Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria Education Relief Act of 2017

To provide the Secretary of Education with waiver authority for the reallocation rules and authority to extend the deadline by which funds have to be reallocated in the campus–based aid programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 due to Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, and Hurricane Maria, to provide equitable services to children and teachers in private schools, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria Education Relief Act of 2017 2. Allocation and use of campus-based higher education assistance (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Affected area The term affected area 42 U.S.C. 5170 (2) Affected student The term affected student 20 U.S.C. 1070 (A) was enrolled or accepted for enrollment on August 25, 2017, at an institution of higher education that is located in an affected area; (B) is a dependent student who was enrolled or accepted for enrollment on August 25, 2017, at an institution of higher education that is not located in an affected area, but whose parent or parents resided or was employed on August 25, 2017, in an affected area; or (C) suffered direct economic hardship as a direct result of Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, Tropical Storm Harvey, Tropical Storm Irma, or Tropical Storm Maria, as determined by the Secretary. (3) Institution of higher education The term institution of higher education 20 U.S.C. 1002 (4) Secretary The term Secretary (b) Waivers (1) Waiver of non-federal share requirement Notwithstanding sections 413C(a)(2) and 443(b)(5) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070b–2(a)(2) (A) in the case of an institution of higher education that is located in an affected area, the Secretary shall waive the requirement that a participating institution of higher education provide a non-Federal share to match Federal funds provided to the institution for the programs authorized pursuant to subpart 3 of part A and part C of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070b (B) in the case of an institution of higher education that is not located in an affected area but has enrolled or accepted for enrollment any affected students, the Secretary may waive the non-Federal share requirement described in subparagraph (A) after considering the institution’s student population and existing resources. (2) Waiver of reallocation rules (A) Authority to reallocate Notwithstanding sections 413D(d) and 442(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070b–3(d) (i) reallocate any funds returned under such section 413D or 442 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 that were allocated to institutions of higher education for award year 2016–2017 to an institution of higher education that is eligible under subparagraph (B); and (ii) waive the allocation reduction for award year 2018–2019 for an institution of higher education that is eligible under subparagraph (B) returning more than 10 percent of its allocation under such section 413D or 442 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 for award year 2017–2018. (B) Institutions eligible for reallocation An institution of higher education is eligible under this subparagraph if the institution— (i) participates in the program for which excess allocations are being reallocated; and (ii) (I) is located in an affected area; or (II) has enrolled or accepted for enrollment any affected students in award year 2017–2018. (C) Basis of reallocation The Secretary shall— (i) determine the manner in which excess allocations will be reallocated pursuant to this paragraph; and (ii) give preference in making reallocations to the needs of institutions of higher education located in an affected area. (D) Additional waiver authority Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order to carry out this paragraph, the Secretary may waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision relating to the reallocation of excess allocations under subpart 3 of part A or part C of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070b (3) Availability of funds date extension Notwithstanding any other provision of law— (A) any funds available to the Secretary under sections 413A and 441 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070b 20 U.S.C. 1070b (B) the Secretary may recall any funds allocated to an institution of higher education for award year 2016–2017 under section 413D or 442 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070b–3 (c) Emergency requirement This section is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (title I of Public Law 111–139 2 U.S.C. 933(g) (d) Report Not later than October 1, 2018, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives information on— (1) the total volume of assistance received by each eligible institution of higher education under subsection (b)(2); and (2) the total volume of the non-Federal share waived for each institution of higher education under subsection (b)(1). (e) Sunset The provisions of subsection (b) shall cease to be effective on September 30, 2018. 3. Project SERV and equitable services for children and teachers in private schools Section 8501(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 7881(b)(1) (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking and (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (F) section 4631, with regard to Project SERV. .

Summary: (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate passed version is repeated here.) Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria Education Relief Act of 2017 (Sec. 2) This bill provides educational relief in areas for which the President has declared a major disaster or an emergency as a result of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, or Maria or Tropical Storms Harvey, Irma, or Maria (affected areas). In the case of an institution of higher education (IHE) that is located in an affected area, the Department of Education (ED) must waive matching fund requirements under the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program (FSEOG) or the Federal Work-Study Program (FWS). In the case of an IHE that is not located in an affected area but has enrolled or accepted for enrollment students affected by the hurricanes or tropical storms, ED may waive the matching fund requirements under FSEOG or FWS. The waivers apply to funds made available for award years 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. Affected students are individuals who have applied for or received student financial assistance under title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, and: (1) who were enrolled or accepted for enrollment on August 25, 2017, at IHEs that are located in affected areas; (2) who are dependent students who are enrolled or accepted for enrollment on that date at IHEs that are not located in affected areas, but whose parents resided or were employed on that date in affected areas; or (3) who suffered direct economic hardship as a direct result of the hurricanes or tropical storms. If IHEs return FSEOG and FWS funds that were allocated for award year 2016-2017, then ED must reallocate the remaining funds to affected IHEs. The bill extends until September 30, 2018, the deadline for ED to obligate funds for FSEOG or FWS. The bill terminates ED's waiver authority on September 30, 2018. (Sec. 3) In addition, the bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require Project School Emergency Response to Violence grants to be distributed to private schools on an equitable basis.