I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4625 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to require that educational institutions 

abide by certain principles as a condition of approval for purposes of 

the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 8, 2019 

Mr. LEVIN of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to require that 

educational institutions abide by certain principles as 

a condition of approval for purposes of the educational 

assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Protect the GI Bill 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 

2 PARTICIPATING IN THE EDUCATIONAL AS3 SISTANCE PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT 

4 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

5 Section 3679 of title 38, United States Code, is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following new sub7 section: 

8 ‘‘(f)(1) Except as provided by paragraph (5), a State 

9 approving agency, or the Secretary when acting in the role 

10 of the State approving agency, shall take an action de11 scribed in paragraph (4)(A) if the State approving agency 

12 or the Secretary determines that an educational institution 

13 does not perform any of the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) Prior to the enrollment of a covered indi15 vidual in a course of education at the educational in16 stitution, provide the individual with a form that 

17 contains information personalized to the individual 

18 that describes— 

19 ‘‘(i) the total cost of the course, including 

20 tuition, fees, books, supplies, and any other ad21 ditional costs; 

22 ‘‘(ii) an estimate of the cost for living ex23 penses for students enrolled in the course; 

24 ‘‘(iii) the amount of the costs under 

25 clauses (i) and (ii) that are covered by the edu26 cational assistance provided to the individual 


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1 under chapter 30, 32, 33, or 35 of this title, or 

2 chapter 1606 or 1607 of title 10, as the case 

3 may be; 

4 ‘‘(iv) the type and amount of Federal fi5 nancial aid not administered by the Secretary 

6 and financial aid offered by the institution that 

7 the individual may qualify to receive; 

8 ‘‘(v) an estimate of the amount of student 

9 loan debt the individual would have upon grad10 uation; 

11 ‘‘(vi) information regarding graduation 

12 rates; 

13 ‘‘(vii) job-placement rates for graduates of 

14 the course, if available; 

15 ‘‘(viii) any conditions or additional require16 ments, including training, experience, or exami17 nations, required to obtain the license, certifi18 cation, or approval for which the course of edu19 cation is designed to provide preparation; and 

20 ‘‘(ix) other information to facilitate com21 parison by the individual of aid packages of22 fered by different educational institutions. 

23 ‘‘(B) Not later than 15 days after the date on 

24 which the institution (or the governing body of the 

25 institution) determines tuition rates and fees for an 


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1 academic year that is different than the amount 

2 being charged by the institution, provide a covered 

3 individual enrolled in a course of education at the 

4 educational institution with the form under subpara5 graph (A) that contains updated information. 

6 ‘‘(C) Maintain policies to— 

7 ‘‘(i) inform each covered individual enrolled 

8 in a course of education at the educational in9 stitution of the availability of Federal financial 

10 aid not administered by the Secretary and fi11 nancial aid offered by the institution; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) alert such individual of the potential 

13 eligibility of the individual for such financial aid 

14 before packaging or arranging student loans or 

15 alternative financing programs for the indi16 vidual. 

17 ‘‘(D) Maintain policies to— 

18 ‘‘(i) prohibit the automatic renewal of a 

19 covered individual in courses and programs of 

20 education; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) ensure that each covered individual 

22 approves of the enrollment of the individual in 

23 a course. 

24 ‘‘(E) Provide to a covered individual enrolled in 

25 a course of education at the educational institution 


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1 with information regarding the requirements to 

2 graduate from such course, including information re3 garding when required classes will be offered and a 

4 timeline to graduate. 

5 ‘‘(F) With respect to an accredited educational 

6 institution, obtain the approval of the accrediting 

7 agency for each new course or program of the insti8 tution before enrolling covered individuals in such 

9 courses or programs if the accrediting agency deter10 mines that such approval is appropriate under the 

11 substantive change requirements of the accrediting 

12 agency regarding the quality, objectives, scope, or 

13 control of the institution. 

14 ‘‘(G) Maintain a policy that— 

15 ‘‘(i) ensures that members of the Armed 

16 Forces, including the reserve components and 

17 the National Guard, who enroll in a course of 

18 education at the educational institution may be 

19 readmitted at such institution if such members 

20 are temporarily unavailable or have to suspend 

21 such enrollment by reason of serving in the 

22 Armed Forces; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) otherwise accommodates such mem24 bers during short absences by reason of such 

25 service. 


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1 ‘‘(H) Designate an employee of the educational 

2 institution to serve as a point of contact for covered 

3 individuals and the family of such individuals need4 ing assistance with respect to academic counseling, 

5 financial counseling, disability counseling, and other 

6 information regarding completing a course of edu7 cation at such institution, including by referring 

8 such individuals and family to the appropriate per9 sons for such counseling and information. 

10 ‘‘(2) Except as provided by paragraph (5), a State 

11 approving agency, or the Secretary when acting in the role 

12 of the State approving agency, shall take an action de13 scribed in paragraph (4)(A) if the State approving agency, 

14 the Secretary, or the Federal Trade Commission, deter15 mines that an educational institution does any of the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(A) Carries out fraudulent or persistent re18 cruiting techniques, including on military installa19 tions, that may include— 

20 ‘‘(i) misrepresentation or payment of in21 centive compensation; 

22 ‘‘(ii) during any one-month period making 

23 three or more unsolicited contacts to a covered 

24 individual, including contacts by phone, email, 

25 or in-person; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) engaging in same-day recruitment 

2 and registration. 

3 ‘‘(B) Pays inducements, including any gratuity, 

4 favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, 

5 transportation, lodging, meals, or other item having 

6 a monetary value of more than a de minimis 

7 amount, to any individual or entity, or its agents in8 cluding third-party lead generators or marketing 

9 firms other than salaries paid to employees or fees 

10 paid to contractors in conformity with all applicable 

11 laws for the purpose of securing enrollments of cov12 ered individuals or obtaining access to educational 

13 assistance under this title, with the exception of 

14 scholarships, grants, and tuition reductions provided 

15 by the educational institution. 

16 ‘‘(3) A State approving agency, or the Secretary when 

17 acting in the role of the State approving agency, shall take 

18 an action described in paragraph (4)(A) if the State ap19 proving agency or the Secretary determines that an edu20 cational institution is the subject of a negative action 

21 made by the accrediting agency that accredits the institu22 tion, including any of the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) A show cause order. 

24 ‘‘(B) Accreditor sanctions. 

25 ‘‘(C) Accreditation probation. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The loss of accreditation or candidacy for 

2 accreditation. 

3 ‘‘(4)(A) An action described in this subparagraph is 

4 any of the following: 

5 ‘‘(i) Publishing a warning on the internet 

6 website of the Department described in section 

7 3698(c)(2) of this title, or such other similar inter8 net website of the Department, that describes how 

9 an educational institution is failing to meet a re10 quirement under paragraph (1) or (2). 

11 ‘‘(ii) Prohibiting the pursuit by an individual of 

12 a course of education at an educational institution 

13 under chapter 30, 32, 33, or 35 of this title, or 

14 chapter 1606 or 1607 of title 10, during the period 

15 beginning on the date of such prohibition and ending 

16 on a date specified by the State approving agency, 

17 in consultation with the Secretary, or the Secretary 

18 when acting in the role of the State approving agen19 cy, unless the individual was enrolled at the institu20 tion before such period. 

21 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall establish guidelines to en22 sure that the actions described in subparagraph (A) are 

23 applied in a proportional and uniform manner by State 

24 approving agencies, or the Secretary when acting in the 

25 role of the State approving agency. 


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1 ‘‘(5) The Secretary may waive the requirements of 

2 paragraph (1) or waive the requirements of paragraph (2) 

3 with respect to an educational institution for a one-aca4 demic-year period beginning in August of the year in 

5 which the waiver is made. A single educational institution 

6 may not receive waivers under this paragraph for more 

7 than two consecutive academic years. 

8 ‘‘(6) On an annual basis, the Secretary shall submit 

9 to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

10 Representatives and the Senate, and make publicly avail11 able, a report that includes the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) A summary of each action described in 

13 paragraph (4)(A) made during the year covered by 

14 the report, including— 

15 ‘‘(i) the name of the educational institu16 tion; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the type of action taken; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the rationale for the action, including 

19 how the educational institution was not in com20 pliance with this subsection; 

21 ‘‘(iv) the length of time that the edu22 cational institution was not in such compliance; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(v) whether the educational institution 

25 was also not in compliance with this subsection 


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1 during any of the two years prior to the year 

2 covered by the report. 

3 ‘‘(B) A summary and justifications for the 

4 waivers made under paragraph (5) during the year 

5 covered by the report, including the total number of 

6 waivers each educational institution has received. 

7 ‘‘(C) Recommendations of the Secretary with 

8 respect to any legislative actions the Secretary deter9 mines appropriate to ensure that this subsection is 

10 carried out in a manner that is consistent with the 

11 requirements that educational institutions must meet 

12 for purposes of other departments or agencies of the 

13 Federal Government. 

14 ‘‘(7) In this subsection, the term ‘covered individual’ 

15 means an individual who is pursuing a course of education 

16 at an educational institution under chapter 30, 32, 33, 

17 or 35 of this title.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO LIMITATION ON CERTAIN AD19 VERTISING, SALES, AND ENROLLMENT PRAC20 TICES. 

21 (a) SUBSTANTIAL MISREPRESENTATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 

23 3696 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to 

24 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall not approve the enrollment 

2 of an eligible veteran or eligible person in any course of3 fered by an institution, or by an entity that owns the insti4 tution, engaged in substantial misrepresentation described 

5 in subsection (e)(1).’’. 

6 (2) DEFINITIONS.—Such section is amended by 

7 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(e)(1) Substantial misrepresentation described in 

9 this paragraph is substantial misrepresentation by an edu10 cational institution, a representative of the institution, or 

11 any person with whom the institution has an agreement 

12 to provide educational programs, marketing, advertising, 

13 recruiting or admissions services, concerning any of the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(A) The nature of the educational program of 

16 the institution, including misrepresentation regard17 ing— 

18 ‘‘(i) the particular type, specific source, or 

19 nature and extent, of the accreditation of the 

20 institution or a course of education at the insti21 tution; 

22 ‘‘(ii) whether a student may transfer 

23 course credits to another institution; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) conditions under which the institu2 tion will accept transfer credits earned at an3 other institution; 

4 ‘‘(iv) whether successful completion of a 

5 course of instruction qualifies a student— 

6 ‘‘(I) for acceptance to a labor union or 

7 similar organization; or 

8 ‘‘(II) to receive, to apply to take, or to 

9 take an examination required to receive a 

10 local, State, or Federal license, or a non11 governmental certification required as a 

12 precondition for employment, or to perform 

13 certain functions in the States in which the 

14 educational program is offered, or to meet 

15 additional conditions that the institution 

16 knows or reasonably should know are gen17 erally needed to secure employment in a 

18 recognized occupation for which the pro19 gram is represented to prepare students; 

20 ‘‘(v) the requirements for successfully com21 pleting the course of study or program and the 

22 circumstances that would constitute grounds for 

23 terminating the student’s enrollment; 

24 ‘‘(vi) whether the courses of education at 

25 the institution are recommended or have been 


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1 the subject of unsolicited testimonials or en2 dorsements by— 

3 ‘‘(I) vocational counselors, high 

4 schools, colleges, educational organizations, 

5 employment agencies, members of a par6 ticular industry, students, former students, 

7 or others; or 

8 ‘‘(II) officials of a local or State gov9 ernment or the Federal Government; 

10 ‘‘(vii) the size, location, facilities, or equip11 ment of the institution; 

12 ‘‘(viii) the availability, frequency, and ap13 propriateness of the courses of education and 

14 programs to the employment objectives that the 

15 institution states the courses and programs are 

16 designed to meet; 

17 ‘‘(ix) the nature, age, and availability of 

18 the training devices or equipment of the institu19 tion and the appropriateness to the employment 

20 objectives that the institution states the courses 

21 and programs are designed to meet; 

22 ‘‘(x) the number, availability, and quali23 fications, including the training and experience, 

24 of the faculty and other personnel of the insti25 tution; 


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1 ‘‘(xi) the availability of part-time employ2 ment or other forms of financial assistance; 

3 ‘‘(xii) the nature and availability of any tu4 torial or specialized instruction, guidance and 

5 counseling, or other supplementary assistance 

6 the institution ill provide students before, dur7 ing, or after the completion of a course of edu8 cation; 

9 ‘‘(xiii) the nature or extent of any pre10 requisites established for enrollment in any 

11 course of education; 

12 ‘‘(xiv) the subject matter, content of the 

13 course of education, or any other fact related to 

14 the degree, diploma, certificate of completion, 

15 or any similar document that the student is to 

16 be, or is, awarded upon completion of the 

17 course of education; and 

18 ‘‘(xv) whether the degree that the institu19 tion will confer upon completion of the course 

20 of education has been authorized by the appro21 priate State educational agency, including with 

22 respect to cases where the institution fails to 

23 disclose facts regarding the lack of such author24 ization in any advertising or promotional mate25 rials that reference such degree. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The financial charges of the institution, 

2 including misrepresentation regarding— 

3 ‘‘(i) offers of scholarships to pay all or 

4 part of a course charge; 

5 ‘‘(ii) whether a particular charge is the 

6 customary charge at the institution for a 

7 course; 

8 ‘‘(iii) the cost of the program and the re9 fund policy of the institution if the student does 

10 not complete the program; 

11 ‘‘(iv) the availability or nature of any fi12 nancial assistance offered to students, including 

13 a student’s responsibility to repay any loans, re14 gardless of whether the student is successful in 

15 completing the program and obtaining employ16 ment; and 

17 ‘‘(v) the student’s right to reject any par18 ticular type of financial aid or other assistance, 

19 or whether the student must apply for a par20 ticular type of financial aid, such as financing 

21 offered by the institution. 

22 ‘‘(C) The employability of the graduates of the 

23 institution, including misrepresentation regarding— 

24 ‘‘(i) the relationship of the institution with 

25 any organization, employment agency, or other 


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1 agency providing authorized training leading di2 rectly to employment; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the plans of the institution to main4 tain a placement service for graduates or other5 wise assist graduates to obtain employment; 

6 ‘‘(iii) the knowledge of the institution 

7 about the current or likely future conditions, 

8 compensation, or employment opportunities in 

9 the industry or occupation for which the stu10 dents are being prepared; 

11 ‘‘(iv) job market statistics maintained by 

12 the Federal Government in relation to the po13 tential placement of the graduates of the insti14 tution; and 

15 ‘‘(v) other requirements that are generally 

16 needed to be employed in the fields for which 

17 the training is provided, such as requirements 

18 related to commercial driving licenses or per19 mits to carry firearms, and failing to disclose 

20 factors that would prevent an applicant from 

21 qualifying for such requirements, such as prior 

22 criminal records or preexisting medical condi23 tions. 

24 ‘‘(2) In this subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The term ‘misleading statement’ includes 

2 any communication made in writing, visually, orally, 

3 or through other means, that has the likelihood or 

4 tendency to mislead the intended recipient of the 

5 communication under the circumstances in which the 

6 communication is made. Such term includes the use 

7 of student endorsements or testimonials for an edu8 cational institution that a student gives to the insti9 tution either under duress or because the institution 

10 required the student to make such an endorsement 

11 or testimonial to participate in a program of edu12 cation. 

13 ‘‘(B) The term ‘misrepresentation’ means any 

14 false, erroneous, or misleading statement made di15 rectly or indirectly to a student, a prospective stu16 dent, the public, an accrediting agency, a State 

17 agency, or to the Secretary by an eligible institution, 

18 one of its representatives, or any person with whom 

19 the institution has an agreement to provide edu20 cational programs, marketing, advertising, recruiting 

21 or admissions services. 

22 ‘‘(C) The term ‘substantial misrepresentation’ 

23 means misrepresentation in which the person to 

24 whom it was made could reasonably be expected to 


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1 rely, or has reasonably relied, to that person’s det2 riment.’’. 

3 (b) REFERRAL.—Subsection (c) of such section is 

4 amended by striking the last sentence and inserting the 

5 following: ‘‘The findings and results of any such investiga6 tions shall be referred to the State approving agency, or 

7 the Secretary when acting in the role of the State approv8 ing agency, who shall take appropriate action in such cases 

9 not later than 90 days after the date of such referral.’’. 

10 (c) REQUIREMENTS FOR NONACCREDITED

11 COURSES.—Paragraph (10) of section 3676(c) of such 

12 title is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(10) The institution, and any entity that owns 

14 the institution, does not engage in substantial mis15 representation described in section 3696(e) of this 

16 title. The institution shall not be deemed to have 

17 met this requirement until the State approving agen18 cy— 

19 ‘‘(A) has ascertained from the Federal 

20 Trade Commission whether the Commission has 

21 issued an order to the institution to cease and 

22 desist from any act or practice described in 

23 such subsection; 

24 ‘‘(B) has, if such an order has been issued, 

25 given due weight to that fact; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) has reviewed the complete record of 

2 all advertising, sales, or enrollment materials 

3 (and copies thereof) used by or on behalf of the 

4 institution during the preceding 12-month pe5 riod.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. APPLICATION DATE. 

7 The amendments made by this Act shall apply to an 

8 educational institution beginning on the date that is 180 

9 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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