II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 565 

To expand and enhance postbaccalaureate opportunities at Hispanic-serving 

institutions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2007 

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. 

MARTINEZ, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. SALAZAR, and Mrs. 

BOXER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To expand and enhance postbaccalaureate opportunities at 

Hispanic-serving institutions, 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 ‘‘Next Generation His5 panic-Serving Institutions Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. POSTBACCALAUREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HIS2 PANIC AMERICANS. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Title V of the 

4 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating part B as part C; 

7 (2) by redesignating sections 511 through 518 

8 as sections 521 through 528, respectively; and 

9 (3) by inserting after section 505 (20 U.S.C. 

10 1101d) the following new part: 

11 ‘‘PART B—PROMOTING POSTBACCALAUREATE 

12 OPPORTUNITIES FOR HISPANIC AMERICANS 

13 ‘‘SEC. 511. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

14 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) According to the United States Census, by 

16 the year 2050 one in four Americans will be of His17 panic origin. 

18 ‘‘(2) Despite the dramatic increase in the His19 panic population in the United States, the National 

20 Center for Education Statistics reported that in 

21 1999, Hispanics accounted for only 4 percent of the 

22 master’s degrees, 3 percent of the doctor’s degrees, 

23 and 5 percent of first-professional degrees awarded 

24 in the United States. 

25 ‘‘(3) Although Hispanics constitute 10 percent 

26 of the college enrollment in the United States, they 


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1 comprise only 3 percent of instructional faculty in 

2 colleges and universities. 

3 ‘‘(4) The future capacity for research and ad4 vanced study in the United States will require in5 creasing the number of Hispanics pursuing 

6 postbaccalaureate studies. 

7 ‘‘(5) Hispanic-serving institutions are leading 

8 the Nation in increasing the number of Hispanics 

9 attaining graduate and professional degrees. 

10 ‘‘(6) Among Hispanics who received master’s 

11 degrees in 1999–2000, 25 percent earned them at 

12 Hispanic-serving institutions. 

13 ‘‘(7) Between 1991 and 2000, the number of 

14 Hispanic students earning master’s degrees at His15 panic-serving institutions grew 136 percent, the 

16 number receiving doctor’s degrees grew by 85 per17 cent, and the number earning first-professional de18 grees grew by 47 percent. 

19 ‘‘(8) It is in the national interest to expand the 

20 capacity of Hispanic-serving institutions to offer 

21 graduate and professional degree programs. 

22 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this part are— 

23 ‘‘(1) to expand postbaccalaureate educational 

24 opportunities for, and improve the academic attain25 ment of, Hispanic students; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) to expand and enhance the 

2 postbaccalaureate academic offerings, and program 

3 quality, that are educating the majority of Hispanic 

4 college students and helping large numbers of His5 panic students and other low-income individuals 

6 complete postsecondary degrees. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 512. PROGRAM AUTHORITY AND ELIGIBILITY. 

8 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail9 ability of funds appropriated to carry out this part, the 

10 Secretary shall award competitive grants to Hispanic-serv11 ing institutions that offer postbaccalaureate certifications 

12 or degrees. 

13 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—In this part, an ‘eligible institu14 tion’ means an institution of higher education that— 

15 ‘‘(1) is an eligible institution under section 502; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(2) offers a postbaccalaureate certificate or de18 gree granting program. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 513. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 

20 ‘‘Grants awarded under this part shall be used for 

21 1 or more of the following activities: 

22 ‘‘(1) Purchase, rental, or lease of scientific or 

23 laboratory equipment for educational purposes, in24 cluding instructional and research purposes. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Construction, maintenance, renovation, 

2 and improvement in classroom, library, laboratory, 

3 and other instructional facilities, including purchase 

4 or rental of telecommunications technology equip5 ment or services. 

6 ‘‘(3) Purchase of library books, periodicals, 

7 technical and other scientific journals, microfilm, 

8 microfiche, and other educational materials, includ9 ing telecommunications program materials. 

10 ‘‘(4) Support for needy postbaccalaureate stu11 dents including outreach, academic support services, 

12 mentoring, scholarships, fellowships, and other fi13 nancial assistance to permit the enrollment of such 

14 students in postbaccalaureate certificate and degree 

15 granting programs. 

16 ‘‘(5) Support of faculty exchanges, faculty de17 velopment, faculty research, curriculum development, 

18 and academic instruction. 

19 ‘‘(6) Creating or improving facilities for Inter20 net or other distance learning academic instruction 

21 capabilities, including purchase or rental of tele22 communications technology equipment or services. 

23 ‘‘(7) Collaboration with other institutions of 

24 higher education to expand postbaccalaureate certifi25 cate and degree offerings. 


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1 ‘‘(8) Other activities proposed in the application 

2 submitted pursuant to section 514 that— 

3 ‘‘(A) contribute to carrying out the pur4 poses of this part; and 

5 ‘‘(B) are approved by the Secretary as part 

6 of the review and acceptance of such applica7 tion. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 514. APPLICATION AND DURATION. 

9 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—Any eligible institution may 

10 apply for a grant under this part by submitting an applica11 tion to the Secretary at such time and in such manner 

12 as determined by the Secretary. Such application shall 

13 demonstrate how the grant funds will be used to improve 

14 postbaccalaureate education opportunities for Hispanic 

15 and low-income students and will lead to greater financial 

16 independence. 

17 ‘‘(b) DURATION.—Grants under this part shall be 

18 awarded for a period not to exceed 5 years. 

19 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not award 

20 more than 1 grant under this part in any fiscal year to 

21 any Hispanic-serving institution.’’. 

22 (b) COOPERATIVE ARRANGEMENTS.—Section 524(a) 

23 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as redesignated by 

24 subsection (a)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and section 

25 513’’ after ‘‘section 503’’. 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

2 528(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as redesig3 nated by subsection (a)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) PART A.—There are authorized to be ap6 propriated to carry out part A of this title 

7 $175,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as 

8 may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 

9 years. 

10 ‘‘(2) PART B.—There are authorized to be ap11 propriated to carry out part B of this title 

12 $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as 

13 may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 

14 years.’’. 

Æ 


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