POST Act of 2017

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 regarding proprietary institutions of higher education in order to protect students and taxpayers. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting Our Students and Taxpayers Act of 2017 POST Act of 2017 2. 85/15 rule (a) In general Section 102(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1002(b) (1) in paragraph (1)— (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking and (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period and inserting ; and (C) by adding at the end the following: (F) meets the requirements of paragraph (2). ; (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: (2) Revenue sources (A) In general In order to qualify as a proprietary institution of higher education under this subsection, an institution shall derive not less than 15 percent of the institution’s revenues from sources other than Federal funds, as calculated in accordance with subparagraphs (B) and (C). (B) Federal funds In this paragraph, the term Federal funds chapter 33 (C) Implementation of non-federal revenue requirement In making calculations under subparagraph (A), an institution of higher education shall— (i) use the cash basis of accounting; (ii) consider as revenue only those funds generated by the institution from— (I) tuition, fees, and other institutional charges for students enrolled in programs eligible for assistance under title IV; (II) activities conducted by the institution that are necessary for the education and training of the institution’s students, if such activities are— (aa) conducted on campus or at a facility under the control of the institution; (bb) performed under the supervision of a member of the institution’s faculty; and (cc) required to be performed by all students in a specific educational program at the institution; and (III) a contractual arrangement with a Federal agency for the purpose of providing job training to low-income individuals who are in need of such training; (iii) presume that any Federal funds that are disbursed or delivered to an institution on behalf of a student or directly to a student will be used to pay the student’s tuition, fees, or other institutional charges, regardless of whether the institution credits such funds to the student’s account or pays such funds directly to the student, except to the extent that the student’s tuition, fees, or other institutional charges are satisfied by— (I) grant funds provided by an outside source that— (aa) has no affiliation with the institution; and (bb) shares no employees with the institution; and (II) institutional scholarships described in clause (v); (iv) include no loans made by an institution of higher education as revenue to the school, except for payments made by students on such loans; (v) include a scholarship provided by the institution— (I) only if the scholarship is in the form of monetary aid based upon the academic achievements or financial need of students, disbursed to qualified student recipients during each fiscal year from an established restricted account; and (II) only to the extent that funds in that account represent designated funds, or income earned on such funds, from an outside source that— (aa) has no affiliation with the institution; and (bb) shares no employees with the institution; and (vi) exclude from revenues— (I) the amount of funds the institution received under part C of title IV, unless the institution used those funds to pay a student’s institutional charges; (II) the amount of funds the institution received under subpart 4 of part A of title IV; (III) the amount of funds provided by the institution as matching funds for any Federal program; (IV) the amount of Federal funds provided to the institution to pay institutional charges for a student that were refunded or returned; and (V) the amount charged for books, supplies, and equipment, unless the institution includes that amount as tuition, fees, or other institutional charges. (D) Report to congress Not later than July 1, 2018, and by July 1 of each succeeding year, the Secretary shall submit to the authorizing committees a report that contains, for each proprietary institution of higher education that receives assistance under title IV and as provided in the audited financial statements submitted to the Secretary by each institution pursuant to the requirements of section 487(c)— (i) the amount and percentage of such institution’s revenues received from Federal funds; and (ii) the amount and percentage of such institution’s revenues received from other sources. . (b) Repeal of existing requirements Section 487 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1094 (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by striking paragraph (24); (B) by redesignating paragraphs (25) through (29) as paragraphs (24) through (28), respectively; (C) in paragraph (24)(A)(ii) (as redesignated by subparagraph (B)), by striking subsection (e) subsection (d) (D) in paragraph (26) (as redesignated by subparagraph (B)), by striking subsection (h) subsection (g) (2) by striking subsection (d); (3) by redesignating subsections (e) through (j) as subsections (d) through (i), respectively; (4) in subsection (f)(1) (as redesignated by paragraph (3)), by striking subsection (e)(2) subsection (d)(2) (5) in subsection (g)(1) (as redesignated by paragraph (3)), by striking subsection (a)(27) subsection (a)(26) (c) Conforming amendments The Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001 (1) in section 152 ( 20 U.S.C. 1019a (A) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking subsections (a)(27) and (h) of section 487 subsections (a)(26) and (g) of section 487 (B) in subsection (b)(1)(B)(i)(I), by striking section 487(e) section 487(d) (2) in section 153(c)(3) ( 20 U.S.C. 1019b(c)(3) section 487(a)(25) section 487(a)(24) (3) in section 496(c)(3)(A) ( 20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)(3)(A) section 487(f) section 487(e) (4) in section 498(k)(1) ( 20 U.S.C. 1099c(k)(1) section 487(f) section 487(e)

Summary: Protecting Our Students and Taxpayers Act of 2017 or the POST Act of 2017 This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to modify requirements for a proprietary (i.e., for-profit) institution of higher education (IHE) to participate in title IV (Student Assistance) federal student aid programs. Current law requires a proprietary IHE to derive at least 10% of its revenue from sources other than title IV federal student aid. This legislation requires a proprietary IHE to derive at least 15% of its revenue from sources other than federal funds (i.e., it replaces the so-called 90/10 rule with an 85/15 rule). It defines federal funds to mean title IV federal student aid, as well as education benefits for military personnel and veterans. Additionally, the bill limits what a proprietary institution may treat as revenue to the school in calculating whether it derives at least 15% of its revenue from sources other than federal funds. Finally, the bill moves the 85/15 rule from title IV to title I (General Provisions) of the HEA, making compliance a condition of institutional eligibility to participate in title IV federal student aid programs (i.e., failure to comply results in immediate loss of institutional eligibility). Currently, a proprietary IHE must violate the rule for two consecutive years before losing eligibility for title IV programs.