II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 856

To provide greater options for District of Columbia students in higher

education.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 21, 1999

Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself, Mr. WARNER, and Mrs. HUTCHISON) introduced

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee

on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To provide greater options for District of Columbia students

in higher 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 ‘‘Expanded Options in

5 Higher Education for District of Columbia Students Act

6 of 1999’’.

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

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

9 that enables college-bound residents of the District of Co-
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1 lumbia to have greater choices among institutions of high2 er education.

3 SEC. 3. THE EXPANDED OPTIONS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

4 FOR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA STUDENTS PRO5 GRAM.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated

7 under subsection (h), the Secretary shall award grants to

8 eligible institutions that enroll eligible students to pay the

9 difference between the tuition charged for in-State stu10 dents and the tuition charged for out-of-State students on

11 behalf of each eligible student enrolled in the eligible insti12 tution.

13 (b) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the funds appro14 priated under subsection (h) for any fiscal year are not

15 sufficient to award a grant in the amount determined

16 under subsection (a) on behalf of each eligible student en17 rolled in an eligible institution, the amount of the tuition

18 payment made on behalf of each eligible student shall be

19 ratably reduced. If additional sums become available for

20 that fiscal year, the reduced grant amount shall be in21 creased on the same basis as the grant amount was re22 duced (until the amount of the grant equals the amount

23 determined under subsection (a)).

24 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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1 (1) ACADEMIC YEAR.—The term ‘‘academic

2 year’’ has the meaning given the term in section 481

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

4 1088).

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

6 student’’ means an individual who—

7 (A) has been a resident of the District of

8 Columbia for not less than the 12 consecutive

9 months preceding the academic year for which

10 the tuition payment is sought;

11 (B) is a member of a family that has an

12 income level that is below the applicable income

13 level at which eligibility for the Hope Scholar14 ship and Lifetime Learning Credit is disallowed

15 by reason of section 25A(d) of the Internal

16 Revenue Code of 1986;

17 (C) begins the individual’s undergraduate

18 course of study within the 3 calendar years (ex19 cluding any period of service on active duty in

20 the Armed Forces, or service under the Peace

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

22 D of title I of the National and Community

23 Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.)

24 of graduation from a secondary school, or ob-
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1 taining the recognized equivalent of a secondary

2 school diploma;

3 (D) is enrolled or accepted for enrollment,

4 on at least a half-time basis, in a degree, cer5 tificate, 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));

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

16 undergraduate baccalaureate course of study;

17 and

18 (G) has filed an application with an eligible

19 institution.

20 (3) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi21 ble institution’’ means an institution that—

22 (A) is a public institution of higher edu23 cation located in the State of Maryland or the

24 Commonwealth of Virginia;
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1 (B) is an institution of higher education as

2 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education

3 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001);

4 (C) is eligible to participate in the student

5 financial assistance programs under title IV of

6 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.); and

7 (D) enters into an agreement with the Sec8 retary containing such conditions as the Sec9 retary may specify.

10 (4) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec11 ondary school’’ has the meaning given that term

12 under section 14101 of the Elementary and Sec13 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).

14 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

15 the Secretary of Education.

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

17 construed to require an institution of higher education to

18 alter the institution’s admissions policies or standards in

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

20 institution.

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

22 payment under this section shall submit an application to

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

24 accompanied by such information as the eligible institution

25 may require.
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1 (f) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry

3 out the program under this section in consultation

4 with the Mayor of the District of Columbia. The

5 Secretary may enter into a grant, contract, or coop6 erative agreement with another public or private en7 tity to administer the program under this section if

8 the Secretary determines that doing so is a more ef9 ficient way of carrying out the program.

10 (2) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—The Sec11 retary, in consultation with institutions of higher

12 education eligible for participation in the program

13 authorized under this section, shall develop policies

14 and procedures for the administration of the pro15 gram.

16 (g) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report to Congress

17 annually regarding—

18 (1) the number of eligible students attending

19 each eligible institution and the amount of the grant

20 awards paid to those institutions on behalf of the eli21 gible students;

22 (2) the extent, if any, to which a ratable reduc23 tion was made in the amount of tuition payments

24 made on behalf of eligible students; and
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1 (3) the progress in obtaining recognized aca2 demic credentials of the cohort of eligible students

3 for each year.

4 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

5 are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of

6 Education to carry out this section $20,000,000 for fiscal

7 year 2000 and such sums as may be necessary for each

8 of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. Such funds shall remain

9 available until expended.

10 (i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect

11 for academic years beginning on or after July 1, 2000.

12 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT

13 OF COLUMBIA.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education may

15 provide financial assistance to the University of the Dis16 trict of Columbia to enable the University to carry out

17 activities authorized under part B of title III of the Higher

18 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1060 et seq.).

19 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

21 $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2000 and such sums as may

22 be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

23 SEC. 5. PRIVATE SCHOOL PROGRAM.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants

25 to eligible institutions that enroll eligible students to pay
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1 the cost of tuition and fees at the eligible institutions on

2 behalf of each eligible student enrolled in an eligible insti3 tution. The Secretary may prescribe such regulations as

4 may be necessary to carry out this section.

5 (b) GRANT AMOUNT.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award a

7 grant under this section on behalf of each eligible

8 student in an amount that is not greater than

9 $2,000 for each eligible student per academic year.

10 In determining the amount of the tuition and fee

11 payment made on behalf of eligible students for an

12 academic year the Secretary shall consider the num13 ber of eligible students for the academic year and

14 the amount of funds appropriated under subsection

15 (f) for the academic year.

16 (2) PRORATION.—The Secretary shall prorate

17 grant awards under this section for students who at18 tend school on less than a full time basis.

19 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

20 (1) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘‘eligible

21 student’’ means an individual who meets the require22 ments of subparagraphs (A) through (G) of section

23 3(c)(2).

24 (2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi25 ble institution’’ means an institution that—
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1 (A)(i) is a private, nonprofit institution of

2 higher education, as defined in section 101(a)

3 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20

4 U.S.C. 1001), that is located in the District of

5 Columbia or in a county adjacent to the Dis6 trict of Columbia; or

7 (ii) is a proprietary institution of higher

8 education, as defined in section 102(b) of the

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

10 1002(b)), that—

11 (I) provides a 2-year or 4-year pro12 gram of instruction for which the institu13 tion awards an associate or baccalaureate

14 degree; and

15 (II) is located in the District of Co16 lumbia or in a county adjacent to the Dis17 trict of Columbia;

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 Sec23 retary containing such conditions as the Sec24 retary may specify.
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1 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of Education.

3 (d) APPLICATION.—Each eligible student desiring a

4 tuition and fee payment under this section shall submit

5 an application to the eligible institution at such time, in

6 such manner, and accompanied by such information as the

7 eligible institution may require.

8 (e) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry

10 out the program under this section in consultation

11 with the Mayor of the District of Columbia. The

12 Secretary may enter into a grant, contract, or coop13 erative agreement with another public or private en14 tity to administer the program under this section if

15 the Secretary determines that doing so is a more ef16 ficient way of carrying out the program.

17 (2) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—The Sec18 retary, in consultation with institutions of higher

19 education eligible for participation in the program

20 authorized under this section, shall develop policies

21 and procedures for the administration of the pro22 gram.

23 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

24 are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of

25 Education to carry out this section $10,000,000 for fiscal
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1 year 2000 and such sums as may be necessary for each

2 of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. Such funds shall remain

3 available until expended.

4 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect

5 for academic years beginning on or after July 1, 2000.

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