I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4274 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for accreditation 

reform, to require institutions of higher education to publish information 

regarding student success, to provide for fiscal accountability, and to 

provide for school accountability for student loans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 7, 2017 

Mr. DESANTIS (for himself, Mr. DUNN, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. WALKER, Mr. 

LABRADOR, Mr. PERRY, Mr. BRAT, Mr. YOHO, Mr. BUDD, Mr. NORMAN, 

Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. FRANCIS ROONEY of 

Florida, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. 

FARENTHOLD, and Mr. BUCK) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 

for accreditation reform, to require institutions of higher 

education to publish information regarding student success, to provide for fiscal accountability, and to provide 

for school accountability for student loans. 

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 Re5 form and Opportunity Act of 2017’’. 


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1 TITLE I—ACCREDITATION 

2 REFORM 

3 SEC. 101. ACCREDITATION REFORM. 

4 (a) DEFINITION OF INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU5 CATION.—Section 102(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

6 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as 

8 paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively; 

9 (2) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

10 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Subject to para11 graphs (2) through (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to 

12 paragraphs (2) through (5)’’; 

13 (3) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

15 and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respec16 tively; and 

17 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(B) if accredited by an authorized accred20 itation authority in a State that has an alter21 native accreditation agreement with the Sec22 retary, as described in paragraph (5)— 

23 ‘‘(i) an institution that provides post24 secondary education; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a postsecondary apprenticeship 

2 program; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) a postsecondary education 

4 course or program provided by an institu5 tion of postsecondary education, a non6 profit organization, or a for-profit organi7 zation or business;’’; and 

8 (4) by inserting after paragraph (4), the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(5) STATE ALTERNATIVE ACCREDITATION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

12 other provision of law, a State may establish an 

13 alternative accreditation system for the purpose 

14 of establishing institutions that provide postsec15 ondary education and postsecondary education 

16 courses or programs as eligible for funding 

17 under title IV if the State enters into an agree18 ment with the Secretary for the establishment 

19 of the alternative accreditation system. Such in20 stitutions, courses, or programs may include— 

21 ‘‘(i) institutions that provide postsec22 ondary education; 

23 ‘‘(ii) postsecondary apprenticeship 

24 programs; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) any other postsecondary edu2 cation course or program offered at an in3 stitution of postsecondary education, a 

4 nonprofit organization, or a for-profit orga5 nization or business; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) any of the entities described in 

7 clauses (i) through (iii) that do not award 

8 a postsecondary certification, credential, or 

9 degree, provided that such entity provides 

10 credit that will apply toward a postsec11 ondary certification, credential, or degree. 

12 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE ACCREDITATION

13 AGREEMENT.—The alternative accreditation 

14 agreement described in subparagraph (A) shall 

15 include the following: 

16 ‘‘(i) The designation of one or more 

17 authorized accrediting entities within the 

18 State, such as the State Department of 

19 Education, another State agency, an indus20 try-specific accrediting agency, or another 

21 entity, and an explanation of the process 

22 through which the State will select such 

23 authorized accrediting entities. 

24 ‘‘(ii) The standards or criteria that an 

25 institution that provides postsecondary 


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1 education and a postsecondary education 

2 course or program must meet in order to— 

3 ‘‘(I) receive an initial accredita4 tion as part of the alternative accredi5 tation system; and 

6 ‘‘(II) maintain such accredita7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(iii) A description of the appeals 

9 process through which an institution that 

10 provides postsecondary education and a 

11 postsecondary education course or program 

12 may appeal to an authorized accrediting 

13 entity if such institution, course, or pro14 gram is denied accreditation under the 

15 State alternative accreditation system. 

16 ‘‘(iv) Each authorized accrediting en17 tity’s policy regarding the transfer of cred18 its between institutions that provide post19 secondary education and postsecondary 

20 education courses or programs within the 

21 State that are accredited as part of the al22 ternative accreditation system. 

23 ‘‘(v) The Secretary’s reporting re24 quirements for the State regarding the 


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1 State alternative accreditation system, in2 cluding— 

3 ‘‘(I) the contents of reports that 

4 must be submitted to the Secretary, 

5 which may include information such 

6 as— 

7 ‘‘(aa) in the case of a post8 secondary education course or 

9 program that is accredited 

10 through the State alternative ac11 creditation system— 

12 ‘‘(AA) the number and 

13 percentage of students who 

14 successfully complete each 

15 such postsecondary edu16 cation course or program; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(BB) the number and 

19 percentage of students who 

20 successfully obtain a post21 secondary certification, cre22 dential, or degree using 

23 credit obtained from each 

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1 cation course or program; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(bb) in the case of an insti4 tution that provides postsec5 ondary education that is accred6 ited through the State alternative 

7 accreditation system— 

8 ‘‘(AA) the number and 

9 percentage of students who 

10 successfully obtain a post11 secondary certification, cre12 dential, or degree from such 

13 institution; and 

14 ‘‘(BB) the number and 

15 percentage of students who 

16 do not successfully obtain a 

17 postsecondary certification, 

18 credential, or degree from 

19 such institution but do ob20 tain credit from such insti21 tution toward a postsec22 ondary degree, credential, or 

23 certification; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the frequency with which 

2 such reports must be submitted to the 

3 Secretary; and 

4 ‘‘(III) any requirements for third 

5 party verification of information con6 tained in such reports. 

7 ‘‘(vi) The State policy regarding pub8 lic accessibility to certain information re9 lating to institutions that provide postsec10 ondary education and postsecondary edu11 cation courses and programs accredited 

12 under the State alternative accreditation 

13 system, including— 

14 ‘‘(I) the information described in 

15 clause (v)(I); and 

16 ‘‘(II) information about the rates 

17 of job placement for individuals that 

18 have graduated from an institution or 

19 completed a course or program that is 

20 accredited under the State alternative 

21 accreditation system, if available. 

22 ‘‘(vii) An assurance by the State that 

23 under the State alternative accreditation 

24 system, only institutions that provide post25 secondary education and postsecondary 


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1 education courses or programs that provide 

2 credits toward a postsecondary certifi3 cation, credential, or degree (as defined by 

4 the State in accordance with clause (viii)) 

5 will be accredited. 

6 ‘‘(viii) The State’s definition of a 

7 postsecondary certification, credential, or 

8 degree, as such term applies to the require9 ment described in clause (vii). 

10 ‘‘(ix) A description of the agreements 

11 that the State will enter into with institu12 tions that provide postsecondary education 

13 and postsecondary education courses or 

14 programs that are accredited under the al15 ternative accreditation system to enable 

16 such institutions, courses, or programs to 

17 be eligible under a program authorized 

18 under title IV, for participation in the di19 rect student loan program, and for the 

20 origination of loans under part D of title 

21 IV, and how such agreements will operate 

22 in lieu of the agreements described in sec23 tions 487 and 454. 

24 ‘‘(x) A description of how the State 

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1 ondary education and postsecondary edu2 cation courses or programs that are ac3 credited under the alternative accreditation 

4 system, in lieu of the selection process de5 scribed in section 453, for— 

6 ‘‘(I) participation in the direct 

7 student loan program under part D of 

8 title IV; and 

9 ‘‘(II) approval allowing such in10 stitution, program, or course to origi11 nate direct loans under part D of title 

12 IV. 

13 ‘‘(xi) A description of how the State 

14 will administer title IV funds for institu15 tions that provide postsecondary education, 

16 postsecondary apprenticeship programs, 

17 and postsecondary education courses or 

18 programs provided by an institution of 

19 postsecondary education, a nonprofit orga20 nization, or a for-profit organization or 

21 business that are accredited through the 

22 alternative accreditation system. 

23 ‘‘(C) DENIAL OF AGREEMENT.—If the Sec24 retary decides not to enter into an agreement 

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1 native accreditation system in the State pursu2 ant to this paragraph, the Secretary shall sub3 mit a list of the reasons for such decision to the 

4 State. 

5 ‘‘(D) TIME LIMIT.—Each agreement the 

6 Secretary enters into for the establishment of 

7 an alternative accreditation system in a State 

8 shall be for a period of 10 years.’’. 

9 (b) TITLE IV ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—Part G 

10 of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

11 1088 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 493E. STATE ACCREDITED INSTITUTIONS, PRO14 GRAMS, OR COURSES. 

15 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an in16 stitution, program, or course that is eligible for funds 

17 under this title in accordance with section 102(a)(1)(B) 

18 and meets the requirements of section 102(a)(5) shall not 

19 be required to meet any other requirements of this title. 

20 For purposes of this title, such an institution, program, 

21 or course shall be deemed to be an eligible institution that 

22 meets the requirements of section 487.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—TRANSPARENCY IN 

2 HIGHER EDUCATION 

3 SEC. 201. TIME FOR TRANSPARENCY IN HIGHER EDU4 CATION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Higher Education 

6 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended— 

7 (1) in section 487(a), by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(30) The institution will publish information 

10 in compliance with section 493F.’’; and 

11 (2) in part G, as amended by section 101, by 

12 adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 493F. INSTITUTIONAL PUBLICATION OF INFORMA14 TION. 

15 ‘‘(a) PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each institution of higher 

17 education participating in a program under this title 

18 shall publish, on an annual basis and in a readily ac19 cessible format (including online and in an alter20 native format), the information described in para21 graphs (2) and (3). 

22 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION.—Each institution of higher 

23 education described in paragraph (1) shall publish, 

24 with respect to the institution as a whole and with 

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1 stitution, the following information for the most re2 cent fiscal year for which the information is avail3 able: 

4 ‘‘(A) For each of the following, the per5 centage and number of students enrolled at the 

6 institution or in the program of study, as appli7 cable, who receive the following: 

8 ‘‘(i) Federal grant aid, including Fed9 eral Pell Grants under subpart 1 of part 

10 A, Federal Supplemental Educational Op11 portunity Grants under subpart 3 of part 

12 A, or any other Federal postsecondary edu13 cation grant aid or subsidy. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Federal student loans, including 

15 Federal Direct Stafford Loans, Federal 

16 Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, Fed17 eral Direct PLUS Loans, and Federal Per18 kins Loans. 

19 ‘‘(iii) State grant aid. 

20 ‘‘(iv) Institutional grants. 

21 ‘‘(v) A student loan from a State. 

22 ‘‘(vi) A student loan from another 

23 source. 

24 ‘‘(B) Student body enrollment status, in25 cluding as a— 


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1 ‘‘(i) first-time, full-time student; 

2 ‘‘(ii) first-time, part-time student; 

3 ‘‘(iii) non-first-time, full-time student; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(iv) non-first-time, part-time student. 

6 ‘‘(C) An alumni report that includes the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(i) The percentage of students who 

9 do not complete the program of study the 

10 student initially started upon enrollment. 

11 ‘‘(ii) The percentage of students who 

12 transfer. 

13 ‘‘(iii) The percentage of students who 

14 complete the program of study the student 

15 initially started upon enrollment. 

16 ‘‘(iv) The average length of time for a 

17 student to complete the program of study. 

18 ‘‘(v) The percentage of students who 

19 continue on to higher levels of education. 

20 ‘‘(vi) The percentage of students who 

21 are employed, disaggregated by program of 

22 study. 

23 ‘‘(vii) The number and percentage of 

24 alumni contacted for such report. 


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1 ‘‘(viii) The response rate of alumni 

2 contacted for such report. 

3 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION OF DEFAULT AND NON4 REPAYMENT RATES.—In addition to the information 

5 described in paragraph (2), each institution of high6 er education described in paragraph (1) shall pub7 lish, with respect to the institution as a whole and 

8 with respect to each program of study offered by the 

9 institution, the following information for the most 

10 recent fiscal year for which the information is avail11 able: 

12 ‘‘(A) The average amount of total Federal 

13 student loan debt accrued upon graduation. 

14 ‘‘(B) The average amount of total Federal 

15 student loan debt accrued by students who 

16 leave the institution without having graduated. 

17 ‘‘(C) Federal student loan default rate. 

18 ‘‘(D) Federal student loan non-repayment 

19 rate. 

20 ‘‘(E) Default and non-repayment rate, in21 cluding as a— 

22 ‘‘(i) first-time, full-time student; 

23 ‘‘(ii) first-time, part-time student; 

24 ‘‘(iii) non-first-time, full-time student; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) non-first-time, part-time student. 

2 ‘‘(F) Default and non-repayment rate, of— 

3 ‘‘(i) students who complete a program 

4 of study; 

5 ‘‘(ii) students who transfer; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) students who do not complete a 

7 program of study. 

8 ‘‘(b) PRIVACY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) COMPLIANCE WITH FERPA.—In carrying 

10 out this section, an institution of higher education 

11 and any personnel of the institution shall not share 

12 any personally identifiable information and shall act 

13 in accordance with section 444 of the General Edu14 cation Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g, commonly 

15 known as the ‘Family Educational Rights and Pri16 vacy Act of 1974’). 

17 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON USE OF INFORMATION.— 

18 Information published pursuant to this section shall 

19 not be used— 

20 ‘‘(A) by a Federal employee, agency, or of21 ficer, or an institution of higher education to 

22 take action against an individual; and 

23 ‘‘(B) in legal processes or admitted as evi24 dence in any judicial or administrative pro25 ceeding. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PENALTIES.—The Secretary shall establish 

2 penalties for a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) that 

3 includes both a monetary fine and up to 5 years in 

4 prison. 

5 ‘‘(4) AUDITS.—In carrying out this section, the 

6 State in which the institution of higher education is 

7 located shall contract with an independent third 

8 party to conduct audits of the publication of infor9 mation described in subsection (a)(1) to ensure qual10 ity, validity, reliability, and compliance with all Fed11 eral standards of data quality and individual privacy. 

12 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec13 tion shall be construed to authorize or permit the Sec14 retary or any employee or contractor of the Department 

15 to mandate, direct, or control the selection of practices or 

16 curriculum by an institution of higher education.’’. 

17 (b) GAO REPORT.— 

18 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the 

19 United States shall conduct a study that compiles all 

20 the institutional publication of information pursuant 

21 to section 493F of the Higher Education Act of 

22 1965. 

23 (2) REPORT.—Not later than October 1 of the 

24 fourth fiscal year after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 


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1 shall submit a report containing the results of the 

2 study under paragraph (1) to the appropriate com3 mittees of Congress. 

4 TITLE III—FISCAL 

5 ACCOUNTABILITY 

6 SEC. 301. PHASING OUT LOAN FORGIVENESS. 

7 The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 

8 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (1) in section 455— 

10 (A) in subsection (d), by adding at the end 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(6) ELIMINATION OF LOAN FORGIVENESS.— 

13 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 

14 with respect to any loan made on or after 6 months 

15 after the date of enactment of the Higher Education 

16 Reform and Opportunity Act of 2017, the Secretary 

17 may not repay or cancel any outstanding balance of 

18 principal and interest due on the loan for the bor19 rower of the loan pursuant to this subsection.’’; 

20 (B) in subsection (e), by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(8) ELIMINATION OF LOAN FORGIVENESS.— 

23 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 

24 with respect to any loan made on or after 6 months 

25 after the date of enactment of the Higher Education 


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1 Reform and Opportunity Act of 2017, the Secretary 

2 may not repay or cancel any outstanding balance of 

3 principal and interest due on the loan for the bor4 rower of the loan pursuant to this subsection.’’; and 

5 (C) in subsection (m), by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘(5) ELIMINATION OF LOAN FORGIVENESS.— 

8 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 

9 with respect to any loan made on or after 6 months 

10 after the date of enactment of the Higher Education 

11 Reform and Opportunity Act of 2017, the Secretary 

12 may not cancel any outstanding balance of principal 

13 and interest due on the loan for the borrower of the 

14 loan pursuant to this subsection.’’; and 

15 (2) in section 493C, by adding at the end the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(f) ELIMINATION OF LOAN FORGIVENESS.—Not18 withstanding any other provision of this Act, with respect 

19 to any loan made on or after 6 months after the date of 

20 enactment of the Higher Education Reform and Oppor21 tunity Act of 2017, the Secretary may not repay or cancel 

22 any outstanding balance of principal and interest due on 

23 the loan for the borrower of the loan pursuant to this sec24 tion.’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—SCHOOL ACCOUNT2 ABILITY FOR STUDENT 

3 LOANS 

4 SEC. 401. SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR STUDENT LOANS. 

5 Section 487 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 1094), as amended by section 201, is further 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(31) The institution will pay a default rate 

11 fine that is determined pursuant to subsection (k).’’; 

12 and 

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

14 ‘‘(k) DEFAULT RATE FINE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each institution described 

16 in paragraph (2) shall pay to the Secretary a default 

17 rate fine in accordance with this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE INSTITUTIONS.—An institu19 tion shall pay a default rate fine under this sub20 section for a fiscal year based on the cohort default 

21 rate on loans made, insured, or guaranteed under 

22 this title for such fiscal year. 

23 ‘‘(3) FINE.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each institution de25 scribed in paragraph (2) shall pay a default 


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1 rate fine for a fiscal year that is equal to 10 

2 percent of the applicable amount determined 

3 under subparagraph (B) for such fiscal year. 

4 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.—The applica5 ble amount for a fiscal year with respect to an 

6 institution shall be an amount equal to the dif7 ference between— 

8 ‘‘(i) the amount of defaulted loans 

9 made, insured, or guaranteed under this 

10 title for such fiscal year; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the amount that is equal to the 

12 product of the average rate of total unem13 ployment in the United States for such fis14 cal year, as determined by the Secretary of 

15 Labor, and the amount described in clause 

16 (i). 

17 ‘‘(4) CREDIT FOR CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS.— 

18 Each institution that is described in paragraph (2) 

19 shall receive a $400 credit for the fiscal year for 

20 each graduate of the institution during such fiscal 

21 year who received a Federal Pell Grant while en22 rolled at the institution. 

23 ‘‘(5) FLEXIBILITY IN COUNSEL AND ADVICE.— 

24 Notwithstanding any other provision of the Act, the 

25 Secretary shall grant institutions of higher education 


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1 flexibility under this Act to counsel and advise stu2 dents on Federal financial aid, including granting 

3 flexibility for institutions to award less than the 

4 maximum amount of Federal student aid for which 

5 an individual is eligible if the cost of tuition, room, 

6 and board at the institution is less than such max7 imum amount.’’. 

Æ 


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