I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5895 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for additional uses 

of funds for grants to strengthen historically Black colleges and universities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 6, 2023 

Ms. ADAMS (for herself, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. CARSON, Ms. LEE

of California, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. BUSH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. 

WILSON of Florida, Mr. THANEDAR, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. 

BOWMAN, and Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK) introduced the following 

bill 

OCTOBER 25, 2023 

Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 

for additional uses of funds for grants to strengthen 

historically Black colleges and universities, 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. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) According to a 2021 study by Americans for 

2 the Arts, the arts are an invaluable aspect of Amer3 ican society, as they strengthen the economy, im4 prove healthcare, spark creativity and innovation, 

5 and unify communities, with 73 percent of partici6 pants agreeing that the arts help them to better un7 derstand other cultures. 

8 (2) Many United States museums are grappling 

9 with diversity. Studies report that only 1.4 percent 

10 of artists featured in America’s top museums are 

11 black, only 4 percent of staff directors at top muse12 ums are Black, and that only 2.5 percent of Black 

13 Americans are owners of Arts-Entertainment busi14 ness. 

15 (3) Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 

16 or HBCUs, are uniquely positioned to produce a di17 verse generation of art professionals and help bring 

18 much needed attention to works by Black artists. 

19 HBCUs have historically served as long-standing 

20 conservators and crucial supporters of Black art and 

21 for the teaching, supporting, and displaying of es22 sential Black artists who may otherwise have re23 mained unrecognized. 

24 (4) Arts programs and arts departments are ex25 pensive and have often fallen victim to funding 


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1 shortfalls. In 2018, the College Art Association re2 ported that at least 18 institutions of higher edu3 cation planned to severely curtail or eliminate their 

4 arts departments. 

5 (5) HBCUs have also been underfunded by 

6 $12,600,000,000 compared to their predominantly 

7 White counterparts over the last 30 years. Some 

8 HBCUs have shrunk, consolidated, or cut their arts 

9 programs due to limited resources. 

10 (6) An increased investment in HBCU arts, 

11 arts education, and culture programs can further 

12 help students of color access an affordable arts edu13 cation and ensure the continued preparation, con14 servation, display, and study of works by Black art15 ists. 

16 SEC. 2. STRENGTHENING HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES 

17 AND UNIVERSITIES. 

18 Section 323 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 1062) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a), 

21 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (14) and 

22 (15) as paragraphs (19) and (20), respectively; 

23 and 

24 (B) by inserting after paragraph (13) the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(14) Providing financial and other assistance 

2 to students in arts, arts education, and cultural pro3 grams. 

4 ‘‘(15) Establishing outreach programs and de5 velopment offices for arts, arts education, and cul6 tural departments. 

7 ‘‘(16) Providing comprehensive wraparound 

8 services for arts, arts education, and cultural stu9 dents, including faculty and peer mentorship, work10 based learning opportunities, guidance counseling, 

11 and career advising. 

12 ‘‘(17) Exhibiting, maintaining, monitoring, and 

13 protecting Black art collections in exhibition and in 

14 storage. 

15 ‘‘(18) Providing well-paid apprenticeship, in16 ternship, and fellowship opportunities to students in 

17 arts, arts education, and cultural programs through 

18 partnerships with nonprofit arts, arts education, and 

19 cultural institutes.’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS.—An 

22 institution may enter into a partnership with the National 

23 Endowment for the Arts to carry out the activities de24 scribed in paragraphs (14) through (18) of subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘arts’ 

2 means art forms used for self-expression and interpreta3 tion, including performance, literary, visual, graphic, plas4 tic, and decorative arts.’’. 

Æ 


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