1.Early
Federal Pell Grant commitment demonstration programSubpart 1 of part A of title IV of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
401B.Early Federal
Pell Grant commitment demonstration program
(a)Demonstration
program authority
(1)The Secretary is authorized to carry out an Early Federal
Pell Grant Commitment Demonstration Program under which—
(A)the Secretary
awards grants to 4 State educational agencies, in accordance with paragraph
(2), to pay the administrative expenses incurred in participating in the
demonstration program under this section; and
(B)the Secretary
awards Federal Pell Grants to participating students in accordance with this
section.
(2)
(A)From amounts appropriated under subsection (g) for a
fiscal year, the Secretary is authorized to award grants to 4 State educational
agencies to enable the State educational agencies to pay the administrative
expenses incurred in participating in a demonstration program under which
students in 8th grade who are eligible for a free or reduced price meal receive
a commitment to receive a Federal Pell Grant early in their academic
careers.
(B)The Secretary shall award grants under this section in
equal amounts to each of the 4 participating State educational agencies.
(b)Demonstration
project requirementsEach of the 4 demonstration projects
assisted under this section shall meet the following requirements:
(1)
(A)The State educational agency shall make participation in
the demonstration project available to 2 cohorts of students, which shall
consist of—
(i)1
cohort of 8th grade students who begin the participation in academic year
2007–2008; and
(ii)1 cohort of 8th
grade students who begin the participation in academic year 2008–2009.
(B)Each cohort of students shall consist of not more
than 10,000 8th grade students who qualify for a free or reduced price meal
under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or the Child Nutrition
Act of 1966.
(2)The State educational agency shall ensure that student data
from local educational agencies serving students who participate in the
demonstration project, as well as student data from local educational agencies
serving a comparable group of students who do not participate in the
demonstration project, are available for evaluation of the demonstration
project.
(3)Federal Pell
Grant commitmentEach student who participates in the
demonstration project receives a commitment from the Secretary to receive a
Federal Pell Grant during the first academic year that student is in attendance
at an institution of higher education as an undergraduate, if the student
applies for Federal financial aid (via the FAFSA) during the student's senior
year of secondary school and during succeeding years.
(4)Applicability
of Federal Pell Grant requirementsThe requirements of section
401 shall apply to Federal Pell Grants awarded pursuant to this section, except
that the amount of each participating student's Federal Pell Grant only shall
be calculated by deeming such student to have an expected family contribution
equal to zero.
(5)The Secretary shall establish an application process to
select State educational agencies to participate in the demonstration program
and State educational agencies shall establish an application process to select
local educational agencies within the State to participate in the demonstration
project.
(6)Local
educational agency participationSubject to the 10,000 statewide
student limitation described in paragraph (1), a local educational agency
serving students, not less than 50 percent of whom are eligible for a free or
reduced price meal under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or
the Child Nutritional Act of 1966, shall be eligible to participate in the
demonstration project.
(c)State
educational agency applications
(1)Each State educational agency desiring to participate in
the demonstration program under this section shall submit an application to the
Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require.
(2)Each
application shall include—
(A)a description of
the proposed targeted information campaign for the demonstration project and a
copy of the plan described in subsection (f)(2);
(B)a description of
the student population that will receive an early commitment to receive a
Federal Pell Grant under this section;
(C)an assurance that
the State educational agency will fully cooperate with the ongoing evaluation
of the demonstration project; and
(D)such other
information as the Secretary may require.
(d)
(1)Selection of
State educational agenciesIn selecting State educational
agencies to participate in the demonstration program, the Secretary shall
consider—
(A)the number and
quality of State educational agency applications received;
(B)the Department's
capacity to oversee and monitor each State educational agency's participation
in the demonstration program;
(C)a State
educational agency's—
(i)financial
responsibility;
(ii)administrative
capability;
(iii)commitment to
focusing State resources, in addition to any resources provided under part A of
title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, on students who
receive assistance under such part A;
(iv)the ability and
plans of a State educational agency to run an effective and thorough targeted
information campaign for students served by local educational agencies eligible
to participate in the demonstration project; and
(v)ensuring the
participation in the demonstration program of a diverse group of students with
respect to ethnicity and gender.
(2)In selecting local educational agencies to
participate in a demonstration project under this section, the State
educational agency shall consider—
(A)the number and
quality of local educational agency applications received;
(B)the State
educational agency's capacity to oversee and monitor each local educational
agency's participation in the demonstration project;
(C)a local
educational agency's—
(i)financial
responsibility;
(ii)administrative
capability;
(iii)commitment to
focusing local resources, in addition to any resources provided under part A of
title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, on students who
receive assistance under such part A;
(iv)the ability and
plans of a local educational agency to run an effective and thorough targeted
information campaign for students served by the local educational agency;
and
(v)ensuring the
participation in the demonstration project of a diverse group of students with
respect to ethnicity and gender.
(e)
(1)From amounts appropriated under section (g) for a fiscal
year, the Secretary shall reserve not more than $1,000,000 to award a grant or
contract to an organization outside the Department for an independent
evaluation of the impact of the demonstration program assisted under this
section.
(2)The grant or contract shall be awarded on a competitive
basis.
(3)The evaluation described in this subsection
shall—
(A)determine the
number of individuals who were encouraged by the demonstration program to
pursue higher education;
(B)identify the
barriers to the effectiveness of the demonstration program;
(C)assess the
cost-effectiveness of the demonstration program in improving access to higher
education;
(D)identify the
reasons why participants in the demonstration program either received or did
not receive a Federal Pell Grant;
(E)identify
intermediate outcomes (relative to postsecondary education attendance), such as
whether participants—
(i)were more likely
to take a college-prep curriculum while in secondary school;
(ii)submitted any
college applications; and
(iii)took the PSAT,
SAT, or ACT;
(F)identify the
number of individuals participating in the demonstration program who pursued an
associate's degree or a bachelor's degree, as well as other forms of
postsecondary education;
(G)compare the
findings of the demonstration program with respect to participants to
comparison groups (of similar size and demographics) that did not participate
in the demonstration program; and
(H)identify the
impact on the parents of students eligible to participate in the demonstration
program.
(4)The
findings of the evaluation shall be widely disseminated to the public by the
organization conducting the evaluation as well as by the Secretary.
(f)Targeted
information campaign
(1)Each State educational agency receiving a grant under
this section shall, in cooperation with the participating local educational
agencies within the State and the Secretary, develop a targeted information
campaign for the demonstration program assisted under this section.
(2)Each
State educational agency receiving a grant under this section shall include in
the application submitted under subsection (c) a written plan for their
proposed targeted information campaign. The plan shall include the
following:
(A)Outreach
to students and their families, at a minimum, at the beginning and end of each
academic year of the demonstration project.
(B)How
the State educational agency plans to provide the outreach described in
subparagraph (A) and to provide the information described in subparagraph
(C).
(C)The
annual provision by the State educational agency to all students and families
participating in the demonstration program of information regarding—
(i)the estimated
statewide average higher education institution cost data for each academic
year, which cost data shall be disaggregated by—
(I)type of
institution, including—
- (aa)2-year public
colleges;
- (bb)4-year public
colleges; and
- (cc)4-year private
colleges;
(II)by component,
including—
- (aa)tuition and
fees; and
- (bb)room and
board;
(ii)Federal Pell
Grants, including—
(I)the maximum
Federal Pell Grant for each academic year;
(II)when and how to
apply for a Federal Pell Grant; and
(III)what the
application process for a Federal Pell Grant requires;
(iii)State-specific
college savings programs;
(iv)State-based
merit aid;
(v)State-based
financial aid; and
(vi)Federal
financial aid available to students, including eligibility criteria for the
Federal financial aid and an explanation of the Federal financial aid
programs.
(3)The
information described in paragraph (2)(C) shall be provided to 2 cohorts of
students annually for the duration of the students' participation in the
demonstration program. The 2 cohorts shall consist of—
(A)1 cohort of 8th
grade students who begin the participation in academic year 2007–2008;
and
(B)1 cohort of 8th
grade students who begin the participation in academic year 2008–2009.
(4)Each
State educational agency receiving a grant under this section shall reserve
$200,000 of the grant funds received each fiscal year for each of the 2 cohorts
of students (for a total reservation of $400,000 each fiscal year) served by
the State to carry out their targeted information campaign described in this
subsection.
(g)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this section—
(1)$1,300,000 for
fiscal year 2008, of which—
(A)$500,000 shall be
available to carry out subsection (e); and
(B)$800,000 shall be
available to carry out subsection (f)(2)(C);
(2)$1,600,000 for
fiscal year 2009, of which $1,600,000 shall be available to carry out
subsection (f)(2)(C);
(3)$1,600,000 for
fiscal year 2010, of which $1,600,000 shall be available to carry out
subsection (f)(2)(C);
(4)$2,100,000 for
fiscal year 2011, of which—
(A)$500,000 shall be
available to carry out subsection (e); and
(B)$1,600,000 shall
be available to carry out subsection (f)(2)(C);
(5)$1,600,000 for
fiscal year 2012, of which $1,600,000 shall be available to carry out
subsection (f)(2)(C);
(6)$14,600,000 for
fiscal year 2013, of which—
(A)$800,000 shall be
available to carry out subsection (f)(2)(C); and
(B)$13,800,000 shall
be available for Federal Pell Grants provided in accordance with this section;
and
(7)$13,800,000 for
fiscal year 2014, of which $13,800,000 shall be available for Federal Pell
Grants provided in accordance with this
section.
.