II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1795 

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 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself and Mr. PORTMAN) 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)(1)(H) 

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

9 1087vv(d)(1)(H)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘during the school year in 

3 which the application is submitted’’; 

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘age 23 or younger’’ after 

5 ‘‘unaccompanied youth’’; and 

6 (C) by striking ‘‘terms are’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘term is’’; 

8 (2) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, or a designee 

9 of the liaison’’ after ‘‘Act’’; 

10 (3) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘a program fund11 ed under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘an emergency or transitional shelter, 

13 street outreach program, homeless youth drop-in 

14 center, or other program serving homeless youth,’’; 

15 and 

16 (4) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘program funded 

17 under subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento 

18 Homeless Assistance Act (relating to emergency 

19 shelter grants)’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal TRIO pro20 gram or a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness 

21 for Undergraduate program under chapter 1 or 2 of 

22 subpart 2 of part A,’’. 

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

24 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

25 1003) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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

2 The term ‘foster care children and youth’— 

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

4 and placement are the responsibility of the 

5 State or Tribal agency that administers a State 

6 or Tribal plan under part B or E of title IV of 

7 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. 

8 and 670 et seq.), without regard to whether fos9 ter care maintenance payments are made under 

10 section 472 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on be11 half of such children and youth; and 

12 ‘‘(B) includes individuals who were age 13 

13 or older when their care and placement were 

14 the responsibility of a State or Tribal agency 

15 that administered a State or Tribal plan under 

16 part B or E of title IV of the Social Security 

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.) 

18 and who are no longer under the care and re19 sponsibility of such a State or tribal agency, 

20 without regard to any such individual’s subse21 quent adoption, guardianship arrangement, or 

22 other form of permanency outcome.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. STREAMLINING DETERMINATIONS AND 

2 VERIFICATION. 

3 Section 480(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

4 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(d)) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) SIMPLIFYING THE DETERMINATION PROC7 ESS FOR UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH.— 

8 ‘‘(A) VERIFICATION.—A financial aid ad9 ministrator shall accept a homelessness deter10 mination made by any individual authorized to 

11 make such determinations under clause (i), (ii), 

12 or (iii) of paragraph (1)(H) in the absence of 

13 conflicting information. A documented phone 

14 call with, or a written statement from, one of 

15 the authorized individuals is sufficient 

16 verification when needed. For purposes of this 

17 paragraph, a financial aid administrator’s dis18 agreement with the determination made by an 

19 authorized individual shall not be considered 

20 conflicting information. 

21 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF INDEPEND22 ENCE.—A financial aid administrator shall 

23 make a determination of independence under 

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

25 and cannot get, documentation from any of the 


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1 other designated authorities described in such 

2 paragraph. Such a determination shall be— 

3 ‘‘(i) based on the definitions outlined 

4 in paragraph (1)(H); 

5 ‘‘(ii) distinct from a determination of 

6 independence under paragraph (1)(I); 

7 ‘‘(iii) based on a documented inter8 view with the student; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) limited to whether the student 

10 meets the definitions in paragraph (1)(H) 

11 and not about the reasons for the student’s 

12 homelessness. 

13 ‘‘(4) SIMPLIFYING THE VERIFICATION PROCESS

14 FOR FOSTER CHILDREN AND YOUTH.— 

15 ‘‘(A) VERIFICATION OF INDEPENDENCE.— 

16 If an institution requires documentation to 

17 verify that a student is independent based on a 

18 status described in paragraph (1)(B), a finan19 cial aid administrator shall consider any of the 

20 following as adequate verification: 

21 ‘‘(i) Submission of a court order or of22 ficial State documentation that the student 

23 received Federal or State support in foster 

24 care. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) A documented phone call with, or 

2 a written statement from,— 

3 ‘‘(I) a child welfare agency au4 thorized by a State or county; 

5 ‘‘(II) a tribal child welfare au6 thority; 

7 ‘‘(III) an Independent Living 

8 case worker; 

9 ‘‘(IV) a public or private foster 

10 care placing agency or foster care fa11 cility or placement; 

12 ‘‘(V) another program serving or13 phans, foster children and youth, or 

14 wards of the court; or 

15 ‘‘(VI) a probation officer. 

16 ‘‘(iii) A documented phone call with, 

17 or a written statement from, an attorney, 

18 a guardian ad litem, or a Court Appointed 

19 Special Advocate, documenting that per20 son’s relationship to the student. 

21 ‘‘(iv) A documented phone call with, 

22 or a written statement from, a representa23 tive of a Federal TRIO program or a 

24 Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness 


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1 for Undergraduate program under chapter 

2 1 or 2 of subpart 2 of part A. 

3 ‘‘(v) Verification of the student’s eligi4 bility for an education and training vouch5 er under the John H. Chafee Foster Care 

6 Independence Program (42 U.S.C. 677). 

7 ‘‘(vi) Submission of a copy of the stu8 dent’s biological or adoptive parents’— 

9 ‘‘(I) Certificates of Death; or 

10 ‘‘(II) newspaper obituaries. 

11 ‘‘(vii) An attestation from the student, 

12 which includes a description of why the 

13 student may qualify for a status described 

14 in paragraph (1)(B), including the approxi15 mate dates that the student was in foster 

16 care, dependent, or a ward of the court, to 

17 the best of the student’s knowledge after 

18 making reasonable efforts to provide any 

19 requested documentation. 

20 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL STREAMLINING PER21 MITTED.—Nothing in this paragraph prohibits 

22 an institution from implementing polices that 

23 streamline the determination of independent 

24 status and improve a student’s access to finan25 cial aid because that student is an orphan, in 


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1 foster care, or a ward of the court, or was an 

2 orphan, in foster care, or a ward of the court 

3 at any time when the student was 13 years of 

4 age or older. 

5 ‘‘(5) TIMING; USE OF EARLIER DETERMINA6 TION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) TIMING.—A determination under 

8 subparagraph (B) or (H) of paragraph (1) for 

9 a student— 

10 ‘‘(i) shall be made as quickly as prac11 ticable; 

12 ‘‘(ii) may be made as early as the year 

13 before the award year for which the stu14 dent initially submits an application; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) shall be made no later than dur16 ing the award year for which the student 

17 initially submits an application. 

18 ‘‘(B) USE OF EARLIER DETERMINATION.— 

19 Any student who is determined to be inde20 pendent under subparagraph (B) or (H) of 

21 paragraph (1) for a preceding award year at an 

22 institution shall be presumed to be independent 

23 for a subsequent award year at the same insti24 tution unless— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the student informs the institu2 tion that circumstances have changed; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the institution has specific con4 flicting information about the student’s 

5 independence, and has informed the stu6 dent of this information and the oppor7 tunity to challenge such information 

8 through a documented interview or an im9 partial review by the Student Loan Om10 budsman pursuant to section 141(f)(3)(C). 

11 ‘‘(6) RETENTION OF DOCUMENTS.—A financial 

12 aid administrator shall retain all documents related 

13 to the determination of independence under subpara14 graph (B) or (H) of paragraph (1), including docu15 mented interviews, for the duration of the student’s 

16 enrollment at the institution and for a minimum of 

17 1 year after the student is no longer enrolled at the 

18 institution.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. STUDENT LOAN OMBUDSMAN. 

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

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1018(f)(3)) is amended— 

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

23 after the semicolon; 

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

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


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

2 ‘‘(C) receive, review, and resolve expedi3 tiously complaints regarding a student’s inde4 pendence under subparagraph (B) or (H) of 

5 section 480(d)(1), in consultation with knowl6 edgeable parties, including child welfare agen7 cies, local educational agency liaisons for home8 less children and youths designated under sec9 tion 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento 

10 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)), or State Coordinators for 

12 Education of Homeless Children and Youths es13 tablished in accordance with section 722 of 

14 such Act (42 U.S.C. 11432).’’. 

15 SEC. 5. HOUSING AND SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT. 

16 (a) ACCESS TO HOUSING.—Section 487(a)(19) of the 

17 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(19)) 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘The institution will not’’ and 

20 inserting the following: ‘‘The institution— 

21 ‘‘(A) will not’’; 

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘housing facilities,’’ after ‘‘li23 braries,’’; 

24 (3) by striking ‘‘institution.’’ and inserting ‘‘in25 stitution; and’’; and 


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1 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(B) will provide a means for students to 

3 access institutionally owned or operated housing 

4 if a student is temporarily unable to meet fi5 nancial obligations related to housing, including 

6 deposits, due to delayed disbursement of vouch7 ers for education and training made available 

8 under section 477 of part E of title IV of the 

9 Social Security Act or delays attributable to the 

10 institution.’’. 

11 (b) SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT.—Section 485 of the 

12 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092) is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(n) Each institution of higher education partici15 pating in any program under this title shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) have designated an appropriate staff per17 son as a single point of contact to assist homeless 

18 children and youths (as such term is defined in sec19 tion 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist20 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)) and foster care chil21 dren and youth in accessing and completing postsec22 ondary education, including by ensuring that such 

23 homeless children and youths and foster care chil24 dren and youth are connected to applicable and 

25 available student support services, programs, and 


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1 community resources in areas such as financial aid, 

2 academic advising, housing, food, public benefits, 

3 health care, health insurance, mental health, and 

4 mentoring; 

5 ‘‘(2) post public notice about student financial 

6 assistance and other assistance available to homeless 

7 children and youths and foster care children and 

8 youth, including their eligibility as independent stu9 dents under subparagraphs (B) and (H) of section 

10 480(d)(1); 

11 ‘‘(3) give priority for any institutionally owned 

12 or operated housing facilities, including student 

13 housing facilities that remain open for occupation 

14 during school breaks or on a year-round basis, to— 

15 ‘‘(A) homeless children and youths (as 

16 such term is defined in section 725 of the 

17 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 11434a)); 

19 ‘‘(B) youths who are unaccompanied, at 

20 risk of homelessness, and self-supporting; and 

21 ‘‘(C) foster care children and youth; 

22 ‘‘(4) have developed a plan for how homeless 

23 children and youths, youths who are unaccompanied, 

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1 sources during and between academic terms, 

2 through means that may include access to institu3 tionally owned or operated housing during breaks 

4 and a list of housing resources in the community 

5 that provide short-term housing; and 

6 ‘‘(5) include, in its application for admission, 

7 questions (to be answered voluntarily) regarding the 

8 applicant’s status as a homeless child or youth or 

9 foster care child or youth, that— 

10 ‘‘(A) can be answered by the applicant vol11 untarily for the limited purpose of being pro12 vided information about financial aid or any 

13 other available assistance; and 

14 ‘‘(B) explain the key terms in the question 

15 in a manner children and youth can understand 

16 in order to self-identify and declare eligibility as 

17 a homeless child or youth or foster care child or 

18 youth.’’. 

19 SEC. 6. FEDERAL TRIO PROGRAMS. 

20 Section 402A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

21 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (c)(6), by striking the last 

23 sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘The Secretary 

24 shall require each applicant for funds under the pro25 grams authorized by this chapter to identify and 


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1 conduct outreach to foster care children and youth 

2 and homeless children and youths (as such term is 

3 defined in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento 

4 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)), and 

5 make available to foster care children and youth and 

6 homeless children and youths services under such 

7 programs, including mentoring, tutoring, and other 

8 services provided by such programs.’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (f)(2), by striking ‘‘college 

10 students, and’’ and inserting ‘‘college students, fos11 ter care children and youth, homeless children and 

12 youth, and’’. 

13 SEC. 7. TALENT SEARCH. 

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

15 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–12(d)) is amended— 

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

17 the semicolon; 

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

19 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

21 ‘‘(5) require an assurance that the entity car22 rying out the project has reviewed and revised poli23 cies and practices as needed to remove barriers to 

24 the participation and retention in the project of 

25 homeless children and youths (as such term is deVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Sep 13, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1795.IS S1795

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1 fined in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Home2 less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)), including 

3 unaccompanied youths, and foster care children and 

4 youth; 

5 ‘‘(6) require that such entity submit, as part of 

6 the application for the project, a description of the 

7 activities that will be undertaken to reach out to 

8 homeless children and youths and foster care chil9 dren and youth as part of the project; and 

10 ‘‘(7) require an assurance that such entity will 

11 prepare and submit the report required under sec12 tion 402H(e) at the conclusion of the project regard13 ing homeless children and youths and foster care 

14 children and youth.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. UPWARD BOUND. 

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

17 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–13(e)) is amended— 

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

19 the semicolon; 

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

21 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

23 ‘‘(6) require an assurance that the entity car24 rying out the project has reviewed and revised poli25 cies and practices as needed to remove barriers to 


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1 the participation and retention in the project of 

2 homeless children and youths (as such term is de3 fined in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Home4 less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)), including 

5 unaccompanied youths, and foster care children and 

6 youth; 

7 ‘‘(7) require that such entity submit, as part of 

8 the application, a description of the activities that 

9 will be undertaken to reach out to homeless children 

10 and youths and foster care children and youth re11 garding the project; and 

12 ‘‘(8) require an assurance that such entity will 

13 prepare and submit the report required under sec14 tion 402H(e) at the conclusion of the project regard15 ing homeless children and youths and foster care 

16 children and youth.’’. 

17 SEC. 9. STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES. 

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

19 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–14(e)) is amended— 

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

21 the semicolon; 

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

23 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(7) require an assurance that the entity car2 rying out the project has reviewed and revised poli3 cies and practices as needed to remove barriers to 

4 the participation and retention in the project of 

5 homeless children and youths (as such term is de6 fined in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Home7 less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)), including 

8 unaccompanied youths, and foster care children and 

9 youth; 

10 ‘‘(8) require that such entity submit, in the ap11 plication for the project, a description of the activi12 ties that will be undertaken to reach out to homeless 

13 children and youths, and foster care children and 

14 youth, who are enrolled or accepted for enrollment 

15 at the institution; and 

16 ‘‘(9) require an assurance that such entity will 

17 prepare and submit the report required under sec18 tion 402H(e) at the conclusion of the project regard19 ing homeless children and youths and foster care 

20 children and youth.’’. 

21 SEC. 10. EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY CENTERS. 

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

23 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–16(c)) is amended— 

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

25 the semicolon; 


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

2 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

4 ‘‘(5) require an assurance that the entity car5 rying out the project has reviewed and revised poli6 cies and practices as needed to remove barriers to 

7 the participation and retention in the project of 

8 homeless children and youths (as such term is de9 fined in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Home10 less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)), including 

11 unaccompanied youths, and foster care children and 

12 youth; 

13 ‘‘(6) require that such entity submit, as part of 

14 the application, a description of the activities that 

15 will be undertaken to reach out to homeless children 

16 and youths and foster care children and youth re17 garding the project; and 

18 ‘‘(7) require an assurance that such entity will 

19 prepare and submit the report required under sec20 tion 402H(e) at the conclusion of the project regard21 ing homeless children and youths and foster care 

22 children and youth.’’. 


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1 SEC. 11. REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS. 

2 Section 402H of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

3 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–18) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(e) REPORT REGARDING HOMELESS CHILDREN

6 AND YOUTHS AND FOSTER CARE CHILDREN AND

7 YOUTH.—Each entity carrying out a project under section 

8 402B, 402C, 402D, or 402F shall, at the conclusion of 

9 the project, prepare and submit a report to the Secretary 

10 that includes— 

11 ‘‘(1) data on the number of homeless children 

12 and youths (as such term is defined in section 725 

13 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 11434a)) and foster care children and youth 

15 served through the project; and 

16 ‘‘(2) a description of any strategies or program 

17 enhancements that were used in the project and that 

18 were effective in meeting the needs of homeless chil19 dren and youths and foster care children and 

20 youth.’’. 

21 SEC. 12. GAINING EARLY AWARENESS AND READINESS FOR 

22 UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS. 

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

24 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–23(a)(2)) is amended— 

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

26 the semicolon; 


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

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

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

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

5 facilitate the participation of foster care chil6 dren and youth and homeless children and 

7 youths (as such term is defined in section 725 

8 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

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

10 ‘‘(i) how the eligible entity will iden11 tify foster care children and youth and 

12 homeless children and youths, in collabora13 tion with child welfare agencies, homeless 

14 shelters, and local educational agency liai15 sons for homeless children and youths des16 ignated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of 

17 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

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

19 ‘‘(ii) how the eligible entity will collect 

20 and submit to the Secretary data on the 

21 number of homeless children and youths 

22 and foster care children and youth served; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(iii) the policies and practices the eli25 gible entity will adopt to remove barriers to 


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1 the participation of homeless children and 

2 youths and foster care children and youth, 

3 including policies to facilitate continued 

4 participation despite changes in residence 

5 resulting from homelessness or foster care 

6 placement and policies consistent with the 

7 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 

8 (42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.).’’. 

9 SEC. 13. GRANT FOR FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAMS. 

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

11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087–53(b)(6)) is amended by inserting 

12 ‘‘, and prioritize employment for students who are cur13 rently or formerly homeless children and youths (as such 

14 term is defined in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento 

15 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)) or foster 

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

17 SEC. 14. EXCLUDABLE INCOME. 

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

19 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(e)) is amended by striking paragraph 

20 (5) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(5) payments made and services provided 

22 under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 

23 to or on behalf of any child or youth over whom the 

24 State agency has responsibility for placement, care, 

25 or supervision, including the value of vouchers for 


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1 education and training and amounts expended for 

2 room and board for youth who are not in foster care 

3 but are receiving services under section 477 of such 

4 Act; and’’. 

5 SEC. 15. CONSOLIDATING QUESTIONS REGARDING HOME6 LESS STATUS ON THE FAFSA. 

7 Section 483(a)(4) of the Higher Education Act of 

8 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)(4)) is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

10 ‘‘(C) SINGLE QUESTION REGARDING

11 HOMELESS STATUS.—The Secretary shall en12 sure that, on each form developed under this 

13 section for which the information is applicable, 

14 there is a single, easily understood screening 

15 question to identify an applicant for aid who 

16 is— 

17 ‘‘(i) an unaccompanied homeless child 

18 or youth (as such term is defined in sec19 tion 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

20 Assistance Act); or 

21 ‘‘(ii) an unaccompanied youth who is 

22 self-supporting and at risk of homeless23 ness.’’. 


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1 SEC. 16. DATA TRANSPARENCY ON THE NUMBER OF FINAN2 CIAL AID APPLICANTS. 

3 Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 1090) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(i) DATA TRANSPARENCY ON THE NUMBER OF AP7 PLICANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annu9 ally publish data on the number of individuals who 

10 apply for Federal student aid pursuant to this sec11 tion who are homeless children and youths (as such 

12 term is defined in section 725 of the McKinney13 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 11434a)), including unaccompanied youths, and fos15 ter care children and youth. 

16 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The data described in para17 graph (1) with respect to homeless children and 

18 youths shall include, at a minimum, for each appli19 cation cycle— 

20 ‘‘(A) the total number of all applicants 

21 who were determined to be (or to be at risk of 

22 becoming) unaccompanied homeless youth, 

23 under section 480(d)(1)(H); 

24 ‘‘(B) the number of applicants described in 

25 subparagraph (A), disaggregated— 

26 ‘‘(i) by State; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) by the sources of determination 

2 as described in clauses (i) through (iv) of 

3 section 480(d)(1)(H); and 

4 ‘‘(C) the number of undetermined requests 

5 for homelessness consideration, including 

6 statuses that remain unknown because no de7 termination had been made in response the ap8 plicant’s request for the institution to consider 

9 the applicant’s special circumstance of being 

10 homeless.’’. 

11 SEC. 17. IN-STATE TUITION RATES FOR HOMELESS CHIL12 DREN OR YOUTHS AND FOSTER CARE CHIL13 DREN AND YOUTH. 

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

15 U.S.C. 1015d) is amended— 

16 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘, 

17 HOMELESS CHILDREN OR YOUTHS, AND FOS18 TER CARE CHILDREN AND YOUTH’’ after ‘‘CHIL19 DREN’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (a)— 

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

22 the case’’ and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.— 

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

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


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•S 1795 IS

1 ‘‘(2) HOMELESS CHILDREN OR YOUTHS AND

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

3 a homeless child or youth or a foster care child or 

4 youth, such State shall not charge such individual 

5 tuition for attendance at a public institution of high6 er education in the State at a rate that is greater 

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

8 and 

9 (3) by striking subsections (c) and (d) and in10 serting the following: 

11 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ARMED FORCES.—With respect to an indi13 vidual described in subsection (a)(1), this section 

14 shall take effect at each public institution of higher 

15 education in a State that receives assistance under 

16 this Act for the first period of enrollment at such in17 stitution that begins after July 1, 2009. 

18 ‘‘(2) HOMELESS CHILDREN OR YOUTHS AND

19 FOSTER CARE CHILDREN OR YOUTH.—With respect 

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

21 section shall take effect at each public institution of 

22 higher education in a State that receives assistance 

23 under this Act for the first period of enrollment at 

24 such institution that begins during the first full 

25 award year following the date of enactment of the 


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1 Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless 

2 and Foster Youth Act. 

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

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

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

6 days’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

7 101 of title 10, United States Code. 

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

9 term ‘homeless children and youths’ has the mean10 ing given the term in section 725 of the McKinney11 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 11434a).’’. 

Æ 


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