Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act of 2014

Bill: 113-hr-3136
Sponsor: Rep. Salmon, Matt [R-AZ-5]
Introduced: 2013-09-19 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Education
Education programs funding
Higher education
School administration
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-19
text: 
Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act of 2013 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to select institutions of higher education (IHEs) for voluntary participation in Competency-Based Education Demonstration Programs that provide participating IHEs with the ability to offer competency-based education that does not meet certain statutory and regulatory requirements that would otherwise prevent them from participating in federal student aid programs.
 
Defines &quot;competency-based education&quot; as an education process that is characterized by the direct assessment and measurement of student learning instead of, or in addition to, measuring students' credit or clock hours.
 
Deems IHEs to be eligible to participate in a Program if they are eligible to participate in title IV programs or have been approved by the Secretary to offer programs that measure student learning through direct assessments rather than credit or clock hours.
 
Requires Program applicants to provide the Secretary with a description of the statutory and regulatory requirements they would like waived and the reasons for seeking each waiver.
 
Directs the Secretary to conduct an annual evaluation of each of the up to 20 Programs authorized by this Act.

action_date: 2014-07-17
text: 
Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to select up to 20 institutions of higher education (IHEs) or systems or consortia of IHEs to: (1) carry out, on a voluntary basis, competency-based education demonstration projects; and (2) receive waivers of certain statutory and regulatory requirements that would otherwise prevent such an entity from participating in federal student aid programs or inhibit the operation of competency-based education.
 
Defines &quot;competency-based education&quot; as an educational process or program that measures students' knowledge, skills, and experience through assessments instead of, or in addition to, measuring their credit or clock hours.
 
Includes in the waivers: (1) limitations on the provision of instruction through correspondence courses, (2) requirements that schools provide a minimum number of weeks of instruction, and (3) requirements that students enroll for at least a minimum number of credit or clock hours.
 
Requires each demonstration project to enroll a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 3,000 students.
 
Requires the Secretary to prioritize proposed demonstration projects that show promise in reducing the time or cost required to complete a degree, certificate, or credential.
 
Prohibits the Secretary from selecting an IHE or a system or consortium of IHEs to conduct a competency-based education demonstration project if such entity had, for one of the two preceding fiscal years: (1) a cohort default rate of 30% or greater, and (2) more than 50% of its students borrowing title IV loans.
 
Requires each entity carrying out a demonstration project to provide the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences with certain disaggregated information regarding the students participating in the project, including the average number of competencies a student acquires while participating in the project and the time it takes the student to acquire such competencies.
 
Requires the Director, annually, to: (1) evaluate each competency-based education demonstration project, and (2) submit a report to Congress that includes information on the evaluations and recommendations for enhancing those projects.
 
Directs the Secretary, on a continuing basis, to: (1) oversee, and provide technical assistance to, the demonstration projects; and (2) consult with accrediting entities and state regulatory authorities for additional ways to improve the delivery of competency-based education.
 
Makes $1 million of the amount authorized to be appropriated for Department of Education salaries and expenses available to carry out this Act and its amendments.

action_date: 2014-07-23
text: 
Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to direct the Secretary of Education to select up to 30 institutions of higher education (IHEs) or systems or consortia of IHEs to: (1) carry out, on a voluntary basis, competency-based education demonstration projects; and (2) receive waivers of certain statutory and regulatory requirements that would otherwise prevent such an entity from participating in federal student aid programs or inhibit the operation of competency-based education.
 
Requires the Secretary to provide outreach regarding such projects to historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Native American-serving, nontribal institutions, IHEs serving special needs students, and rural IHEs.
 
Defines &quot;competency-based education&quot; as an educational process or program that measures students' knowledge, skills, and experience through assessments instead of, or in addition to, measuring their credit or clock hours.
 
Includes in the waivers: (1) limitations on the provision of instruction through correspondence courses, (2) requirements that schools provide a minimum number of weeks of instruction, and (3) requirements that students enroll for at least a minimum number of credit or clock hours.
 
Requires each demonstration project to enroll a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 3,000 students.
 
Requires the Secretary to prioritize proposed demonstration projects that show promise in reducing the time or cost required to complete a degree, certificate, or credential.
 
Prohibits the Secretary from selecting an IHE or a system or consortium of IHEs to conduct a competency-based education demonstration project if such entity had, for one of the two preceding fiscal years: (1) a cohort default rate of 30% or greater, and (2) more than 50% of its students borrowing title IV loans.
 
Requires each entity carrying out a demonstration project to provide the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences with certain disaggregated information regarding the students participating in the project, including the average number of competencies a student acquires while participating in the project and the time it takes the student to acquire such competencies.
 
Requires the Director, annually, to: (1) evaluate each competency-based education demonstration project, and (2) submit a report to Congress that includes information on the evaluations and recommendations for enhancing those projects.
 
Allows a demonstration project that has undergone at least two evaluations by the Director to amend its application to seek the Secretary's approval to increase its student enrollment to up to 5,000 students.
 
Directs the Secretary, on a continuing basis, to: (1) oversee, and provide technical assistance to, the demonstration projects; and (2) consult with accrediting entities and state regulatory authorities for additional ways to improve the delivery of competency-based education.
 
Requires each IHE participating in a demonstration project under this Act to provide its students or the parents of its minor students with: (1) a disclosure letter that describes the personally identifiable student information that may be sold by a person with whom the IHE has an agreement to provide software applications for students, and (2) an option to block the sale of such information.
 
Directs the Secretary to report to Congress every ten years on the needs of limited English proficient students using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
 
Makes $1 million of the amount authorized to be appropriated for Department of Education salaries and expenses available to carry out this Act and its amendments.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish the Higher Education Regulatory Reform Task Force, to be composed of: (1) the Secretary or the Secretary's designee, (2) a representative of the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, and (3) representatives from the higher education community.
 
Requires the Secretary, within six months after this Act's enactment, to submit to Congress and make available on a publicly available website a report prepared by the Task Force on the Department of Education's regulatory requirements for IHEs.
 
Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue (IRS), to study and report to Congress, within one year after this Act's enactment, on the feasibility and advantages and disadvantages of using individual income tax returns as the primary form of application for student aid under the HEA.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-24
text: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: On passage Passed by recorded vote: 414 - 0 (Roll no. 441).
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by recorded vote: 414 - 0 (Roll no. 441).
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: Subsequent to the announcement by the Chair that H.R. 3136 had passed by voice vote, Mr. Kline asked unanimous consent that it be in order to put the question of passage to a recorded vote. Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: On passage Passed by voice vote.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: On motion to recommit with instructions Failed by recorded vote: 194 - 221 (Roll no. 440).
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: The previous question on the motion to recommit with instructions was ordered without objection. (consideration: CR H6701)
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: DEBATE - The House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Tierney motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to require the bill to be reported back to the House with an amendment to add a new section allowing the Secretary of Education to provide rebates equal to the rates that new borrowers had available to them from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014. Those rebates are equal to the amount that would be saved from the lower interest rates.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: Mr. Tierney moved to recommit with instructions to the Committee on Education and the Workforce. (consideration: CR H6700-6702; text:CR H6700)
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: The House adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H6690-6691)
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule. (consideration: CR H6700)
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 3136.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 677, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Part A Grayson amendment No. 11.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 677, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Part A Gowdy amendment No. 10.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 677, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Part A Polis amendment No. 9.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Gowdy amendment No. 8, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Polis demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the amendment until later in the legislative day.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 677, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Part A Gowdy amendment No. 8.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 677, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Part A Duffy amendment No. 7.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 677, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Part A Langevin amendment No. 6.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H6695-6702)
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rises leaving H.R. 3136 as unfinished business.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: On motion that the Committee rise Agreed to by voice vote.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: Mr. Kline moved that the Committee rise.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 677, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Part A Byrne amendment No. 5.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 677, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Part A Polis amendment No. 4.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 677, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Part A Walberg amendment No. 3.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 677, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Part A Polis amendment No. 2.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 677, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Part A Kline amendment No. 1.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: GENERAL DEBATE - The Committee of the Whole proceeded with one hour of general debate on H.R. 3136.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: The Speaker designated the Honorable Mark E. Amodei to act as Chairman of the Committee.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union pursuant to H. Res. 677 and Rule XVIII.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: The resolution provides a structured rule for H.R. 3136 and H.R. 4984. Both bills are debatable for one hour. The resolution provides for certain amendments to be in order. One motion to recommit with or without instructions is allowed for each bill.
action_date: 2014-07-23
text: Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 677. (consideration: CR H6686-6695)
action_date: 2014-07-22
text: Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 677 Reported to House. The rules provides a structured rule for H.R. 3136 and H.R. 4984. Both bills are debatable for one hour with or without instructions.
action_date: 2014-07-17
text: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 395.
action_date: 2014-07-17
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and the Workforce. H. Rept. 113-529.
action_date: 2014-07-17
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and the Workforce. H. Rept. 113-529.
action_date: 2014-07-10
text: Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
action_date: 2014-07-10
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2014-01-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
action_date: 2013-09-19
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2013-09-19
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2013-09-19
text: Introduced in House