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(2) make specific recommendations to the Con-
gress and State superintendents of education on new 
approaches to increase— 
(A) the number of minority males success-
fully preparing themselves for college study; 
(B) the number of minority males grad-
uating from high school and entering college; 
and 
(C) the number of minority males grad-
uating from college and entering careers in 
which they are underrepresented. 
(b) SUBMISSION OF THE REPORT.—Not later than 
4 years after the date of enactment of this section, the 
Secretary shall submit a report on the study required by 
subsection (a)(1), together with the recommendations re-
quired by subsection (a)(2), to the authorizing committees 
(as such term is defined in section 103 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)). 
SEC. 807. STUDY ON BIAS IN STANDARDIZED TESTS. 
(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall conduct 
a study to identify any race, ethnicity, and gender biases 
present in the design of standardized tests that are used 
for admission to institutions of higher education. 
(b) DATA AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.—Any data 
collected and used for the study under subsection (a) shall
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be made publicly available, except that such data shall not 
be made available in any manner that reveals personally 
identifiable information relating to any individual. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
issue an interim report to the authorizing committees (as 
defined in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)) related to the progress of the 
study under subsection (a). 
SEC. 808. FEASIBILITY STUDY ON STUDENT LOANS. 
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Congressional Budget 
Office shall conduct a study on the feasibility of allowing 
borrowers in repayment of student loans made under the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 the option of selecting or 
renegotiating a fixed or variable interest rate on their 
loans and the repayment period of such loans. The study 
shall evaluate various scenarios and options and take into 
consideration the costs to the government, lenders and 
borrowers of allowing such an option as well as the impact 
on service quality. 
(b) REPORT.—The Congressional Budget Office shall 
submit a report on the study required by this section to 
the authorizing committees (as defined in section 103 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)) not
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later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 809. ENDOWMENT REPORT. 
(a) ANALYSIS OF ENDOWMENTS.—The Secretary of 
Education shall conduct a study on the amounts, uses, and 
public purposes of the endowments of institutions of high-
er education. The study shall include information 
(disaggregated by types of institution) describing— 
(1) the average and range of— 
(A) the outstanding balance of such en-
dowments; 
(B) the growth of such endowments over 
the last 20 years; and 
(C) the percentage of spending on an an-
nual basis and, to the extent practicable, the 
uses of such endowments by the institutions; 
and 
(2) the extent to which the funds in such en-
dowments are restricted, and the restrictions placed 
upon such funds. 
(b) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—The Secretary shall 
submit the report required by subsection (a) to the author-
izing committees (as such term is defined in section 103 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003))
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not later than one year after the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 810. STUDY OF CORRECTIONAL POSTSECONDARY 
EDUCATION. 
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Education 
shall— 
(1) conduct a longitudinal study to assess the 
effects of correctional postsecondary education 
that— 
(A) employs rigorous empirical methods 
that control for self-selection bias; 
(B) measures a range of outcomes, includ-
ing those related to employment and earnings, 
recidivism, engaged citizenship, impact on fami-
lies of the incarcerated, and impact on the cul-
ture of the correctional institution; 
(C) examines different delivery systems of 
postsecondary education, such as on-site and 
distance learning; and 
(D) includes a projected cost-benefit anal-
ysis of the Federal investment in terms of re-
duction of future offending, reduction of future 
prison costs (construction and operational), in-
creased tax payments by formerly incarcerated 
individuals, a reduction of welfare and other so-
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•HR 4137 EH2S 
cial service costs for successful formerly incar-
cerated individuals, and increased costs from 
the employment of formerly incarcerated indi-
viduals; and 
(2) make specific recommendations to the Con-
gress and the relevant State agencies responsible for 
correctional education, such as the State super-
intendents of education and State secretaries of cor-
rections, on best approaches to increase correctional 
education and its effectiveness. 
(b) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—Not later than 3 
years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall submit an interim report on the progress of 
the study required by subsection (a)(1) to the authorizing 
committees (as defined in section 103 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)). Not later than 7 
years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall submit a final report, together with the rec-
ommendations required by subsection (a)(3), to the au-
thorizing committees. 
SEC. 811. NATIONAL UNDERGRADUATE FELLOWS PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is au-
thorized to provide grants, on a competitive basis, to insti-
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tutions of higher education (as defined in section 102) to 
support a National Undergraduate Fellows program. 
(b) PURPOSE OF GRANTS.—Grants under this section 
shall be provided to enable administrators (including stu-
dent affairs administrators)— 
(1) to improve postsecondary degree completion 
rates of current underrepresented students through 
mentoring, a leadership institute, an internship, and 
funding to attend regional and national higher edu-
cation administration conferences; 
(2) to increase the retention and success rates 
of not only current students, but future generations 
of underrepresented college students, by encouraging 
them to pursue a career in higher education or stu-
dent affairs; and 
(3) to increase the quality and number of 
underrepresented higher education and student af-
fairs administrators able to provide much needed 
student support services to students. 
(c) USES OF FUNDS.—Grantees under this section 
may use the funds to provide— 
(1) staffing support for the program, which 
may include a higher education administrator as a 
mentor;
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(2) summer internship opportunities focusing 
on higher education administration, at an institution 
other than their own; 
(3) a summer leadership institute participation 
opportunity for self reflection, leadership skill build-
ing, graduate school preparation, and career develop-
ment; and 
(4) as needed, support to attend regional and 
national higher education conferences for additional 
leadership and professional development. 
(d) ON-GOING SUPPORT FOR THE FELLOWS PRO-
GRAM.—From the funds appropriated in section 800 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965, the Secretary shall 
award a grant, on a competitive basis, to a national orga-
nization to enable such organization to support the estab-
lishment and ongoing work of the program under this sec-
tion. 
SEC. 812. NATIONAL CENTER FOR LEARNING SCIENCE AND 
TECHNOLOGY TRUST FUND. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a non-
profit corporation to be known as the National Center for 
Learning Science and Technology (referred to in this Act 
as the ‘‘Center’’) which shall not be an agency or estab-
lishment of the United States Government. The Center 
shall be subject to the provisions of this section, and, to
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the extent consistent with this section, to the District of 
Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act (D.C. Code, sec. 29– 
501 et seq.). 
(b) FUNDING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 
Treasury a separate fund to be known as the Na-
tional Center for Learning Science and Technology 
Trust Fund (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Trust 
Fund’’). The Trust Fund shall contain such 
amounts as are credited to the Trust Fund under 
paragraph (2) and other funds obtained under para-
graph (3). 
(2) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Trust Fund such sums as may be necessary for the 
fiscal years 2008 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 
years. 
(3) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—The Trust Fund is 
authorized— 
(A) to accept funds from any Federal 
agency or entity; 
(B) to accept, hold, administer, invest, and 
spend any gift, devise, or bequest of real or per-
sonal property made to the Center; and
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(C) to enter into contracts with individ-
uals, public or private organizations, profes-
sional societies, and government agencies for 
the purpose of carrying out the functions of the 
Center. 
(c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS; FUNCTIONS, AND DU-
TIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A board of directors of the 
Center (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Board’’) shall 
be established to oversee the administration of the 
Center. The initial Board shall consist of 9 members 
to be appointed by the Secretary of Education from 
a list of recommendations received from the House 
of Representatives and the Senate, who— 
(A) reflect representation from the public 
and private sectors; and 
(B) shall provide, as nearly as practicable, 
a broad representation of various regions of the 
United States, various professions and occupa-
tions, and various kinds of talent and experi-
ence appropriate to the functions and respon-
sibilities of the Center. 
(2) 
ORGANIZATION
AND
OPERATION.—The 
board shall incorporate and operate the center in ac-
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cordance with the laws governing tax exempt organi-
zations in the District of Columbia. 
(d) TRUST FUND USES.— 
(1) USES OF FUNDS.—To achieve the objectives 
of this Act, the Director of the Center, after con-
sultation with the Board, shall use Trust funds to 
support research that is in the public interest but 
that is unlikely to be undertaken entirely with pri-
vate funds— 
(A) to support precompetitive and applied 
research development and demonstrations, and 
assessments of prototypes of innovative digital 
learning and information technologies as well as 
the components and tools needed to create 
them; 
(B) to support the pilot testing and evalua-
tion of these prototype systems; 
(C) to encourage the widespread adoption 
and use of effective, innovative digital ap-
proaches to learning supported by this Act; and 
(D) to support innovative digital media 
education programs for parents, teachers, and 
children to help children in the United States 
learn digital safety and build technology lit-
eracy.
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(2) CONTRACTS AND GRANTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to carry out 
the activities described in paragraph (1), the 
Director of the Center, with the agreement of 
a majority of the members of the Board, may 
award contracts and grants to colleges and uni-
versities, museums, libraries, public broad-
casting entities and similar nonprofit organiza-
tions and public institutions with or without 
for-profit partners, and to for-profit organiza-
tions. 
(B) PUBLIC DOMAIN.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The research and 
development properties and materials asso-
ciated with a project in which a majority 
of the funding used to carry out the 
project is from a grant or contract under 
this Act shall be freely and nonexclusively 
available to the general public in a timely 
manner. 
(ii) EXEMPTION.—The Director of the 
Center may exempt specific projects from 
the requirement of clause (i) if the Direc-
tor of the Center and a majority of the 
members of the Board determine that the
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general public will benefit significantly due 
to the project not being freely and non-
exclusively available to the general public 
in a timely manner. 
(C) PEER REVIEW.—To the extent prac-
ticable, proposals for grants or contracts shall 
be evaluated on the basis of comparative merit 
by panels of experts who represent diverse in-
terests and perspectives, and who are appointed 
by the Director of the Center from rec-
ommendations from the fields served and from 
the Board of Directors. 
(e) ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING.— 
(1) REPORT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 30 
of each year, the Director of the Center shall 
prepare a report for the preceding fiscal year 
that contains the information described in sub-
paragraph (B). 
(B) CONTENTS.—A report under subpara-
graph (A) shall include— 
(i) a comprehensive and detailed re-
port of the Center’s operations, activities, 
financial condition, and accomplishments,
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section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)). 
(2) TESTIMONY.—The Director and principal 
officers of the Center shall testify before the appro-
priate committees of Congress, upon request of such 
committees, with respect to— 
(A) a report prepared under paragraph 
(1)(A); and 
(B) any other matter that such committees 
may determine appropriate. 
(f) USE OF FUNDS SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATIONS.— 
The authority to award grants, enter into contracts, or 
otherwise to expend funds under this section is subject to 
the availability of amounts deposited into the Trust Fund 
under subsection (b)(3)(A) or (B), or amounts otherwise 
appropriated for such purposes by an Act of Congress. 
SEC. 813. GAO STUDY OF EDUCATION RELATED INDEBTED-
NESS OF MEDICAL SCHOOL GRADUATES. 
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General 
shall conduct a study to evaluate the higher education re-
lated indebtedness of medical school graduates in the 
United States at the time of graduation. 
(b) DEADLINE.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
submit a report on the study required by subsection (a)
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to the authorizing Committees (as such term is defined 
in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965), and 
shall make the report widely available to the public. Addi-
tional reports may be periodically prepared and released 
as necessary. 
SEC. 814. STUDY ON REGIONAL SENSITIVITY IN THE NEEDS 
ANALYSIS FORMULA. 
(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall conduct 
a study to review the methodology that is used to deter-
mine the expected family contribution under part F of title 
IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 
(b) STUDY COMPONENTS.—The study conducted 
under subsection (a) shall identify and evaluate the need 
analysis formula under part F of title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 and examine the need for regional 
sensitivity in need analysis. The study shall include— 
(1) the factors that are used to determine a 
student’s expected family contribution under part F 
of title IV of the Higher Education Act; 
(2) the varying allowances that are made in cal-
culating the expected family contribution; 
(3) the effects of the income protection allow-
ance on all aid recipients; and
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(4) options for modifying the income protection 
allowance to reflect the significant differences in the 
cost of living in various parts of the United States. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, Comptroller General shall report 
to the authorizing committees (as such term is defined in 
section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1003)) on the results of the study conducted under 
this section. 
SEC. 815. DYSLEXIA STUDY. 
(a) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—The Secretary of 
Education shall enter into an agreement with the Center 
for Education of the National Academy of Sciences for 
a scientifically based study of the quality of teacher edu-
cation programs, to determine if teachers are adequately 
prepared to meet the needs of students with reading and 
language processing challenges, including dyslexia. Such 
study shall— 
(1) establish the prevalence of dyslexia and 
other processing difficulties in the general popu-
lation by conducting a review of existing research 
and available relevant data; and 
(2) conduct a survey of institutions of higher 
education to provide data on the extent to which 
teacher education programs are based on the essen-
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tial components of reading instruction and scientif-
ically valid research. 
(b) COMPONENTS.—The study conducted under sub-
section (a) shall be designed to provide statistically reliable 
information on— 
(1) the number, type of courses, and credit 
hours required to meet the requirements of the read-
ing degree programs; and 
(2) the extent to which the content of the read-
ing degree programs are based on— 
(A) the essentials of reading instruction 
and scientifically valid research, including pho-
nemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, 
and comprehension; and 
(B) early intervention strategies based on 
scientific evidence concerning challenges to the 
development of language processing capacity, 
specifically dyslexia, and the extent to which 
such strategies are effective in preventing read-
ing failure before it occurs. 
(c) SCOPE.—The National Academy of Sciences shall 
select for participation in the evaluation under subsection 
(a) a diverse group of institutions of higher education with 
respect to size, mission, and geographic distribution.
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(d) INTERIM AND FINAL REPORTS.—The National 
Academy of Sciences shall submit to the Secretary of Edu-
cation, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and 
Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on Education 
and Labor of the House of Representatives— 
(1) an interim report regarding the study under 
subsection (a) not later than 9 months after the 
award of the contract to the Center for Education, 
as specified in this Act; and 
(2) a final report summarizing the findings, 
conclusions, and recommendations of such study not 
later than 18 months after the award of such con-
tract. 
(e) TASK FORCE.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Upon completion of the 
final report under subsection (d)(2), the Secretary of 
Education shall assemble a task force to make policy 
recommendations regarding the findings of the re-
port to the Secretary. 
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the 
task force under this subsection shall include chief 
State school officers, State reading consultants, a 
panel of master teachers, national reading experts, 
and researchers with expertise in the relevant fields.
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(3) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—The task force under 
this subsection shall hold public hearings to provide 
an opportunity for public comment on the results of 
the findings of the task force. 
SEC. 816. STUDY AND REPORT ON BORROWER REPAYMENT 
PLANS. 
(a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Education shall con-
duct a study— 
(1) on the impact of the standard 10-year stu-
dent loan repayment term on the ability of under-
graduate borrowers in low-income areas, including 
Puerto Rico, to repay their loans made under title 
IV, part B, of the Higher Education Act of 1965; 
and 
(2) to examine the extent to which longer pay-
ment terms would assist borrowers in such low-in-
come areas in reducing their monthly loan payments. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this title, the Secretary shall submit a re-
port to Congress on the results of the study required by 
this section. 
SEC. 817. NURSING SCHOOL CAPACITY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Researchers in the field of public health 
have identified the need for a national study to iden-
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(1) an assessment of the challenges to recruit-
ing and retaining well-qualified public servants, in-
cluding the impact of student loan debt; 
(2) an evaluation of existing Federal programs 
to recruit and retain well-qualified public servants; 
(3) an evaluation of whether additional Federal 
programs could increase the number of graduates of 
postsecondary and graduate education programs who 
enter careers in public service; and 
(4) recommendations related to any potential 
pilot programs, including an academy for public 
service, that could be used to encourage new grad-
uates of postsecondary and graduate education pro-
grams to enter public service careers. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, 
in consultation with the Office of Management and Budg-
et, shall submit to Congress a report related to the find-
ings of the study conducted under subsection (a). 
SEC. 819. FEDERAL REGULATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION 
REPORT. 
(a) ANALYSIS OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS ON INSTI-
TUTIONS
OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The Secretary of 
Education shall contract with the National Research 
Council of the National Academies to conduct a study to