I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4767 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to strengthen Federal-State 

partnerships in postsecondary education. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 29, 2014 

Mr. HINOJOSA (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, 

Mr. FATTAH, and Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to strengthen 

Federal-State partnerships 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Partnerships for Af5 fordability and Student Success Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATE COMMITMENT TO AFFORDABLE COLLEGE 

7 EDUCATION. 

8 Section 137 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 1015f) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(a) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT REQUIRED.—For 

4 the academic year beginning on July 1, 2014, and for each 

5 of the 4 succeeding academic years, a State shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) maintain State support for institutions of 

7 higher education (not including support for capital 

8 projects or research and development, or tuition and 

9 fees paid by students) at least at the level of such 

10 support for the academic year beginning on July 1, 

11 2012; and 

12 ‘‘(2) maintain State support for student finan13 cial aid for paying costs associated with postsec14 ondary education at least at the level of such sup15 port for the academic year beginning on July 1, 

16 2012.’’; 

17 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(c) WAIVER.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall waive 

21 the requirements of subsection (a) if the Secretary 

22 determines that such a waiver would be appropriate 

23 due to exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances, 

24 such as a natural disaster or a precipitous decline in 


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1 the financial resources of a State or State edu2 cational agency, as appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(2) NO REQUIREMENT TO AMEND BUDGET.— 

4 The Secretary shall not require a State to make 

5 changes to an enacted budget as a condition of re6 ceiving a waiver under paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con8 sult with the States in developing the criteria and 

9 procedures for reviewing waiver requests.’’; and 

10 (3) by striking subsection (d). 

11 SEC. 3. FEDERAL AND STATE PARTNERSHIPS FOR COL12 LEGE ACCESS, AFFORDABILITY, AND COM13 PLETION. 

14 Subpart 4 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu15 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070c et seq.) is amended 

16 to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘Subpart 4—Federal and State Partnerships for 

18 College Access, Affordability, and Completion 

19 ‘‘SEC. 415A. PURPOSE. 

20 ‘‘It is the purpose of this subpart for the Secretary 

21 to make incentive grants to States to assist States in— 

22 ‘‘(1) providing grants to eligible students at23 tending institutions of higher education or partici24 pating in programs of study abroad that are apVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:52 Jun 04, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4767.IH H4767

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1 proved for credit by institutions of higher education 

2 at which such students are enrolled; 

3 ‘‘(2) providing subgrants to eligible institutions 

4 or consortia of eligible institutions— 

5 ‘‘(A) to improve student outcomes, such as 

6 completion and transfer rates and workforce 

7 outcomes for graduates; and 

8 ‘‘(B) to develop and implement practices 

9 that result in reduced costs for students; and 

10 ‘‘(3) providing public accountability and con11 sumer information on the performance of institu12 tions of higher education operating within the State. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 415B. STATE ELIGIBILITY; DEFINITIONS. 

14 ‘‘(a) INCENTIVE GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 

15 award incentive grants, in accordance with the provisions 

16 of this subpart, to States to pay the Federal share of the 

17 cost of carrying out the activities described in paragraphs 

18 (1) through (3) of section 415A. The incentive grant shall 

19 consist of the allotment determined for the State under 

20 section 415C. 

21 ‘‘(b) STATE ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible to 

22 receive an incentive grant under this subpart, a State shall 

23 enter into an agreement with the Secretary. The agree24 ment shall contain the following assurances: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Federal funds received by the State under 

2 this subpart will supplement and not supplant other 

3 Federal and State funds otherwise available to carry 

4 out activities described in this subpart. 

5 ‘‘(2) The State will maintain its commitment to 

6 affordable higher education as described in section 

7 137. 

8 ‘‘(3) The State will fulfill its role in program in9 tegrity under section 495. 

10 ‘‘(4) The State has a comprehensive plan for 

11 public postsecondary education that addresses the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(A) Measurable goals for student out14 comes, including enrollment, participation, and 

15 completion rates. 

16 ‘‘(B) Measurable goals for college afford17 ability in the State. 

18 ‘‘(C) Alignment of such plan with the 

19 workforce and economic development plans of 

20 the State. 

21 ‘‘(D) Alignment of such plan with the ele22 mentary and secondary education plan for the 

23 State. 

24 ‘‘(E) The postsecondary educational needs 

25 of unserved and underserved individuals within 


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1 the State, including individuals beyond tradi2 tional college age. 

3 ‘‘(5) The State provides for direct, equitable, 

4 and active participation by representatives of institu5 tions of higher education, including the voluntary 

6 participation of private, nonprofit institutions of 

7 higher education, and other stakeholders in the com8 prehensive planning process. 

9 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpart: 

10 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi11 ble institution’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) an institution of higher education; 

13 ‘‘(B) an institution of higher education in 

14 partnership with— 

15 ‘‘(i) a nonprofit or community-based 

16 organization that has demonstrated suc17 cess in improving student outcomes in 

18 postsecondary education; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) a local workforce investment 

20 board; or 

21 ‘‘(C) a consortium of institutions of higher 

22 education. 

23 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

24 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

25 meaning given the term in section 101(a). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 415C. ALLOTMENT AMONG STATES. 

2 ‘‘(a) ALLOTMENT BASED ON NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE

3 STUDENTS IN ATTENDANCE.—Except as provided in sub4 section (b), from the sums appropriated under section 

5 415H for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each 

6 eligible State for such fiscal year an amount that bears 

7 the same ratio to such sums as the number of students 

8 residing in such State who are eligible for a Federal Pell 

9 Grant bears to the total number of such students in all 

10 the eligible States. The Secretary shall calculate such ratio 

11 based on data for the most recent year for which satisfac12 tory data are available. 

13 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT.—The amount of any eli14 gible State’s allotment under subsection (a) for any fiscal 

15 year may not be less than 1 percent of the sums appro16 priated under section 415H for such year. 

17 ‘‘(c) REALLOTMENT.—The amount of any State’s al18 lotment under subsection (a) for any fiscal year which the 

19 Secretary determines will not be required for such fiscal 

20 year for the Federal-State partnership program of that 

21 State shall be available for reallotment from time to time, 

22 on such dates during such year as the Secretary may fix, 

23 to other States in proportion to the original allotments to 

24 such States under such subsection for such year, but with 

25 such proportionate amount for any of such States being 

26 reduced to the extent it exceeds the sum the Secretary 


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1 estimates such State needs and will be able to use for such 

2 year for carrying out the State plan. The total of such 

3 reductions shall be similarly reallotted among the States 

4 whose proportionate amounts were not so reduced. 

5 ‘‘(d) ALLOTMENTS SUBJECT TO COMPLIANCE.—The 

6 Secretary shall make payments for incentive grants under 

7 this subpart only to States that continue to meet the re8 quirements of this subpart. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 415D. APPLICATIONS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive an incentive 

11 grant under this subpart, the State agency with jurisdic12 tion over higher education, or another agency or entity 

13 designated by the Governor or chief executive of the State 

14 to administer the program under this subpart, shall sub15 mit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

16 manner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec17 retary may require. 

18 ‘‘(b) CONTENT OF APPLICATION.—An application 

19 submitted under subsection (a) shall contain— 

20 ‘‘(1) a description of how grant funds will assist 

21 the State in meeting its goals for student outcomes, 

22 including enrollment and completion; 

23 ‘‘(2) a description of how the grant funds will 

24 assist the State in meeting its goals for college af25 fordability, including measures to minimize tuition 


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1 increases and measures to increase the availability of 

2 need-based student aid; 

3 ‘‘(3) a description of how grant funds will assist 

4 the State in meeting the postsecondary needs of 

5 underrepresented or underserved populations in the 

6 State, including how the State will use grant funds 

7 to strengthen the eligible institutions described in 

8 paragraphs (1) through (7) of section 371(a); 

9 ‘‘(4) a description of how the State’s com10 prehensive plan for public higher education is 

11 aligned with the workforce and economic develop12 ment plans of the State; 

13 ‘‘(5) a description of the process the State will 

14 use to make subgrants to eligible institutions or con15 sortia of eligible institutions, including eligible insti16 tutions described in paragraphs (1) through (7) of 

17 section 371(a); 

18 ‘‘(6) a description of how the State will evaluate 

19 the effectiveness of such subgrants and how the 

20 State will disseminate information on promising 

21 practices developed as a result of such subgrants; 

22 ‘‘(7) a description of how the State will make 

23 publicly available a report card on the progress in 

24 meeting State goals for public postsecondary edu25 cation; and 


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1 ‘‘(8) a description of the stakeholder consulta2 tion, including efforts to engage the voluntary par3 ticipation of private, nonprofit institutions, carried 

4 out in the development of the application. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 415E. PAYMENT OF FEDERAL SHARE OF GRANTS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DISTRIBUTION.—A State awarded an in8 centive grant under this subpart— 

9 ‘‘(A) shall use grant funds to award stu10 dent grants; and 

11 ‘‘(B) may use grant funds to award sub12 grants to eligible institutions. 

13 ‘‘(2) GRANTS TO STUDENTS.—A State awarded 

14 an incentive grant under this subpart shall establish 

15 a program to award grants to students that complies 

16 with the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) The program is administered by a 

18 single State agency. 

19 ‘‘(B) The program provides that an insti20 tution of higher education that had a student 

21 who received funds under this subpart at any 

22 time beginning on July 1, 2010, through the 

23 day before the date of enactment of the Part24 nerships for Affordability and Student Success 

25 Act and that is eligible to participate in a proVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:52 Jun 04, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4767.IH H4767

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1 gram authorized under this title, shall be eligi2 ble to participate under this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(C) The program provides that such 

4 grants to students will be in amounts not to ex5 ceed the student’s cost of attendance per aca6 demic year for attendance at an institution of 

7 higher education. Such grants, in combination 

8 with other State or Federal student assistance, 

9 shall not exceed the student’s cost of attend10 ance in any given academic year. 

11 ‘‘(D) The program provides for the selec12 tion of grant recipients on the basis of substan13 tial financial need determined under part F and 

14 by the State. 

15 ‘‘(E) The program provides for the pay16 ment of the non-Federal share of such grants 

17 from funds supplied by such State which rep18 resent an additional expenditure for such year 

19 by such State for grants for students attending 

20 institutions of higher education over the 

21 amount expended by such State for such 

22 grants, if any, during the second fiscal year 

23 preceding the fiscal year in which such State 

24 initially received funds under this subpart. 


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1 ‘‘(F) The program provides that if the 

2 State’s allotment under this subpart is based, 

3 in part, on the financial need demonstrated by 

4 students who are independent students or at5 tending the institution less than full time, a 

6 reasonable proportion of the State’s allotment 

7 shall be made available to such students. 

8 ‘‘(G) The program will notify students re9 ceiving grants under this subpart that such 

10 grants are Federal–State partnership grants 

11 and are funded by the Federal Government and 

12 the State. 

13 ‘‘(3) SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE INSTITU14 TIONS.—A State awarded an incentive grant under 

15 this subpart may establish a program to award sub16 grants to eligible institutions that complies with the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(A) The program is administered by a 

19 single State agency. 

20 ‘‘(B) The program provides for the selec21 tion of subgrant recipients based on criteria set 

22 by the State agency. 

23 ‘‘(C) The program provides for subgrants 

24 that support activities that will assist the State 

25 in achieving— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the State’s measurable goals for 

2 student outcomes, including enrollment, 

3 participation, and completion rates for 

4 underrepresented or underserved popu5 lations; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the State’s measurable goals for 

7 college affordability, including innovative 

8 methods for reducing costs; 

9 ‘‘(iii) improved workforce outcomes 

10 for graduates; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) the State’s measurable goals for 

12 strengthening the eligible institutions de13 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (7) of 

14 section 371(a). 

15 ‘‘(D) The program provides for the dis16 semination of promising practices developed 

17 through subgrant activities. 

18 ‘‘(4) FISCAL CONTROL; REPORTS.—A State 

19 awarded an incentive grant under this subpart shall 

20 provide— 

21 ‘‘(A) for such fiscal control and fund ac22 counting procedures as may be necessary to as23 sure proper disbursement of and accounting for 

24 Federal funds paid under this subpart; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) for the making of such reports, in 

2 such form and containing such information, as 

3 may be reasonably necessary to enable the Sec4 retary to perform the Secretary’s functions 

5 under this subpart. 

6 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION AND DISBURSEMENT OF ALLOT7 MENTS AND REALLOTMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon approval of an appli9 cation for an incentive grant under this subpart, the 

10 Secretary shall reserve from the applicable allotment 

11 (including any applicable reallotment) available, the 

12 amount of such payment, which (subject to the lim13 its of such allotment or reallotment) shall be equal 

14 to the Federal share of the cost of the grants to stu15 dents or subgrants to eligible institutions or con16 sortia of such institutions covered by such applica17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall pay such 

19 reserved amount, in advance or by way of reimburse20 ment, and in such installments as the Secretary may 

21 determine. 

22 ‘‘(3) AMENDMENT.—The Secretary may amend 

23 the reservation of any amount under this subsection, 

24 either upon approval of an amendment of the appli25 cation or upon revision of the estimated cost of the 


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1 grants to students or subgrants to eligible institu2 tions with respect to which such reservation was 

3 made. If the Secretary approves an upward revision 

4 of such estimated cost, the Secretary may reserve 

5 the Federal share of the added cost only from the 

6 applicable allotment (or reallotment) available at the 

7 time of such approval. 

8 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

9 cost of carrying out the activities described in paragraphs 

10 (1) through (3) of section 415A is equal to 66.66 percent. 

11 ‘‘(d) CERTAIN ACTIVITIES FOR WHICH NON-FED12 ERAL SHARE MAY BE PROVIDED IN CASH OR IN KIND.— 

13 For activities described in section 415A(2), the non-Fed14 eral share may be provided in cash or in kind, fairly evalu15 ated. 

16 ‘‘(e) REPORTING.—A State that desires to receive 

17 payments for continuing incentive grants under this sub18 part shall report the following information to the Sec19 retary on an annual basis: 

20 ‘‘(1) The State’s progress in meeting its goals 

21 for college affordability, including measures to mini22 mize tuition increases at public institutions and 

23 measures to increase the availability of need-based 

24 student aid. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The State’s progress in meeting the post2 secondary needs of underrepresented or underserved 

3 populations in the State, including how the State is 

4 strengthening the eligible institutions described in 

5 paragraphs (1) through (7) of section 371(a). 

6 ‘‘(3) A list of any subgrants made to eligible in7 stitutions. 

8 ‘‘(4) The State’s report card described in sec9 tion 415F. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 415F. STATE REPORT CARDS. 

11 ‘‘Each State that receives an allotment under this 

12 subpart shall report annually to the public on its progress 

13 in meeting its public postsecondary education goals and 

14 comprehensive plan for public higher education. Such re15 port shall include— 

16 ‘‘(1) information, as determined by the State in 

17 consultation with stakeholders, on student outcomes, 

18 including enrollment, participation, and completion 

19 rates, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, disability sta20 tus, and socio-economic status; 

21 ‘‘(2) information, as determined by the State in 

22 consultation with stakeholders, on workforce out23 comes for graduates; 


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1 ‘‘(3) information on college costs, including tui2 tion increases, student indebtedness, and the avail3 ability of need-based aid; and 

4 ‘‘(4) information on the consumer complaints 

5 related to the performance of institutions of higher 

6 education reported to the State in the prior year. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 415G. PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE, NONPROFIT IN8 STITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 

9 ‘‘(a) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—A private, non10 profit institution of higher education may voluntarily elect 

11 to participate in a State’s efforts under the plan described 

12 in section 415B(b)(6). A State— 

13 ‘‘(1) shall not require any private, nonprofit in14 stitution to participate in such efforts; and 

15 ‘‘(2) may require such an institution that volun16 tarily elects to participate in such efforts to provide 

17 appropriate information to allow the State to assess 

18 the institution’s progress towards the goals and ac19 tivities described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) 

20 of section 415B(b)(6). 

21 ‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub22 part, including voluntary participation described in sub23 section (a), shall be construed to— 

24 ‘‘(1) authorize the Secretary, a State, or an of25 ficer or employee of the Department or of a State 


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1 to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over 

2 a private, nonprofit institution of higher education, 

3 including control over curriculum, program of in4 struction, administration, governance, personnel, ar5 ticulation, the awarding of credit, graduation or de6 gree requirements, or admissions; 

7 ‘‘(2) authorize the Secretary, a State, or an of8 ficer or employee of the Department or of a State 

9 to require a private, nonprofit institution of higher 

10 education to participate in a longitudinal data sys11 tem; or 

12 ‘‘(3) limit the application of the General Edu13 cation Provisions Act. 

14 ‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.—If any State fails or refuses 

15 to comply with any provision of this section, the State 

16 shall no longer be eligible for assistance under this sub17 part. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 415H. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RES19 ERVATIONS. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap21 propriated to carry out this subpart such sums as may 

22 be necessary for fiscal year 2015 and each of the 4 suc23 ceeding fiscal years. 


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1 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION.—Not less than 70 percent of 

2 funds allocated to a State shall be reserved for providing 

3 grants to eligible students. 

4 ‘‘(c) RESERVATION FOR CONSUMER INFORMATION

5 AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than 8 per6 cent of the funds allocated to a State may be used to pro7 vide public accountability and consumer information on 

8 the performance of institutions of higher education and 

9 for administering the grant.’’. 

Æ 


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