Accessing College through Comprehensive Early Outreach, State Partnerships, and Simplification Act

Bill: 108-s-2477
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2004-05-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Agriculture and Food
Authorization
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
College costs
Commerce
Community and school
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Corporate philanthropy
Deaf
Department of Education
Disabled
Dislocated workers
Economics and Public Finance
Education of the disadvantaged
Education savings accounts
Electronic data interchange
Electronic government information
Elementary and secondary education
Families
Federal advisory bodies
Federal aid to education
Financial disclosure
Food stamps
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Higher education
Identification devices
Income
Indexing (Economic policy)
Intergovernmental fiscal relations
Internet
Labor and Employment
Mentoring
Nonprofit organizations
Right of privacy
Scholarships
School lunch program
Science, Technology, Communications
Social Welfare
State taxation
Student aid
Student employment
Student loan funds
Students
Supplemental security income program
Taxation
Telephone
Welfare recipients

Summary:
action_date: 2004-05-21
text: 
Accessing College through Comprehensive Early Outreach, State Partnerships, and Simplification Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to replace the current special leveraging educational assistance partnership program with a program of allotments to enable States to: (1) expand and enhance partnerships with institutions of higher education, early information and intervention, mentoring, or outreach programs, private corporations, philanthropic organizations, and other interested parties to carry out specified activities and provide coordination and cohesion among Federal, State, and local governmental and private efforts providing financial assistance to help low-income students attend college; (2) provide need-based grants for college access and increased college persistence to eligible low-income students; (3) provide early notification to low-income students of their eligibility for financial aid; and (4) encourage increased participation in early information and intervention, mentoring, or outreach programs.
 
Sets 66.66 percent as the Federal share of the cost of establishing partnerships under the program. Requires partnerships for the award of grants between a State agency and: (1) at least one public and one private degree granting institution of higher education located in the State; and (2) new or existing early information and intervention, mentoring, or outreach programs also located in the State. Permits partnerships with philanthropic organizations located in, or which provide funding in, the State, as well as private corporations located in, or doing business in, the State. 
 
Prescribes requirements for the amounts of grants awarded in partnerships with institutions of higher learning: (1) serving less than a majority of students in the State; and (2) serving the majority of students in the State.
 
Requires annual early notification of low-income students of their potential eligibility for student financial assistance.
 
Prescribes minimum eligibility requirements for such students.
 
Revises requirements for the simplified needs test to take into account dislocated workers and recipients of means-tested Federal benefits (such as the supplemental security income program under title XVI of the Social Security Act, the food stamp program, and the free and reduced price school lunch program under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act).
 
 Directs the Secretary of Education to develop and use a simplified paper application form of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), to be called the FAFSA-EZ, for students who meet the requirements of the automatic zero expected family contribution.
 
Requires the Secretary to: (1) phase-out by the 2009-2010 award year the paper form (the long form or full FAFSA) for students who do not meet the requirements for a FAFSA-EZ; and (2) produce, distribute, and process common forms in electronic format, including a simplified electronic application form on the Internet.
 
Directs the Secretary to make every effort to provide students with early information about potential financial aid eligibility, both through a widely disseminated printed form and the Internet or other electronic means, including a system for individuals to determine easily, by entering relevant data, approximately the amount of grant, work-study, and loan assistance for which an individual would be eligible.
 
Directs the Secretary to make special efforts to notify: (1) students who qualify for specified means-tested Federal benefits of their potential eligibility for a maximum Federal Pell Grant; and (2) middle school and secondary school students of the availability of student financial assistance and of the approximate amounts of grant, work-study, and loan assistance for which they would be eligible.
 
Requires the Secretary to contract for or establish a toll-free telephone service to provide an application mechanism and timely and accurate information to the general public.
 
Revises requirements for determining the income contribution of dependent students, independent students without dependents other than spouse, and independent students with dependents other than spouse (generally increasing allowances). Excludes qualified education benefits (prepayment and savings plans, State tuition programs, and Coverdell education savings accounts) from consideration as an asset in a needs analysis.
 
Revises the purposes of the independent Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to reflect this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-05-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6100-6105)
action_date: 2004-05-21
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6099-6100)
action_date: 2004-05-21
text: Introduced in Senate