. 

2 Section 443(b)(6) of the Higher Education Act of 

3 1965 (42 U.S.C. 2753(b)(6)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, 

4 and to prioritize employment for students who are cur5 rently or formerly homeless children and youths or foster 

6 care children and youth’’ after ‘‘thereof’’. 

7 SEC. 13. EXCLUDABLE INCOME. 

8 Section 480(e) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

9 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(e)) is amended by striking paragraph 

10 (5) and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(5) payments made and services provided 

12 under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act, 

13 including the value of vouchers for education and 

14 training made available under section 477 of such 

15 Act, and any payments made directly to the youth 

16 as part of an extended foster care program pursuant 

17 to such part E; and’’. 

18 SEC. 14. GAO REPORT ON EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF 

19 HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS AND 

20 FOSTER CARE CHILDREN AND YOUTH. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

23 of the United States shall prepare and submit a report 

24 on the educational attainment of youth who are or have 

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1 companied homeless youth, and foster care youth to the 

2 appropriate committees of Congress. 

3 (b) CONTENT.—The report described in subsection 

4 (a) shall review and assess enrollment and completion data 

5 for both accompanied and unaccompanied homeless youth 

6 and foster care youth, including the following: 

7 (1) The percentage of such youth attending an 

8 institution of higher education. 

9 (2) The percentage of such youth graduating 

10 from an institution of higher education. 

11 (3) The average length of time taken to obtain 

12 an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. 

13 (4) The percentage of such youth attending— 

14 (A) a public institution of higher edu15 cation; 

16 (B) a private institution of higher edu17 cation; 

18 (C) a community college; and 

19 (D) a 4-year institution of higher edu20 cation. 

21 (5) Reasons why such youth choose not to pur22 sue a higher education. 

23 (6) The availability of public and private tuition 

24 assistance specifically for such youth and the aware25 ness among such youth of such programs. 

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1 (7) The availability of other public or private 

2 programs designed to encourage and support enroll3 ment in, and completion of, higher education for 

4 such youth. 

5 (8) Ways in which the Department of Edu6 cation might increase the educational attainment 

7 rates of such youth. 

Æ 

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