Title: AIM Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Accurate Income Measure Act of 2017 or the AIM Act
This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to revise gainful employment regulations that require career training programs to meet minimum thresholds with respect to the debt-to-income rates of their graduates. Specifically, the bill requires ED to ensure that those regulations account for estimated underreporting of earned income by graduates of career training programs in cosmetology and related personal grooming arts, holistic health, or massage therapy.
Cosmetology, holistic health, and massage therapy career training programs may appeal a zone or failing debt-to-earning rate by submitting alternative earnings data based on the most current Bureau of Labor Statistics earnings data for the Standard Occupational Classification code.
Until the date on which ED issues adjustments to its gainful employment regulations, the bill: (1) exempts those programs from the regulations, (2) bans ED from publishing final debt-to-earnings rates for those programs, (3) exempts institutions of higher education that provide those programs from a requirement to report the rates on consumer disclosures relating to gainful employment, and (4) prohibits ED from making those programs ineligible for federal financial aid funds due to the application of the regulations.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4029 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4029

To direct the Secretary of Education to make reasonable adjustments to 
earnings data for graduates of cosmetology gainful employment programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 12, 2017

  Ms. Speier introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Education to make reasonable adjustments to 
earnings data for graduates of cosmetology gainful employment programs.

    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 ``Accurate Income Measure Act of 
2017'' or the ``AIM Act''.

SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENTS TO RULE RELATING TO GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT.

    (a) Adjustments to Rule.--For any rule promulgated by the 
Department of Education relating to title IV of the Higher Education 
Act, Program Integrity, Gainful Employment (including 79 Fed. Reg. 
64890 (October 31, 2014), and any other related rule that may be 
promulgated by the Department) (referred to in this Act collectively as 
the ``Rule''), the Secretary shall ensure that--
            (1) for covered programs, any earnings data for graduates 
        utilized in the Rule shall recognize the finding of the United 
        States District Court in the case titled ``American Association 
        of Cosmetology Schools v. DeVos (Civil Action No.: 17-0263 
        (RC))'' that the use of Social Security Administration earnings 
        data alone as a measure of graduate earnings is problematic, 
        and shall reasonably account for estimated under-reporting of 
        earned income by graduates; and
            (2) any institution offering a covered program may appeal a 
        zone or failing debt to earnings rate by submitting, as 
        alternate earnings data, the most current earnings data issued 
        by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the most relevant 
        geographical region, at no higher than the 50th percentile, for 
        the Standard Occupational Classification code, or combination 
        of such codes, in which graduates were placed in or found 
        employment.
    (b) Prohibitions.--Until the date on which the Secretary issues the 
adjustments to the Rule required under subsection (a)--
            (1) all covered programs shall be exempt from the Rule;
            (2) the Secretary shall not publish final debt-to-earnings 
        rates for covered programs;
            (3) notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
        institutions of higher education providing covered programs 
        shall not be required to report the debt-to-earnings rates of 
        covered programs on any consumer disclosures relating to 
        gainful employment; and
            (4) the Secretary shall not determine any covered program 
        ineligible to participate in programs authorized under title IV 
        of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) 
        due to the application of the Rule.
    (c) Study.--The Secretary, jointly with the Commissioner of the 
Internal Revenue Service, shall carry out a study to develop a method 
of adjusting earnings data under the Rule to account for the 
underreporting of income by graduates of covered programs.
    (d) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Covered program.--The term ``covered program'' means an 
        educational program that--
                    (A) is designed to lead to gainful employment (as 
                that term is used in sections 101(b) and 102(b) of the 
                Higher Education Act of 1965) (20 U.S.C. 1001(b); 
                1002(b)); and
                    (B) is identified by Department of Education 
                Classification of Instructional Program codes 12.0401 
                through 12.0499, 51.3306, or 51.3501.
            (2) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' means an institution 
        described in section 101(b) or section 102(b) of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(b); 1002(b)).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.
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