II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1467 

To establish an Early Federal Pell Grant Commitment Demonstration 

Program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23, 2007 

Mr. BIDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

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

A BILL 

To establish an Early Federal Pell Grant Commitment 

Demonstration Program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. EARLY FEDERAL PELL GRANT COMMITMENT 

4 DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

5 Subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu6 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a et seq.) is amended 

7 by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 401B. EARLY FEDERAL PELL GRANT COMMITMENT 

9 DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM AUTHORITY.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

2 to carry out an Early Federal Pell Grant Commit3 ment Demonstration Program under which— 

4 ‘‘(A) the Secretary awards grants to 4 

5 State educational agencies, in accordance with 

6 paragraph (2), to pay the administrative ex7 penses incurred in participating in the dem8 onstration program under this section; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the Secretary awards Federal Pell 

10 Grants to participating students in accordance 

11 with this section. 

12 ‘‘(2) GRANTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro14 priated under subsection (g) for a fiscal year, 

15 the Secretary is authorized to award grants to 

16 4 State educational agencies to enable the State 

17 educational agencies to pay the administrative 

18 expenses incurred in participating in a dem19 onstration program under which students in 8th 

20 grade who are eligible for a free or reduced 

21 price meal receive a commitment to receive a 

22 Federal Pell Grant early in their academic ca23 reers. 

24 ‘‘(B) EQUAL AMOUNTS.—The Secretary 

25 shall award grants under this section in equal 

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1 amounts to each of the 4 participating State 

2 educational agencies. 

3 ‘‘(b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 Each of the 4 demonstration projects assisted under this 

5 section shall meet the following requirements: 

6 ‘‘(1) PARTICIPANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational 

8 agency shall make participation in the dem9 onstration project available to 2 cohorts of stu10 dents, which shall consist of— 

11 ‘‘(i) 1 cohort of 8th grade students 

12 who begin the participation in academic 

13 year 2007–2008; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) 1 cohort of 8th grade students 

15 who begin the participation in academic 

16 year 2008–2009. 

17 ‘‘(B) STUDENTS IN EACH COHORT.—Each 

18 cohort of students shall consist of not more 

19 than 10,000 8th grade students who qualify for 

20 a free or reduced price meal under the Richard 

21 B. Russell National School Lunch Act or the 

22 Child Nutrition Act of 1966. 

23 ‘‘(2) STUDENT DATA.—The State educational 

24 agency shall ensure that student data from local 

25 educational agencies serving students who particimstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 pate in the demonstration project, as well as student 

2 data from local educational agencies serving a com3 parable group of students who do not participate in 

4 the demonstration project, are available for evalua5 tion of the demonstration project. 

6 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL PELL GRANT COMMITMENT.— 

7 Each student who participates in the demonstration 

8 project receives a commitment from the Secretary to 

9 receive a Federal Pell Grant during the first aca10 demic year that student is in attendance at an insti11 tution of higher education as an undergraduate, if 

12 the student applies for Federal financial aid (via the 

13 FAFSA) during the student’s senior year of sec14 ondary school and during succeeding years. 

15 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL PELL GRANT

16 REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of section 401 

17 shall apply to Federal Pell Grants awarded pursuant 

18 to this section, except that the amount of each par19 ticipating student’s Federal Pell Grant only shall be 

20 calculated by deeming such student to have an ex21 pected family contribution equal to zero. 

22 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION PROCESS.—The Secretary 

23 shall establish an application process to select State 

24 educational agencies to participate in the demonstra25 tion program and State educational agencies shall 

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1 establish an application process to select local edu2 cational agencies within the State to participate in 

3 the demonstration project. 

4 ‘‘(6) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PARTICIPA5 TION.—Subject to the 10,000 statewide student limi6 tation described in paragraph (1), a local edu7 cational agency serving students, not less than 50 

8 percent of whom are eligible for a free or reduced 

9 price meal under the Richard B. Russell National 

10 School Lunch Act or the Child Nutritional Act of 

11 1966, shall be eligible to participate in the dem12 onstration project. 

13 ‘‘(c) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY APPLICA14 TIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational 

16 agency desiring to participate in the demonstration 

17 program under this section shall submit an applica18 tion to the Secretary at such time and in such man19 ner as the Secretary may require. 

20 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each application shall in21 clude— 

22 ‘‘(A) a description of the proposed targeted 

23 information campaign for the demonstration 

24 project and a copy of the plan described in sub25 section (f)(2); 

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1 ‘‘(B) a description of the student popu2 lation that will receive an early commitment to 

3 receive a Federal Pell Grant under this section; 

4 ‘‘(C) an assurance that the State edu5 cational agency will fully cooperate with the on6 going evaluation of the demonstration project; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(D) such other information as the Sec9 retary may require. 

10 ‘‘(d) SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) SELECTION OF STATE EDUCATIONAL

12 AGENCIES.—In selecting State educational agencies 

13 to participate in the demonstration program, the 

14 Secretary shall consider— 

15 ‘‘(A) the number and quality of State edu16 cational agency applications received; 

17 ‘‘(B) the Department’s capacity to oversee 

18 and monitor each State educational agency’s 

19 participation in the demonstration program; 

20 ‘‘(C) a State educational agency’s— 

21 ‘‘(i) financial responsibility; 

22 ‘‘(ii) administrative capability; 

23 ‘‘(iii) commitment to focusing State 

24 resources, in addition to any resources pro25 vided under part A of title I of the Elemstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 

2 1965, on students who receive assistance 

3 under such part A; 

4 ‘‘(iv) the ability and plans of a State 

5 educational agency to run an effective and 

6 thorough targeted information campaign 

7 for students served by local educational 

8 agencies eligible to participate in the dem9 onstration project; and 

10 ‘‘(v) ensuring the participation in the 

11 demonstration program of a diverse group 

12 of students with respect to ethnicity and 

13 gender. 

14 ‘‘(2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—In select15 ing local educational agencies to participate in a 

16 demonstration project under this section, the State 

17 educational agency shall consider— 

18 ‘‘(A) the number and quality of local edu19 cational agency applications received; 

20 ‘‘(B) the State educational agency’s capac21 ity to oversee and monitor each local edu22 cational agency’s participation in the dem23 onstration project; 

24 ‘‘(C) a local educational agency’s— 

25 ‘‘(i) financial responsibility; 

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1 ‘‘(ii) administrative capability; 

2 ‘‘(iii) commitment to focusing local re3 sources, in addition to any resources pro4 vided under part A of title I of the Ele5 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 

6 1965, on students who receive assistance 

7 under such part A; 

8 ‘‘(iv) the ability and plans of a local 

9 educational agency to run an effective and 

10 thorough targeted information campaign 

11 for students served by the local educational 

12 agency; and 

13 ‘‘(v) ensuring the participation in the 

14 demonstration project of a diverse group of 

15 students with respect to ethnicity and gen16 der. 

17 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro19 priated under section (g) for a fiscal year, the Sec20 retary shall reserve not more than $1,000,000 to 

21 award a grant or contract to an organization outside 

22 the Department for an independent evaluation of the 

23 impact of the demonstration program assisted under 

24 this section. 

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1 ‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—The grant or con2 tract shall be awarded on a competitive basis. 

3 ‘‘(3) MATTERS EVALUATED.—The evaluation 

4 described in this subsection shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) determine the number of individuals 

6 who were encouraged by the demonstration pro7 gram to pursue higher education; 

8 ‘‘(B) identify the barriers to the effective9 ness of the demonstration program; 

10 ‘‘(C) assess the cost-effectiveness of the 

11 demonstration program in improving access to 

12 higher education; 

13 ‘‘(D) identify the reasons why participants 

14 in the demonstration program either received or 

15 did not receive a Federal Pell Grant; 

16 ‘‘(E) identify intermediate outcomes (rel17 ative to postsecondary education attendance), 

18 such as whether participants— 

19 ‘‘(i) were more likely to take a college20 prep curriculum while in secondary school; 

21 ‘‘(ii) submitted any college applica22 tions; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) took the PSAT, SAT, or ACT; 

24 ‘‘(F) identify the number of individuals 

25 participating in the demonstration program who 

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1 pursued an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s 

2 degree, as well as other forms of postsecondary 

3 education; 

4 ‘‘(G) compare the findings of the dem5 onstration program with respect to participants 

6 to comparison groups (of similar size and demo7 graphics) that did not participate in the dem8 onstration program; and 

9 ‘‘(H) identify the impact on the parents of 

10 students eligible to participate in the dem11 onstration program. 

12 ‘‘(4) DISSEMINATION.—The findings of the 

13 evaluation shall be widely disseminated to the public 

14 by the organization conducting the evaluation as well 

15 as by the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(f) TARGETED INFORMATION CAMPAIGN.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational 

18 agency receiving a grant under this section shall, in 

19 cooperation with the participating local educational 

20 agencies within the State and the Secretary, develop 

21 a targeted information campaign for the demonstra22 tion program assisted under this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) PLAN.—Each State educational agency re24 ceiving a grant under this section shall include in 

25 the application submitted under subsection (c) a 

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1 written plan for their proposed targeted information 

2 campaign. The plan shall include the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) OUTREACH.—Outreach to students 

4 and their families, at a minimum, at the begin5 ning and end of each academic year of the dem6 onstration project. 

7 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION.—How the State edu8 cational agency plans to provide the outreach 

9 described in subparagraph (A) and to provide 

10 the information described in subparagraph (C). 

11 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION.—The annual provi12 sion by the State educational agency to all stu13 dents and families participating in the dem14 onstration program of information regarding— 

15 ‘‘(i) the estimated statewide average 

16 higher education institution cost data for 

17 each academic year, which cost data shall 

18 be disaggregated by— 

19 ‘‘(I) type of institution, includ20 ing— 

21 ‘‘(aa) 2-year public colleges; 

22 ‘‘(bb) 4-year public colleges; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(cc) 4-year private colleges; 

25 ‘‘(II) by component, including— 

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1 ‘‘(aa) tuition and fees; and 

2 ‘‘(bb) room and board; 

3 ‘‘(ii) Federal Pell Grants, including— 

4 ‘‘(I) the maximum Federal Pell 

5 Grant for each academic year; 

6 ‘‘(II) when and how to apply for 

7 a Federal Pell Grant; and 

8 ‘‘(III) what the application proc9 ess for a Federal Pell Grant requires; 

10 ‘‘(iii) State-specific college savings 

11 programs; 

12 ‘‘(iv) State-based merit aid; 

13 ‘‘(v) State-based financial aid; and 

14 ‘‘(vi) Federal financial aid available to 

15 students, including eligibility criteria for 

16 the Federal financial aid and an expla17 nation of the Federal financial aid pro18 grams. 

19 ‘‘(3) COHORTS.—The information described in 

20 paragraph (2)(C) shall be provided to 2 cohorts of 

21 students annually for the duration of the students’ 

22 participation in the demonstration program. The 2 

23 cohorts shall consist of— 

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1 ‘‘(A) 1 cohort of 8th grade students who 

2 begin the participation in academic year 2007– 

3 2008; and 

4 ‘‘(B) 1 cohort of 8th grade students who 

5 begin the participation in academic year 2008– 

6 2009. 

7 ‘‘(4) RESERVATION.—Each State educational 

8 agency receiving a grant under this section shall re9 serve $200,000 of the grant funds received each fis10 cal year for each of the 2 cohorts of students (for 

11 a total reservation of $400,000 each fiscal year) 

12 served by the State to carry out their targeted infor13 mation campaign described in this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec16 tion— 

17 ‘‘(1) $1,300,000 for fiscal year 2008, of 

18 which— 

19 ‘‘(A) $500,000 shall be available to carry 

20 out subsection (e); and 

21 ‘‘(B) $800,000 shall be available to carry 

22 out subsection (f)(2)(C); 

23 ‘‘(2) $1,600,000 for fiscal year 2009, of which 

24 $1,600,000 shall be available to carry out subsection 

25 (f)(2)(C); 

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1 ‘‘(3) $1,600,000 for fiscal year 2010, of which 

2 $1,600,000 shall be available to carry out subsection 

3 (f)(2)(C); 

4 ‘‘(4) $2,100,000 for fiscal year 2011, of 

5 which— 

6 ‘‘(A) $500,000 shall be available to carry 

7 out subsection (e); and 

8 ‘‘(B) $1,600,000 shall be available to carry 

9 out subsection (f)(2)(C); 

10 ‘‘(5) $1,600,000 for fiscal year 2012, of which 

11 $1,600,000 shall be available to carry out subsection 

12 (f)(2)(C); 

13 ‘‘(6) $14,600,000 for fiscal year 2013, of 

14 which— 

15 ‘‘(A) $800,000 shall be available to carry 

16 out subsection (f)(2)(C); and 

17 ‘‘(B) $13,800,000 shall be available for 

18 Federal Pell Grants provided in accordance 

19 with this section; and 

20 ‘‘(7) $13,800,000 for fiscal year 2014, of which 

21 $13,800,000 shall be available for Federal Pell 

22 Grants provided in accordance with this section.’’. 

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