IIB 112th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 2117 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 29, 2012 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions AN ACT To prohibit the Department of Education from overreaching into academic affairs and program eligibility under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Protecting Academic Freedom in Higher Education Act.

2.

Repeal of regulations relating to State authorization and defining credit hour

(a)

Regulations repealed

(1)

Repeal

The following regulations (including any supplement or revision to such regulations) are repealed and shall have no legal effect: (A)

State authorization

Sections 600.4(a)(3), 600.5(a)(4), 600.6(a)(3), 600.9, and 668.43(b) of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (relating to State authorization), as added or amended by the final regulations published by the Department of Education in the Federal Register on October 29, 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 66832 et seq.). (B)

Definition of credit hour

The definition of the term credit hour in section 600.2 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, as added by the final regulations published by the Department of Education in the Federal Register on October 29, 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 66946), and clauses (i)(A), (ii), and (iii) of subsection (k)(2) of section 668.8 of such title, as amended by such final regulations (75 Fed. Reg. 66949 et seq.). (2)

Effect of repeal

To the extent that regulations repealed by paragraph (1) amended regulations that were in effect on June 30, 2011, the provisions of the regulations that were in effect on June 30, 2011, and were so amended are restored and revived as if the regulations repealed by paragraph (1) had not taken effect. (b)

Regulations defining credit hour prohibited

The Secretary of Education shall not promulgate or enforce any regulation or rule that defines the term credit hour for any purpose under the Higher Education Act of 1965 on or after the date of enactment of this section.

Passed the House of Representatives February 28, 2012. Karen L. Haas, Clerk