[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3170 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3170

  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to assist institutions of 
    higher education to help at-risk students to stay in school and 
complete their 4-year postsecondary academic programs by helping those 
    institutions to provide summer programs and grant aid for such 
                   students, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            October 5 (legislative day, September 22), 2000

  Mr. Dodd (for himself, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to assist institutions of 
    higher education to help at-risk students to stay in school and 
complete their 4-year postsecondary academic programs by helping those 
    institutions to provide summer programs and grant aid for such 
                   students, and for other purposes.

    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 ``College Completion Challenge Grant 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

    Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, whenever in 
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment 
to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be 
considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).

SEC. 3. SUMMER PROGRAMS AND SUPPLEMENTARY GRANTS.

    (a) Duration of Grants.--The matter preceding subparagraph (A) of 
section 402A(b)(2) (20 U.S.C. 1070a-11(b)(2)) is amended by inserting 
``, except grants made under section 402D(d),'' before ``shall''.
    (b) Minimum Grants.--Section 402A(b)(3)(A) (20 U.S.C. 1070a-
11(b)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ``sections 402D'' and inserting 
``sections 402D(a)''.
    (c) College Completion Challenge Grants.--Section 402D (20 U.S.C. 
1070a-14) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) College Completion Challenge Grants.--
            ``(1) Reservation.--For any fiscal year, the Secretary may 
        reserve not more than 20 percent of the funds made available 
        under this section for College Completion Challenge Grants in 
        accordance with this subsection.
            ``(2) Eligible entities.--The following entities may apply 
        for a College Completion Challenge Grant:
                    ``(A) A recipient of a grant under subsection (a).
                    ``(B) Any entity described in section 402A(b)(1) 
                that demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the 
                Secretary, that it is providing services described in 
                subsection (a).
                    ``(C) Subject to paragraph (5), any entity that is 
                seeking a grant under subsection (a).
            ``(3) Uses of funds; requirements.--(A) Subject to 
        paragraph (4)(B), a recipient of a grant under this subsection 
        may use those funds to provide grant aid under subparagraph (B) 
        or a summer program under subparagraph (C).
            ``(B)(i) Except as provided in subparagraphs (C)(i) and 
        (D), a recipient of a grant under this subsection may use those 
        funds to provide grants to students who are in their first 2 
        years of postsecondary education and who are receiving Federal 
        Pell Grants under subpart 1.
            ``(ii)(I) The Secretary may, by regulation, establish 
        minimum award levels for grants to students under clause (i), 
        taking into account such factors as the different costs of 
        attendance associated with public and private institutions.
            ``(II) If the Secretary does not establish minimum award 
        levels under subclause (I), or if an institution wishes to 
        provide grants under clause (i) in an amount less than the 
        minimum set by the Secretary, the institution shall demonstrate 
        in its application, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that 
        the size of the grants it will provide to students is 
        appropriate and likely to have a significant effect on student 
        retention at that institution.
            ``(iii) A grant provided to a student under clause (i) 
        shall not be considered in determining that student's need for 
        grant or work assistance under this title, except that in no 
        case shall the total amount of student financial assistance 
        awarded to a student under this title exceed that student's 
        cost of attendance, as defined in section 472.
            ``(C)(i) A recipient of a grant under this subsection may 
        use those funds to establish an intensive summer program for 
        incoming first-year students (or students entering their second 
        or third year of postsecondary education if the institution can 
        demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that it is 
        addressing the needs of first-year students and that a summer 
        program may help retention of second- or third-year students at 
risk of dropping out of school).
            ``(ii) A summer program under this subparagraph shall--
                    ``(I) be no shorter than 6 weeks;
                    ``(II) include room, board, and the cost of the 
                program, at no cost to the student; and
                    ``(III) include a stipend.
            ``(D) A recipient of funds under this subsection may serve 
        students who have completed their first 2 years of 
        postsecondary education if it demonstrates in its application, 
        to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that--
                    ``(i) these students are at high risk of dropping 
                out of school; and
                    ``(ii) it will first meet the needs of all its 
                eligible first- and second-year students for services 
                under this subsection.
            ``(4) Applications.--(A) Each eligible applicant that 
        desires a grant under this subsection shall submit to the 
        Secretary an application for that grant at such time and 
        containing such information as the Secretary may prescribe.
            ``(B) Each eligible applicant that submits to the Secretary 
        an application that does not propose to use funds under this 
        subsection for both grants under paragraph (3)(B) and a summer 
        program under paragraph (3)(C) shall demonstrate, to the 
        satisfaction of the Secretary, how it will otherwise provide 
        both grants under paragraph (3)(B) and a summer program under 
        paragraph (3)(C).
            ``(C) Each eligible applicant for a grant under this 
        subsection whose grant under subsection (a) will end prior to 
        its grant under this subsection shall describe, in its 
        application for a grant under this subsection, how it will 
        continue to carry out the services and activities it carried 
        out under subsection (a) during the duration of its grant under 
        subsection (a).
            ``(D) Each eligible applicant for a grant under this 
        subsection that is not receiving funds under subsection (a) 
        shall describe in its application, to the satisfaction of the 
        Secretary, the services described under subsection (a) that it 
        is providing using funds other than funds provided under 
        subsection (a).
            ``(5) Special rule.-- Any eligible applicant that is 
        applying for grants under both subsection (a) and this 
        subsection that does not provide the services described under 
        subsection (a) at the time of application through funding 
        sources other than subsection (a) may not receive a grant under 
        this subsection unless it also receives a grant under 
        subsection (a).
            ``(6) Matching funds.--(A) Except as provided in 
        subparagraph (B), a recipient of a grant under this subsection 
        shall provide, from non-Federal funds, not less than 33 percent 
        of the total cost, in cash, of its program under this 
        subsection.
            ``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any institution 
        of higher education that is eligible to receive funds under 
        part A or B of title III, or under title V.
            ``(7) Duration of grants.--Grants under this subsection 
        shall be awarded for a period of 4 years.''.
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