II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1874 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to strengthen Federal-State 

partnerships in postsecondary education. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 19, 2013 

Mr. REED 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 strengthen 

Federal-State partnerships in postsecondary education. 

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 ‘‘Partnerships for Af5 fordability and Student Success Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATE COMMITMENT TO AFFORDABLE COLLEGE 

7 EDUCATION. 

8 Section 137 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 1015f) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(a) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT REQUIRED.—For 

4 the academic year beginning on July 1, 2013, and for each 

5 of the 4 succeeding academic years, a State shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) maintain State support for institutions of 

7 higher education (not including support for capital 

8 projects or research and development, or tuition and 

9 fees paid by students) at least at the level of such 

10 support for the academic year beginning on July 1, 

11 2012; and 

12 ‘‘(2) maintain State support for student finan13 cial aid for paying costs associated with postsec14 ondary education at least at the level of such sup15 port for the academic year beginning on July 1, 

16 2012.’’; 

17 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(c) WAIVER.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall waive 

21 the requirements of subsection (a) if the Secretary 

22 determines that such a waiver would be appropriate 

23 due to exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances, 

24 such as a natural disaster or a precipitous decline in 


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1 the financial resources of a State or State edu2 cational agency, as appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(2) NO REQUIREMENT TO AMEND BUDGET.— 

4 The Secretary shall not require a State to make 

5 changes to an enacted budget as a condition of re6 ceiving a waiver under paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con8 sult with the States in developing the criteria and 

9 procedures for reviewing waiver requests.’’; and 

10 (3) by striking subsection (d). 

11 SEC. 3. FEDERAL AND STATE PARTNERSHIPS FOR COL12 LEGE ACCESS, AFFORDABILITY, AND COM13 PLETION. 

14 Subpart 4 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu15 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070c et seq.) is amended 

16 to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘Subpart 4—Federal and State Partnerships for 

18 College Access, Affordability, and Completion 

19 ‘‘SEC. 415A. PURPOSE. 

20 ‘‘It is the purpose of this subpart for the Secretary 

21 to make incentive grants to States to assist States in— 

22 ‘‘(1) providing grants to eligible students at23 tending institutions of higher education or partici24 pating in programs of study abroad that are apVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:54 Dec 26, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1874.IS S1874

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1 proved for credit by institutions of higher education 

2 at which such students are enrolled; 

3 ‘‘(2) providing subgrants to eligible institutions 

4 or consortia of eligible institutions— 

5 ‘‘(A) to improve student outcomes, such as 

6 completion and transfer rates and workforce 

7 outcomes for graduates; and 

8 ‘‘(B) to develop and implement practices 

9 that result in reduced costs for students; and 

10 ‘‘(3) providing public accountability and con11 sumer information on the performance of institu12 tions of higher education operating within the State. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 415B. STATE ELIGIBILITY; ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS. 

14 ‘‘(a) INCENTIVE GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 

15 award incentive grants, in accordance with the provisions 

16 of this subpart, to States to pay the Federal share of the 

17 cost of carrying out the activities described in paragraphs 

18 (1) through (3) of section 415A. The incentive grant shall 

19 consist of the allotment determined for the State under 

20 section 415C. 

21 ‘‘(b) STATE ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible to 

22 receive an incentive grant under this subpart, a State shall 

23 enter into an agreement with the Secretary. The agree24 ment shall contain the following assurances: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Federal funds received by the State under 

2 this subpart will supplement and not supplant other 

3 Federal and State funds otherwise available to carry 

4 out activities described in this subpart. 

5 ‘‘(2) The State will maintain its commitment to 

6 affordable higher education as described in section 

7 137. 

8 ‘‘(3) The State will fulfill its role in program in9 tegrity under section 495. 

10 ‘‘(4) The State has a comprehensive plan for 

11 public postsecondary education that addresses the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(A) Measurable goals for student out14 comes, including enrollment and completion. 

15 ‘‘(B) Measurable goals for college afford16 ability in the State. 

17 ‘‘(C) Alignment of such plan with the 

18 workforce and economic development plans of 

19 the State. 

20 ‘‘(D) Alignment of such plan with the ele21 mentary and secondary education plan for the 

22 State. 

23 ‘‘(E) The postsecondary educational needs 

24 of unserved and underserved individuals within 


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1 the State, including individuals beyond tradi2 tional college age. 

3 ‘‘(5) The State provides for direct, equitable, 

4 and active participation by representatives of institu5 tions of higher education, including the voluntary 

6 participation of private, nonprofit institutions of 

7 higher education, and other stakeholders in the com8 prehensive planning process. 

9 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS.—In this subpart, the 

10 term ‘eligible institution’ means— 

11 ‘‘(1) an institution of higher education, as de12 fined in section 101(a); 

13 ‘‘(2) an institution of higher education, as de14 fined in section 101(a), in partnership with— 

15 ‘‘(A) a nonprofit or community-based orga16 nization that has demonstrated success in im17 proving student outcomes in postsecondary edu18 cation; or 

19 ‘‘(B) a local workforce investment board; 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(3) a consortium of institutions of higher edu22 cation, as defined in section 101(a). 

23 ‘‘SEC. 415C. ALLOTMENT AMONG STATES. 

24 ‘‘(a) ALLOTMENT BASED ON NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE

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1 section (b), from the sums appropriated under section 

2 415H for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each 

3 eligible State for such fiscal year an amount that bears 

4 the same ratio to such sums as the number of students 

5 residing in such State who are eligible for a Federal Pell 

6 Grant bears to the total number of such students in all 

7 the eligible States. The Secretary shall calculate such ratio 

8 based on data for the most recent year for which satisfac9 tory data are available. 

10 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT.—The amount of any eli11 gible State’s allotment under subsection (a) for any fiscal 

12 year may not be less than 1 percent of the sums appro13 priated under section 415H for such year. 

14 ‘‘(c) REALLOTMENT.—The amount of any State’s al15 lotment under subsection (a) for any fiscal year which the 

16 Secretary determines will not be required for such fiscal 

17 year for the Federal-State partnership program of that 

18 State shall be available for reallotment from time to time, 

19 on such dates during such year as the Secretary may fix, 

20 to other States in proportion to the original allotments to 

21 such States under such subsection for such year, but with 

22 such proportionate amount for any of such States being 

23 reduced to the extent it exceeds the sum the Secretary 

24 estimates such State needs and will be able to use for such 

25 year for carrying out the State plan. The total of such 


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1 reductions shall be similarly reallotted among the States 

2 whose proportionate amounts were not so reduced. 

3 ‘‘(d) ALLOTMENTS SUBJECT TO COMPLIANCE.—The 

4 Secretary shall make payments for incentive grants under 

5 this subpart only to States that continue to meet the re6 quirements of this subpart. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 415D. APPLICATIONS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive an incentive 

9 grant under this subpart, the State agency with jurisdic10 tion over higher education, or another agency or entity 

11 designated by the Governor or chief executive of the State 

12 to administer the program under this subpart, shall sub13 mit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

14 manner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec15 retary may require. 

16 ‘‘(b) CONTENT OF APPLICATION.—An application 

17 submitted under subsection (a) shall contain— 

18 ‘‘(1) a description of how grant funds will assist 

19 the State in meeting its goals for student outcomes, 

20 including enrollment and completion; 

21 ‘‘(2) a description of how the grant funds will 

22 assist the State in meeting its goals for college af23 fordability, including measures to minimize tuition 

24 increases and measures to increase the availability of 

25 need-based student aid; 


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1 ‘‘(3) a description of how grant funds will assist 

2 the State in meeting the postsecondary needs of 

3 underrepresented or underserved populations in the 

4 State; 

5 ‘‘(4) a description of how the State’s com6 prehensive plan for public higher education is 

7 aligned with the workforce and economic develop8 ment plans of the State; 

9 ‘‘(5) a description of the process the State will 

10 use to make subgrants to eligible institutions or con11 sortia of eligible institutions; 

12 ‘‘(6) a description of how the State will evaluate 

13 the effectiveness of such subgrants and how the 

14 State will disseminate information on promising 

15 practices developed as a result of such subgrants; 

16 ‘‘(7) a description of how the State will make 

17 publicly available a report card on the progress in 

18 meeting State goals for public postsecondary edu19 cation; and 

20 ‘‘(8) a description of the stakeholder consulta21 tion, including efforts to engage the voluntary par22 ticipation of private, nonprofit institutions, carried 

23 out in the development of the application. 

24 ‘‘SEC. 415E. PAYMENT OF FEDERAL SHARE OF GRANTS. 

25 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DISTRIBUTION.—A State awarded an in2 centive grant under this subpart— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall use grant funds to award stu4 dent grants; and 

5 ‘‘(B) may use grant funds to award sub6 grants to eligible institutions. 

7 ‘‘(2) GRANTS TO STUDENTS.—A State awarded 

8 an incentive grant under this subpart shall establish 

9 a program to award grants to students that complies 

10 with the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) The program is administered by a 

12 single State agency. 

13 ‘‘(B) The program provides that an insti14 tution of higher education that had a student 

15 who received funds under this subpart at any 

16 time beginning on July 1, 2010, through the 

17 day before the date of enactment of the Part18 nerships for Affordability and Student Success 

19 Act and that is eligible to participate in a pro20 gram authorized under this title, shall be eligi21 ble to participate under this paragraph. 

22 ‘‘(C) The program provides that such 

23 grants to students will be in amounts not to ex24 ceed the student’s cost of attendance per aca25 demic year for attendance at an institution of 


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1 higher education. Such grants, in combination 

2 with other State or Federal student assistance, 

3 shall not exceed the student’s cost of attend4 ance in any given academic year. 

5 ‘‘(D) The program provides for the selec6 tion of grant recipients on the basis of substan7 tial financial need determined under part F and 

8 by the State. 

9 ‘‘(E) The program provides for the pay10 ment of the non-Federal share of such grants 

11 from funds supplied by such State which rep12 resent an additional expenditure for such year 

13 by such State for grants for students attending 

14 institutions of higher education over the 

15 amount expended by such State for such 

16 grants, if any, during the second fiscal year 

17 preceding the fiscal year in which such State 

18 initially received funds under this subpart. 

19 ‘‘(F) The program provides that if the 

20 State’s allotment under this subpart is based, 

21 in part, on the financial need demonstrated by 

22 students who are independent students or at23 tending the institution less than full time, a 

24 reasonable proportion of the State’s allotment 

25 shall be made available to such students. 


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1 ‘‘(G) The program will notify students re2 ceiving grants under this subpart that such 

3 grants are Federal-State partnership grants 

4 and are funded by the Federal Government and 

5 the State. 

6 ‘‘(3) SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE INSTITU7 TIONS.—A State awarded an incentive grant under 

8 this subpart may establish a program to award sub9 grants to eligible institutions that complies with the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(A) The program is administered by a 

12 single State agency. 

13 ‘‘(B) The program provides for the selec14 tion of subgrant recipients based on criteria set 

15 by the State agency. 

16 ‘‘(C) The program provides for subgrants 

17 that support activities that will assist the State 

18 in achieving— 

19 ‘‘(i) the State’s measurable goals for 

20 student outcomes, including enrollment 

21 and completion; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the State’s measurable goals for 

23 college affordability, including innovative 

24 methods for reducing costs; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) improved workforce outcomes 

2 for graduates. 

3 ‘‘(D) The program provides for the dis4 semination of promising practices developed 

5 through subgrant activities. 

6 ‘‘(4) FISCAL CONTROL; REPORTS.—A State 

7 awarded an incentive grant under this subpart shall 

8 provide— 

9 ‘‘(A) for such fiscal control and fund ac10 counting procedures as may be necessary to as11 sure proper disbursement of and accounting for 

12 Federal funds paid under this subpart; and 

13 ‘‘(B) for the making of such reports, in 

14 such form and containing such information, as 

15 may be reasonably necessary to enable the Sec16 retary to perform the Secretary’s functions 

17 under this subpart. 

18 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION AND DISBURSEMENT OF ALLOT19 MENTS AND REALLOTMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon approval of an appli21 cation for an incentive grant under this subpart, the 

22 Secretary shall reserve from the applicable allotment 

23 (including any applicable reallotment) available, the 

24 amount of such payment, which (subject to the lim25 its of such allotment or reallotment) shall be equal 


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1 to the Federal share of the cost of the grants to stu2 dents or subgrants to eligible institutions or con3 sortia of such institutions covered by such applica4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall pay such 

6 reserved amount, in advance or by way of reimburse7 ment, and in such installments as the Secretary may 

8 determine. 

9 ‘‘(3) AMENDMENT.—The Secretary may amend 

10 the reservation of any amount under this subsection, 

11 either upon approval of an amendment of the appli12 cation or upon revision of the estimated cost of the 

13 grants to students or subgrants to eligible institu14 tions with respect to which such reservation was 

15 made. If the Secretary approves an upward revision 

16 of such estimated cost, the Secretary may reserve 

17 the Federal share of the added cost only from the 

18 applicable allotment (or reallotment) available at the 

19 time of such approval. 

20 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

21 cost of carrying out the activities described in paragraphs 

22 (1) through (3) of section 415A is equal to 66.66 percent. 

23 ‘‘(d) CERTAIN ACTIVITIES FOR WHICH NON-FED24 ERAL SHARE MAY BE PROVIDED IN CASH OR IN KIND.— 

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1 eral share may be provided in cash or in kind, fairly evalu2 ated. 

3 ‘‘(e) REPORTING.—A State that desires to receive 

4 payments for continuing incentive grants under this sub5 part shall report the following information to the Sec6 retary on an annual basis: 

7 ‘‘(1) The State’s progress in meeting its goals 

8 for college affordability, including measures to mini9 mize tuition increases at public institutions and 

10 measures to increase the availability of need-based 

11 student aid. 

12 ‘‘(2) The State’s progress in meeting the post13 secondary needs of underrepresented or underserved 

14 populations in the State. 

15 ‘‘(3) A list of any subgrants made to eligible in16 stitutions. 

17 ‘‘(4) The State’s report card described in sec18 tion 415F. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 415F. STATE REPORT CARDS. 

20 ‘‘Each State that receives an allotment under this 

21 subpart shall report annually to the public on its progress 

22 in meeting its public postsecondary education goals and 

23 comprehensive plan for public higher education. Such re24 port shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(1) information, as determined by the State in 

2 consultation with stakeholders, on student outcomes, 

3 including enrollment and completion rates, 

4 disaggregated by race, ethnicity, disability status, 

5 and socio-economic status; 

6 ‘‘(2) information, as determined by the State in 

7 consultation with stakeholders, on workforce out8 comes for graduates; 

9 ‘‘(3) information on college costs, including tui10 tion increases, student indebtedness, and the avail11 ability of need-based aid; and 

12 ‘‘(4) information on the consumer complaints 

13 related to the performance of institutions of higher 

14 education reported to the State in the prior year. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 415G. PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE, NONPROFIT IN16 STITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 

17 ‘‘(a) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—A private, non18 profit institution of higher education may voluntarily elect 

19 to participate in a State’s efforts under the plan described 

20 in section 415B(b)(6). A State— 

21 ‘‘(1) shall not require any private, nonprofit in22 stitution to participate in such efforts; and 

23 ‘‘(2) may require such an institution that volun24 tarily elects to participate in such efforts to provide 

25 appropriate information to allow the State to assess 


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1 the institution’s progress towards the goals and ac2 tivities described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) 

3 of section 415B(b)(6). 

4 ‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub5 part, including voluntary participation described in sub6 section (a), shall be construed to— 

7 ‘‘(1) authorize the Secretary, a State, or an of8 ficer or employee of the Department or of a State 

9 to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over 

10 a private, nonprofit institution of higher education, 

11 including control over curriculum, program of in12 struction, administration, governance, personnel, ar13 ticulation, the awarding of credit, graduation or de14 gree requirements, or admissions; 

15 ‘‘(2) authorize the Secretary, a State, or an of16 ficer or employee of the Department or of a State 

17 to require a private, nonprofit institution of higher 

18 education to participate in a longitudinal data sys19 tem; or 

20 ‘‘(3) limit the application of the General Edu21 cation Provisions Act. 

22 ‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.—If any State fails or refuses 

23 to comply with any provision of this section, the State 

24 shall no longer be eligible for assistance under this sub25 part. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 415H. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RES2 ERVATIONS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap4 propriated to carry out this subpart $1,000,000,000 for 

5 fiscal year 2014 and such sums as may be necessary for 

6 each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years. 

7 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION.—Not less than 70 percent of 

8 funds allocated to a State shall be reserved for providing 

9 grants to eligible students. 

10 ‘‘(c) RESERVATION FOR CONSUMER INFORMATION

11 AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than 8 per12 cent of the funds allocated to a State may be used to pro13 vide public accountability and consumer information on 

14 the performance of institutions of higher education and 

15 for administering the grant.’’. 

Æ 


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