I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6168 

To encourage programs that support Dreamer student success in completing 

postsecondary education. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 

Mr. AGUILAR (for himself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. 

GUTIE ́RREZ, Mrs. TORRES, Mr. SIRES, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Mr. HONDA, and Mr. SERRANO) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To encourage programs that support Dreamer student 

success in completing postsecondary 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 ‘‘Academic Success Cen5 ters and Education Networks for Dreamers (ASCEND) 

6 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROGRAMS FOR DREAMER STUDENT SUCCESS IN 

2 COMPLETING POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION. 

3 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en4 courage programs that support Dreamer student success 

5 in completing postsecondary education by coordinating 

6 educational and community services to address the aca7 demic, financial, and social needs of Dreamer students. 

8 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

10 appropriations under subsection (h), the Secretary of 

11 Education shall award grants to not-for-profit insti12 tutions of higher education to develop programs to 

13 support Dreamer student success in completing post14 secondary education. 

15 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—A grant awarded under 

16 this section shall be awarded for a period of 4 years. 

17 (c) USE OF GRANTS.— 

18 (1) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—An institution of 

19 higher education receiving a grant under this section 

20 shall use such grant to carry out a program that in21 cludes— 

22 (A) developing a team of professionals who 

23 provide services to Dreamer students and pro24 vide training to faculty on how to support 

25 Dreamer students; 


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1 (B) providing a coordinator whose primary 

2 responsibility is to coordinate the program car3 ried out under this section; and 

4 (C) establishing a plan to sustain the pro5 gram after the grant period. 

6 (2) OTHER AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An insti7 tution of higher education receiving a grant under 

8 this section may use such grant to carry out any of 

9 the following authorized activities with respect to 

10 Dreamer students and students described in section 

11 212(a)(6) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

12 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)) or subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) 

13 of section 237(a)(1) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

14 1227(a)(1)): 

15 (A) Outreach to such students. 

16 (B) Supportive instructional services for 

17 such students, which may include— 

18 (i) personal, academic, and career 

19 counseling, as an ongoing part of the pro20 gram; 

21 (ii) tutoring and academic skill-build22 ing instruction assistance, as needed; and 

23 (iii) assistance with special admissions 

24 and transfer of credit from previous post25 secondary education or experience. 


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1 (C) Assistance in obtaining student finan2 cial aid. 

3 (D) Assistance with applications for in4 state tuition, where applicable. 

5 (E) Establishing a scholarship program 

6 modeled after Federal work-study programs. 

7 (F) Other support services and planning 

8 activities the institution determines to be nec9 essary to ensure the success of such students in 

10 achieving educational goals. 

11 (d) APPLICATION; SELECTION.— 

12 (1) APPLICATION.—To be considered for a 

13 grant under this section, an institution of higher 

14 education shall submit to the Secretary an applica15 tion at such time, in such manner, and accompanied 

16 by such information as the Secretary may require. 

17 (2) SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants 

19 under this section, the Secretary shall con20 sider— 

21 (i) the need for a new program for 

22 Dreamer students; or 

23 (ii) the need for additional services 

24 provided by an existing program for 

25 Dreamer students. 


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1 (B) GRANT CRITERIA DEPENDING ON ES2 TABLISHED SOURCE OF FUNDING.—The Sec3 retary shall set criteria for grants awarded 

4 based on the differing objectives of programs 

5 for Dreamer students with, or without, an es6 tablished source of funding. With respect to an 

7 institution of higher education having a pro8 gram with an established source of funding at 

9 the time the application under paragraph (1) is 

10 submitted, the institution shall provide in the 

11 application an assurance that it will use Fed12 eral funds received under this section only to 

13 supplement the funds that would, in the ab14 sence of such Federal funds, be made available 

15 from State, local, and private sources for the 

16 program, and not to supplant such funds. 

17 (e) EVALUATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN.—The 

18 Secretary shall develop an evaluation and accountability 

19 plan for programs funded under this section to measure 

20 objectively the following: 

21 (1) The ability of the program to establish or 

22 expand services provided to Dreamer students. 

23 (2) Graduation rates of Dreamer students. 


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1 (f) ONLINE PUBLICATION OF PROGRESS RESULTS.— 

2 The Secretary of Education shall publish progress results 

3 online. 

4 (g) DREAMER STUDENTS.—In this section, the term 

5 ‘‘Dreamer student’’ means an individual who is a bene6 ficiary of, or eligible for, the Deferred Action for Child7 hood Arrivals program pursuant to the memorandum by 

8 the Secretary of Homeland Security dated June 15, 2012, 

9 or November 20, 2014. 

10 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

12 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2017 and 

13 each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

Æ 


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