I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4216 
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 
NOVEMBER 15, 2007 
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois 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 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 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. PREDOMINANTLY BLACK INSTITUTIONS. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Part A of title III of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.) is amend-
ed by inserting after section 317 (20 U.S.C. 1059d) the 
following new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 318. PREDOMINANTLY BLACK INSTITUTIONS. 
‘‘(a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 
‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—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) among recent secondary school 
graduates, 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 an increasing number of 
urban and rural Predominantly Black Institu-
tions that have included in their mission the 
provision of academic training and education 
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for both traditional and non-traditional minor-
ity 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 as indicated by recent 
data from the National Postsecondary Student 
Aid Study which demonstrates that 47 percent 
of Black undergraduates are Federal Pell grant 
recipients, compared to only 21 percent of non- 
Hispanic Whites; 
‘‘(D) many of these students who enroll in 
Predominantly Black Institutions are also first 
generation college students who lack the appro-
priate academic preparation for success in col-
lege and whose parents lack the requisite 
knowledge and information regarding financing 
a college 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 Predominantly Black In-
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stitutions have expanded opportunities for 
Black American and other minority students; 
‘‘(F) Predominantly Black Institutions ful-
fill a unique mission within American higher 
education, far beyond that which was initially 
envisioned; 
‘‘(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 the students de-
scribed in subparagraph (G) in a limited num-
ber of 2-year and 4-year Predominantly Black 
Institutions and the desire of these students to 
secure a degree to prepare these students 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 academic resources, physical 
plants, financial management, and endowments 
of the Predominantly Black Institutions are ap-
propriate methods to enhance the educational 
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quality of the Predominantly Black Institutions, 
to facilitate decreased long-term reliance on 
governmental financial support, and to encour-
age reliance 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) OTHER
DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 
this section, the terms defined by section 312 have 
the meanings provided by that section, except as 
provided in the following paragraphs. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi-
ble institution’ means an institution of higher edu-
cation that— 
‘‘(A) has an enrollment of needy under-
graduate students as required and defined by 
paragraph (3); 
‘‘(B) has an average educational and gen-
eral expenditure which is low, per full-time 
equivalent undergraduate student in comparison 
with the average educational and general ex-
penditure 
per 
full-time 
equivalent 
under-
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graduate student of institutions that offer simi-
lar instruction, except that the Secretary may 
apply the waiver requirements described in sec-
tion 392(b) to this subparagraph in the same 
manner as the Secretary applies the waiver re-
quirements to section 312(b)(1)(B); 
‘‘(C) has an enrollment of undergraduate 
students that is at least 40 percent Black 
American students; 
‘‘(D) is legally authorized to provide, and 
provides within the State, an educational pro-
gram for which the institution of higher edu-
cation awards a bachelors degree, or in the case 
of a junior or community college, an associate’s 
degree; and 
‘‘(E) is accredited by a nationally recog-
nized accrediting agency or association deter-
mined by the Secretary to be a reliable author-
ity as to the quality of training offered, or is, 
according to such an agency or association, 
making reasonable progress toward accredita-
tion. 
‘‘(3) ENROLLMENT
OF
NEEDY
STUDENTS.— 
The term ‘enrollment of needy students’ means the 
enrollment at an eligible institution with respect to 
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which not less than 50 percent of the undergraduate 
students enrolled in an academic program leading to 
a degree— 
‘‘(A) in the second fiscal year preceding 
the fiscal year for which the determination is 
made, were Federal Pell Grant recipients for 
such year; 
‘‘(B) come from families that receive bene-
fits under a means-tested Federal benefits pro-
gram (as defined in paragraph (5)); 
‘‘(C) attended a public or nonprofit private 
secondary school— 
‘‘(i) that is in the school district of a 
local educational agency that was eligible 
for assistance under part A of title I of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 for any year during which the stu-
dent attended such secondary school; and 
‘‘(ii) 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 
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under section 1113(a)(5) of such Act ex-
ceeds 30 percent of the total enrollment of 
such school; or 
‘‘(D) are first-generation college students 
as that term is defined in section 402A(g), and 
a majority of such first-generation college stu-
dents are low-income individuals. 
‘‘(4) LOW-INCOME
INDIVIDUAL.—The term 
‘low-income individual’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 402A(g). 
‘‘(5) 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. 
‘‘(6) 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 (2)) with a minimum of 
1,000 undergraduate students; 
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‘‘(B) at which not less than 50 percent of 
the undergraduate students enrolled at the in-
stitution are low-income individuals or first-gen-
eration college students (as that term is defined 
in section 402A(g)); and 
‘‘(C) at which not less than 50 percent of 
the undergraduate students are enrolled in an 
educational program leading to a bachelor’s or 
associate’s degree that the institution is li-
censed to award by the State in which it is lo-
cated. 
‘‘(7) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 
the 50 States and the District of Columbia. 
‘‘(c) GRANT AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 
to award grants, from allotments under subsection 
(e), to Predominantly Black Institutions to enable 
the Predominantly Black Institutions to carry out 
the authorized activities described in subsection (d). 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 
section the Secretary shall give priority to Predomi-
nantly Black Institutions with large numbers or per-
centages 
of 
students 
described 
in 
subsection 
(b)(2)(A) or (b)(2)(C). The level of priority given to 
Predominantly Black Institutions with large num-
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demic year at all intuitions eligible under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(3) GRADUATES SEEKING A HIGHER DEGREE 
BASIS.—From the amounts appropriated to carry 
out this section for any fiscal year, the Secretary 
shall allot to each Predominantly Black Institution 
having an application approved under subsection (f) 
a sum which bears the same ratio to one-fourth of 
that amount as the percentage of graduates per 
from such institution who are admitted to and in at-
tendance at, not later than 2 years of graduation 
with an associates degree or a baccalaureate degree, 
either a baccalaureate degree-granting institution or 
a graduate or professional school in a degree pro-
gram in disciplines in which Black American stu-
dents are underrepresented, bears to the percentage 
of such graduates for such institutions. 
‘‘(4) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT.— 
‘‘(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 
paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), the amount allot-
ted to each Predominantly Black Institution 
under this section shall not be less than 
$250,000. 
‘‘(B) 
INSUFFICIENT
AMOUNT.—If 
the 
amount 
appropriated 
pursuant 
to 
section 
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399(a)(1)(D) for a fiscal year is not sufficient 
to pay the minimum allotment provided under 
subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year, then the 
amount of such minimum allotment shall be 
ratably reduced. If additional sums become 
available for such fiscal year, such reduced allo-
cation shall be increased on the same basis as 
it was reduced until the amount allotted equals 
the minimum allotment required by subpara-
graph (A). 
‘‘(5) REALLOTMENT.—The amount of a Pre-
dominantly Black Institution’s allotment under para-
graph (1), (2), (3), or (4) for any fiscal year, which 
the Secretary determines will not be required for 
such institution for the period such allotment is 
available, shall be available for reallotment to other 
Predominantly Black Institutions in proportion to 
the original allotment to such other institutions 
under this section for such fiscal year. The Secretary 
shall reallot such amounts from time to time, on 
such date and during such period as the Secretary 
deems appropriate. 
‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS.—Each Predominantly Black In-
stitution desiring a grant under this section shall submit 
an application to the Secretary at such time, in such man-
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ner, and containing or accompanied by such information 
as the Secretary may reasonably require. 
‘‘(g) APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS.—Section 393 
shall not apply to applications under this section. 
‘‘(h) PROHIBITION.—No Predominantly Black Insti-
tution that applies for and receives a grant under this sec-
tion may apply for or receive funds under any other pro-
gram under this part or part B of this title. 
‘‘(i) DURATION AND CARRYOVER.—Any funds paid to 
a Predominantly Black Institution under this section and 
not expended or used for the purposes for which the funds 
were paid within 10 years following the date on which the 
grant is awarded shall be repaid to the Treasury.’’. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 
399(a)(1) of the Act is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(D) There are authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out section 318, $25,000,000 
for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be 
necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal 
years.’’. 
Æ 
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