II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1866 

To provide the Secretary of Education with waiver authority for the reallocation rules and authority to extend the deadline by which funds have 

to be reallocated in the campus–based aid programs under the Higher 

Education Act of 1965 due to Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, and 

Hurricane Maria, to provide equitable services to children and teachers 

in private schools, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 

Mr. ALEXANDER introduced the following bill; which was read twice, 

considered, read the third time, and passed 

A BILL 

To provide the Secretary of Education with waiver authority 

for the reallocation rules and authority to extend the 

deadline by which funds have to be reallocated in the 

campus–based aid programs under the Higher Education 

Act of 1965 due to Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, 

and Hurricane Maria, to provide equitable services to 

children and teachers in private schools, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hurricanes Harvey, 

3 Irma, and Maria Education Relief Act of 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ALLOCATION AND USE OF CAMPUS-BASED HIGHER 

5 EDUCATION ASSISTANCE. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) AFFECTED AREA.—The term ‘‘affected 

8 area’’ means an area for which the President de9 clared a major disaster or an emergency under sec10 tion 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. Staf11 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 5170 and 5191) as a result of Hurricane 

13 Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, Tropical 

14 Storm Harvey, Tropical Storm Irma, or Tropical 

15 Storm Maria. 

16 (2) AFFECTED STUDENT.—The term ‘‘affected 

17 student’’ means an individual who has applied for or 

18 received student financial assistance under title IV 

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

20 1070 et seq.), and who— 

21 (A) was enrolled or accepted for enrollment 

22 on August 25, 2017, at an institution of higher 

23 education that is located in an affected area; 

24 (B) is a dependent student who was en25 rolled or accepted for enrollment on August 25, 

26 2017, at an institution of higher education that 


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1 is not located in an affected area, but whose 

2 parent or parents resided or was employed on 

3 August 25, 2017, in an affected area; or 

4 (C) suffered direct economic hardship as a 

5 direct result of Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane 

6 Irma, Hurricane Maria, Tropical Storm Har7 vey, Tropical Storm Irma, or Tropical Storm 

8 Maria, as determined by the Secretary. 

9 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

11 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

13 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Education. 

15 (b) WAIVERS.— 

16 (1) WAIVER OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE REQUIRE17 MENT.—Notwithstanding sections 413C(a)(2) and 

18 443(b)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 1070b–2(a)(2) and 1087–53(b)(5)), with re20 spect to funds made available for award years 2016– 

21 2017 and 2017–2018— 

22 (A) in the case of an institution of higher 

23 education that is located in an affected area, 

24 the Secretary shall waive the requirement that 

25 a participating institution of higher education 


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1 provide a non-Federal share to match Federal 

2 funds provided to the institution for the pro3 grams authorized pursuant to subpart 3 of part 

4 A and part C of title IV of the Higher Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b et seq. 

6 and 1087–51 et seq.); and 

7 (B) in the case of an institution of higher 

8 education that is not located in an affected area 

9 but has enrolled or accepted for enrollment any 

10 affected students, the Secretary may waive the 

11 non-Federal share requirement described in 

12 subparagraph (A) after considering the institu13 tion’s student population and existing re14 sources. 

15 (2) WAIVER OF REALLOCATION RULES.— 

16 (A) AUTHORITY TO REALLOCATE.—Not17 withstanding sections 413D(d) and 442(d) of 

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

19 1070b–3(d) and 1087–52(d)), the Secretary 

20 shall— 

21 (i) reallocate any funds returned 

22 under such section 413D or 442 of the 

23 Higher Education Act of 1965 that were 

24 allocated to institutions of higher education 

25 for award year 2016–2017 to an instituVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Sep 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.CPS S1866

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1 tion of higher education that is eligible 

2 under subparagraph (B); and 

3 (ii) waive the allocation reduction for 

4 award year 2018–2019 for an institution 

5 of higher education that is eligible under 

6 subparagraph (B) returning more than 10 

7 percent of its allocation under such section 

8 413D or 442 of the Higher Education Act 

9 of 1965 for award year 2017–2018. 

10 (B) INSTITUTIONS ELIGIBLE FOR RE11 ALLOCATION.—An institution of higher edu12 cation is eligible under this subparagraph if the 

13 institution— 

14 (i) participates in the program for 

15 which excess allocations are being reallo16 cated; and 

17 (ii)(I) is located in an affected area; 

18 or 

19 (II) has enrolled or accepted for en20 rollment any affected students in award 

21 year 2017–2018. 

22 (C) BASIS OF REALLOCATION.—The Sec23 retary shall— 


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1 (i) determine the manner in which ex2 cess allocations will be reallocated pursu3 ant to this paragraph; and 

4 (ii) give preference in making realloca5 tions to the needs of institutions of higher 

6 education located in an affected area. 

7 (D) ADDITIONAL WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 

8 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in 

9 order to carry out this paragraph, the Secretary 

10 may waive or modify any statutory or regu11 latory provision relating to the reallocation of 

12 excess allocations under subpart 3 of part A or 

13 part C of title IV of the Higher Education Act 

14 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b et seq. and 1087–51 

15 et seq.) in order to ensure that assistance is re16 ceived by institutions of higher education that 

17 are eligible under subparagraph (B). 

18 (3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS DATE EXTEN19 SION.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

20 law— 

21 (A) any funds available to the Secretary 

22 under sections 413A and 441 of the Higher 

23 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b and 

24 1087–51) for which the period of availability 

25 would otherwise expire on September 30, 2017, 


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1 shall be available for obligation by the Secretary 

2 until September 30, 2018, for the purposes of 

3 the programs authorized pursuant to subpart 3 

4 of part A and part C of title IV of the Higher 

5 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b et 

6 seq. and 1087–51 et seq.); and 

7 (B) the Secretary may recall any funds al8 located to an institution of higher education for 

9 award year 2016–2017 under section 413D or 

10 442 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 1070b–3 and 1087–52), that, if not re12 turned to the Secretary as excess allocations 

13 pursuant to either of those sections, would oth14 erwise lapse on September 30, 2017, and reallo15 cate those funds in accordance with paragraph 

16 (2)(A). 

17 (c) EMERGENCY REQUIREMENT.—This section is 

18 designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to sec19 tion 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 

20 (title I of Public Law 111–139; 2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 

21 (d) REPORT.—Not later than October 1, 2018, the 

22 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Health, Edu23 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Com24 mittee on Education and the Workforce of the House of 

25 Representatives information on— 


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1 (1) the total volume of assistance received by 

2 each eligible institution of higher education under 

3 subsection (b)(2); and 

4 (2) the total volume of the non-Federal share 

5 waived for each institution of higher education under 

6 subsection (b)(1). 

7 (e) SUNSET.—The provisions of subsection (b) shall 

8 cease to be effective on September 30, 2018. 

9 SEC. 3. PROJECT SERV AND EQUITABLE SERVICES FOR 

10 CHILDREN AND TEACHERS IN PRIVATE 

11 SCHOOLS. 

12 Section 8501(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7881(b)(1)) is amend14 ed— 

15 (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

16 (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period 

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

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

19 ‘‘(F) section 4631, with regard to Project 

20 SERV.’’. 

Æ 


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