Title: All-Year ACCESS Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Affordability for Constant and Continual Education to Enhance Student Success Act or the All-Year ACCESS Act

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase from one to two the number of Pell Grants an eligible student may receive in a single award year (i.e., it restores year-round Pell Grants).
A student's total amount of Pell Grants must not exceed 150% of the maximum Pell Grant for that award year. Also, any period during which a student receives an additional Pell Grant counts toward that student's lifetime Pell Grant eligibility period.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 813 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 813

          To restore access to year-round Federal Pell Grants.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 1, 2017

   Ms. Sanchez (for herself, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. 
 Sinema, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Takano, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Nolan, 
 Mr. Soto, Mr. Polis, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Vela, Ms. Castor 
  of Florida, Mr. Gonzalez of Texas, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Mr. 
Garamendi, Mrs. Torres, Mr. Swalwell of California, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. 
 Grijalva, Mr. Aguilar, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Himes, 
 Ms. Adams, Mr. Langevin, Mr. McNerney, Ms. Shea-Porter, Ms. Wilson of 
 Florida, Mr. Peters, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Courtney, Ms. Lee, 
  Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Sean Patrick 
Maloney of New York, Ms. Moore, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Rush, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. 
Yarmuth, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Vargas, 
 Mr. Thompson of California, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. Kuster of 
 New Hampshire, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Delaney, Mr. Serrano, Ms. 
 Lofgren, Mr. Perlmutter, Mr. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, Mr. Pocan, 
 Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Bera, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. 
    Conyers, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Mr. Kind, and Mr. Deutch) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                      Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
          To restore access to year-round Federal Pell Grants.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Affordability for Constant and 
Continual Education to Enhance Student Success Act'' or the ``All-Year 
ACCESS Act''.

SEC. 2. YEAR-ROUND FEDERAL PELL GRANT STUDENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 401(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) Year-round federal pell grant students.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other 
                provision of this subsection, the Secretary shall 
                award, to an eligible student who meets the 
                requirements in subparagraph (B) who has received a 
                Federal Pell Grant for an award year and is enrolled in 
                a program of study for one or more additional payment 
                periods during the same award year that are not 
                otherwise covered by the student's Federal Pell Grant, 
                an additional Federal Pell Grant for the additional 
                payment periods.
                    ``(B) Eligibility.--In order to be eligible to 
                receive the additional Federal Pell Grant for an award 
                year that is described in subparagraph (A), a student 
                shall, in addition to meeting all eligibility 
                requirements for the receipt of a Federal Pell Grant--
                            ``(i) be enrolled on at least a half-time 
                        basis for a period of more than one academic 
                        year, or more than 2 semesters or the 
                        equivalent of 2 semesters, during a single 
                        award year; and
                            ``(ii) be enrolled in a program of 
                        instruction at an institution of higher 
                        education for which the institution awards an 
                        associate or baccalaureate degree or a 
                        certificate.
                    ``(C) Amounts.--In the case of a student receiving 
                more than one Federal Pell Grant in a single award year 
                under subparagraph (A), the total amount of the Federal 
                Pell Grants awarded to such student for the award year 
                shall not exceed an amount equal to 150 percent of the 
                total maximum Federal Pell Grant for such award year 
                calculated in accordance with paragraph (7)(C)(iv)(II).
                    ``(D) Inclusion in duration limit.--Any period of 
                study covered by a Federal Pell Grant awarded under 
                subparagraph (A) shall be included in determining a 
                student's duration limit under subsection (c)(5).
            ``(9) Crossover period.--In any case where an eligible 
        student is receiving a Federal Pell Grant for a payment period 
        that spans 2 award years, the Secretary shall allow the 
        eligible institution in which the student is enrolled to 
        determine the award year to which the additional period shall 
        be assigned.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on July 1, 2017.
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