I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3259 

To establish the Grants for College Access and Completion Program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 20, 2009 

Mr. INSLEE (for himself and Mr. REICHERT) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To establish the Grants for College Access and Completion 

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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Establishing Grants 

5 for College Access and Completion Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR COLLEGE SUCCESS. 

7 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to author8 ize grants to eligible entities to— 

9 (1) build and sustain an understanding among 

10 secondary school students from disadvantaged popuVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:12 Jul 21, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3259.IH H3259

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1 lations of the need for higher levels of educational 

2 attainment and lifelong learning; and 

3 (2) increase the number of low-income students 

4 from underserved populations and disadvantaged 

5 backgrounds who enter and complete college. 

6 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail7 ability of amounts appropriated to carry out this Act, the 

8 Secretary of Education shall award 5-year grants, on a 

9 competitive basis, to eligible entities to carry out the pur10 pose of this Act through the activities and services de11 scribed in subsection (d). 

12 (c) FEDERAL SHARE; NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

13 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The amount of the Fed14 eral share under this section for a fiscal year shall 

15 be not be more than 85 percent of the costs of the 

16 activities and services described in subsection (d) 

17 that are carried out under the grant. 

18 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The amount of the 

19 non-Federal share under this section shall be not 

20 less than 15 percent of the costs of the activities and 

21 services described in subsection (d). Such non-Fed22 eral share may be provided in cash or in-kind, or 

23 both. 

24 (d) USES OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under this 

2 Act shall be used to— 

3 (A) provide mentoring, academic support, 

4 and supportive services to prepare low-income 

5 students to attend institutions of higher edu6 cation; 

7 (B) conduct outreach programs to encour8 age low-income students to pursue higher edu9 cation, including providing information about 

10 Federal and State financial aid options; and 

11 (C) provide other activities to ensure that 

12 an increasing number of low-income students 

13 attend institutions of higher education. 

14 (2) PRIORITY.—In carrying out the activities 

15 and services described in paragraph (1), an eligible 

16 entity receiving a grant under this Act shall give pri17 ority to students who are from families with incomes 

18 below the poverty line. 

19 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each eligible entity receiving 

20 a grant under this Act shall prepare and submit an annual 

21 report to the Secretary of Education on the activities and 

22 services provided with such grant funds, including— 

23 (1) each activity and service that was provided 

24 to low-income students over the course of the year; 


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1 (2) the cost of providing each such activity and 

2 service; 

3 (3) the number of low-income students who re4 ceived mentoring and outreach services from the en5 tity; and 

6 (4) the outcomes for students who participated 

7 in an activity or received services provided with such 

8 grant funds, including high school graduation rates 

9 and enrollment rates at institutions of higher edu10 cation. 

11 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this Act: 

12 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti13 ty’’ means a nonprofit organization that— 

14 (A) has as its primary purpose to provide 

15 scholarships and support services to students 

16 from underserved and disadvantaged popu17 lations to increase the number of such students 

18 who enter and complete a program of study at 

19 institutions of higher education; 

20 (B) has been in operation for not less than 

21 6 years and serves secondary school students; 

22 (C) is actively collaborating with the State 

23 in which it is headquartered; 

24 (D) has received financial support from 

25 such State; 


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1 (E) has raised not less than $75,000,000 

2 from private or other nongovernmental sources 

3 for scholarship aid and support programs for 

4 low-income students; 

5 (F) has a business plan in place to expand 

6 into additional States; 

7 (G) provides scholarships and support pro8 grams to students in more than one State; 

9 (H) during the 3-year period before apply10 ing for a grant under this Act, has served a sig11 nificant number of students and awarded a sig12 nificant number of scholarships through all of 

13 its programs, as determined by the Secretary; 

14 and 

15 (I) has provided scholarships and men16 toring services for a significant number of bac17 calaureate degree graduates, as determined by 

18 the Secretary, since the entity was established. 

19 (2) LOW-INCOME STUDENT.—The term ‘‘low-in20 come student’’ means a student who is determined 

21 by a local educational agency to be from a low-in22 come family using the measures described in section 

23 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu24 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6313(a)(5)). 


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1 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

2 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

3 meaning given such term in section 102 of the High4 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002), except 

5 that such term does not include an institution de6 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(C) of that section. 

7 (4) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 

8 means the poverty line (as defined by the Office of 

9 Management and Budget and revised annually in ac10 cordance with section 673(2) of the Community 

11 Services Block Grant Act) applicable to a family of 

12 the size involved. 

13 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

14 the several States and the District of Columbia. 

15 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.—There are 

16 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 

17 sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2010 and each 

18 of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

Æ 


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