Title: Earl N. Williams, Sr., First Chance Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Earl N. Williams, Sr., First Chance Act
This bill expands the student support services program to include grants to students at institutions of higher education for basic and emergency supplemental living assistance.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7297 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7297

    To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide basic and 
   emergency supplemental living assistance grants under the student 
                       support services program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 13, 2018

Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide basic and 
   emergency supplemental living assistance grants under the student 
                       support services program.

    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 ``Earl N. Williams, Sr., First Chance 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL LIVING ASSISTANCE IN THE STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES 
              PROGRAM.

    Section 402D of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a-
14) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) basic and emergency supplemental living assistance 
        grants in accordance with subsection (f).''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Basic and Emergency Supplemental Living Assistance Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--In carrying out the activities required 
        under subsection (b)(7) with a grant received under this 
        section, the recipient of such grant shall provide basic and 
        emergency supplemental living assistance grants to assist 
        students who are current participants in the student support 
        services program offered by the institution (in this subsection 
        referred to as `eligible students')--
                    ``(A) in the case of a basic supplemental living 
                assistance grant, in covering reasonable, anticipated 
                expenses necessary for the completion of an academic 
                year of the students' first undergraduate baccalaureate 
                course of study; and
                    ``(B) in the case of an emergency supplemental 
                living assistance grant, in covering reasonable, 
                unanticipated expenses necessary for the students to 
                persist in college during such academic year.
            ``(2) Amount of grants.--The recipient may determine--
                    ``(A) the appropriate division of the funds between 
                basic and emergency supplemental assistance grants, 
                except that funds shall be provided for both basic and 
                emergency grants;
                    ``(B) the amount of each such grant and the total 
                grant funds that an eligible student may receive, 
                except that a student may not receive more than a total 
                of $500 in emergency supplemental assistance grants per 
                academic year; and
                    ``(C) the anticipated and unanticipated expenses 
                referred to in paragraph (1) that such grants will 
                cover based on the needs of eligible students, which--
                            ``(i) may vary by factors including 
                        academic year, housing, parental status, 
                        location in urban or rural area, or other 
                        circumstances; and
                            ``(ii) for an individual student, may 
                        cover--
                                    ``(I) any component of the cost of 
                                attendance for the student;
                                    ``(II) an allowance for actual or 
                                expected expenses incurred for 
                                dependent care that exceeds such 
                                expenses determined for the student 
                                under section 472(8);
                                    ``(III) an allowance for actual or 
                                expected expenses for transportation 
                                that exceeds such expenses determined 
                                for the student under section 472; and
                                    ``(IV) personal items or expenses 
                                not otherwise covered by the cost of 
                                attendance for the student.
            ``(3) Percentage of total funds.--The recipient may use not 
        more than 2 percent of the funds awarded under this section for 
        grants under this subsection.
            ``(4) Determination of need.--A grant provided to a student 
        under this subsection shall not be considered in determining 
        that student's need for grant or work assistance under this 
        title, except that in no case shall the total amount of student 
        financial assistance awarded to a student under this title 
        exceed that student's cost of attendance by more than $500.
            ``(5) Consultation.--In making grants to students under 
        this subsection, an institution shall ensure that adequate 
        consultation takes place between the student support service 
        program office and the institution's financial aid office.
            ``(6) Supplement, not supplant.--Funds received by a grant 
        recipient that are used under this subsection shall be used to 
        supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal funds expended for 
        student support services programs.
            ``(7) Funds.--For a fiscal year for which the funds 
        allocated for projects authorized under this section from the 
        amounts appropriated pursuant to the authority of section 
        402A(g) exceeds the funds allocated for such purpose for fiscal 
        year 2019, not more than 2 percent of such excess funds may be 
        made available for grants under this subsection.
            ``(8) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `cost of 
        attendance' has the meaning given the term in section 472.''.
                                 <all>