I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2142 

To establish a program that enables college-bound residents of the Northern 

Mariana Islands to have greater choices among institutions of higher 

education, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 3, 2011 

Mr. SABLAN (for himself, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. HONDA, and Mr. BACA) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

the Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish a program that enables college-bound residents 

of the Northern Mariana Islands to have greater choices 

among institutions of higher education, 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 ‘‘Northern Mariana Is5 lands College Access Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 It is the purpose of this Act to establish a program 

3 that enables college-bound residents of the Northern Mar4 iana Islands to have greater choices among institutions of 

5 higher education. 

6 SEC. 3. PUBLIC SCHOOL GRANTS. 

7 (a) GRANTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

9 under subsection (i), the Governor shall award 

10 grants to eligible institutions that enroll eligible stu11 dents to pay the difference between the tuition and 

12 fees charged for in-State students and the tuition 

13 and fees charged for out-of-State students on behalf 

14 of each eligible student enrolled in the eligible insti15 tution. 

16 (2) MAXIMUM STUDENT AMOUNTS.—The 

17 amount paid on behalf of an eligible student under 

18 this section shall be— 

19 (A) not more than $15,000 for any one 

20 award year (as defined in section 481 of the 

21 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

22 1088)); and 

23 (B) not more than $75,000 in the aggre24 gate. 


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1 (3) PRORATION.—The Governor shall prorate 

2 payments under this section for students who attend 

3 an eligible institution on less than a full-time basis. 

4 (b) REDUCTION FOR INSUFFICIENT APPROPRIA5 TIONS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the funds appropriated 

7 pursuant to subsection (i) for any fiscal year are in8 sufficient to award a grant in the amount deter9 mined under subsection (a) on behalf of each eligible 

10 student enrolled in an eligible institution, then the 

11 Governor, in consultation with the Secretary of Edu12 cation, shall— 

13 (A) first, ratably reduce the amount of the 

14 tuition and fee payment made on behalf of each 

15 eligible student who has not received funds 

16 under this section for a preceding year; and 

17 (B) after making reductions under sub18 paragraph (A), ratably reduce the amount of 

19 the tuition and fee payments made on behalf of 

20 all other eligible students. 

21 (2) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Governor, in con22 sultation with the Secretary of Education, may ad23 just the amount of tuition and fee payments made 

24 under paragraph (1) based on— 


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1 (A) the financial need of the eligible stu2 dents to avoid undue hardship to the eligible 

3 students; or 

4 (B) undue administrative burdens on the 

5 Governor. 

6 (3) FURTHER ADJUSTMENTS.—Notwithstand7 ing paragraphs (1) and (2), the Governor may 

8 prioritize the making or amount of tuition and fee 

9 payments under this subsection based on the income 

10 and need of eligible students. 

11 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi13 ble institution’’ means an institution that— 

14 (A) is a public four-year institution of 

15 higher education located in one of the several 

16 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 

17 or Guam; 

18 (B) is eligible to participate in the student 

19 financial assistance programs under title IV of 

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

21 1070 et seq.); and 

22 (C) enters into an agreement with the Gov23 ernor containing such conditions as the Gov24 ernor may specify, including a requirement that 

25 the institution use the funds made available 


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1 under this section to supplement and not sup2 plant assistance that otherwise would be pro3 vided to eligible students from the Northern 

4 Mariana Islands. 

5 (2) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

6 student’’ means an individual who— 

7 (A) was domiciled in the Northern Mar8 iana Islands for not less than the 12 consecu9 tive months preceding the commencement of the 

10 freshman year at an institution of higher edu11 cation; 

12 (B) graduated from a secondary school in 

13 the Northern Mariana Islands, or received the 

14 recognized equivalent of a secondary school di15 ploma while domiciled in the Northern Mariana 

16 Islands, on or after January 1, 2008; 

17 (C) begins the individual’s undergraduate 

18 course of study within the three calendar years 

19 (excluding any period of service on active duty 

20 in the Armed Forces, or service under the 

21 Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) or 

22 subtitle D of title I of the National and Com23 munity Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 

24 et seq.)) of graduation from a secondary school, 


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1 or obtaining the recognized equivalent of a sec2 ondary school diploma; 

3 (D) is enrolled or accepted for enrollment, 

4 on at least a half-time basis, in a baccalaureate 

5 degree or other program (including a program 

6 of study abroad approved for credit by the insti7 tution at which such student is enrolled) lead8 ing to a recognized educational credential at an 

9 eligible institution; 

10 (E) if enrolled in an eligible institution, is 

11 maintaining satisfactory progress in the course 

12 of study the student is pursuing in accordance 

13 with section 484(c) of the Higher Education 

14 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(c)); and 

15 (F) has not completed the individual’s first 

16 undergraduate baccalaureate course of study. 

17 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

18 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

19 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

20 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

21 (4) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 

22 the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern 

23 Mariana Islands. 

24 (5) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec25 ondary school’’ has the meaning given that term 


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1 under section 14101 of the Elementary and Sec2 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801). 

3 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Education. 

5 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

6 construed to require an institution of higher education to 

7 alter the institution’s admissions policies or standards in 

8 any manner to enable an eligible student to enroll in the 

9 institution. 

10 (e) APPLICATIONS.—Each student desiring a tuition 

11 payment under this section shall submit an application to 

12 the eligible institution at such time, in such manner, and 

13 accompanied by such information as the eligible institution 

14 may require. 

15 (f) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor shall carry 

17 out the program under this section in consultation 

18 with the Secretary. The Governor may enter into a 

19 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement with an20 other public or private entity to administer the pro21 gram under this section if the Governor determines 

22 that doing so is a more efficient way of carrying out 

23 the program. 

24 (2) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—The Gov25 ernor, in consultation with institutions of higher 


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1 education eligible for participation in the program 

2 authorized under this section, shall develop policies 

3 and procedures for the administration of the pro4 gram. 

5 (3) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—The Gov6 ernor and the Secretary shall enter into a Memo7 randum of Agreement that describes— 

8 (A) the manner in which the Governor 

9 shall consult with the Secretary with respect to 

10 administering the program under this section; 

11 and 

12 (B) any technical or other assistance to be 

13 provided to the Governor by the Secretary for 

14 purposes of administering the program under 

15 this section (which may include access to the in16 formation in the common financial reporting 

17 form developed under section 483 of the Higher 

18 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090)). 

19 (g) GOVERNOR’S REPORT.—The Governor shall re20 port to Congress annually regarding— 

21 (1) the number of eligible students attending 

22 each eligible institution and the amount of the grant 

23 awards paid to those institutions on behalf of the eli24 gible students; 


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1 (2) the extent, if any, to which a ratable reduc2 tion was made in the amount of tuition and fee pay3 ments made on behalf of eligible students; and 

4 (3) the progress in obtaining recognized aca5 demic credentials of the cohort of eligible students 

6 for each year. 

7 (h) GAO REPORT.—Beginning on the date of the en8 actment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

9 States shall monitor the effect of the program assisted 

10 under this section on educational opportunities for eligible 

11 students. The Comptroller General shall analyze whether 

12 eligible students had difficulty gaining admission to eligi13 ble institutions because of any preference afforded in14 State residents by eligible institutions, and shall expedi15 tiously report any findings regarding such difficulty to 

16 Congress and the Governor. In addition the Comptroller 

17 General shall— 

18 (1) analyze the extent to which there are an in19 sufficient number of eligible institutions to which 

20 Northern Mariana Islands students can gain admis21 sion, including admission aided by assistance pro22 vided under this Act, due to— 

23 (A) caps on the number of out-of-State 

24 students the institution will enroll; 


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1 (B) significant barriers imposed by aca2 demic entrance requirements (such as grade 

3 point average and standardized scholastic ad4 missions tests); and 

5 (C) absence of admission programs benefit6 ting minority students; and 

7 (2) report the findings of the analysis described 

8 in paragraph (1) and the assessment described in 

9 paragraph (2) to Congress and the Governor. 

10 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to the Commonwealth 

12 of the Northern Mariana Islands to carry out this section 

13 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 

14 2016, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 

15 succeeding fiscal years. Such funds shall remain available 

16 until expended. 

17 (j) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

18 with respect to payments for periods of instruction that 

19 begin on or after January 1, 2011. 

20 SEC. 4. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS. 

21 (a) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary of Education shall 

22 arrange for the assignment of an individual, pursuant to 

23 subchapter VI of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, 

24 to serve as an adviser to the Governor with respect to the 

25 programs assisted under this Act. 


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1 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Governor 

2 may use not more than 5 percent of the funds made avail3 able for a program under section 3 for a fiscal year to 

4 pay the administrative expenses of a program under sec5 tion 3 for the fiscal year. 

6 (c) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.—Each of the pro7 grams assisted under this Act shall be subject to audit 

8 and other review by the Inspector General of the Depart9 ment of Education in the same manner as programs are 

10 audited and reviewed under the Inspector General Act of 

11 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

12 (d) GIFTS.—The Governor may accept, use, and dis13 pose of donations of services or property for purposes of 

14 carrying out this Act. 

15 (e) MAXIMUM STUDENT AMOUNT ADJUSTMENTS.— 

16 The Governor shall establish rules to adjust the maximum 

17 student amounts described in section 3(a)(2)(B) for eligi18 ble students described in section 3(c)(2) who transfer be19 tween the eligible institutions described in section 

20 3(c)(1)(A). 

Æ 


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