Protecting Academic Integrity Act of 2019

To require an institution of higher education to file a disclosure report with the Secretary of Education whenever such institution receives a gift from or enters into a contract with a foreign source, the value of which is $50,000 or more, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting Academic Integrity Act of 2019 2. Disclosure of foreign gifts (a) Value of gifts Section 117(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1011f(a) $250,000 $50,000 (b) Contents of report Section 117(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1011f(b) (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting and, when available, the specific department, agency, office, or division of the foreign government responsible for the gift or contract (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting and, when available, the specific department, agency, office, or division of the foreign government responsible for the gift or contract (3) by adding at the end the following: (4) If available, the purpose or intention of a foreign gift or contract. If no purpose or intention is identified with respect to the gift or contract, the institution shall report the intended use of such gift or contract and the account or the department of such institution that will receive such gift or contract. . (c) Additional disclosures for restricted and conditional gifts Section 117(c)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1011f(c)(2) and, when available, the specific department, agency, office, or division of the foreign government responsible for the gift or contract (d) Applicability This section and the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 3. GAO study and report (a) Study The Comptroller General of the United States shall carry out a study on— (1) the extent to which institutions of higher education comply with— (A) the requirements of section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1011f (B) the regulations issued pursuant to such section; (2) in the case of institutions of higher education that fail to comply with such requirements, the reasons for the failure of such institutions of higher education to comply; (3) the extent to which institutions of higher education attempt to correct a failure to comply with such requirements; and (4) the Federal efforts to increase compliance with such requirements. (b) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report that includes the results of the study conducted under subsection (a).

Summary: Protecting Academic Integrity Act of 2019 This bill revises certain disclosure requirements for institutions of higher education (IHEs). Specifically, the bill requires an IHE to disclose to the Department of Education any gift from or contract with a foreign entity or individual valued at $50,000 or more. Currently, an IHE must make such a disclosure if the gift or contract is valued at $250,000 or more. An IHE must report, if available, the purpose of the gift or contract. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to study and report on IHEs' compliance with these disclosure requirements.