I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4596 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of 
higher education to establish record-management plans in order to be 
accredited or continue to be accredited, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 21, 2021 
Mr. CARTWRIGHT
(for himself, Mrs. AXNE, Ms. BONAMICI, and Mr. 
FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require 
institutions of higher education to establish record-man-
agement plans in order to be accredited or continue 
to be accredited, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Records Pro-
tection Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
16:46 Aug 04, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4596.IH
H4596
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. RECORD-MANAGEMENT PLANS REQUIRED. 
(a) ACCREDITING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 496(c) 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1099b(c)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(10) beginning on the date that is 5 years 
after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, 
requires an institution to submit for approval to the 
accrediting agency a records management plan upon 
the institution’s notifying the accrediting agency 
that the institution intends to cease operations. Such 
plan shall include— 
‘‘(A) a plan for the custody, continued ac-
cess, and disposition of student records, includ-
ing student transcripts, billing, and financial 
aid records; 
‘‘(B) a plan to provide to the Secretary, 
State authorizing agency, and such accrediting 
agency or association a list that includes the 
name and contact information of each student 
enrolled in such institution— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
16:46 Aug 04, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4596.IH
H4596
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(i) on the date such institution 
closed; 
‘‘(ii) on the date that is 120 days be-
fore the date described in clause (i); and 
‘‘(iii) on the date that is 180 days be-
fore the date described in clause (i); 
‘‘(C) an assurance from the institution 
that such institution— 
‘‘(i) will release all financial holds 
placed on student records; 
‘‘(ii) for the 1-year period beginning 
on the date of the closure of such institu-
tion, will not require any student or former 
student who requests the student records 
of such student to purchase such records 
or otherwise charge such student a fee 
with respect to such records; and 
‘‘(iii) after the 1-year period described 
in clause (ii), will either continue to not re-
quire the purchase of the records described 
in such subclause or charge a nominal fee 
with respect to such records, as determined 
by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(D) an estimate of the costs necessary to 
carry out the record-management plan and a 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
16:46 Aug 04, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4596.IH
H4596
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
plan for how such institution will provide fund-
ing for such costs.’’. 
(b) PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT.— 
(1) AMENDMENT.—Section 487(f)(1) of the 
Higher 
Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
1094(f)(1)) is amended by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ‘‘and to prepare and submit to the 
Secretary a record-management plan that includes 
the information required under subparagraphs (A) 
through (D) of section 496(c)(10).’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date that 
is 6 months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
16:46 Aug 04, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4596.IH
H4596
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS