I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1521 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to support innovative, evidence- 
based approaches that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of postsec-
ondary education for all students, to allow pay for success initiatives, 
to provide additional evaluation authority, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 2, 2021 
Ms. SHERRILL (for herself, Mr. KATKO, Mr. SIRES, 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 support 
innovative, evidence-based approaches that improve the 
effectiveness and efficiency of postsecondary education 
for all students, to allow pay for success initiatives, to 
provide additional evaluation authority, 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 ‘‘Fund for Innovation 
and Success in Higher Education Act’’ or the ‘‘FINISH 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. INNOVATION GRANTS. 
Part B of title VII of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1138 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating section 745 as section 746; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 744 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 745. INNOVATION GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are 
to— 
‘‘(1) increase access to, retention in, and com-
pletion of postsecondary education opportunities for 
high-need students; 
‘‘(2) address the adverse impacts on postsec-
ondary educational access and attainment for high- 
need students brought about as a result of the 
COVID–19 pandemic; 
‘‘(3) identify and support the most effective 
interventions to increase postsecondary degree at-
tainment and career success of high-need students, 
particularly 
those 
adversely 
impacted 
by 
the 
COVID–19 pandemic; and 
‘‘(4) improve the efficiency of postsecondary 
education, including by reducing the percentage of 
students enrolling in postsecondary remediation and 
increasing the effectiveness of postsecondary remedi-
ation. 
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‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means any of the following: 
‘‘(A) A State educational agency. 
‘‘(B) A public or private nonprofit institu-
tion of higher education. 
‘‘(C) The Bureau of Indian Education. 
‘‘(D) A consortium of any of the entities 
described in subparagraphs (A) through (C). 
‘‘(E) A partnership between a State edu-
cational agency or public or private nonprofit 
institution of higher education and one or more 
of the following: 
‘‘(i) A nonprofit organization. 
‘‘(ii) An intermediary organization. 
‘‘(iii) A business. 
‘‘(iv) A sponsor of a program receiv-
ing assistance under the National and 
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 
U.S.C. 12501 et seq.). 
‘‘(v) A local educational agency. 
‘‘(2) FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT.— 
The term ‘first generation college student’ means— 
‘‘(A) an individual both of whose parents 
did not complete a baccalaureate degree; or 
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‘‘(B) in the case of any individual who reg-
ularly resided with and received support from 
only one parent, an individual whose only such 
parent did not complete a baccalaureate degree. 
‘‘(3) HIGH-NEED STUDENT.—The term ‘high- 
need student’— 
‘‘(A) means a postsecondary student who 
is at risk of educational failure or otherwise in 
need of special assistance and support; and 
‘‘(B) may include an adult learner, work-
ing student, part-time student, student from a 
low-income 
background, 
student 
of 
color, 
former foster youth, first generation college stu-
dent, student with a disability, student who is 
deaf or blind or visually impaired, or student 
who is an English learner. 
‘‘(4) INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATION.—The term 
‘intermediary organization’ means an entity— 
‘‘(A) with strong skills and a track record 
of success in— 
‘‘(i) identifying effective interventions 
to address State, regional, or local prob-
lems; 
‘‘(ii) managing high-quality subgrant 
processes; and 
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‘‘(iii) providing technical assistance 
and support to subgrantees to ensure qual-
ity and improve outcomes; and 
‘‘(B) that utilizes an evidence-based deci-
sionmaking strategy when selecting high-per-
forming entities, on a competitive basis, to re-
ceive subgrants in order to validate and grow 
effective interventions. 
‘‘(c) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail-
able to carry out this section, the Secretary shall 
award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible enti-
ties to enable the eligible entities to create, develop, 
implement, replicate, or scale evidence-based and 
field-initiated innovations, including through pay for 
success initiatives (as defined in section 124(a)), in 
order to improve postsecondary access and comple-
tion or career success for high-need students. 
‘‘(2) GRANTS.—The grants awarded under this 
section shall implement and evaluate programs, 
interventions, and strategies that address the pur-
poses described under subsection (a) and, to the ex-
tent practicable based on the strength of the applica-
tions, include— 
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under a mid-phase grant described in subpara-
graph (B) or another effort meeting similar cri-
teria, for the purposes of— 
‘‘(i) determining whether such impacts 
can be successfully reproduced and sus-
tained over time; and 
‘‘(ii) identifying the conditions in 
which the practice, program, or initiative is 
most effective. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 
grant under this section shall submit to the Sec-
retary an application at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 
under paragraph (1) shall include— 
‘‘(A) a description of the high-need stu-
dents that the eligible entity is proposing to 
serve through the grant; and 
‘‘(B) a description of the outcome meas-
ures, including explicit outcome measures for 
high-need students, that the eligible entity will 
use, in addition to the outcome measures de-
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scribed in subsection (f)(2)(A), to evaluate the 
success of the grant. 
‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 
that— 
‘‘(1) propose to serve the largest number of 
high-need students; or 
‘‘(2) serve a high proportion of students from 
one or more school districts with a school district lo-
cale code of 31, 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined 
by the Secretary using the school district locale 
codes in effect on December 1, 2021. 
‘‘(f) EVALUATIONS.—Each recipient of a grant under 
this section shall conduct, and submit to the Secretary, 
a rigorous, independent evaluation of— 
‘‘(1) the effectiveness of the practice, program, 
or intervention carried out under such grant; 
‘‘(2) the outcomes achieved by such grant, 
which shall include— 
‘‘(A) the numbers and percentages, in the 
aggregate and disaggregated by each subgroup 
of students (as defined in section 1111(c)(2) of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(c)(2))), of— 
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‘‘(i) students supported by the grant 
entering, persisting, and completing post-
secondary education; 
‘‘(ii) such students enrolling in reme-
dial coursework at the institution; 
‘‘(iii) such students enrolling and 
completing such remedial coursework; and 
‘‘(iv) such students enrolling in and 
completing such remedial coursework and 
successfully completing first-year credit- 
bearing coursework within 16 months of 
enrollment in an institution of higher edu-
cation; and 
‘‘(B) the recipient’s performance on any 
other outcome measures described in the appli-
cation in accordance with subsection (d)(2)(B); 
and 
‘‘(3) the activities carried out under such grant. 
‘‘(g) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of the Fund for Innova-
tion and Success in Higher Education Act, and 
every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare 
and submit to the authorizing committees a report 
on the grants carried out under this section. 
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‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report issued under 
this subsection shall— 
‘‘(A) include— 
‘‘(i) information from the outcomes 
reported in the evaluations submitted 
under subsection (f) for the reporting pe-
riod about the success of the grants sup-
ported under this section; and 
‘‘(ii) the number of high-need stu-
dents served through the grants under this 
section during the reporting period; 
‘‘(B) disaggregate all data on student out-
comes related to the grants by, at a minimum, 
race and income, and, to the extent practicable, 
any other relevant student characteristic, as de-
termined by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(C) consider— 
‘‘(i) how the tiered-evidence grant 
structure described in subsection (c)(2) can 
be applied to other grant programs author-
ized under this Act, in order to strengthen 
those programs; and 
‘‘(ii) how the evidence generated by 
the projects, programs, and interventions 
supported by grants under this section can 
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inform how to carry out other grants au-
thorized under this Act. 
‘‘(3) PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 
shall make each report issued under this subsection 
available to the public through the website of the 
Department.’’. 
SEC. 3. OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES. 
Section 741(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1138(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
the semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(14) making all forms of postsecondary in-
structional content widely available, which may in-
clude the use of open educational resources (defined, 
for purpose of this paragraph, as teaching, learning, 
or research resources that reside in the public do-
main or have been released under a copyright license 
that permits their free use, reuse, modification, and 
sharing with others).’’. 
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SEC. 4. PAY FOR SUCCESS INITIATIVES. 
Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 124. PAY FOR SUCCESS INITIATIVES. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means a partnership between— 
‘‘(A) a private entity (which may include a 
private nonprofit entity); and 
‘‘(B) an institution of higher education, a 
Federal, State, or local public entity, or a Trib-
al entity. 
‘‘(2) PAY FOR SUCCESS INITIATIVE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘pay for 
success initiative’ means a performance-based 
grant, contract, or other agreement— 
‘‘(i) between an eligible entity and the 
Secretary or a grant recipient, as author-
ized under subsection (b)(1); 
‘‘(ii) in which— 
‘‘(I) a commitment is made to 
pay the eligible entity for improved 
outcomes, including measureable im-
provement in the lives of service re-
cipients or meaningful output meas-
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‘‘(II) a rigorous, third-party eval-
uation that uses experimental or 
quasi-experimental design or other re-
search methodologies that allow for 
the strongest possible causal infer-
ences to determine whether the initia-
tive has met its expected outcomes; or 
a third-party, scientifically valid as-
sessment or analysis of administrative 
data that verifies measurable improve-
ments in the lives of service recipients 
or is correlated with improved long- 
term positive outcomes, with safe-
guards using available data to ensure 
that any apparent improvements are 
not the result of statistical differences 
in the service recipients compared 
with the target population at large; 
‘‘(III) an annual, publicly avail-
able report on the progress of the ini-
tiative; and 
‘‘(IV) that payments be made to 
the recipient of the grant, contract, or 
agreement only when agreed-upon 
outcomes are achieved, except as pro-
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vided under paragraph (2) or (3) of 
subsection (b). 
‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘pay for suc-
cess initiative’ does not include any initiative 
that— 
‘‘(i) reduces the benefits to a student 
or the obligations of an entity under this 
Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
U.S.C. 701 et seq.), the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 
et seq.), the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), or 
any other law; or 
‘‘(ii) reduces services that an indi-
vidual is entitled to receive under Federal, 
State, or local law. 
‘‘(b) PAY FOR SUCCESS INITIATIVE AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this Act and except as provided under 
subsection (c)— 
‘‘(A) any recipient of a grant under this 
Act may request to use grant funds to carry out 
a pay for success initiative that accomplishes 
the objectives of the grant and meets all re-
quirements of the grant (except to the extent a 
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requirement is specifically modified by the pay 
for success initiative), if such use is proposed in 
the application or plan submitted for such 
grant; and 
‘‘(B) the Secretary may approve not more 
than 5 pilot demonstrations each fiscal year 
from the grant applications or plans that con-
tain a request to carry out a pay for success 
initiative. 
‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS FOR REVIEWS OR FEASI-
BILITY STUDIES AND RIGOROUS THIRD-PARTY EVAL-
UATION.—If the Secretary, or a grant recipient, is 
authorized to carry out a pay for success initiative 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary or grant recipi-
ent may use funds available for the pay for success 
initiative— 
‘‘(A) to conduct the review or feasibility 
study required under subsection (a)(2)(A)(iii)(I) 
or the rigorous third-party evaluation required 
under subsection (a)(2)(A)(iii)(II); or 
‘‘(B) to provide funds to the entity car-
rying out the pay for success initiative for the 
costs of the initial costs associated with starting 
the initiative. 
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‘‘(3) USE
OF
REMAINING
FUNDS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, if the Secretary 
or a grant recipient is carrying out a pay for success 
initiative under paragraph (1) and the pay for suc-
cess initiative has met or exceeded its proposed out-
comes, the Secretary or grant recipient may use any 
funds remaining at the conclusion of the pay for 
success initiative to enter into an additional agree-
ment, through a competitive process, with an eligible 
entity to expand capacity under the pay for success 
initiative or to carry out additional pilot demonstra-
tions of pay for success initiatives. 
‘‘(c) STUDENT PROTECTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) NO NEGATIVE IMPACT ON STUDENT AID.— 
A pay for success initiative shall not be supported 
with funds under this Act if the pay for success ini-
tiative would adversely affect the funding of, or stu-
dent access to, individual student aid awards made 
under section 401 or any other program supported 
under this Act. 
‘‘(2) NONINCLUSION
IN
DETERMINATION
OF 
NEED.—A grant or aid provided directly to a stu-
dent under a pay for success initiative supported 
with funds under this Act shall not be considered in 
determining that student’s need for grant, loan, or 
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work assistance under title IV of this Act, except 
that in no case shall the total amount of student fi-
nancial assistance awarded to a student through a 
pay for success initiative and under title IV exceed 
that student’s cost of attendance, as defined in sec-
tion 472. 
‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY
OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of this Act, any funds made available 
for a fiscal year to an entity for a pay for success initiative 
authorized under this section shall remain available until 
expended.’’. 
SEC. 5. EVALUATION. 
Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.), as amended by section 4, is fur-
ther amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 125. EVALUATION AUTHORITY. 
‘‘(a) EVALUATION RESERVATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation 
with the Director of the Institute of Education 
Sciences, may, for each fiscal year, reserve not more 
than 1 percent of the amount appropriated for each 
discretionary grant program authorized under this 
Act (except for the Federal Pell Grant program 
under section 401) in order to rigorously and inde-
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pendently evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of 
the outcomes of all programs authorized under this 
Act. 
‘‘(2) EFFECT ON OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The 
amount reserved under paragraph (1) shall be in ad-
dition to any other amounts reserved for evaluation 
under this Act. 
‘‘(b) EVALUATION PLAN.—On a biennial basis, the 
Director of the Institute of Education Sciences shall de-
velop, submit to the authorizing committees, and make 
publicly available on the website of the Department, an 
evaluation plan for the next 2 fiscal years that— 
‘‘(1) describes the specific activities that will be 
carried out under subsection (a) for the 2-year pe-
riod applicable to the plan, and the timelines of such 
activities; 
‘‘(2) contains the results of the activities car-
ried out under subsection (a) for the most recent 2- 
year period; and 
‘‘(3) describes how programs authorized under 
this Act will be regularly evaluated, including the 
outcome measures to be used to evaluate each pro-
gram. 
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‘‘(c) POOLING AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation 
with the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences— 
‘‘(1) may consolidate the funds reserved under 
subsection (a) for purposes of carrying out the ac-
tivities described in subsection (b); and 
‘‘(2) shall not be required to evaluate each pro-
gram authorized under this Act each year. 
‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to conflict with or supercede any 
other evaluation requirement for a specific program or ac-
tivity authorized under this Act.’’. 
Æ 
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