ducing each institution’s award amount for 
such fiscal year. 
‘‘(2) WAIVERS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), if the percentage of students eligible 
to receive a Federal Pell Grant who are enrolled 
at an eligible institution that receives a grant 
under this section decreases to less than 35 per-
cent after the first year of the grant award, 
such institution may apply to the Secretary for 
a waiver of the requirement that an institution 
to be eligible to receive a grant under this sec-
tion have not less than 35 percent of the stu-
dents enrolled at the institution eligible to re-
ceive a Federal Pell Grant. 
‘‘(B) RESTRICTIONS
ON
WAIVER.—The 
Secretary shall grant a waiver under subpara-
graph (A)— 
‘‘(i) only if the decrease in percentage 
is— 
‘‘(I) small relative to the size of 
the student body; or 
‘‘(II) the result of unexpected or 
uncontrollable circumstances; and 
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‘‘(ii) not more than 2 times during the 
5-year grant period. 
‘‘(e) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution that 
receives a grant under this section shall use the 
grant funds as follows: 
‘‘(A) 95 percent of the grant funds shall 
be— 
‘‘(i) used to cover the unmet need for 
financial assistance to attend the institu-
tion of students who have not yet earned 
a bachelor’s degree; and 
‘‘(ii) disbursed according to financial 
need. 
‘‘(B) 5 percent of the grant funds shall be 
used for the following activities: 
‘‘(i) Increasing capacity through con-
struction or renovation of facilities. 
‘‘(ii) Hiring faculty. 
‘‘(iii) Student support services. 
‘‘(iv) Other activities to increase en-
rollment of low-income and underserved 
students, improve student outcomes, and 
provide information to prospective students 
and families, and other activities as ap-
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proved by the Secretary to improve access, 
affordability, or quality of the education 
provided by the institution. 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.—An eli-
gible institution that receives a grant under this sec-
tion may not use grant funds for endowments or the 
construction of athletic or commercial venues. 
‘‘(f) ANNUAL UPDATE.—An eligible institution that 
receives a grant under this section shall submit to the Sec-
retary an annual update— 
‘‘(1) with any changes to the institution’s ex-
penditures on student instruction and academic sup-
port; and 
‘‘(2) on how the institution is fulfilling the 
terms of the grant. 
‘‘(g) TERMS OF THE GRANT.— 
‘‘(1) GRANTEE COMMITMENT.—An eligible in-
stitution that receives a grant under this section 
shall carry out the following: 
‘‘(A) Cap tuition and fees at the institution 
at the level as of the date of enactment of the 
Debt-Free College Act of 2021, with a yearly 
increase allowed based on the Consumer Price 
Index (as determined by the Secretary). 
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‘‘(B) Maintain expenditures on instruction 
and academic support at the institution at a 
level that is not less than the average of such 
expenditures at the institution over the period 
of 3 years preceding the date of enactment of 
the Debt-Free College Act of 2021. 
‘‘(C) Maintain the enrollment of low-in-
come students, as defined by the Secretary, at 
the institution at a level that is not less than 
the level of such enrollment as of the date of 
enactment of the Debt-Free College Act of 
2021. 
‘‘(D) Maintain institutional aid at a level 
that is not less than the average of such aid 
over the period of 3 years preceding the date of 
enactment of the Debt-Free College Act of 
2021. 
‘‘(E) Submit to the Secretary for approval 
the institution’s calculation of the cost of at-
tendance at such institution. 
‘‘(F) Clearly communicate to prospective 
students and their families the following: 
‘‘(i) How students can attend the in-
stitution without debt. 
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‘‘(ii) That a debt-free college edu-
cation provided pursuant to this section is 
conditioned upon institutional eligibility 
and participation under this section and 
may not apply for each year that the stu-
dent is enrolled at the institution. 
‘‘(2) BREACH OF TERMS OF GRANT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an eligible institu-
tion that receives a grant under this section 
breaches a term of the grant, the Partnership 
Office created under section 499A–4(a) shall 
notify the institution and provide the institution 
with an opportunity to correct the record or 
cure the breach not later than 30 days after the 
date of the notification. 
‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATION.—The Partner-
ship Office created under section 499A–4(a) 
shall, after considering the eligible institution’s 
response to a notification under subparagraph 
(A) or lack of response, make a recommenda-
tion to the Secretary that the Secretary— 
‘‘(i) take no action with respect to the 
eligible institution; 
‘‘(ii) place the eligible institution on 
probation; or 
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‘‘(iii) revoke the eligible institution’s 
eligibility for the grant program under this 
section. 
‘‘(C) PROBATION.—An eligible institution 
that is placed on probation by the Secretary 
shall develop a plan to remedy the breach of the 
term of the grant. If the eligible institution does 
not remedy the breach, the Secretary may levy 
a fine against the institution of an amount not 
to exceed 1 percent of the annual grant 
amount. 
‘‘(D) INELIGIBILITY.—If an eligible insti-
tution’s eligibility for the grant program under 
this section has been revoked by the Secretary, 
such institution shall— 
‘‘(i) place into escrow any unexpended 
grant 
funds 
described 
in 
subsection 
(e)(1)(A) to be disbursed directly to stu-
dents enrolled at the institution; 
‘‘(ii) return to the Secretary any un-
expended funds described in subsection 
(e)(1)(B); 
‘‘(iii) remain ineligible to receive a 
grant under this section during the 3-year 
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period after the date eligibility was re-
voked; and 
‘‘(iv) notify prospective and enrolled 
students at the institution and their fami-
lies of such ineligibility for participation in 
the grant program under this section. 
‘‘(h) WITHDRAWAL.—An eligible institution that re-
ceives a grant under this section that intends to withdraw 
from the grant program under this section shall— 
‘‘(1) notify the Partnership Office created 
under section 499A–4(a) not less than 60 days prior 
to the withdrawal; 
‘‘(2) place into escrow any unexpended grant 
funds to be disbursed directly to students enrolled at 
the institution; and 
‘‘(3) notify prospective and enrolled students at 
the institution and their families of such withdrawal. 
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section— 
‘‘(A) $3,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 
and 
‘‘(B) such sums as may be necessary for 
each fiscal years 2022 through 2031. 
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‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Funds made available 
under paragraph (1) shall be available for obligation 
through September 30 of the fiscal year succeeding 
the fiscal year for which such sums were appro-
priated.’’. 
SEC. 4. TITLE IV ELIGIBILITY FOR DREAMER STUDENTS. 
Section 484 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1091) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(5), by inserting ‘‘, or be a 
Dreamer student, as defined in subsection (u)’’ after 
‘‘becoming a citizen or permanent resident’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(u) DREAMER STUDENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 
‘Dreamer student’ means an individual who— 
‘‘(A) was younger than 16 years of age on 
the date on which the individual initially en-
tered the United States; 
‘‘(B) has provided a list of each secondary 
school that the student attended in the United 
States; and 
‘‘(C)(i) has earned a high school diploma, 
the recognized equivalent of such diploma from 
a secondary school, or a high school equivalency 
diploma in the United States or is scheduled to 
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complete the requirements for such a diploma 
or equivalent before the next academic year be-
gins; 
‘‘(ii) has acquired a degree from an institu-
tion of higher education or has completed not 
less than 2 years in a program for a bacca-
laureate degree or higher degree at an institu-
tion of higher education in the United States 
and has made satisfactory academic progress, 
as defined in subsection (c), during such time 
period; 
‘‘(iii) at any time was eligible for a grant 
of deferred action under— 
‘‘(I) the June 15, 2012, memorandum 
from the Secretary of Homeland Security 
entitled ‘Exercising Prosecutorial Discre-
tion with Respect to Individuals Who 
Came to the United States as Children’; or 
‘‘(II) the November 20, 2014, memo-
randum from the Secretary of Homeland 
Security entitled ‘Exercising Prosecutorial 
Discretion with Respect to Individuals 
Who Came to the United States as Chil-
dren and with Respect to Certain Individ-
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uals Who Are the Parents of U.S. Citizens 
or Permanent Residents’; or 
‘‘(iv) has served in the uniformed services, 
as defined in section 101 of title 10, United 
States Code, for not less than 4 years and, if 
discharged, received an honorable discharge. 
‘‘(2) HARDSHIP
EXCEPTION.—The Secretary 
shall issue regulations that direct when the Depart-
ment shall waive the requirement of subparagraph 
(A) or (B), or both, of paragraph (1) for an indi-
vidual to qualify as a Dreamer student under such 
paragraph, if the individual— 
‘‘(A) 
demonstrates 
compelling 
circum-
stances for the inability to satisfy the require-
ment of such subparagraph (A) or (B), or both; 
and 
‘‘(B) satisfies the requirement of para-
graph (1)(C).’’. 
Æ 
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