118 HR 9857 IH: Mel’s Law U.S. House of Representatives 2024-09-25 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I118th CONGRESS2d SessionH. R. 9857IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESSeptember 25, 2024Ms. Velázquez (for herself, Mr. Tonko, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, and Mr. Espaillat) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the WorkforceA BILLTo amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education, as a condition of participation in programs under title IV of such Act, to establish a policy to award posthumous degrees to certain deceased students, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as Mel’s Law.

2.

Requirement to award posthumous degrees

(a)

Posthumous degrees

Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: (30)The institution certifies that the institution has established a policy to award posthumous degrees to deceased students who— (A)had been enrolled in a degree program at the institution; (B)died prior to completing such program; and (C)at the time of death, were in academic standing consistent with the requirements for graduation from such program, as determined by the institution. . (b)

Accreditation criteria

Section 496(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)) is amended— (1)by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (8) as paragraphs (7) through (9), respectively; and (2)by inserting after paragraph (5) the following: (6)the standards for accreditation of the agency or association do not take into consideration the number of posthumous degrees awarded by the institution to deceased students;. (c)

Effective date

The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.