I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 954 

To reform the GEAR UP program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2019 

Mr. HURD of Texas (for himself and Mrs. DAVIS of California) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To reform the GEAR UP program. 

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 ‘‘GEAR UP for Success 

5 Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GAINING EARLY AWARENESS AND READINESS FOR 

7 UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS AMENDMENTS. 

8 Chapter 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–21 et seq.) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in section 404A (20 U.S.C. 1070a–21)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

2 (A) of subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘for col3 lege readiness’’ after ‘‘academic support’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (b)— 

5 (i) by striking paragraph (3) and in6 serting the following: 

7 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making awards to eligible 

8 entities described in subsection (c), the Secretary— 

9 ‘‘(A) may give a competitive priority— 

10 ‘‘(i) to eligible entities that— 

11 ‘‘(I) on the day before the date of 

12 enactment of the GEAR UP for Suc13 cess Act of 2019, carried out success14 ful educational opportunity programs 

15 under this chapter (as this chapter 

16 was in effect on such day); and 

17 ‘‘(II) have a prior, demonstrated 

18 commitment to early intervention 

19 leading to college access and readiness 

20 through collaboration and replication 

21 of successful strategies; 

22 ‘‘(ii) to eligible entities that ensure 

23 that students served under this chapter on 

24 the day before the date of enactment of the 

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1 tinue to receive assistance through the 

2 completion of secondary school; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) to eligible entities that meet the 

4 requirements of clauses (i) and (ii); and 

5 ‘‘(B) shall not give a competitive or abso6 lute priority on any other basis.’’; and 

7 (ii) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(4) MULTIPLE AWARD PROHIBITION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity de11 scribed in subsection (c)(1) that receives a 

12 grant under this chapter shall not be eligible to 

13 receive an additional grant under this chapter 

14 until after the date on which the initial grant 

15 period expires. 

16 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR NO-COST EXTEN17 SION.—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), an 

18 eligible entity shall be eligible to receive an ad19 ditional grant under this chapter during the 

20 time that eligible entity is receiving a customary 

21 no-cost extension of a grant under this chap22 ter.’’; 

23 (2) in section 404B (20 U.S.C. 1070a–22)— 


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1 (A) in subsection (a), in the matter pre2 ceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘that are in 

3 the first award year’’ after ‘‘grants’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (d)(1)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

6 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

8 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period; and 

9 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

10 (3) in section 404C (20 U.S.C. 1070a–23)— 

11 (A) in subsection (b)(1)(A)— 

12 (i) by inserting ‘‘matching funds’’ 

13 after ‘‘will provide’’; 

14 (ii) by inserting ‘‘equaling’’ after ‘‘pri15 vate funds,’’; and 

16 (iii) by striking ‘‘the cost of the pro17 gram, which matching funds’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘total Federal grant award, which’’; 

19 (B) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘at 

20 any point during the grant award period’’ after 

21 ‘‘obligated to students’’; and 

22 (C) by striking subsection (d) and insert23 ing the following: 

24 ‘‘(d) PEER REVIEW PANELS AND COMPETITIONS.— 

25 The Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(1) shall convene peer review panels to assist 

2 in making determinations regarding the awarding of 

3 grants under this chapter; and 

4 ‘‘(2) shall host a grant competition to make 

5 new awards under this chapter in any year in which 

6 there are funds available to make new awards.’’; 

7 (4) in section 404D (20 U.S.C. 1070a–24)— 

8 (A) in subsection (b)— 

9 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or 

10 former participants of a program under 

11 this chapter’’ and inserting ‘‘, former par12 ticipants of a program under this chapter, 

13 or peers and near peers’’ after ‘‘adults’’; 

14 (ii) in paragraph (3), by inserting 

15 ‘‘academic, social, and postsecondary plan16 ning’’ after ‘‘supportive’’; 

17 (iii) in paragraph (10)— 

18 (I) by redesignating subpara19 graphs (E) through (K) as subpara20 graphs (F) through (L), respectively; 

21 (II) by inserting after subpara22 graph (D) the following: 

23 ‘‘(E) counseling or referral services to ad24 dress the behavioral, social-emotional, and men25 tal health needs of at-risk students;’’; 


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1 (III) in subparagraph (I), as re2 designated by subclause (I), by insert3 ing ‘‘, cognitive, non-cognitive, and 

4 credit-by-examination’’ after ‘‘skills’’; 

5 (IV) in subparagraph (K), as re6 designated by subclause (I), by strik7 ing ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

8 (V) in subparagraph (L), as re9 designated by subclause (I), by strik10 ing the period at the end and insert11 ing ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (VI) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(M) capacity building activities that cre15 ate college-going cultures in participating 

16 schools and local educational agencies.’’; and 

17 (iv) by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(16) Creating or expanding secondary school 

20 drop-out recovery programs that allow students who 

21 have dropped out of secondary school to complete a 

22 regular secondary school diploma and begin college23 level work. 

24 ‘‘(17) Establishing data collection and data 

25 sharing agreements to obtain, analyze, and report 


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1 postsecondary outcome data for eligible students for 

2 a period of not more than 72 months after the end 

3 of the grant award period, which may include post4 secondary enrollment, persistence, and completion 

5 data. 

6 ‘‘(18) Establishing or maintaining an agree7 ment with a consortium of eligible entities described 

8 in section 404A(c) to— 

9 ‘‘(A) foster collaborative approaches to re10 search and evaluation; 

11 ‘‘(B) improve the quality of data collection, 

12 data sharing, analysis and reporting; and 

13 ‘‘(C) apply evidence to improve programs 

14 and evaluation under this chapter. 

15 ‘‘(19) Providing services under this chapter to 

16 students who have received services under a previous 

17 grant award under this chapter but have not yet 

18 completed grade 12.’’; 

19 (B) in subsection (c)— 

20 (i) in paragraph (3), by inserting 

21 ‘‘and technical assistance’’ after ‘‘support’’; 

22 and 

23 (ii) by striking paragraph (9); and 

24 (C) in subsection (d)— 

25 (i) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or’’; 


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1 (ii) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

2 paragraph (5); and 

3 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (3) 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) eligible for free or reduced-price lunch 

6 under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

7 Act; or’’; 

8 (5) in section 404E (20 U.S.C. 1070a–25)— 

9 (A) in subsection (a)— 

10 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

11 and (2) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respec12 tively; 

13 (ii) by inserting before paragraph (2), 

14 as redesignated by clause (i), the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) PLAN FOR MAINTENANCE OF FINAN17 CIAL ASSISTANCE.—An eligible entity proposing 

18 to establish or maintain a financial assistance 

19 program providing scholarships for students as20 sisted by the program of the eligible entity 

21 under this chapter shall include a plan regard22 ing the financial application program with the 

23 application submitted under section 404C. 


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1 ‘‘(B) SCHOLARSHIP DETAILS.—Under a 

2 plan described in subparagraph (A), an eligible 

3 entity— 

4 ‘‘(i) may elect to offer 1 or more types 

5 of scholarships; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) shall describe, for each type of 

7 scholarship— 

8 ‘‘(I) the minimum and maximum 

9 awards for the scholarships, consistent 

10 with section 404E(d), based on cri11 teria and disbursement priorities es12 tablished by the eligible entity; 

13 ‘‘(II) the duration of the scholar14 ships, which may be single-year or 

15 multi-year awards; 

16 ‘‘(III) the enrollment require17 ments for participating students, 

18 which may include providing scholar19 ships for participating students who 

20 are enrolled in an institution of higher 

21 education on less than a full-time 

22 basis during any award year; and 

23 ‘‘(IV) notwithstanding subsection 

24 (g), any additional student eligibility 

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1 tity for earning and maintaining 

2 scholarships under this section, in3 cluding— 

4 ‘‘(aa) financial need; 

5 ‘‘(bb) meeting participation 

6 milestones in the activities of7 fered by the eligible entity under 

8 section 404D; 

9 ‘‘(cc) meeting and maintain10 ing satisfactory academic mile11 stones; and 

12 ‘‘(dd) other criteria aligned 

13 with State and local goals to 

14 incentivize postsecondary readi15 ness, access, and success.’’; and 

16 (iii) in paragraph (3), as redesignated 

17 by clause (i), by striking ‘‘may award’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘may use not less than 10 per19 cent and not more than 50 percent of 

20 funds made available under this chapter to 

21 award’’; 

22 (B) in subsection (b)— 

23 (i) in the subsection heading, by in24 serting ‘‘STATE’’ before ‘‘LIMITATION’’; 

25 and 


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1 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘eli2 gible entity demonstrates’’ and all that fol3 lows through the period at the end and in4 serting the following: ‘‘eligible entity— 

5 ‘‘(I) demonstrates that the eligi6 ble entity has another means of pro7 viding the students with the financial 

8 assistance described in this section or 

9 eligible students have reasonable ac10 cess to State and local financial as11 sistance programs; and 

12 ‘‘(II) describes such means or ac13 cess in the application submitted 

14 under section 404C.’’; 

15 (C) in subsection (e)— 

16 (i) by striking paragraph (1) and in17 serting the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

19 ‘‘(A) SCHOLARSHIP PLAN.—Each eligible 

20 entity described in section 404A(c)(1) that re21 ceives a grant under this chapter shall hold in 

22 reserve, for the students served by such grant 

23 as described in section 404B(d)(1)(A) or 

24 404D(d), an estimated amount that is based on 


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1 the eligible entity’s scholarship plan described 

2 in subsection (a)(1). 

3 ‘‘(B) INTEREST USE.—Interest earned on 

4 funds held in reserve under subparagraph (A) 

5 may be used by the eligible entity to administer 

6 the scholarship program during the award pe7 riod and through the post-award period de8 scribed in paragraph (4).’’; 

9 (ii) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting 

10 ‘‘, or been accepted for enrollment,’’ after 

11 ‘‘enrolled’’; and 

12 (iii) in paragraph (3)— 

13 (I) in subparagraph (A), by strik14 ing ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

15 (II) by redesignating subpara16 graph (B) as subparagraph (C); and 

17 (III) by inserting after subpara18 graph (A) the following: 

19 ‘‘(B) the costs associated with enrolling in 

20 an institution of higher education; and’’; and 

21 (D) in subsection (g)— 

22 (i) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (I) by inserting ‘‘or, if the eligible 

24 entity chooses, in another program of 

25 study or credential program for which 


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1 an individual could use funds received 

2 under a Federal Pell Grant to at3 tend,’’ before ‘‘that is located’’; and 

4 (II) by striking ‘‘except that, at 

5 the State’s option’’ and inserting ‘‘ex6 cept that, at the eligible entity’s op7 tion’’; and 

8 (ii) in paragraph (4), by inserting 

9 ‘‘and qualifies for an award, consistent 

10 with the eligible entity’s scholarship plan 

11 as described in subsection (a)(1)’’ after 

12 ‘‘404D(a)’’; 

13 (6) in section 404G (20 U.S.C. 1070a–27)— 

14 (A) in subsection (b)— 

15 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 

16 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

17 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking the 

18 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

19 and 

20 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (2) 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) include the following metrics: 

23 ‘‘(A) The number of students completing 

24 the Free Application for Federal Student Aid 

25 under section 483. 


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1 ‘‘(B) If applicable, the number of students 

2 receiving a scholarship under section 404E. 

3 ‘‘(C) The graduation rate of participating 

4 students from high school. 

5 ‘‘(D) The enrollment of participating stu6 dents into postsecondary education. 

7 ‘‘(E) Such other metrics as the Secretary 

8 may require.’’; and 

9 (B) in subsection (c)— 

10 (i) in the subsection heading, by in11 serting ‘‘AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE’’ 

12 after ‘‘FEDERAL EVALUATION’’; 

13 (ii) in the matter preceding paragraph 

14 (1)— 

15 (I) by inserting ‘‘after consulta16 tion with the community of eligible 

17 entities receiving grants under this 

18 chapter and’’ after ‘‘Secretary shall,’’; 

19 (II) by striking ‘‘0.75’’ and in20 serting ‘‘1’’; and 

21 (III) by striking ‘‘evaluate the ef22 fectiveness of the program and, as ap23 propriate, disseminate the results of 

24 the evaluation. Such evaluation shall 

25 include a separate analysis of’’; 


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1 (iii) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

2 and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), re3 spectively, and indenting the margins ap4 propriately; and 

5 (iv) before subparagraph (A) (as re6 designated by clause (iii)), by inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(1) provide pre-application technical assistance 

9 workshops for eligible entities and potential appli10 cants in any year in which new awards are expected 

11 to be made; 

12 ‘‘(2) support initiatives designed to improve the 

13 research, data collection and infrastructure, and 

14 evaluation capacity of eligible entities; and 

15 ‘‘(3) evaluate the effectiveness of the program 

16 and, as appropriate, disseminate the results of the 

17 evaluation. Such evaluation may include a separate 

18 analysis of—’’; and 

19 (7) in section 404H (20 U.S.C. 1070a–28)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘$400,000,000’’ and in21 serting ‘‘$500,000,000’’; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘2009’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘2020’’. 

Æ 


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