I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6585 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend Federal Pell Grant 

eligibility to certain short-term workforce programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 5, 2023 

Ms. STEFANIK (for herself, Ms. FOXX, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Mr. 

DESAULNIER) 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 extend 

Federal Pell Grant eligibility to certain short-term workforce programs. 

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 ‘‘Bipartisan Workforce 

5 Pell Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WORKFORCE PELL GRANTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 401 of the Higher Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a), as amended by sec9 tion 703 of the FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII of 

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1 division FF of Public Law 116–260), is amended by add2 ing at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(k) WORKFORCE PELL GRANT PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the award year begin5 ning on July 1, 2025, and each subsequent award 

6 year, the Secretary shall award grants (to be known 

7 as ‘Workforce Pell Grants’) to eligible students 

8 under paragraph (2) in accordance with this sub9 section. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—To be eligible to 

11 receive a Workforce Pell Grant under this subsection 

12 for any period of enrollment, a student shall meet 

13 the eligibility requirements for a Federal Pell Grant 

14 under this section, except that the student— 

15 ‘‘(A) shall be enrolled, or accepted for en16 rollment, in an eligible program under section 

17 481(b)(3) (hereinafter referred to as an ‘eligible 

18 workforce program’); and 

19 ‘‘(B) may not— 

20 ‘‘(i) be enrolled, or accepted for enroll21 ment, in a program of study that leads to 

22 a master’s degree, doctoral degree, or other 

23 post-graduate degree; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) have attained such a degree. 

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1 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AWARDS.— 

2 The Secretary shall award Workforce Pell Grants 

3 under this subsection in the same manner and with 

4 the same terms and conditions as the Secretary 

5 awards Federal Pell Grants under this section, ex6 cept that— 

7 ‘‘(A) each use of the term ‘eligible pro8 gram’ shall be substituted by ‘eligible program 

9 under section 481(b)(3)’, other than with re10 spect to— 

11 ‘‘(i) paragraph (9)(A) of such sub12 section; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) subsection (d)(2); and 

14 ‘‘(B) a student who is eligible for a grant 

15 equal to less than the amount of the minimum 

16 Federal Pell Grant because the eligible work17 force program in which the student is enrolled 

18 or accepted for enrollment is less than an aca19 demic year (in hours of instruction or weeks of 

20 duration) may still be eligible for a Workforce 

21 Pell Grant in an amount that is prorated based 

22 on the length of the program. 

23 ‘‘(4) PREVENTION OF DOUBLE BENEFITS.—No 

24 eligible student described in paragraph (2) may conVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6585.IH H6585
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1 currently receive a grant under both this subsection 

2 and— 

3 ‘‘(A) subsection (b); or 

4 ‘‘(B) subsection (c). 

5 ‘‘(5) DURATION LIMIT.—Any period of study 

6 covered by a Workforce Pell Grant awarded under 

7 this subsection shall be included in determining a 

8 student’s duration limit under subsection (d)(5).’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

10 subsection (a) shall take effect as if included in section 

11 703 of the FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII of division 

12 FF of Public Law 116–260; 134 Stat. 3191) and in ac13 cordance with section 701(b) of such Act. 

14 SEC. 3. PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY FOR WORKFORCE PELL 

15 GRANTS. 

16 Section 481(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

17 (20 U.S.C. 1088(b)) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

19 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

20 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(3)(A) A program is an eligible program for 

23 purposes of the Workforce Pell Grant program 

24 under section 401(k) only if— 

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1 ‘‘(i) it is a program of at least 150 clock 

2 hours of instruction, but less than 600 clock 

3 hours of instruction, or an equivalent number of 

4 credit hours, offered during a minimum of 8 

5 weeks, but less than 15 weeks; 

6 ‘‘(ii) it is not offered as a correspondence 

7 course, as defined in 600.2 of title 34, Code of 

8 Federal Regulations (as in effect on September 

9 20, 2020); 

10 ‘‘(iii) the State board makes a determina11 tion that the program— 

12 ‘‘(I) provides an education aligned 

13 with the requirements of high-skill, high14 wage, or in-demand industry sectors or oc15 cupations (as used in section 122 of the 

16 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

17 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2342)); 

18 ‘‘(II) meets the hiring requirements of 

19 potential employers in the sectors or occu20 pations described in subclause (I); and 

21 ‘‘(III) satisfies any applicable edu22 cational prerequisite requirement for pro23 fessional licensure or certification in the 

24 State or States in which the program is of25 fered, as applicable, such that a student 

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1 who completes the program is qualified 

2 to— 

3 ‘‘(aa) practice or find employ4 ment in the sectors or occupations de5 scribed in subclause (I); and 

6 ‘‘(bb) as applicable, take any li7 censure or certification examinations 

8 required to practice or find employ9 ment in such sectors or occupations; 

10 ‘‘(iv) after the State board makes the de11 termination that the program meets the re12 quirements under clause (iii), the accrediting 

13 agency or association recognized by the Sec14 retary pursuant to section 496(a) determines 

15 that the program— 

16 ‘‘(I) either— 

17 ‘‘(aa) leads to a recognized post18 secondary credential that is stackable 

19 and portable across more than one 

20 employer; or 

21 ‘‘(bb) with respect to students 

22 enrolled in the program— 

23 ‘‘(AA) prepares such stu24 dents for employment in an occu25 pation for which there is only one 

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1 recognized postsecondary creden2 tial; and 

3 ‘‘(BB) provides such stu4 dents with such a credential upon 

5 completion of such program; 

6 ‘‘(II) prepares students to pursue 1 or 

7 more certificate or degree programs at 1 or 

8 more institutions of higher education 

9 (which may include the institution of high10 er education providing the program), in11 cluding by ensuring— 

12 ‘‘(aa) that a student, upon com13 pletion of the program and enrollment 

14 in such a related certificate or degree 

15 program, will receive academic credit 

16 for the program that will be accepted 

17 toward meeting such certificate or de18 gree program requirements; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) the acceptability of such 

20 credit toward meeting such certificate 

21 or degree program requirements; and 

22 ‘‘(III) publishes prominently on the 

23 website of the institution the recognized 

24 postsecondary credential that will be 

25 awarded to the student upon completion of 

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1 the program, including the entity issuing 

2 the credential, any third-party endorse3 ments of the credential, the occupation or 

4 occupations for which the credential pre5 pares individuals for employment, the com6 petencies achieved to earn the credential, 

7 the level of mastery of such competencies 

8 and how mastery is assessed, and specific 

9 information with respect to where, wheth10 er, and under what circumstances the cre11 dential is stackable or portable; 

12 ‘‘(IV) with respect to the information 

13 collected under section 131(i)— 

14 ‘‘(aa) publishes such information 

15 prominently on the website of the in16 stitution; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) provides such information 

18 in a written disclosure to each pro19 spective student prior to entering into 

20 an enrollment agreement with such 

21 student for such program, and estab22 lishes procedures for each such stu23 dent to confirm receipt of such disclo24 sure; 

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1 ‘‘(V) has established a plan to ensure 

2 students who completed the program have 

3 access to transcripts for completed 

4 coursework without a fee; and 

5 ‘‘(VI) has been offered by an eligible 

6 institution of higher education for not less 

7 than 1 year prior to the date on which 

8 such agency or association is to make a de9 termination under this paragraph; and 

10 ‘‘(v) after the accrediting agency makes 

11 the determination that the program meets the 

12 requirements under clause (iv), the Secretary 

13 determines that— 

14 ‘‘(I) for each award year, the program 

15 has a verified completion rate of at least 

16 70 percent, within 150 percent of the nor17 mal time for completion; 

18 ‘‘(II) for each award year, the pro19 gram has a verified job placement rate of 

20 at least 70 percent, measured 180 days 

21 after completion; 

22 ‘‘(III) for each award year, the pro23 gram charges to a Workforce Pell Grant 

24 recipient under section 401(k) a total 

25 amount of tuition and fees for the program 

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1 for such year that does not exceed the 

2 value-added earnings of students for the 

3 most recent year for which data is avail4 able; and 

5 ‘‘(IV) for at least 2 of the 3 most re6 cent consecutive award years for which 

7 data are available, the median earnings of 

8 students who completed the program, 

9 measured three years after students com10 pleted the program, exceeded the annual 

11 median earnings of individuals in the State 

12 in which the program is located— 

13 ‘‘(aa) who are in the labor force; 

14 ‘‘(bb) who are between 25 and 34 

15 years of age, inclusive; and 

16 ‘‘(cc) for whom the highest de17 gree attained is a high school diploma 

18 (or recognized equivalent). 

19 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary shall establish an appeals 

20 process wherein a program may request that, in 

21 making a determination under subparagraph (A)(v) 

22 (other than with respect to the median earnings of 

23 the individuals in the State described in subclause 

24 (IV) of such subparagraph), the Secretary use alter25 nate earnings data, provided by the program, that is 

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1 based on local, State, or Federal administrative data 

2 sources and that is statistically rigorous, accurate, 

3 comparable to, and representative of such students, 

4 if such program objects to a determination made by 

5 the Secretary under such subparagraph for purposes 

6 of— 

7 ‘‘(I) eligibility under this paragraph; or 

8 ‘‘(II) the reporting or publishing of the 

9 rates or earnings described in such a deter10 mination under section 131(i). 

11 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a program that is seeking 

12 to establish initial eligibility under this paragraph 

13 that does not have data available for the Secretary 

14 to make the determinations required under subpara15 graph (A)(v), the Secretary may, for a period that 

16 does not exceed 1 year, make such determinations 

17 (other than the median earnings of the individuals 

18 in the State described in subclause (IV) of such sub19 paragraph) with respect to the program using, as 

20 provided by the program— 

21 ‘‘(I) alternate earnings data of students 

22 who complete the program, provided such data 

23 are statistically rigorous, accurate, comparable 

24 to, and representative of such students; and 

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1 ‘‘(II) alternate completion and job place2 ment rates of students who enroll in the pro3 gram, provided such data are statistically rig4 orous, accurate, comparable, and representative 

5 of such students. 

6 ‘‘(iii) If the Secretary determines that a pro7 gram provided inaccurate earnings data under clause 

8 (i)(I) or clause (ii), such program shall return to the 

9 Secretary any funds received under section 401(k) 

10 during the period beginning on the date that is the 

11 first day of the provisional eligibility period and end12 ing on the date on which the Secretary makes such 

13 determination. 

14 ‘‘(C)(i) In the case of a program that is seeking 

15 to establish initial eligibility under this paragraph, 

16 the Secretary shall grant eligibility for the program 

17 if it meets the requirements of this paragraph not 

18 more than 120 days after the date on which the Sec19 retary receives a submission from such program for 

20 consideration as an eligible workforce program under 

21 this paragraph. 

22 ‘‘(ii) If a program that is an eligible workforce 

23 program under this paragraph no longer meets one 

24 or more of the requirements under this paragraph, 

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1 as determined by the State Board, accrediting agen2 cy, or the Secretary, the Secretary— 

3 ‘‘(I) may withdraw the eligibility of such 

4 program; and 

5 ‘‘(II) shall prohibit such program, and any 

6 substantially similar program of the institution, 

7 from being considered an eligible workforce pro8 gram under this paragraph for a period of not 

9 less than 3 years. 

10 ‘‘(D)(i) In the case of a program with a number 

11 of enrolled students that is insufficient to provide 

12 the Secretary with enough relevant data to make the 

13 determinations under subparagraph (A)(v), the Sec14 retary shall— 

15 ‘‘(I) aggregate up to 4 years of addi16 tional data for such program and use such 

17 aggregated data to make such determina18 tions; or 

19 ‘‘(II) only if such aggregated data 

20 under subclause (I) is insufficient, aggre21 gate up to 4 years of data of students who 

22 completed or were enrolled in, as applica23 ble, similar programs at the institution (as 

24 determined using the first 4 digits of the 

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1 CIP codes of such programs) and use such 

2 data to make such determinations. 

3 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the 

4 term ‘CIP code’ means the 6-digit taxonomic identi5 fication code assigned by an institution of higher 

6 education to a specific program of study at the insti7 tution, determined by the institution in accordance 

8 with the Classification of Instructional Programs 

9 published by the National Center for Education Sta10 tistics. 

11 ‘‘(E) In this paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(i) The term ‘eligible institution of higher 

13 education’ means an institution of higher edu14 cation (as defined in section 102) that— 

15 ‘‘(I) is approved by an accrediting 

16 agency or association that meets the re17 quirements of section 496(a)(4)(C); and 

18 ‘‘(II) has not been subject, during any 

19 of the preceding 3 years, to— 

20 ‘‘(aa) any suspension, emergency 

21 action, or termination under this title; 

22 ‘‘(bb) any adverse action by the 

23 institution’s accrediting agency or as24 sociation that revokes or denies ac25 creditation for the institution; or 

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1 ‘‘(cc) any final action by the 

2 State where the institution holds its 

3 legal domicile, authorization, and ac4 creditation that revokes a license or 

5 other authority to operate. 

6 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘median earnings’, when 

7 used with respect to an eligible workforce pro8 gram under this paragraph— 

9 ‘‘(I) means the median annualized 

10 earnings, calculated using earnings for a 

11 pay period, month, quarter, or other time 

12 period deemed appropriate by the Sec13 retary, of all students who received Federal 

14 financial assistance under this title and 

15 who completed the program in an academic 

16 year; and 

17 ‘‘(II) shall be measured a given num18 ber of years after such students completed 

19 the program, with the number of years de20 termined in accordance with this Act based 

21 on the intended use of the median earnings 

22 data being calculated. 

23 ‘‘(iii) With respect to students who re24 ceived Federal financial aid under this title and 

25 who completed an eligible workforce program 

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1 under this paragraph in a given year, the term 

2 ‘value-added earnings’ means— 

3 ‘‘(I) the median earnings of such stu4 dents, measured one year after students 

5 completed the program; minus 

6 ‘‘(II) for the year median earnings are 

7 measured for such students under sub8 clause (I), 150 percent of the poverty line 

9 applicable to a single individual as deter10 mined under section 673(2) of the Commu11 nity Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 9902(2)) for such year and, in the case of 

13 a program offered in-person, adjusted by 

14 the regional price parity index of the Bu15 reau of Economic Analysis for the metro16 politan statistical area in which the eligible 

17 institution of higher education offering 

18 such program is located. 

19 ‘‘(iv) The terms ‘industry or sector part20 nership’, ‘in-demand industry sector or occupa21 tion’, ‘recognized postsecondary credential’, and 

22 ‘State board’ have the meanings given such 

23 terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation 

24 and Opportunity Act.’’. 

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1 SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION RELATED 

2 TO WORKFORCE PELL. 

3 Section 131 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 1015) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(i) DATA COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION RE7 LATED TO WORKFORCE PELL.— 

8 ‘‘(1) PRIMARY DATA SOURCE.—The Secretary 

9 shall use data from the National Student Loan Data 

10 System or administrative data maintained by the 

11 Department, matched with Internal Revenue Service 

12 income data to collect data and make calculations in 

13 accordance with this subsection and section 

14 481(b)(3). 

15 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall, on an 

16 annual basis, collect, verify, and make publicly avail17 able on the College Scorecard website (or any similar 

18 successor website), the information required under 

19 section 481(b)(3)(A)(v), with respect to each eligible 

20 program under section 481(b)(3) (hereinafter re21 ferred to as an ‘eligible workforce program’), includ22 ing— 

23 ‘‘(A) the length of the program (as meas24 ured in clock hours, credit hours, or weeks); 

25 ‘‘(B) the required tuition and fees of the 

26 program; 

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1 ‘‘(C) the difference between the required 

2 tuition and fees described in section 

3 481(b)(3)(A)(v)(III) and median amount of 

4 grant aid (which does not need to be repaid) 

5 provided to students receiving Workforce Pell 

6 Grants, disaggregated by source of such grant 

7 aid; 

8 ‘‘(D) the median earnings of students as 

9 such term is defined in section 481(b)(3)(E); 

10 ‘‘(E) the median earnings of students who 

11 did not complete the program and received Fed12 eral financial assistance under this title; 

13 ‘‘(F) the ratio of the amount described in 

14 subparagraph (C) to the value-added earnings 

15 (as such term is defined in section 

16 481(b)(3)(E)) of students and an explanation, 

17 in clear and plain language, of this ratio; 

18 ‘‘(G) in the case of a program that pre19 pares students for a professional licensure or 

20 certification examination, the share of such stu21 dents who pass such examinations; 

22 ‘‘(H) the number of students enrolled in 

23 the program during the most recent academic 

24 year for which data is available; 

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1 ‘‘(I) the percentage of students who enroll 

2 in the program and who complete the program 

3 within— 

4 ‘‘(i) 100 percent of the normal time 

5 for completion of such program; 

6 ‘‘(ii) 150 percent of the normal time 

7 for completion of such program; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) 200 percent of the normal time 

9 for completion of such program; 

10 ‘‘(J) the percentage of students who are 

11 employed not later than 180 days and 1 year, 

12 respectively, after completing the program; 

13 ‘‘(K) the percentage of individuals— 

14 ‘‘(i) who have completed such pro15 gram; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) 1 year after such completion, 

17 whose median earnings exceed 150 percent 

18 of the poverty line applicable to a single in19 dividual, as determined under section 

20 673(2) of the Community Services Block 

21 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)); 

22 ‘‘(L) the percentage of students who enroll 

23 in a certificate or degree program at any insti24 tution of higher education within 1 year of com25 pleting such program; and 

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1 ‘‘(M) the percentage of students who com2 plete a subsequent certificate or degree program 

3 at any institution of higher education within 6 

4 years of completing such program. 

5 ‘‘(3) DATA DISAGGREGATION.—The information 

6 in subparagraphs (D), (E), and (H) through (M) 

7 shall be disaggregated by— 

8 ‘‘(A) sex; 

9 ‘‘(B) race and ethnicity; 

10 ‘‘(C) income quintile, as defined by the 

11 Secretary; and 

12 ‘‘(D) status as a recipient of a Workforce 

13 Pell Grant. 

14 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding any other 

15 provision of this subsection, if disclosure of any data 

16 under paragraph (1) is prohibited under State or 

17 Federal privacy laws or regulations, the Secretary 

18 shall take the steps described in paragraph (5), and 

19 any other steps determined by the Secretary to be 

20 necessary to make publicly available such data in ac21 cordance with such laws and regulations. 

22 ‘‘(5) SMALL PROGRAMS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) AGGREGATION.—For purposes of 

24 publishing the information described in this 

25 subsection with respect to an eligible workforce 

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1 program, for any year for which the number of 

2 students is determined by the Secretary to be of 

3 insufficient size to maintain the privacy of stu4 dent data, the Secretary shall, to obtain data 

5 for a sufficient number of students to maintain 

6 student privacy— 

7 ‘‘(i) aggregate up to 4 years of addi8 tional data for such program; 

9 ‘‘(ii) only if the aggregated data under 

10 clause (i) is insufficient to maintain stu11 dent privacy or cannot be aggregated, ag12 gregate data for students who completed or 

13 were enrolled in, as applicable, similar pro14 grams at the institution (as determined 

15 using the first 4 digits of the CIP codes); 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(iii) only if the aggregated data 

18 under clause (ii) is insufficient to maintain 

19 student privacy or cannot be aggregated, 

20 aggregate data with respect to all students 

21 who completed or were enrolled in, as ap22 plicable, any program of the institution of 

23 the same credential level, in lieu of data 

24 specific to students in such program. 

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1 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF AGGREGATION.— 

2 The Secretary shall prominently indicate wheth3 er data published under this subsection has 

4 been aggregated in accordance with subpara5 graph (A). 

6 ‘‘(C) CIP CODE DEFINED.—For purposes 

7 of this paragraph, the term ‘CIP code’ means 

8 the 6-digit taxonomic identification code as9 signed by an institution of higher education to 

10 a specific program of study at the institution, 

11 determined by the institution in accordance 

12 with the Classification of Instructional Pro13 grams published by the National Center for 

14 Education Statistics.’’. 

15 SEC. 5. ACCREDITING AGENCY DETERMINATION OF ELIGI16 BILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE WORK17 FORCE PELL GRANTS PROGRAM. 

18 (a) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly 

19 provided, whenever in this section an amendment or ref20 erence is expressed in terms of an amendment or reference 

21 to a section or other provision, the amendment or ref22 erence shall be considered to be made to a section or other 

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

24 1001 et seq.). 

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1 (b) RECOGNITION OF ACCREDITING AGENCY OR AS2 SOCIATION.—Section 496(a)(4) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)(4)) 

3 is amended— 

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

5 the end; 

6 (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 

7 at the end; and 

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

9 ‘‘(C) if such agency or association has or seeks 

10 to include within its scope of recognition the evalua11 tion of the quality of institutions offering an eligible 

12 program under section 481(b)(3), such agency or as13 sociation shall, in addition to meeting the other re14 quirements of this subpart, demonstrate to the Sec15 retary that, with respect to such an eligible pro16 gram— 

17 ‘‘(i) the agency or association’s standards 

18 include a process for determining if the institu19 tion has the capability to effectively offer such 

20 program; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the agency or association requires a 

22 demonstration that the program satisfies the re23 quirements of section 481(b)(3)(A)(iv).’’. 

24 (c) PROSPECTIVE ACCREDITORS.—The Secretary— 

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1 (1) in the case of an accrediting agency or asso2 ciation that is not recognized under section 496 (20 

3 U.S.C. 1099b) and that is seeking initial recognition 

4 to evaluate only eligible programs under section 

5 481(b)(3) (20 U.S.C. 1088(b)), may only recognize 

6 such agency or association for such purpose if such 

7 agency or association demonstrates, in the applica8 tion submitted under such section 496 for such rec9 ognition, compliance with the requirements of such 

10 section for at least 1 year prior to the date on which 

11 such application is submitted; 

12 (2) shall, not later than 1 year after receiving 

13 such an application, make a recommendation with 

14 respect to whether such agency or association should 

15 be recognized for such purpose; and 

16 (3) shall, after making the recommendation de17 scribed in paragraph (2), direct the National Advi18 sory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integ19 rity (as established by section 114 (20 U.S.C. 

20 1011c)) (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘NACIQI’’) to, 

21 at the first scheduled meeting of such Committee 

22 following such a recommendation— 

23 (A) evaluate the recognition of the agency 

24 or association; and 

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1 (B) advise the Secretary with respect to 

2 whether the agency or association meets the cri3 teria under section 496(a)(4)(C) (20 U.S.C. 

4 1099b(a)(4)) (as added by subsection (b)). 

5 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

6 provide technical assistance to any prospective accrediting 

7 agency or association seeking initial recognition by the 

8 Secretary under section 496 (20 U.S.C. 1099b), including 

9 with respect to recognition to evaluate institutions with 

10 an eligible Workforce Pell Grants program. 

11 (e) ADDITIONAL NACIQI REVIEW MEETINGS.—For 

12 the purpose of preparing for the implementation of the 

13 Workforce Pell Grant program under section 401(k) (20 

14 U.S.C. 1070a) (as added by section 2), and in addition 

15 to the meetings required under section 114(d)(1) (20 

16 U.S.C. 1011c(d)(1)), NACIQI shall, for the period begin17 ning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending 

18 on December 31, 2030, hold meetings to evaluate the rec19 ognition of prospective accrediting agencies or associations 

20 described in subsection (c) and the addition to the scope 

21 of recognition of accrediting agencies and associations 

22 under section 496(a)(4)(C) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)(4)). 

23 (f) INTERIM ACCREDITATION AUTHORITY.— 

24 (1) NOTIFICATION.—Beginning on the date of 

25 the enactment of this Act, a recognized accrediting 

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1 agency or association that seeks, for the first time, 

2 to add to its scope of recognition the evaluation of 

3 the quality of institutions offering an eligible pro4 gram under section 481(b)(3) (20 U.S.C. 1088(b)) 

5 may include within its scope of recognition the eval6 uation of such institutions if such agency or associa7 tion— 

8 (A) submits to the Secretary a notification 

9 of the agency or association’s intent to add the 

10 evaluation of such institutions to its scope of 

11 recognition; and 

12 (B) includes with such notification an ex13 planation of how the agency or association in14 tends to meet the criteria under section 

15 496(a)(4)(C) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)(4)) (as 

16 added by subsection (b)). 

17 (2) REVIEW OF SCOPE OF CHANGES.—Upon re18 ceipt of a notification from an accrediting agency or 

19 association described in subparagraph (A), the Sec20 retary shall direct NACIQI to evaluate, at the next 

21 available meeting of such Committee, the addition to 

22 the scope of recognition of the agency or association 

23 and to advise the Secretary with respect to whether 

24 the agency or association meets the criteria under 

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1 section 496(a)(4)(C) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)(4)) (as 

2 added by subsection (b)). 

3 (3) TERMINATION OF INTERIM AUTHORITY.— 

4 The interim authority granted to an agency or asso5 ciation under this paragraph shall terminate on the 

6 earlier of— 

7 (A) the date that is 5 years after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act; or 

9 (B) the date on which the Secretary deter10 mines whether such agency or association meets 

11 the criteria under section 496(a)(4)(C) (20 

12 U.S.C. 1099b(a)(4)) (as added by subsection 

13 (b)). 

14 SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

15 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to impose or 

16 increase an occupational licensing or certification require17 ment on eligible programs under this title. 

18 SEC. 7. AGREEMENTS WITH APPLICABLE EDUCATIONAL IN19 STITUTIONS. 

20 (a) DIRECT LOANS.—Section 454(a) of the Higher 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087d(a)) is amend22 ed— 

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

24 the semicolon; 

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1 (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para2 graph (7); and 

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(6) notwithstanding any other provision of this 

6 Act, for the award year beginning on July 1, 2024, 

7 and each subsequent award year, if such institution 

8 is an applicable educational institution (as defined in 

9 section 4968(b) of title 26, United States Code), 

10 provide that such institution may not award— 

11 ‘‘(A) a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, a 

12 Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or 

13 a Federal Direct Plus Loan to any eligible stu14 dent; or 

15 ‘‘(B) a Federal Direct Plus Loan to a par16 ent of an eligible dependent undergraduate stu17 dent if such student is eligible for a Federal 

18 Pell Grant.’’. 

19 (b) FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OP20 PORTUNITY GRANTS.—Section 413C(a) of the Higher 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b–2(a)) is amend22 ed— 

23 (1) in paragraph (3), by redesignating subpara24 graphs (A) through (D) as clauses (i) through (iv), 

25 respectively; 

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1 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

2 (3) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), respectively; 

3 (3) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

4 as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘Assistance may’’ 

5 and inserting 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Assistance may’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—(A) In addition to the re9 quirements under paragraph (1), for the award year 

10 beginning on July 1, 2024 and each subsequent 

11 award year, an institution that is an applicable edu12 cational institution (as defined in section 4968(b) of 

13 title 26, United States Code) may only receive as14 sistance under this subpart if such institution guar15 antees that, for each such award year— 

16 ‘‘(i) the institution will make available to 

17 each student who is enrolled at the institution 

18 and who is eligible for a Federal Pell Grant 

19 under section 401, an amount, derived from 

20 only non-Federal resources, that is not less 

21 than the maximum amount that may be award22 ed to a student under section 413B(a)(1), to be 

23 provided to such a student as emergency finan24 cial assistance in the event that the student is 

25 in need of such assistance; and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) the percentage of students enrolled at 

2 such institution who are eligible for a Federal 

3 Pell grant will be equal to or greater than the 

4 percentage of students who were enrolled at 

5 such institution and were eligible for a Federal 

6 Pell grant in the award year during which the 

7 Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act was enacted.’’. 

8 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to implement 

10 the amendments made by this Act $40,000,000 for fiscal 

11 year 2025 and $30,000,000 for each of the 4 succeeding 

12 fiscal years. 

Æ