II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1349 

To establish a postsecondary student data system. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2023 

Mr. CASSIDY (for himself, Ms. WARREN, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, 

Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. 

TILLIS, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. CASEY, Ms. ERNST, Mr. LUJA ́N, 

Mr. CRAMER, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. ROMNEY, and Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish a postsecondary student data system. 

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 ‘‘College Transparency 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. POSTSECONDARY STUDENT DATA SYSTEM. 

7 Section 132 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1015a) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection 

10 (m); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(l) POSTSECONDARY STUDENT DATA SYSTEM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

5 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF SYSTEM.—Not 

6 later than 4 years after the date of enactment 

7 of the College Transparency Act, the Commis8 sioner of the National Center for Education 

9 Statistics (referred to in this subsection as the 

10 ‘Commissioner’) shall develop and maintain a 

11 secure and privacy-protected postsecondary stu12 dent-level data system in order to— 

13 ‘‘(i) accurately evaluate student en14 rollment patterns, progression, completion, 

15 and postcollegiate outcomes, and higher 

16 education costs and financial aid; 

17 ‘‘(ii) assist with transparency, institu18 tional improvement, and analysis of Fed19 eral aid programs; 

20 ‘‘(iii) provide accurate, complete, and 

21 customizable information for students and 

22 families making decisions about postsec23 ondary education; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) reduce the reporting burden on 

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1 ance with section 5 of the College Trans2 parency Act. 

3 ‘‘(B) AVOIDING DUPLICATED REPORT4 ING.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

5 this section, to the extent that another provi6 sion of this section requires the same reporting 

7 or collection of data that is required under this 

8 subsection, an institution of higher education, 

9 or the Secretary or Commissioner, shall use the 

10 reporting or data required for the postsec11 ondary student data system under this sub12 section to satisfy both requirements. 

13 ‘‘(C) DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.—In devel14 oping the postsecondary student data system 

15 described in this subsection, the Commissioner 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) focus on the needs of— 

18 ‘‘(I) users of the data system; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(II) entities, including institu21 tions of higher education, reporting to 

22 the data system; 

23 ‘‘(ii) take into consideration, to the 

24 extent practicable— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the guidelines outlined in the 

2 U.S. Web Design Standards main3 tained by the General Services Admin4 istration and the Digital Services 

5 Playbook and TechFAR Handbook for 

6 Procuring Digital Services Using 

7 Agile Processes of the U.S. Digital 

8 Service; and 

9 ‘‘(II) the relevant successor docu10 ments or recommendations of such 

11 guidelines; 

12 ‘‘(iii) use modern, relevant privacy13 and security-enhancing technology, and en14 hance and update the data system as nec15 essary to carry out the purpose of this sub16 section; 

17 ‘‘(iv) ensure data privacy and security 

18 is consistent with any relevant Federal law 

19 relating to privacy or data security, includ20 ing— 

21 ‘‘(I) the requirements of sub22 chapter II of chapter 35 of title 44, 

23 United States Code, specifying secu24 rity categorization under the Federal 

25 Information Processing Standards or 


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1 any relevant successor of such stand2 ards; 

3 ‘‘(II) security requirements that 

4 are consistent with the Federal agency 

5 responsibilities in section 3554 of title 

6 44, United States Code, or any rel7 evant successor of such responsibil8 ities; and 

9 ‘‘(III) security requirements, 

10 guidelines, and controls consistent 

11 with cybersecurity standards and best 

12 practices developed by the National 

13 Institute of Standards and Tech14 nology, including frameworks, con15 sistent with section 2(c) of the Na16 tional Institute of Standards and 

17 Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272(c)), or 

18 any relevant successor of such frame19 works; 

20 ‘‘(v) follow Federal data minimization 

21 practices to ensure only the minimum 

22 amount of data is collected to meet the 

23 system’s goals, in accordance with Federal 

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1 lines developed by the National Institute of 

2 Standards and Technology; and 

3 ‘‘(vi) provide notice to students out4 lining the data included in the system and 

5 how the data are used. 

6 ‘‘(2) DATA ELEMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 

8 after the date of enactment of the College 

9 Transparency Act, the Commissioner, in con10 sultation with the Postsecondary Student Data 

11 System Advisory Committee established under 

12 subparagraph (B), shall determine— 

13 ‘‘(i) the data elements to be included 

14 in the postsecondary student data system, 

15 in accordance with subparagraphs (C) and 

16 (D); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) how to include the data elements 

18 required under subparagraph (C), and any 

19 additional data elements selected under 

20 subparagraph (D), in the postsecondary 

21 student data system. 

22 ‘‘(B) POSTSECONDARY STUDENT DATA

23 SYSTEM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

24 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later 

25 than 2 years after the date of enactment 


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1 of the College Transparency Act, the Com2 missioner shall establish a Postsecondary 

3 Student Data System Advisory Committee 

4 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Advi5 sory Committee’), whose members shall in6 clude— 

7 ‘‘(I) the Chief Privacy Officer of 

8 the Department or an official of the 

9 Department delegated the duties of 

10 overseeing data privacy at the Depart11 ment; 

12 ‘‘(II) the Chief Security Officer 

13 of the Department or an official of 

14 the Department delegated the duties 

15 of overseeing data security at the De16 partment; 

17 ‘‘(III) representatives of diverse 

18 institutions of higher education, which 

19 shall include equal representation be20 tween 2-year and 4-year institutions 

21 of higher education, and from public, 

22 nonprofit, and proprietary institutions 

23 of higher education, including minor24 ity-serving institutions; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) representatives from State 

2 higher education agencies, entities, 

3 bodies, or boards; 

4 ‘‘(V) representatives of postsec5 ondary students; 

6 ‘‘(VI) representatives from rel7 evant Federal agencies; 

8 ‘‘(VII) individuals with expertise 

9 in data privacy and security; and 

10 ‘‘(VIII) other stakeholders (in11 cluding individuals with consumer 

12 protection and postsecondary edu13 cation research). 

14 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—The Commis15 sioner shall ensure that the Advisory Com16 mittee— 

17 ‘‘(I) adheres to all requirements 

18 under chapter 10 of title 5, United 

19 States Code (commonly known as the 

20 ‘Federal Advisory Committee Act’); 

21 ‘‘(II) establishes operating and 

22 meeting procedures and guidelines 

23 necessary to execute its advisory du24 ties; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) is provided with appro2 priate staffing and resources to exe3 cute its advisory duties. 

4 ‘‘(C) REQUIRED DATA ELEMENTS.—The 

5 data elements in the postsecondary student 

6 data system shall include, at a minimum, the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(i) Student-level data elements nec9 essary to calculate the information within 

10 the surveys designated by the Commis11 sioner as ‘student-related surveys’ in the 

12 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

13 System (IPEDS), as such surveys are in 

14 effect on the day before the date of enact15 ment of the College Transparency Act, ex16 cept that in the case that collection of such 

17 elements would conflict with subparagraph 

18 (F), such elements in conflict with sub19 paragraph (F) shall be included in the ag20 gregate instead of at the student level. 

21 ‘‘(ii) Student-level data elements nec22 essary to allow for reporting student en23 rollment, persistence, retention, transfer, 

24 and completion measures for all credential 

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1 sociate, baccalaureate, and advanced de2 gree levels), within and across institutions 

3 of higher education (including across all 

4 categories of institution level, control, and 

5 predominant degree awarded). The data 

6 elements shall allow for reporting about all 

7 such data disaggregated by the following 

8 categories: 

9 ‘‘(I) Enrollment status as a first10 time student, recent transfer student, 

11 or other non-first-time student. 

12 ‘‘(II) Attendance intensity, 

13 whether full-time or part-time. 

14 ‘‘(III) Credential-seeking status, 

15 by credential level. 

16 ‘‘(IV) Race or ethnicity, in a 

17 manner that captures all the racial 

18 groups specified in the most recent 

19 American Community Survey of the 

20 Bureau of the Census. 

21 ‘‘(V) Age intervals. 

22 ‘‘(VI) Gender. 

23 ‘‘(VII) Program of study (as ap24 plicable). 


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1 ‘‘(VIII) Military or veteran ben2 efit status (as determined based on 

3 receipt of veteran’s education benefits, 

4 as defined in section 480(c)). 

5 ‘‘(IX) Status as a distance edu6 cation student, whether exclusively or 

7 partially enrolled in distance edu8 cation. 

9 ‘‘(X) Federal Pell Grant recipient 

10 status under section 401 and Federal 

11 loan recipient status under title IV, 

12 provided that the collection of such in13 formation complies with paragraph 

14 (1)(B). 

15 ‘‘(D) OTHER DATA ELEMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner 

17 may, after consultation with the Advisory 

18 Committee and provision of a public com19 ment period, include additional data ele20 ments in the postsecondary student data 

21 system, such as those described in clause 

22 (ii), if those data elements— 

23 ‘‘(I) are necessary to ensure that 

24 the postsecondary data system fulfills 


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1 the purposes described in paragraph 

2 (1)(A); and 

3 ‘‘(II) are consistent with data 

4 minimization principles, including the 

5 collection of only those additional ele6 ments that are necessary to ensure 

7 such purposes. 

8 ‘‘(ii) DATA ELEMENTS.—The data ele9 ments described in clause (i) may in10 clude— 

11 ‘‘(I) status as a first generation 

12 college student, as defined in section 

13 402A(h); 

14 ‘‘(II) economic status; 

15 ‘‘(III) participation in postsec16 ondary remedial coursework or gate17 way course completion; or 

18 ‘‘(IV) other data elements that 

19 are necessary in accordance with 

20 clause (i). 

21 ‘‘(E) REEVALUATION.—Not less than once 

22 every 3 years after the implementation of the 

23 postsecondary student data system described in 

24 this subsection, the Commissioner, in consulta25 tion with the Advisory Committee described in 


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1 subparagraph (B), shall review the data ele2 ments included in the postsecondary student 

3 data system and may revise the data elements 

4 to be included in such system. 

5 ‘‘(F) PROHIBITIONS.—The Commissioner 

6 shall not include individual health data (includ7 ing data relating to physical health or mental 

8 health), student discipline records or data, ele9 mentary and secondary education data, an 

10 exact address, citizenship status, migrant sta11 tus, or national origin status for students or 

12 their families, course grades, postsecondary en13 trance examination results, political affiliation, 

14 or religion in the postsecondary student data 

15 system under this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(3) PERIODIC MATCHING WITH OTHER FED17 ERAL DATA SYSTEMS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) DATA SHARING AGREEMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) The Commissioner shall ensure 

20 secure and privacy-protected periodic data 

21 matches by entering into data sharing 

22 agreements with each of the following Fed23 eral agencies and offices: 

24 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of the Treas25 ury and the Commissioner of the InVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:29 May 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1349.IS S1349

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1 ternal Revenue Service, in order to 

2 calculate aggregate program- and in3 stitution-level earnings of postsec4 ondary students. 

5 ‘‘(II) The Secretary of Defense, 

6 in order to assess the use of postsec7 ondary educational benefits and the 

8 outcomes of servicemembers. 

9 ‘‘(III) The Secretary of Veterans 

10 Affairs, in order to assess the use of 

11 postsecondary educational benefits 

12 and outcomes of veterans. 

13 ‘‘(IV) The Director of the Bu14 reau of the Census, in order to assess 

15 the earnings outcomes of former post16 secondary education students. 

17 ‘‘(V) The Chief Operating Officer 

18 of the Office of Federal Student Aid, 

19 in order to analyze the use of postsec20 ondary educational benefits provided 

21 under this Act. 

22 ‘‘(VI) The Commissioner of the 

23 Social Security Administration, in 

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1 comes of former postsecondary edu2 cation students. 

3 ‘‘(VII) The Commissioner of the 

4 Bureau of Labor Statistics, in order 

5 to assess the wages of former postsec6 ondary education students. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The heads of Federal agencies 

8 and offices described under clause (i) shall 

9 enter into data sharing agreements with 

10 the Commissioner to ensure secure and 

11 privacy-protected periodic data matches as 

12 described in this paragraph. 

13 ‘‘(B) CATEGORIES OF DATA.—The Com14 missioner shall, at a minimum, seek to ensure 

15 that the secure and privacy-protected periodic 

16 data matches described in subparagraph (A) 

17 permit consistent reporting of the following cat18 egories of data for all postsecondary students: 

19 ‘‘(i) Enrollment, retention, transfer, 

20 and completion outcomes for all postsec21 ondary students. 

22 ‘‘(ii) Financial indicators for postsec23 ondary students receiving Federal grants 

24 and loans, including grant and loan aid by 


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1 source, cumulative student debt, loan re2 payment status, and repayment plan. 

3 ‘‘(iii) Post-completion outcomes for all 

4 postsecondary students, including earnings, 

5 employment, and further education, by 

6 program of study and credential level and 

7 as measured— 

8 ‘‘(I) immediately after leaving 

9 postsecondary education; and 

10 ‘‘(II) at time intervals appro11 priate to the credential sought and 

12 earned. 

13 ‘‘(C) PERIODIC DATA MATCH STREAM14 LINING AND CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

15 ‘‘(i) STREAMLINING.—In carrying out 

16 the secure and privacy-protected periodic 

17 data matches under this paragraph, the 

18 Commissioner shall— 

19 ‘‘(I) ensure that such matches 

20 are not continuous, but occur only pe21 riodically at appropriate intervals, as 

22 determined by the Commissioner to 

23 meet the goals of subparagraph (A); 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(II) seek to— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) streamline the data 

2 collection and reporting require3 ments for institutions of higher 

4 education; 

5 ‘‘(bb) minimize duplicative 

6 reporting across or within Fed7 eral agencies or departments, in8 cluding reporting requirements 

9 applicable to institutions of high10 er education under the Workforce 

11 Innovation and Opportunity Act 

12 (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) and the 

13 Carl D. Perkins Career and 

14 Technical Education Act of 2006; 

15 ‘‘(cc) protect student pri16 vacy; and 

17 ‘‘(dd) streamline the applica18 tion process for student loan ben19 efit programs available to bor20 rowers based on data available 

21 from different Federal data sys22 tems. 

23 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW.—Not less often than 

24 once every 3 years after the establishment 

25 of the postsecondary student data system 


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1 under this subsection, the Commissioner, 

2 in consultation with the Advisory Com3 mittee, shall review methods for stream4 lining data collection from institutions of 

5 higher education and minimizing duplica6 tive reporting within the Department and 

7 across Federal agencies that provide data 

8 for the postsecondary student data system. 

9 ‘‘(iii) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Com10 missioner shall ensure that any periodic 

11 matching or sharing of data through peri12 odic data system matches established in 

13 accordance with this paragraph— 

14 ‘‘(I) complies with the security 

15 and privacy protections described in 

16 paragraph (1)(C)(iv) and other Fed17 eral data protection protocols; 

18 ‘‘(II) follows industry best prac19 tices commensurate with the sensi20 tivity of specific data elements or 

21 metrics; 

22 ‘‘(III) does not result in the cre23 ation of a single standing, linked Fed24 eral database at the Department that 


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1 maintains the information reported 

2 across other Federal agencies; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) discloses to postsecondary 

4 students what data are included in the 

5 data system and periodically matched 

6 and how the data are used. 

7 ‘‘(iv) CORRECTION.—The Commis8 sioner, in consultation with the Advisory 

9 Committee, shall establish a process for 

10 students to request access to only their 

11 personal information for inspection and re12 quest corrections to inaccuracies in a man13 ner that protects the student’s personally 

14 identifiable information. The Commissioner 

15 shall respond in writing to every request 

16 for a correction from a student. 

17 ‘‘(4) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner 

19 shall make the summary aggregate information 

20 described in subparagraph (C), at a minimum, 

21 publicly available through a user-friendly con22 sumer information website and analytic tool 

23 that— 

24 ‘‘(i) provides appropriate mechanisms 

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1 tion by institutional and student character2 istics; 

3 ‘‘(ii) allows users to build summary 

4 aggregate reports of information, including 

5 reports that allow comparisons across mul6 tiple institutions and programs, subject to 

7 subparagraph (B); 

8 ‘‘(iii) uses appropriate statistical dis9 closure limitation techniques necessary to 

10 ensure that the data released to the public 

11 cannot be used to identify specific individ12 uals; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) provides users with appropriate 

14 contextual factors to make comparisons, 

15 which may include national median figures 

16 of the summary aggregate information de17 scribed in subparagraph (C). 

18 ‘‘(B) NO PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE IN19 FORMATION AVAILABLE.—The summary aggre20 gate information described in this paragraph 

21 shall not include personally identifiable informa22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(C) SUMMARY AGGREGATE INFORMATION

24 AVAILABLE.—The summary aggregate informa25 tion described in this paragraph shall, at a minVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:29 May 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1349.IS S1349

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1 imum, include each of the following for each in2 stitution of higher education: 

3 ‘‘(i) Measures of student access, in4 cluding— 

5 ‘‘(I) admissions selectivity and 

6 yield; and 

7 ‘‘(II) enrollment, disaggregated 

8 by each category described in para9 graph (2)(C)(ii). 

10 ‘‘(ii) Measures of student progression, 

11 including retention rates and persistence 

12 rates, disaggregated by each category de13 scribed in paragraph (2)(C)(ii). 

14 ‘‘(iii) Measures of student completion, 

15 including— 

16 ‘‘(I) transfer rates and comple17 tion rates, disaggregated by each cat18 egory described in paragraph 

19 (2)(C)(ii); and 

20 ‘‘(II) number of completions, 

21 disaggregated by each category de22 scribed in paragraph (2)(C)(ii). 

23 ‘‘(iv) Measures of student costs, in24 cluding— 


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1 ‘‘(I) tuition, required fees, total 

2 cost of attendance, and net price after 

3 total grant aid, disaggregated by in4 State tuition or in-district tuition sta5 tus (if applicable), program of study 

6 (if applicable), and credential level; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(II) typical grant amounts and 

9 loan amounts received by students re10 ported separately from Federal, State, 

11 local, and institutional sources, and 

12 cumulative debt, disaggregated by 

13 each category described in paragraph 

14 (2)(C)(ii) and completion status. 

15 ‘‘(v) Measures of postcollegiate stu16 dent outcomes, including employment 

17 rates, mean and median earnings, loan re18 payment and default rates, and further 

19 education rates. These measures shall— 

20 ‘‘(I) be disaggregated by each 

21 category described in paragraph 

22 (2)(C)(ii) and completion status; and 

23 ‘‘(II) be measured immediately 

24 after leaving postsecondary education 


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1 and at time intervals appropriate to 

2 the credential sought or earned. 

3 ‘‘(D) DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA.—In devel4 oping the method and format of making the in5 formation described in this paragraph publicly 

6 available, the Commissioner shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) focus on the needs of the users of 

8 the information, which will include stu9 dents, families of students, potential stu10 dents, researchers, and other consumers of 

11 education data; 

12 ‘‘(ii) take into consideration, to the 

13 extent practicable, the guidelines described 

14 in paragraph (1)(C)(ii)(I), and relevant 

15 successor documents or recommendations 

16 of such guidelines; 

17 ‘‘(iii) use modern, relevant technology 

18 and enhance and update the postsecondary 

19 student data system with information, as 

20 necessary to carry out the purpose of this 

21 paragraph; 

22 ‘‘(iv) ensure data privacy and security 

23 in accordance with standards and guide24 lines developed by the National Institute of 

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1 ance with any other Federal law relating to 

2 privacy or security, including complying 

3 with the requirements of subchapter II of 

4 chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, 

5 specifying security categorization under the 

6 Federal Information Processing Standards, 

7 and security requirements, and setting of 

8 National Institute of Standards and Tech9 nology security baseline controls at the ap10 propriate level; and 

11 ‘‘(v) conduct consumer testing to de12 termine how to make the information as 

13 meaningful to users as possible. 

14 ‘‘(5) PERMISSIBLE DISCLOSURES OF DATA.— 

15 ‘‘(A) DATA REPORTS AND QUERIES.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 

17 years after the date of enactment of the 

18 College Transparency Act, the Commis19 sioner shall develop and implement a se20 cure and privacy-protected process for 

21 making student-level, non-personally iden22 tifiable information, with direct identifiers 

23 removed, from the postsecondary student 

24 data system available for vetted research 

25 and evaluation purposes approved by the 


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1 Commissioner in a manner compatible with 

2 practices for disclosing National Center for 

3 Education Statistics restricted-use survey 

4 data as in effect on the day before the date 

5 of enactment of the College Transparency 

6 Act, or by applying other research and dis7 closure restrictions to ensure data privacy 

8 and security. Such process shall be ap9 proved by the National Center for Edu10 cation Statistics’ Disclosure Review Board 

11 (or successor body). 

12 ‘‘(ii) PROVIDING DATA REPORTS AND

13 QUERIES TO INSTITUTIONS AND STATES.— 

14 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Commis15 sioner shall provide feedback reports, 

16 at least annually, to each institution 

17 of higher education, each postsec18 ondary education system that fully 

19 participates in the postsecondary stu20 dent data system, and each State 

21 higher education body as designated 

22 by the governor. 

23 ‘‘(II) FEEDBACK REPORTS.—The 

24 feedback reports provided under this 

25 clause shall include program-level and 


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1 institution-level information from the 

2 postsecondary student data system re3 garding students who are associated 

4 with the institution or, for State rep5 resentatives, the institutions within 

6 that State, on or before the date of 

7 the report, on measures including stu8 dent mobility and workforce outcomes, 

9 provided that the feedback aggregate 

10 summary reports protect the privacy 

11 of individuals. 

12 ‘‘(III) DETERMINATION OF CON13 TENT.—The content of the feedback 

14 reports shall be determined by the 

15 Commissioner in consultation with the 

16 Advisory Committee. 

17 ‘‘(iii) PERMITTING STATE DATA QUE18 RIES.—The Commissioner shall, in con19 sultation with the Advisory Committee and 

20 as soon as practicable, create a process 

21 through which States may submit lists of 

22 secondary school graduates within the 

23 State to receive summary aggregate out24 comes for those students who enrolled at 

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1 ing postsecondary enrollment and college 

2 completion, provided that those data pro3 tect the privacy of individuals and that the 

4 State data submitted to the Commissioner 

5 are not stored in the postsecondary edu6 cation system. 

7 ‘‘(iv) REGULATIONS.—The Commis8 sioner shall promulgate regulations to en9 sure fair, secure and privacy-protected, and 

10 equitable access to data reports and que11 ries under this paragraph. 

12 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE LIMITATIONS.—In car13 rying out the public reporting and disclosure re14 quirements of this subsection, the Commis15 sioner shall use appropriate statistical disclo16 sure limitation techniques necessary to ensure 

17 that the data released to the public cannot in18 clude personally identifiable information or be 

19 used to identify specific individuals. 

20 ‘‘(C) SALE OF DATA PROHIBITED.—Data 

21 collected under this subsection, including the 

22 public-use data set and data comprising the 

23 summary aggregate information available under 

24 paragraph (4), shall not be sold to any third 


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1 party by the Commissioner, including any insti2 tution of higher education or any other entity. 

3 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION ON USE BY OTHER FED4 ERAL AGENCIES.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner 

6 shall not allow any other Federal agency to 

7 use data collected under this subsection for 

8 any purpose except— 

9 ‘‘(I) for vetted research and eval10 uation conducted by the other Federal 

11 agency, as described in subparagraph 

12 (A)(i); or 

13 ‘‘(II) for a purpose explicitly au14 thorized by this Act. 

15 ‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION ON LIMITATION OF

16 SERVICES.—The Secretary, or the head of 

17 any other Federal agency, shall not use 

18 data collected under this subsection to 

19 limit services to students. 

20 ‘‘(E) LAW ENFORCEMENT.—Personally 

21 identifiable information collected under this 

22 subsection shall not be used for any Federal, 

23 State, or local law enforcement activity or any 

24 other activity that would result in adverse ac25 tion against any student or a student’s family, 


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•S 1349 IS

1 including debt collection activity or enforcement 

2 of immigration laws. 

3 ‘‘(F) LIMITATION OF USE FOR FEDERAL

4 RANKINGS OR SUMMATIVE RATING SYSTEM.— 

5 The comprehensive data collection and analysis 

6 necessary for the postsecondary student data 

7 system under this subsection shall not be used 

8 by the Secretary or any Federal entity to estab9 lish any Federal ranking system of institutions 

10 of higher education or a system that results in 

11 a summative Federal rating of institutions of 

12 higher education. 

13 ‘‘(G) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

14 in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent 

15 the use of individual categories of aggregate in16 formation to be used for accountability pur17 poses. 

18 ‘‘(H) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING

19 COMMERCIAL USE OF DATA.—Nothing in this 

20 paragraph shall be construed to prohibit third21 party entities from using publicly available in22 formation in this data system for commercial 

23 use. 

24 ‘‘(6) SUBMISSION OF DATA.— 


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•S 1349 IS

1 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED SUBMISSION.—Each insti2 tution of higher education participating in a 

3 program under title IV, or the assigned agent 

4 of such institution, shall, for each eligible pro5 gram, in accordance with section 487(a)(17), 

6 collect, and submit to the Commissioner, the 

7 data requested by the Commissioner to carry 

8 out this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(B) VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION.—Any insti10 tution of higher education not participating in 

11 a program under title IV may voluntarily par12 ticipate in the postsecondary student data sys13 tem under this subsection by collecting and sub14 mitting data to the Commissioner, as the Com15 missioner may request to carry out this sub16 section. 

17 ‘‘(C) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFOR18 MATION.—In accordance with paragraph 

19 (2)(C)(i), if the submission of an element of 

20 student-level data is prohibited under para21 graph (2)(F) (or otherwise prohibited by law), 

22 the institution of higher education shall submit 

23 that data to the Commissioner in the aggregate. 

24 ‘‘(7) UNLAWFUL WILLFUL DISCLOSURE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful 

2 for any person who obtains or has access to 

3 personally identifiable information in connection 

4 with the postsecondary student data system de5 scribed in this subsection to willfully disclose to 

6 any person (except as authorized in this Act or 

7 by any Federal law) such personally identifiable 

8 information. 

9 ‘‘(B) PENALTY.—Any person who violates 

10 subparagraph (A) shall be subject to a penalty 

11 described under section 3572(f) of title 44, 

12 United States Code, and section 183(d)(6) of 

13 the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 

14 U.S.C. 9573(d)(6)). 

15 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYEE OF OFFICER OF THE

16 UNITED STATES.—If a violation of subpara17 graph (A) is committed by any officer or em18 ployee of the United States, the officer or em19 ployee shall be dismissed from office or dis20 charged from employment upon conviction for 

21 the violation. 

22 ‘‘(8) DATA SECURITY.—The Commissioner shall 

23 produce and update as needed guidance and regula24 tions relating to privacy, security, and access which 

25 shall govern the use and disclosure of data collected 


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•S 1349 IS

1 in connection with the activities authorized in this 

2 subsection. The guidance and regulations developed 

3 and reviewed shall protect data from unauthorized 

4 access, use, and disclosure, and shall include— 

5 ‘‘(A) an audit capability, including manda6 tory and regularly conducted audits; 

7 ‘‘(B) access controls; 

8 ‘‘(C) requirements to ensure sufficient data 

9 security, quality, validity, and reliability; 

10 ‘‘(D) confidentiality protection in accord11 ance with the applicable provisions of sub12 chapter III of chapter 35 of title 44, United 

13 States Code; 

14 ‘‘(E) appropriate and applicable privacy 

15 and security protection, including data retention 

16 and destruction protocols and data minimiza17 tion, in accordance with the most recent Fed18 eral standards developed by the National Insti19 tute of Standards and Technology; and 

20 ‘‘(F) protocols for managing a breach, in21 cluding breach notifications, in accordance with 

22 the standards of National Center for Education 

23 Statistics. 

24 ‘‘(9) DATA COLLECTION.—The Commissioner 

25 shall ensure that data collection, maintenance, and 


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•S 1349 IS

1 use under this subsection complies with section 552a 

2 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(10) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

4 ‘‘(A) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU5 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu6 cation’ has the meaning given the term in sec7 tion 102. 

8 ‘‘(B) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.— 

9 The term ‘minority-serving institution’ means 

10 an institution of higher education listed in sec11 tion 371(a). 

12 ‘‘(C) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFOR13 MATION.—The term ‘personally identifiable in14 formation’ means personally identifiable infor15 mation within the meaning of section 444 of the 

16 General Education Provisions Act.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. REPEAL OF PROHIBITION ON STUDENT DATA SYS18 TEM. 

19 Section 134 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 1015c) is repealed. 

21 SEC. 4. INSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (17) of section 487(a) 

23 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) 

24 is amended to read as follows: 


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•S 1349 IS

1 ‘‘(17) The institution or the assigned agent of 

2 the institution will collect and submit data to the 

3 Commissioner for Education Statistics in accordance 

4 with section 132(l), the nonstudent related surveys 

5 within the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

6 System (IPEDS), or any other Federal institution of 

7 higher education data collection effort (as designated 

8 by the Secretary), in a timely manner and to the 

9 satisfaction of the Secretary.’’. 

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

11 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 4 years 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 5. TRANSITION PROVISIONS. 

14 The Secretary of Education and the Commissioner 

15 for Education Statistics shall take such steps as are nec16 essary to ensure that the development and maintenance 

17 of the postsecondary student data system required under 

18 section 132(l) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 

19 added by section 2 of this Act, occurs in a manner that 

20 reduces the reporting burden for entities that reported 

21 into the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 

22 (IPEDS). 

Æ 


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