II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1796

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase postsecondary

education opportunities for Hispanic students and other student populations underrepresented in postsecondary education.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 18, 1998

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the

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

Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase

postsecondary education opportunities for Hispanic students and other student populations underrepresented

in 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; REFERENCES.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Higher Education for the 21st Century Act’’.

6 (b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise specifically

7 provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal

8 is expressed as an amendment or repeal of a section or
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1 other provision, the reference shall be considered to be

2 made to that section or provision in the Higher Education

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

4 SEC. 2. HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III (20 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.)

6 is amended—

7 (1) by redesignating parts C and D (20 U.S.C.

8 1065 et seq. and 1066 et seq.) as parts E and F,

9 respectively;

10 (2) by redesignating section 331 (20 U.S.C.

11 1065) as section 341;

12 (3) by redesignating sections 351, 352, 353,

13 354, 356, 357, 358, and 360 (20 U.S.C. 1066,

14 1067, 1068, 1069, 1069b, 1069c, 1069d, and 1069f)

15 as sections 361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, and

16 368, respectively;

17 (4) by repealing section 316 (20 U.S.C. 1059c);

18 and

19 (5) by inserting after part B the following:

20 ‘‘PART C—HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS

21 ‘‘SEC. 331. FINDINGS.

22 ‘‘Congress makes the following findings:

23 ‘‘(1) The disparity in educational opportunity

24 between Hispanics and other Americans has become

25 increasingly apparent. Hispanic student participa-
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1 tion in higher education has remained basically stag2 nant with only 8 percent of Hispanic students at3 tending higher education, and with Hispanic stu4 dents experiencing a high school drop out rate in ex5 cess of 30 percent. Hispanics have the lowest college

6 participation rates of any major race or ethnic group

7 and attain degrees at a much lower rate than white

8 students.

9 ‘‘(2) Efforts to correct this severe underrep10 resentation of Hispanics in postsecondary education

11 have been woefully inadequate. All too often, re12 sponses that could be found were targeted too broad13 ly, constructed too narrowly, or underfunded. With

14 the single exception of the Pell Grant program, Fed15 eral higher education programs severely underserve

16 Hispanics.

17 ‘‘(3) Hispanic-serving institutions of higher

18 education have contributed significantly to providing

19 equal educational opportunities for Hispanic stu20 dents, particularly students from low-income and

21 educationally disadvantaged families. Hispanic-serv22 ing institutions serve a unique function within the

23 Nation’s higher education community. While con24 stituting only 3 percent of the Nation’s higher edu25 cation institutions, they served more than half of all
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1 Hispanic students enrolled in postsecondary edu2 cation.

3 ‘‘(4) Hispanic-serving institutions shoulder the

4 burden of providing high-quality educational oppor5 tunities for the fastest growing segment of the Na6 tion’s population. This population has the Nation’s

7 highest secondary school drop out rate and an ex8 ceedingly low level of participation in Federal higher

9 education intervention programs such as Upward

10 Bound. It also has historically been subjected to

11 educational, economic, and political discrimination.

12 Absent the existence of these necessary and critical

13 institutions, Hispanic students would be less likely

14 to have access to the benefits of postsecondary edu15 cation. However, many Hispanic-serving institutions

16 lack adequate institutional and financial resources to

17 fully meet the growing postsecondary educational

18 needs of this target population.

19 ‘‘(5) Providing financial assistance to eligible

20 Hispanic-serving institutions to enable them to

21 strengthen their institutional, academic, and fiscal

22 resources, and to increase their services for Hispanic

23 and other low-income, educationally disadvantaged

24 students will increase the institutions’ viability and

25 self-sufficiency and will enable Hispanic-serving in-
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1 stitutions to meet better the critical 21st century

2 needs of the Nation.

3 ‘‘SEC. 332. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide

5 grants and related assistance to Hispanic-serving institu6 tions to enable such institutions to improve and expand

7 their capacity to serve Hispanic students and other low8 income individuals.

9 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—

10 ‘‘(1) TYPES OF ACTIVITIES AUTHORIZED.—

11 Grants awarded under this section shall be used by

12 Hispanic-serving institutions of higher education to

13 assist such institutions to plan, develop, undertake,

14 and carry out programs.

15 ‘‘(2) EXAMPLES OF AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—

16 Such programs may include—

17 ‘‘(A) purchase, rental, or lease of scientific

18 or laboratory equipment for educational pur19 poses, including instructional and research pur20 poses;

21 ‘‘(B) renovation and improvement in class22 room, library, laboratory, and other instruc23 tional facilities;

24 ‘‘(C) support of faculty exchanges, and fac25 ulty development and faculty fellowships to as-
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1 sist in attaining advanced degrees in their field

2 of instruction;

3 ‘‘(D) curriculum development and aca4 demic instruction;

5 ‘‘(E) purchase of library books, periodicals,

6 microfilm, and other educational materials;

7 ‘‘(F) funds and administrative manage8 ment, and acquisition of equipment for use in

9 strengthening funds management;

10 ‘‘(G) joint use of facilities such as labora11 tories and libraries; and

12 ‘‘(H) academic tutoring and counseling

13 programs and student support services.

14 ‘‘SEC. 333. GRANTS FOR GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL

15 PROGRAMS.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide

17 grants and related assistance to Hispanic-serving institu18 tions with graduate and professional programs to enable

19 such institutions to improve and expand graduate and pro20 fessional opportunities for Hispanic students and other

21 students underrepresented in graduate education.

22 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Grants awarded

23 under this section shall be used by Hispanic-serving insti24 tutions—
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1 ‘‘(1) to recruit Hispanic students and other stu2 dents underrepresented in graduate education to en3 roll in graduate and professional programs;

4 ‘‘(2) to provide stipends for such students;

5 ‘‘(3) to increase the capacity of the institution

6 to serve such students by increasing faculty or coun7 selling services for such students; or

8 ‘‘(4) to expand the number of Hispanic and

9 other underrepresented graduate and professional

10 students that can be served by the institution by ex11 panding courses and institutional resources.

12 ‘‘SEC. 334. APPLICATION PROCESS.

13 ‘‘(a) INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY.—Each Hispanic14 serving institution desiring to receive assistance under this

15 part shall submit to the Secretary such enrollment data

16 as may be necessary to demonstrate that the institution

17 is a Hispanic-serving institution as defined in section 336,

18 along with such other data and information as the Sec19 retary may by regulation require.

20 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—Any institution which is deter21 mined by the Secretary to be a Hispanic-serving institu22 tion (on the basis of the data and information submitted

23 under subsection (a)) may submit an application for as24 sistance under this part to the Secretary. Such application

25 shall include—
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1 ‘‘(1) a 5-year plan for improving the assistance

2 provided by the Hispanic-serving institution to His3 panic students and other low-income individuals; and

4 ‘‘(2) such other information and assurance as

5 the Secretary may require.

6 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—With respect to applications for as7 sistance under section 332, the Secretary shall give prior8 ity to applications that contain satisfactory evidence that

9 such institution has entered into or will enter into a col10 laborative arrangement with at least one local educational

11 agency to provide such agency with assistance (from funds

12 other than funds provided under this part) in reducing

13 Hispanic dropout rates, improving Hispanic rates of aca14 demic achievement, and increasing the rates at which His15 panic secondary school graduates enroll in higher edu16 cation.

17 ‘‘SEC. 335. SPECIAL RULE.

18 ‘‘No Hispanic-serving institution that is eligible for

19 and receives funds under this part may receive funds

20 under part A or B during the period for which funds under

21 this part are awarded.

22 ‘‘SEC. 336. DEFINITIONS.

23 ‘‘For purposes of this part:
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1 ‘‘(1) HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The

2 term ‘Hispanic-serving institution’ means an institu3 tion of higher education which—

4 ‘‘(A) is an eligible institution under section

5 312(b);

6 ‘‘(B) at the time of application, has an en7 rollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent

8 students that is at least 25 percent Hispanic

9 students; and

10 ‘‘(C) provides assurances that not less than

11 50 percent of its Hispanic students are low-in12 come individuals.

13 ‘‘(2) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL.—The term

14 ‘low-income individual’ means an individual from a

15 family whose taxable income for the preceding year

16 did not exceed 150 percent of an amount equal to

17 the poverty level determined by using criteria of pov18 erty established by the Bureau of the Census.’’.

19 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

20 368(a) (as redesignated by subsection (a)(3)) (20 U.S.C.

21 1069f(a)) is amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (1)—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘PART A.—’’;

24 (B) by striking ‘‘(other than section 316)’’;

25 and
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1 (C) by striking subparagraph (B);

2 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para3 graph (4);

4 (3) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by para5 graph (2))—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘C.—’’ and inserting

7 ‘‘E.—’’; and

8 (B) by striking ‘‘part C,’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘part E,’’; and

10 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the follow11 ing:

12 ‘‘(3) PART C.—(A) There are authorized to be

13 appropriated to carry out part C (other than section

14 332), $80,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, and such

15 sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeed16 ing fiscal years.

17 ‘‘(B) There are authorized to be appropriated

18 to carry out section 332, $20,000,000 for fiscal year

19 1999, and such sums as may be necessary for each

20 of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’.

21 SEC. 3. AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVER22 SITIES.

23 (a) AMENDMENT.—Title III (20 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.)

24 is amended by inserting after part C (as added by section

25 2(a)(5)) the following:
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1 ‘‘PART D—STRENGTHENING AMERICAN INDIAN

2 TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

3 ‘‘SEC. 351. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

4 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find5 ings:

6 ‘‘(1) Indian tribes are domestic dependent na7 tions, which exercise inherent sovereign authority

8 over their members and territories, and as govern9 ments, Indian tribes have the authority to admin10 ister educational institutions.

11 ‘‘(2) Historically, the education system in the

12 United States has encouraged American Indian and

13 Alaska Native students to forgo their Native lan14 guage and culture in favor of Western language and

15 culture, and those educational practices have been

16 damaging to Indian students and their communities.

17 ‘‘(3) In general, American Indian and Alaska

18 Native youth have a lower economic status than stu19 dents in the Nation as a whole, and roughly twice

20 as many American Indian and Alaska Native youth

21 live below the poverty line as compared to youth in

22 the general population.

23 ‘‘(4) In general, American Indian and Alaska

24 Native youth have a lower educational attainment

25 level than youth in the Nation as a whole, and only

26 8.9 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native
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1 students earn 4-year bachelor’s degrees or higher

2 academic degrees compared to 20.3 percent of the

3 students in the Nation as a whole.

4 ‘‘(5) Tribal Colleges or Universities have been

5 established by tribal governments to make post6 secondary educational opportunities available in

7 American Indian communities, including general

8 equivalency diplomas (GED’s), remedial instruction,

9 and academic, vocational, and technical programs

10 similar to those offered by public and private col11 leges and universities.

12 ‘‘(6) In addition, Tribal Colleges or Universities

13 fulfill unique and vitally important missions of pre14 serving, recording, teaching, and fostering Native

15 languages and cultures.

16 ‘‘(7) Tribal Colleges or Universities are well

17 suited to serve American Indian communities be18 cause Tribal Colleges or Universities are physically

19 located in the communities that they serve and are

20 attuned to Native languages and cultures.

21 ‘‘(8) Tribal Colleges or Universities have been

22 hampered by a lack of adequate and stable funding

23 resources because, unlike State land-grant institu24 tions, Tribal Colleges or Universities do not have

25 large resource bases to draw on, and Tribal Colleges
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1 or Universities generally do not receive State fund2 ing. This lack of funding seriously threatens the con3 tinued viability of some of these institutions.

4 ‘‘(9) Based on the United States unique trust

5 responsibility to American Indians, financial assist6 ance to establish, support, and strengthen the phys7 ical plants, financial management, academic re8 sources, and endowments of the Tribal Colleges or

9 Universities is appropriate to enhance these institu10 tions and to expand the capacity of these institutions

11 to serve American Indian students.

12 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this part to im13 prove the academic quality, technological capacity, instruc14 tional management, and fiscal stability of eligible Tribal

15 Colleges or Universities in order to strengthen the ability

16 of Tribal Colleges or Universities to make a substantial

17 contribution to the higher education resources of the Na18 tion.

19 ‘‘SEC. 352. DEFINITIONS.

20 ‘‘For the purposes of this part—

21 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Indian’ means a person who is

22 a member of an Indian tribe;

23 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Indian tribe’ means any Indian

24 or Alaska native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village,

25 or community that is recognized as eligible for the
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1 special programs and services provided by the

2 United States to Indians because of their status as

3 Indians;

4 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Tribal College or University’

5 means an institution of higher education which is

6 formally controlled, or has been formally sanctioned,

7 or chartered, by the governing body of an Indian

8 tribe or tribes, or which meets the criteria for eligi9 bility set forth in section 354(a); and

10 ‘‘(4) the term ‘institution of higher education’

11 means an institution of higher education as defined

12 by section 1201(a), except that clause paragraph (2)

13 of such section shall not be applicable.

14 ‘‘SEC. 353. GRANTS TO INSTITUTIONS; GENERAL AUTHOR15 IZATION AND USE OF FUNDS.

16 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—From the amounts made available

17 under section 368(a)(4) for any fiscal year, the Secretary

18 shall make grants, to Tribal Colleges or Universities that

19 meet the requirements of subsection (a) of section 354 and

20 have applications approved by the Secretary, to carry out

21 the activity described in subsection (b).

22 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grant funds under this sec24 tion may be used for any of the following purposes:
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1 ‘‘(A) Purchase, rental, or lease of scientific

2 or laboratory equipment for educational pur3 poses, including instructional and research pur4 poses.

5 ‘‘(B) Construction, maintenance, renova6 tion, and improvement in classroom, library,

7 laboratory, and other instructional facilities, in8 cluding purchase or rental of telecommuni9 cations technology equipment or services.

10 ‘‘(C) Support of faculty exchanges, faculty

11 development, and faculty fellowships to assist

12 faculty in attaining advanced degrees in their

13 field of instruction.

14 ‘‘(D) Academic instruction in disciplines in

15 which American Indians are underrepresented.

16 ‘‘(E) Purchase of library books, periodi17 cals, and other educational materials, including

18 telecommunications program material.

19 ‘‘(F) Tutoring, counseling, and student

20 service programs designed to improve academic

21 success.

22 ‘‘(G) Funds management, administrative

23 management, and acquisition of equipment for

24 use in strengthening funds management.
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1 ‘‘(H) Joint use of facilities, such as labora2 tories and libraries.

3 ‘‘(I) Establishing or improving a develop4 ment office to strengthen or improve contribu5 tions from alumni and the private sector.

6 ‘‘(J) Establishing or enhancing a program

7 of teacher education designed to qualify stu8 dents to teach in elementary or secondary

9 schools, with a particular emphasis on teaching

10 American Indian children and youth, that shall

11 include, as part of such program, preparation

12 for teacher certification.

13 ‘‘(K) Establishing community outreach

14 programs which will encourage American Indian

15 elementary school and secondary school stu16 dents to develop the academic skills and the in17 terest to pursue postsecondary education.

18 ‘‘(L) Investing in the technological im19 provement of the Tribal College or University’s

20 administration of funds made available to stu21 dents under title IV.

22 ‘‘(M) Other activities proposed in the ap23 plication submitted pursuant to section 354

24 that are approved by the Secretary as part of

25 the review and acceptance of such application.
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1 ‘‘(2) ENDOWMENT FUND.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Tribal College or

3 University may use not more than 20 percent

4 of the grant funds provided under this part to

5 establish or increase an endowment fund at the

6 institution.

7 ‘‘(B) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—In order

8 to be eligible to use grant funds in accordance

9 with subparagraph (A), the Tribal College or

10 University shall provide matching funds from

11 non-Federal sources, in an amount equal to not

12 less than 50 percent of the Federal funds used

13 in accordance with paragraph (1), for the estab14 lishment or increase of the endowment fund.

15 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec16 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to a Tribal College

17 or University that proposes to carry out a program that

18 strengthens the technological capabilities of institutions,

19 as determined by the Secretary.

20 ‘‘(d) PLANNING GRANTS.—The Secretary may award

21 a grant under this part to a Tribal College or University

22 for a period of 1 year for the purpose of preparing a tech23 nological needs assessment, a plan, and an application for

24 a grant under this section.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 354. ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATIONS.

2 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive assist3 ance under this part, an institution shall meet the follow4 ing criteria:

5 ‘‘(1) INSTITUTION.—An institution shall—

6 ‘‘(A) receive assistance under the Tribally

7 Controlled Community College Assistance Act

8 of 1978;

9 ‘‘(B) receive assistance under part H of

10 title III of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and

11 Applied Technology Education Act;

12 ‘‘(C) receive assistance under the Act of

13 November 2, 1921 (commonly known as the

14 ‘Snyder Act’) (42 Stat. 208, chapter 115; 25

15 U.S.C. 13);

16 ‘‘(D) receive assistance under the Amer17 ican Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai18 ian Culture and Art Development Act; or

19 ‘‘(E) receive funding under the Equity in

20 Educational Land Grant Status Act of 1994.

21 ‘‘(2) ACCREDITATION.—An institution that is

22 accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting

23 agency or association determined by the Secretary to

24 be a reliable authority for the quality of training of25 fered, or is, according to such an agency or associa-
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1 tion, making reasonable progress toward accredita2 tion.

3 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—Any institution desiring to re4 ceive assistance under this part shall submit an applica5 tion to the Secretary at such time and in such manner

6 as the Secretary may by regulation reasonably require.

7 Each such application shall include—

8 ‘‘(1) a 5-year plan for improving the assistance

9 provided by the Tribal College or University to In10 dian students, increasing the rates at which Indian

11 secondary school students enroll in higher education,

12 and increasing overall postsecondary retention rates

13 for Indian students; and

14 ‘‘(2) measurable goals for the institution’s pro15 posed activities, including a plan for how the institu16 tion intends to achieve the goals.

17 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE.—For the purposes of this part,

18 a Tribal College or University that is eligible for and re19 ceives funds under this part shall not receive funds under

20 part A during the period for which the funds under this

21 part are awarded.’’.

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Part F (as redes23 ignated by section 2(a)(1)) (20 U.S.C. 1066 et seq.) is

24 amended—
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1 (1) in section 361(b)(1) (as redesignated by

2 section 2(a)(3)) (20 U.S.C. 1066(b)(1)), by striking

3 ‘‘part C)’’ and inserting ‘‘part E)’’;

4 (2) in section 361(b)(6) (as redesignated by

5 section 2(a)(3)) (20 U.S.C. 1066(b)(6)), by striking

6 ‘‘section 357’’ and inserting ‘‘section 366, except

7 that for purposes of part D, paragraphs (2) and (3)

8 of such section shall not apply’’;

9 (3) in section 362 (as redesignated by section

10 2(a)(3)) (20 U.S.C. 1067), by striking ‘‘part A’’

11 each place the term appears and inserting ‘‘part A,

12 C, or D’’;

13 (4) in section 363(a)(2) (as redesignated by

14 section 2(a)(3)) (20 U.S.C. 1068(a)(2)), by striking

15 ‘‘Native American colleges and universities’’ and in16 serting ‘‘American Indian Tribal Colleges and Uni17 versities’’;

18 (5) in section 363(a)(3)(A) (as redesignated by

19 section 2(a)(3)) (20 U.S.C. 1068(a)(3)(A)), by in20 serting after ‘‘special consideration for grants

21 awarded under part B’’ the following: ‘‘, and of the

22 types of activities referred to in section 353 that

23 should receive special consideration for grants

24 awarded under parts C and D’’;
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1 (6) in section 365(a) (as redesignated by sec2 tion 2(a)(3)) (20 U.S.C. 1069b(a)), by inserting ‘‘,

3 C, or D’’ after ‘‘institution eligible under part B’’;

4 (7) in section 366 (as redesignated by section

5 2(a)(3)) (20 U.S.C. 1069c)—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘The funds’’ and inserting

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’; and

8 (B) by adding at the end the following new

9 subsection:

10 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—For purposes of part D of this

11 title, paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (a) shall not

12 apply.’’;

13 (8) in section 368(a) (as redesignated by sec14 tion 2(a)(3)) (20 U.S.C. 1069f(a)), by inserting

15 after paragraph (3) (as added by section 2(b)(4))

16 the following:

17 ‘‘(4) PART D.—There are authorized to be ap18 propriated to carry out part D, $50,000,000 for fis19 cal year 1999 and such sums as may be necessary

20 for each of the four succeeding fiscal years.’’; and

21 (9) in section 368(e) (as redesignated by sec22 tion 2(a)(3)) (20 U.S.C. 1069f(e))—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘(4)’’;

24 (B) by striking ‘‘part C’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘part E’’; and
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1 (C) by striking ‘‘section 331’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘section 341’’.

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