I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5988 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize grant programs 
to enhance the access of low-income Black students to higher education. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 28, 2006 
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself, Mr. OWENS, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and 
Mr. PAYNE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize 
grant programs to enhance the access of low-income 
Black students to higher education. 
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 ‘‘Predominantly Black 
Institution Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. PREDOMINANTLY BLACK INSTITUTIONS. 
Part A of title III of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
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after section 317 (20 U.S.C. 1059d) the following new sec-
tion: 
‘‘SEC. 318. PREDOMINANTLY BLACK INSTITUTIONS. 
‘‘(a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 
‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 
‘‘(A) although Black Americans have made 
significant progress in closing the ‘gap’ between 
Black and White enrollment in higher edu-
cation— 
‘‘(i) Black Americans continue to trail 
Whites in the percentage of the college-age 
cohort who enroll and graduate from col-
lege; 
‘‘(ii) the college participation rate of 
Whites was 46 percent from 2000–2002, 
while that for Blacks was only 39 percent; 
and 
‘‘(iii) the gap between White and 
Black baccalaureate degree attainment 
rates also remains high, continuing to ex-
ceed 10 percent; 
‘‘(B) a growing number of Black American 
students are participating in higher education 
and are enrolled at a growing number of urban 
and rural Predominantly Black Institutions 
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that have included in their mission the provi-
sion of academic training and education for 
both traditional and non-traditional minority 
students; 
‘‘(C) the overwhelming majority of stu-
dents attending Predominantly Black Institu-
tions come from low- and middle-income fami-
lies and qualify for participation in the Federal 
student assistance programs or other need- 
based Federal programs; and recent data from 
the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study 
indicate that 47 percent of Pell grant recipients 
were Black compared to only 21 percent of 
Whites; 
‘‘(D) many of these students are also ‘first 
generation’ college students who lack the appro-
priate academic preparation for success in col-
lege and whose parents lack the ordinary knowl-
edge and information regarding financing a col-
lege education; 
‘‘(E) there is a particular national need to 
aid institutions of higher education that have 
become Predominantly Black Institutions by 
virtue of the fact that they have expanded op-
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portunities for Black American and other mi-
nority students; 
‘‘(F) Predominantly Black Institutions ful-
fill a unique mission and represent a vital com-
ponent of the American higher education land-
scape, far beyond that which was initially envi-
sioned; 
‘‘(G) Predominantly Black Institutions 
serve the cultural and social advancement of 
low-income, Black American and other minority 
students and are a significant access point for 
these students to higher education and the op-
portunities offered by American society; 
‘‘(H) the concentration of these students in 
a limited number of two-year and four-year 
Predominantly Black Institutions and their de-
sire to secure a degree to prepare them for a 
successful career places special burdens on 
those institutions who attract, retain, and grad-
uate these students; and 
‘‘(I) financial assistance to establish or 
strengthen the physical plants, financial man-
agement, academic resources, and endowments 
of the Predominantly Black Institutions are ap-
propriate methods to enhance these institutions 
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and facilitate a decrease in reliance on govern-
mental financial support and to encourage reli-
ance on endowments and private sources. 
‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this sec-
tion to assist Predominantly Black Institutions in 
expanding educational opportunity through a pro-
gram of Federal assistance. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1) PREDOMINANTLY BLACK INSTITUTION.— 
The term ‘Predominantly Black Institution’ means 
an institution of higher education— 
‘‘(A) that is an eligible institution (as de-
fined in paragraph (5)(A) of this subsection) 
with a minimum of 1,000 undergraduate stu-
dents; 
‘‘(B) at which at least 50 percent of the 
undergraduate students enrolled at the institu-
tion are low-income individuals or first-genera-
tion college students (as that term is defined in 
section 402A(g)); and 
‘‘(C) at which at least 50 percent of the 
undergraduate students are enrolled in an edu-
cational program leading to a bachelor’s or as-
sociate’s degree that the institution is licensed 
to award by the State in which it is located. 
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‘‘(2) LOW-INCOME
INDIVIDUAL.—The term 
‘low-income individual’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 402A(g). 
‘‘(3) MEANS-TESTED FEDERAL BENEFIT PRO-
GRAM.—The term ‘means-tested Federal benefit pro-
gram’ means a program of the Federal Government, 
other than a program under title IV, in which eligi-
bility for the programs’ benefits, or the amount of 
such benefits, or both, are determined on the basis 
of income or resources of the individual or family 
seeking the benefit. 
‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 
the 50 States and the District of Columbia. 
‘‘(5) OTHER
DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 
this section, the terms defined by section 312 have 
the meanings provided by that section, except as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.— 
‘‘(i) The term ‘eligible institution’ 
means an institution of higher education 
that— 
‘‘(I) has an enrollment of needy 
undergraduate students as required 
and defined by subparagraph (B); 
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‘‘(II) except as provided in sec-
tion 392(b), the average educational 
and general expenditure of which are 
low, per full-time equivalent under-
graduate student in comparison with 
the average educational and general 
expenditure per full-time equivalent 
undergraduate student of institutions 
that offer similar instruction; 
‘‘(III) has an enrollment of un-
dergraduate students that is at least 
40 percent Black American students; 
‘‘(IV) is legally authorized to pro-
vide, and provides within the State, 
an educational program for which the 
institution awards a bachelors degree, 
or in the case of a junior or commu-
nity college, an associate’s degree; and 
‘‘(V) is accredited by a nationally 
recognized accrediting agency or asso-
ciation determined by the Secretary to 
be a reliable authority as to the qual-
ity of training offered, or is, according 
to such an agency or association, 
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making reasonable progress toward 
accreditation. 
‘‘(ii) For purposes of the determina-
tion of whether an institution is an eligible 
institution under this subparagraph, the 
factor described under clause (i)(I) shall be 
given twice the weight of the factor de-
scribed under clause (i)(III). 
‘‘(B) 
ENROLLMENT
OF
NEEDY
STU-
DENTS.—The term ‘enrollment of needy stu-
dents’ means the enrollment at an eligible insti-
tution with respect to which at least 50 percent 
of the undergraduate students enrolled in an 
academic program leading to a degree— 
‘‘(i) in the second fiscal year pre-
ceding the fiscal year for which the deter-
mination is made, were Pell Grant recipi-
ents in such year; 
‘‘(ii) come from families that receive 
benefits under a means-tested Federal ben-
efits program (as defined in subsection 
(b)(3)); 
‘‘(iii) attended a public or nonprofit 
private secondary school which is in the 
school district of a local educational agency 
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which was eligible for assistance pursuant 
to title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 in any year during 
which the student attended that secondary 
school, and which for the purpose of this 
paragraph and for that year was deter-
mined by the Secretary (pursuant to regu-
lations and after consultation with the 
State educational agency of the State in 
which the school is located) to be a school 
in which the enrollment of children counted 
under section 1113(a)(5) of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
exceeds 30 percent of the total enrollment 
of that school; or 
‘‘(iv) are ‘first-generation college stu-
dents’ as that term is defined in section 
402A(g), and a majority of such first-gen-
eration college students are low-income in-
dividuals. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 
‘‘(1) TYPES
OF
ACTIVITIES
AUTHORIZED.— 
Grants awarded pursuant to subsection (d) shall be 
used by Predominantly Black Institutions— 
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‘‘(A) to assist the institution to plan, de-
velop, undertake, and implement programs to 
enhance the institution’s capacity to serve more 
low- and middle-income Black American stu-
dents; 
‘‘(B) to expand higher education opportu-
nities for title IV eligible students by encour-
aging college preparation and student persist-
ence in secondary and postsecondary education; 
and 
‘‘(C) to strengthen the institution’s finan-
cial ability to serve the academic needs of the 
students described in subparagraphs (A) and 
(B). 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED
ACTIVITIES.—Grants made 
to an institution under subsection (d) shall be used 
for one or more of the following activities: 
‘‘(A) The activities described in section 
311(a)(1) through (11). 
‘‘(B) Academic instruction in disciplines in 
which Black Americans are underrepresented. 
‘‘(C) Establishing or enhancing a program 
of teacher education designed to qualify stu-
dents to teach in a public elementary or sec-
ondary school in the State that shall include, as 
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part of such program, preparation for teacher 
certification. 
‘‘(D) Establishing community outreach 
programs which will encourage elementary and 
secondary students to develop the academic 
skills and the interest to pursue postsecondary 
education. 
‘‘(E) Other activities proposed in the appli-
cation submitted pursuant to subsection (e) 
that— 
‘‘(i) contribute to carrying out the 
purposes of this section; and 
‘‘(ii) are approved by the Secretary as 
part of the review and acceptance of such 
application. 
‘‘(3) ENDOWMENT FUND.— 
‘‘(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—A 
Predominantly 
Black Institution may use not more than 20 
percent of the grant funds provided under this 
section to establish or increase an endowment 
fund at the institution. 
‘‘(B) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—In order 
to be eligible to use grant funds in accordance 
with subparagraph (A), the Predominantly 
Black Institution shall provide matching funds 
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from non-Federal sources, in an amount equal 
to or greater than the Federal funds used in ac-
cordance with subparagraph (A), for the estab-
lishment or increase of the endowment fund. 
‘‘(C) COMPARABILITY.—The provisions of 
part C regarding the establishment or increase 
of an endowment fund, that the Secretary de-
termines are not inconsistent with this sub-
section, shall apply to funds used under sub-
paragraph (A). 
‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—Not more than 50 percent 
of the allotment of any Predominantly Black Institu-
tion may be available for the purpose of constructing 
or maintaining a classroom, library, laboratory, or 
other instructional facility. 
‘‘(d) ALLOTMENTS TO PREDOMINANTLY BLACK IN-
STITUTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) ALLOTMENT: PELL GRANT BASIS.—From 
the amounts appropriated to carry out this section 
for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each 
Predominantly Black Institution a sum which bears 
the same ratio to one-half that amount as the num-
ber of Pell Grant recipients in attendance at such 
institution at the end of the academic year preceding 
the beginning of that fiscal year bears to the total 
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