I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 266 
To modify the Federal TRIO programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 9, 2025 
Mr. DAVIDSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Workforce 
A BILL 
To modify the Federal TRIO programs. 
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 ‘‘Educational Oppor-
tunity and Success Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. PROGRAM AUTHORITY AND AUTHORIZATION OF AP-
PROPRIATIONS FOR FEDERAL TRIO PRO-
GRAMS. 
(a) MINIMUM GRANTS.—Section 402A(b)(3) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a– 
11(b)(3)) is amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘$200,000’’ and inserting 
‘‘$220,000’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘$170,000’’ and inserting 
‘‘$190,000’’. 
(b) PROCEDURES FOR AWARDING GRANTS AND CON-
TRACTS.—Section 402A(c) of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(c)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2)(A)— 
(A) in the subparagraph heading, by strik-
ing 
‘‘PRIOR
EXPERIENCE’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘PRIOR SUCCESS’’; 
(B) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘prior 
experience of high quality service delivery’’ and 
inserting ‘‘prior success in achieving high qual-
ity service delivery’’; and 
(C) in the second sentence— 
(i) by striking ‘‘prior experience shall 
not’’ and inserting ‘‘prior success in 
achieving high quality service delivery shall 
not’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘shall not be given 
prior experience consideration’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘shall not be given such consider-
ation’’; and 
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(2) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(8) REVIEW AND NOTIFICATION BY THE SEC-
RETARY.— 
‘‘(A) GUIDANCE.—Not less than 90 days 
before the commencement of each competition 
for a grant under this chapter, the Secretary 
shall issue nonregulatory guidance regarding 
the rights and responsibilities of applicants with 
respect to the application and evaluation proc-
ess for programs and projects assisted under 
this chapter, including applicant access to peer 
review comments. The guidance shall describe 
the procedures for the submission, processing, 
and scoring of applications for grants under 
this chapter, including the information de-
scribed in subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(B) TECHNICAL COMPONENTS OF APPLI-
CATIONS.— 
‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT
AND
TREAT-
MENT
OF
NONSUBSTANTIVE
TECHNICAL 
COMPONENTS OF APPLICATIONS.—With re-
spect to any competition for a grant under 
this chapter, the Secretary may only estab-
lish voluntary page limit and formatting 
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requirements for grant applications and 
may not reject grant applications that do 
not meet those voluntary requirements. 
The Secretary may suggest page limits and 
formatting standards (including with re-
spect to font size, font style, font type, line 
spacing, paragraph justification, and page 
margins), but may not use noncompliance 
with these suggested requirements as a 
basis to reject or penalize grant applica-
tions. 
‘‘(ii) IDENTIFICATION
AND
TREAT-
MENT OF TECHNICAL BUDGET ERRORS IN 
APPLICATIONS.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—With respect 
to any competition for a grant under 
this chapter, the Secretary may not 
reject or penalize grant applications 
on the basis of a typographical or 
rounding error in a proposed budget 
until the Secretary has given the ap-
plicant an opportunity for correction 
in accordance with subclause (II). 
‘‘(II) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY 
FOR
CORRECTION.—The 
Secretary 
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shall provide notice and identification 
of an error described in subclause (I) 
by email and phone to the applicant 
before awarding grants for each com-
petition. During a period of not fewer 
than 14 days, the Secretary shall 
allow the applicant to submit a re-
vised application that corrects the 
identified error. 
‘‘(III) TREATMENT OF REVISED 
APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall 
treat the revised application in the 
same manner as a timely submitted 
application. 
‘‘(IV) FAILURE TO CORRECT.—If 
an applicant has received a notice and 
opportunity for correction of a typo-
graphical or rounding error in a pro-
posed budget in accordance with sub-
clause (II) and the applicant fails to 
correct the error and submit a revised 
application before the deadline de-
scribed in that subclause, the Sec-
retary may reject or penalize that 
grant application. 
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‘‘(C) REVIEW.— 
‘‘(i) REQUEST
FOR
REVIEW.—With 
respect to any competition for a grant 
under this chapter, an applicant may re-
quest a review if the applicant— 
‘‘(I) has evidence that a specific 
technical, administrative, or scoring 
error was made by the Department, 
an agent of the Department, or a peer 
reviewer, with respect to the scoring 
or processing of a submitted applica-
tion; and 
‘‘(II) has otherwise met all of the 
requirements for submission of the 
application. 
‘‘(ii) ERROR MADE BY THE DEPART-
MENT.—In the case of evidence of error by 
the Department or an agent of the Depart-
ment, other than a peer reviewer, the Sec-
retary shall review any evidence submitted 
by the applicant and provide a timely re-
sponse to the applicant. If the Secretary 
determines that an error was made by the 
Department or an agent of the Depart-
ment, other than a peer reviewer, the Sec-
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retary shall correct the error and accord-
ingly adjust the applicant score. 
‘‘(iii) ERROR MADE BY A PEER RE-
VIEWER.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the case 
of evidence of error by a peer re-
viewer, a secondary review panel shall 
automatically and promptly evaluate 
the application for consideration in 
the applicable grant competition upon 
receipt of a request by any such appli-
cant. Examples of errors warranting 
secondary review may include— 
‘‘(aa) points withheld for 
criteria not required in statute, 
regulation, or guidance governing 
a program under this chapter or 
the application for a grant for 
such program; or 
‘‘(bb) information pertaining 
to selection criteria that was in-
correctly determined to be miss-
ing from an application. 
‘‘(II) TIMELY REVIEW AND RE-
PLACEMENT
SCORE.—The secondary 
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review panel described in subclause (I) 
shall conduct a secondary review in a 
timely fashion, and the score resulting 
from the secondary review shall re-
place the score from the initial peer 
review. 
‘‘(III) COMPOSITION
OF
SEC-
ONDARY
REVIEW
PANEL.—The sec-
ondary review panel shall be composed 
of reviewers each of whom— 
‘‘(aa) did not review the ap-
plication in the original peer re-
view; 
‘‘(bb) is a member of the co-
hort of peer reviewers for the 
grant program that is the subject 
of such secondary review; and 
‘‘(cc) to the extent prac-
ticable, has conducted peer re-
views in not less than 2 previous 
competitions for the grant pro-
gram that is the subject of such 
secondary review. 
‘‘(IV) FINAL SCORE.—The final 
peer review score of an application 
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subject to a secondary review under 
this clause shall promptly be adjusted 
appropriately using the score awarded 
by the secondary review panel, so as 
not to interfere with the timely award-
ing of grants for the applicable grant 
competition. 
‘‘(iv) FINALITY.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A determina-
tion by the Secretary under clause (ii) 
shall not be reviewable by any officer 
or employee of the Department other 
than the Secretary. 
‘‘(II) 
SCORING.—The 
score 
awarded by a secondary review panel 
under clause (iii) shall not be review-
able by any officer or employee of the 
Department other than the Secretary. 
‘‘(v) 
FUNDING
OF
APPLICATIONS 
WITH CERTAIN ADJUSTED SCORES.—Appli-
cations with scores that are adjusted up-
ward under clause (ii) or (iii) that equal or 
exceed the minimum cut-off score for the 
applicable grant competition shall be fund-
ed by the Secretary using general or ad-
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ministrative funds available to the Sec-
retary other than those funds appropriated 
or allocated for the programs authorized 
by this chapter.’’. 
(c) OUTREACH.—Section 402A(d)(3) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(d)(3)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The Sec-
retary shall also host at least one virtual, interactive train-
ing using telecommunications technology to ensure that 
interested applicants have access to technical assistance.’’. 
(d) DOCUMENTATION OF STATUS AS A LOW-INCOME 
INDIVIDUAL.—Section 402A(e) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(e)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 
and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(E) documentation that the student has been 
determined to be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant 
under section 401; or 
‘‘(F) for grants authorized under section 402B 
and 402F of this chapter, documentation that a stu-
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dent is attending a school that had a percentage of 
enrolled students who are identified students (as de-
fined in section 11(a)(1)(F)(i) of the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
1759a(a)(1)(F)(i))) that meets or exceeds the 
threshold described in section 11(a)(1)(F)(viii) of 
that Act during the school year prior to the first 
year of the period for which such grant is award-
ed.’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 
and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(E) documentation that the student has been 
determined to be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant 
under section 401; or 
‘‘(F) for grants authorized under section 402B 
and 402F of this chapter, documentation that a stu-
dent is attending a school that had a percentage of 
enrolled students who are identified students (as de-
fined in section 11(a)(1)(F)(i) of the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
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1759a(a)(1)(F)(i))) that meets or exceeds the 
threshold described in section 11(a)(1)(F)(viii) of 
that Act during the school year prior to the first 
year of the period for which such grant is award-
ed.’’. 
(e) OUTCOME CRITERIA.—Section 402A(f) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(g)) 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 
‘‘PRIOR
EXPERIENCE’’ and inserting ‘‘PRIOR 
SUCCESS’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2009’’ and in-
serting ‘‘the date of enactment of the Edu-
cational Opportunity and Success Act of 2025’’; 
and 
(C) by striking ‘‘prior experience of’’ and 
inserting ‘‘prior success in achieving’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (3)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘that will 
make such students eligible for programs 
such as the Academic Competitiveness 
Grants Program’’ and inserting ‘‘that in-
cludes at least 4 years of mathematics, 3 
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years of science, and 2 years of a foreign 
language’’; 
(ii) by redesignating clauses (v) and 
(vi) as clauses (vi) and (vii), respectively; 
and 
(iii) by inserting after clause (iv), the 
following: 
‘‘(v) the completion of financial aid 
applications, including the Free Applica-
tion for Federal Student Aid described in 
section 483(a) and college admissions ap-
plications;’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (B)— 
(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 
by inserting ‘‘except in the case of pro-
grams that are specifically designed for 
veterans,’’ after ‘‘402C’’; 
(ii) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘that will 
make such students eligible for programs 
such as the Academic Competitiveness 
Grants Program’’ and inserting ‘‘that in-
cludes at least 4 years of mathematics, 3 
years of science, and 2 years of a foreign 
language’’; 
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(iii) by redesignating clauses (vi) and 
(vii) as clauses (vii) and (viii), respectively; 
and 
(iv) by inserting after clause (v), the 
following: 
‘‘(vi) the completion of financial aid 
applications, including the Free Applica-
tion for Federal Student Aid described in 
section 483(a) and college admissions ap-
plications;’’; 
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 
through (E) as subparagraphs (D) through (F), 
respectively; 
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 
the following: 
‘‘(C) For programs authorized under sec-
tion 402C that are specifically designed for vet-
erans, the extent to which the eligible entity 
met or exceeded the entity’s objectives for such 
program regarding— 
‘‘(i) the delivery of service to a total 
number of students served by the program, 
as agreed upon by the entity and the Sec-
retary for the period of the program; 
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‘‘(ii) such students’ academic perform-
ance as measured by standardized tests; 
‘‘(iii) the retention and completion of 
participants in the program; 
‘‘(iv) the provision of assistance to 
students served by the program in com-
pleting financial aid applications, including 
the Free Application for Federal Student 
Aid described in section 483(a) and college 
admission applications; 
‘‘(v) the enrollment of such students 
in an institution of higher education; and 
‘‘(vi) to the extent practicable, the 
postsecondary completion of such stu-
dents;’’; 
(E) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated 
by subparagraph (C), by striking clause (ii) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(ii)(I) in the case of an entity that is 
an institution of higher education offering 
a baccalaureate degree, the extent to which 
the entity met or exceeded the entity’s ob-
jectives regarding the percentage of such 
students’ completion of a baccalaureate de-
gree at any baccalaureate granting institu-
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tion within 6 years of initial enrollment in 
the project; or 
‘‘(II) in the case of an entity that is 
an institution of higher education that does 
not offer a baccalaureate degree, the extent 
to which such students met or exceeded— 
‘‘(aa) the entity’s objective re-
garding the transfer of such students 
to institutions of higher education 
that offer baccalaureate degrees, re-
gardless of whether the transferring 
student completes a degree or certifi-
cate; and 
‘‘(bb) the entity’s objective re-
garding the completion of a degree or 
certificate by such students at the in-
stitution or any accredited institution 
within 4 years of initial enrollment in 
the project;’’; 
(F) by amending subparagraph (E), as re-
designated by subparagraph (C), to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(E) For programs authorized under sec-
tion 402E, the extent to which the entity met 
or exceeded— 
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‘‘(i) the entity’s objective regarding 
the delivery of service to a total number of 
students served by the program, as agreed 
upon by the entity and the Secretary for 
the period; 
‘‘(ii) the entity’s objective regarding 
the provision of appropriate scholarly and 
research activities for the students served 
by the program; 
‘‘(iii) the entity’s objective regarding 
the acceptance and enrollment of such stu-
dents in graduate programs within 2 years 
of receiving the baccalaureate degree; 
‘‘(iv) the entity’s objective regarding 
the continued enrollment of such students 
in graduate study; and 
‘‘(v) the entity’s objective regarding 
the attainment of doctoral degrees by 
former program participants within 10 
years of receiving the baccalaureate de-
gree.’’; and 
(G) in subparagraph (F), as redesignated 
by subparagraph (C)— 
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