[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3474 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3474

             To provide consumer protections for students.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2012

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
             To provide consumer protections for students.

    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 ``Protecting Students from Worthless 
Degrees Act''.

SEC. 2. CONSUMER PROTECTIONS FOR STUDENTS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Definitions.--In this section:
                    (A) Federal financial assistance program.--The term 
                ``Federal financial assistance program'' means a 
                program authorized and funded by the Federal Government 
                under any of the following provisions of law:
                            (i) Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
                        1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).
                            (ii) Title I of the Workforce Investment 
                        Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.).
                            (iii) The Adult Education and Family 
                        Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.).
                            (iv) Chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, or 35 of 
                        title 38, United States Code.
                            (v) Chapter 101, 105, 106A, 1606, 1607, or 
                        1608 of title 10, United States Code.
                            (vi) Section 1784a, 2005, or 2007 of title 
                        10, United States Code.
                    (B) Institution of higher education.--The term 
                ``institution of higher education''--
                            (i) with respect to a program authorized 
                        under subparagraph (A)(i), has the meaning 
                        given the term in section 102 of the Higher 
                        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002);
                            (ii) with respect to a program authorized 
                        under subparagraph (A)(ii), has the meaning 
                        given the term ``postsecondary educational 
                        institution'' as defined in section 101 of the 
                        Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
                        2801);
                            (iii) with respect to a program authorized 
                        under subparagraph (A)(iii), has the meaning 
                        given the term ``postsecondary educational 
                        institution'' as defined in section 203 of the 
                        Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (20 
                        U.S.C. 9202);
                            (iv) with respect to a program authorized 
                        under subparagraph (A)(iv), has the meaning 
                        given the term ``educational institution'' 
                        under section 3452 of title 38, United States 
                        Code;
                            (v) with respect to a program authorized 
                        under subparagraph (A)(v), means an educational 
                        institution that awards a degree or certificate 
                        and is located in any State; and
                            (vi) with respect to a program authorized 
                        under subparagraph (A)(vi), means an 
                        educational institution that awards a degree or 
                        certificate and is located in any State.
                    (C) State.--
                            (i) State.--The term ``State'' includes, in 
                        addition to the several States of the United 
                        States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
                        District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the 
                        United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth 
                        of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Freely 
                        Associated States.
                            (ii) Freely associated states.--The term 
                        ``Freely Associated States'' means the Republic 
                        of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States 
                        of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
            (2) Consumer protections.--Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of law, an institution of higher education is not 
        eligible to participate in a Federal financial assistance 
        program with respect to any program of postsecondary education 
        or training, including a degree or certificate program, that is 
        designed to prepare students for entry into a recognized 
        occupation or profession that requires licensing or other 
        established requirements as a pre-condition for entry into such 
        occupation or profession, unless--
                    (A) the successful completion of the program fully 
                qualifies a student, in the State in which the 
                institution offering the program is located (and in any 
                State in which the institution indicates, through 
                advertising or marketing activities or direct contact 
                with potential students, that a student will be 
                prepared to work in the occupation or profession after 
                successfully completing the program), to--
                            (i) take any examination required for entry 
                        into the recognized occupation or profession in 
                        the State, including satisfying all State or 
                        professionally mandated programmatic and 
                        specialized accreditation requirements, if any; 
                        and
                            (ii) be certified or licensed or meet any 
                        other academically related pre-conditions that 
                        are required for entry into the recognized 
                        occupation or profession in the State;
                    (B) the institution offering the program provides 
                timely placement for all of the academically related 
                pre-licensure requirements for entry into the 
                recognized occupation or profession in the State, such 
                as clinical placements, internships, or 
                apprenticeships;
                    (C) in the case of State licensing or 
                professionally mandated requirements for entry into the 
                recognized occupation or profession in the State in 
                which the institution offering the program is located 
                (and in any State in which the institution indicates, 
                through advertising or marketing activities or direct 
                contact with potential students, that a student will be 
                prepared to work in the occupation or profession after 
                successfully completing the program) that require 
                specialized accreditation--
                            (i) the program meets that requirement for 
                        specialized accreditation through its 
                        accreditation or pre-accreditation by an 
                        accrediting agency or association recognized by 
                        the Secretary of Education as a reliable 
                        authority as to the quality or training offered 
                        by the institution in that program; and
                            (ii) if the program is in a pre-accredited, 
                        probation, or show cause status by an 
                        accrediting agency or association described in 
                        clause (i), and the requirement for specialized 
                        accreditation is for full accreditation, the 
                        institution--
                                    (I) establishes, to the 
                                satisfaction of the Secretary of 
                                Education, that each student who 
                                enrolls before the program is fully 
                                accredited attests of being advised 
                                that the program is in a pre-
                                accredited, probation, or show cause 
                                status and of being informed of the 
                                effect on the student's eligibility for 
                                assistance under this title and on the 
                                student's ability to satisfy State or 
                                professionally mandated requirements 
                                for entry into the recognized 
                                occupation or profession if full 
                                accreditation is delayed, denied, 
                                terminated, or withdrawn; and
                                    (II) publicly and prominently 
                                discloses in any advertising, 
                                marketing, or recruitment materials and 
                                activities for the institution, the 
                                institution's pre-accredited, 
                                probation, or show cause status and the 
                                implications of such status for 
                                prospective students; and
                    (D) the institution--
                            (i) discloses on the application to enroll 
                        in the institution that its program does not 
                        necessarily satisfy out-of-State requirements, 
                        if applicable; and
                            (ii) upon receipt of an application to 
                        enroll in the institution, notifies the 
                        student, prior to enrollment, if the program in 
                        which the student intends to enroll does not 
                        satisfy the requirements of the State in which 
                        the student is a resident, if applicable.
    (b) Effective Date.--This section shall be effective 6 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act.
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