Funding Community College Infrastructure Act

Bill: 118-s-5185
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2024-09-25
Policy area: Education
Latest action: action_date: 2024-09-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5185 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 25, 2024 Mr. Casey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish a grant program to support qualified community colleges, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Funding Community College Infrastructure Act . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Governing body The term governing body means— (A) the board of trustees or other governing organization of a qualified community college; or (B) a State, local, or Indian Tribal government (or any political subdivision thereof), or any combination of local educational agencies or municipalities, that participates or proposes to participate in the establishment and operation of a qualified community college. (2) Institution of higher education The term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001(a) ). (3) Local educational agency The term local educational agency has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 7801 ), except such term shall include any elementary school or secondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian Education, notwithstanding section 8101(30)(C) of such Act. (4) Qualified area The term qualified area means any of the following: (A) A city, metropolitan statistical area, or county that does not contain any institution described in paragraph (5)(A). (B) A low-income community (as defined in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). (5) Qualified community college The term qualified community college means a public institution of higher education— (A) at which the highest degree that is predominantly awarded to students is an associate degree (including 2-year tribally controlled colleges under section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1059c ) and public 2-year institutions of higher education); (B) that is established by and operated under the supervision of a governing body in conjunction with the State, local, and Indian tribal governments whose residents will be served by such institution; and (C) that is located within a qualified area. (6) Qualified purpose The term qualified purpose means— (A) establishing and operating a qualified community college; (B) expanding an existing qualified community college to a qualified area; (C) constructing, rehabilitating, repairing, upgrading, enhancing, or expanding any facility owned or to be used by a qualified community college to carry out the educational purposes (including instructional and research purposes) of such college; (D) providing equipment for use by students at a qualified community college; (E) investing in online resources or broadband access projects to deliver community college services to qualified areas, or developing course materials for education to be provided by a qualified community college, provided that such uses do not collectively account for more than 10 percent of the grant amount awarded under this Act for such college; (F) training professors and other school personnel at a qualified community college, provided that such use does not account for more than 5 percent of the grant amount awarded under this Act for such college; (G) constructing, rehabilitating, repairing, upgrading, enhancing, or expanding any on-campus facility to be used by a qualified community college to— (i) provide childcare to students and staff, provided that such use does not account for more than 10 percent of the grant amount awarded under this Act for such college; or (ii) provide affordable housing, with a priority given to students and staff; and (H) connecting students with transportation to a qualified community college, including partnering with public transit providers to— (i) add bus, rail, or paratransit stops at or within walking distances of the campus; (ii) add bus, rail, or paratransit routes to allow for transportation between the campus and surrounding areas and other cities; (iii) increase the frequency of service or adjust the schedules for bus, rail, or paratransit routes to allow students to get to and from their classes; and (iv) subsidize bus, rail, or paratransit costs for students. (7) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Education. (8) State The term State means any of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, or the United States Virgin Islands. (9) State higher education agency The term State higher education agency means the officer or agency primarily responsible for the State supervision of higher education. 3. Community college grants (a) Program authorized From amounts made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to governing bodies for qualified purposes relating to a qualified community college. (b) Application requirements (1) In general A governing body desiring a grant under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. (2) Contents An application described in paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A) A description of— (i) the financial sustainability of the proposal, including how the governing body will leverage other sources of funding; and (ii) how the qualified purposes proposed with respect to the qualified community college will fill an unmet need within a qualified area. (B) Any relevant approvals with respect to the proposal that have been granted by any applicable State, local, or Indian Tribal government or appropriate accrediting body. (C) A certification that the governing body— (i) has consulted with the jurisdictions in which the qualified community college is, or will be, located; and (ii) has the written approval of the State higher education agency for the proposal. (D) In the case of an application proposing to establish a new qualified community college and in addition to the requirements under subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)— (i) whether such proposal has received approval from the State higher education agency; and (ii) a description of the sustainability of such qualified community college, including any commitment from any State, local, or Indian Tribal government to provide additional funding for such college. (c) Priorities (1) In general In awarding grants under this Act for a fiscal year and subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary shall— (A) give highest priority to— (i) applications that propose to establish a qualified community college that will serve the residents of the State's largest metropolitan statistical area that does not contain an institution described in section 2(5)(A); or (ii) in the case of a State for which no applications described in clause (i) are submitted, applications that propose to establish a qualified community college that will serve the residents of the State's largest micropolitan statistical area that does not contain an institution described in section 2(5)(A); (B) after applying subparagraph (A), give high priority to any governing body that— (i) has a partnership, or agrees to enter into a partnership upon receipt of the grant, with— (I) 1 or more local high schools, as defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 7801 ), including a dual or concurrent enrollment program (as defined in such section); (II) a 4-year institution of higher education that includes a credit-transfer agreement or articulation agreement (as defined in section 486A(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1093a(a) )) for students at the qualified community college; or (III) a State workforce development board established under section 101 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3111 ); or (ii) is the governing body of, has a partnership with, or agrees to enter into a partnership upon receipt of the grant with, an institution that is— (I) a part B institution (as defined in section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1061 )); (II) a Historically Black Graduate Professional School (as identified in section 326(e) of such Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1063b(e) )); (III) a Hispanic-serving institution (as defined in section 502(a) of such Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1101a(a) )); (IV) a Tribal College or University (as defined in section 316(b) of such Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1059c(b) )); (V) an Alaska Native-serving institution or a Native Hawaiian-serving institution (as such terms are defined in section 317(b) of such Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1059d(b) )); (VI) a Predominantly Black institution (as defined in section 371(c) of such Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1067q(c) )); (VII) an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution (as defined in section 371(c) of such Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1067q(c) )); or (VIII) a Native American-serving nontribal institution (as defined in section 371(c) of such Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1067q(c) )); and (C) after applying subparagraphs (A) and (B), give priority to any governing body that agrees to use not less than 80 percent of the grant funds provided under this section for qualified community college construction or renovation that is certified, verified, or consistent with the applicable provisions of— (i) the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating standard of the United States Green Building Council; (ii) the Living Building Challenge green building certification program developed by the International Living Future Institute; (iii) a green building rating program developed by the Collaborative for High-Performance Schools that is designated as CHPS Verified; or (iv) a green building program that— (I) has standards that are equivalent to or more stringent than the standards of a program described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); (II) is adopted by the State or another jurisdiction with authority over the qualified community college; and (III) includes a verifiable method to demonstrate compliance with the program. (2) Cumulative limitation per State The Secretary shall ensure that the total amount of grant funds awarded under this Act to all governing bodies located in a State for any fiscal year shall not exceed the greater of— (A) the amount equal to 10 percent of all grant funds awarded under this Act for such fiscal year; or (B) $50,000,000. (d) Use of funds An eligible entity receiving a grant under this Act shall use— (1) not less than 95 percent of the grant funds for a qualified purpose with respect to a qualified community college; and (2) not more than 5 percent of the grant funds for administrative expenses associated with the grant. (e) Reports By not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter for the duration of the grant program under this Act, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to Congress a report on the grant program that— (1) describes the uses of grant funds; and (2) includes information on the regions and students served through the program. 4. Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act a total of $10,000,000,000 for fiscal years 2026 through 2035.