[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2518 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2518

     To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to update reporting 
requirements for institutions of higher education and provide for more 
   accurate and complete data on student retention, graduation, and 
      earnings outcomes at all levels of postsecondary enrollment.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2015

Mr. Hunter (for himself, Mrs. Love, Mr. Carney, Mr. Gowdy, Mr. Ryan of 
Wisconsin, and Mrs. Davis of California) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to update reporting 
requirements for institutions of higher education and provide for more 
   accurate and complete data on student retention, graduation, and 
      earnings outcomes at all levels of postsecondary enrollment.

    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 ``Student Right to Know Before You Go 
Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS.

    Section 487(a)(17) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)(17)) is amended by inserting ``and including the requirements 
of section 493E'' after ``as designated by the Secretary''.

SEC. 3. INSTITUTIONAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE INFORMATION FOR 
              STUDENTS.

    Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(n) Alignment With Institutional Reporting Requirements Related 
to IPEDS.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the date 
        of enactment of the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act of 
        2015, the Secretary shall issue guidance outlining which data 
        metrics required to be submitted by institutions of higher 
        education under section 493E are duplicative of institutional 
        reporting requirements under this section and other provisions 
        of this Act.
            ``(2) Link to institutional reporting website.--Not later 
        than 5 years after the date of enactment of the Student Right 
        to Know Before You Go Act of 2015, an institution of higher 
        education participating in any program under this title shall--
                    ``(A) not be required to make available such 
                duplicative requirements, as determined under paragraph 
                (1), under this section and other provisions of this 
                Act; and
                    ``(B) provide a prominently displayed link on the 
                institution's website to the website described in 
                section 493E(e)(2).''.

SEC. 4. INSTITUTIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Amendment to Database of Student Information Prohibited.--
Section 134(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015c(b)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) is necessary to carry out section 493E.''.
    (b) Reporting Requirements.--Part G of title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

``SEC. 493E. INSTITUTIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Submission of data.--Each institution of higher 
        education participating in a program under this title shall 
        submit to the Secretary data sufficient, as determined by the 
        Secretary, to complete all student components of reporting 
        required for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 
        (referred to in this section as `IPEDS').
            ``(2) Guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act of 
        2015, the Secretary shall submit to institutions of higher 
        education guidance related to the submission of data under this 
        subsection.
            ``(3) Review.--The Secretary shall review, every 5 years, 
        the determination of the categories of data that shall be 
        submitted pursuant to paragraph (1).
    ``(b) Establishment of Additional Student Classifications.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act of 
        2015, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) establish common definitions for institutions 
                to follow in submitting the data required under this 
                section; and
                    ``(B) determine collection and submission 
                requirements.
            ``(2) Student-level components of ipeds.--The Secretary 
        shall require institutions of higher education participating in 
        a program under this title to submit student-level components 
        of IPEDS to enable coding and reporting on--
                    ``(A) students who participate in remedial 
                education at, or through, the institution;
                    ``(B) whether, and at what level, the student is 
                seeking a degree; and
                    ``(C) whether the student is seeking a certificate.
    ``(c) Establishment of New Outcome Metrics.--
            ``(1) In general.--Data submitted to the Secretary under 
        subsections (a) and (b) shall be used to calculate all student-
        level components of IPEDS.
            ``(2) Additional measures to be calculated.--In addition to 
        the student-level component outcome measures required to be 
        calculated by the Secretary on the day before the date of 
        enactment of the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act of 
        2015, the Secretary shall, beginning not later than 2 years 
        after the date of enactment of the Student Right to Know Before 
        You Go Act of 2015, also calculate, at the institutional and 
        program-specific levels, the following:
                    ``(A) The percentage of students who receive--
                            ``(i) Federal grants;
                            ``(ii) Federal loans;
                            ``(iii) State grants;
                            ``(iv) State loans;
                            ``(v) institutional grants; or
                            ``(vi) institutional loans.
                    ``(B) The average amount of total Federal loan debt 
                upon student graduation assumed by students while 
                enrolled at the institution.
                    ``(C) The average amount of total Federal loan debt 
                of students who do not complete a program of study 2 
                years after the students' last known enrollment in any 
                institution of higher education.
                    ``(D) Student transfer rates by sector of transfer, 
                which shall be defined as the percentage of students 
                who leave an institution and successfully enroll in and 
                complete a program of study at another institution, 
                including whether the receiving institution is a public 
                4-year institution, public 2-year institution, public 
                less-than-2-year institution, private nonprofit 4-year 
                institution, private nonprofit 2-year institution, 
                private nonprofit less-than-2-year institution, private 
                for-profit 4-year institution, private for-profit 2-
                year institution, or private for-profit less-than-2-
                year institution.
                    ``(E) Rates of continuation to higher levels of 
                education.
                    ``(F) The percentage of students who receive the 
                degree level they initially sought.
                    ``(G) The outcome measures described in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (F), in addition to all 
                student-level components of IPEDS required to be 
                reported on the day before the date of enactment of the 
                Student Right to Know Before You Go Act of 2015, 
                disaggregated on the basis of the following student 
                types:
                            ``(i) Students who received a Federal Pell 
                        Grant.
                            ``(ii) Students who received a loan under 
                        part B or part D, but not a Federal Pell Grant.
                            ``(iii) Students who received neither a 
                        Federal Pell Grant, nor a loan under part B or 
                        part D.
                            ``(iv) Students who are identified as 
                        veterans or members of the Armed Forces who 
                        received assistance under the Post-9/11 
                        Veterans Educational Assistance Program under 
                        chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code, or 
                        tuition assistance under the laws administered 
                        by the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of 
                        Veterans Affairs and Secretary of the 
                        Department of Defense shall coordinate with the 
                        Secretary to make available data sufficient to 
                        enable such reporting under this clause.
                            ``(v) Enrollment status, including the 
                        following:
                                    ``(I) First-time, full-time 
                                students.
                                    ``(II) First-time, part-time 
                                students.
                                    ``(III) Non-first-time, full-time 
                                students.
                                    ``(IV) Non-first-time, part-time 
                                students.
                            ``(vi) Enrollment intensity while enrolled 
                        at the institution, including the following:
                                    ``(I) Full-time only.
                                    ``(II) Part-time only.
                                    ``(III) Mixed enrollment, both 
                                full- and part-time.
                    ``(H) Earning metrics, generated through a system 
                established by the Secretary in cooperation with the 
                Commissioner of Social Security and using the student 
                components of IPEDS, that shall include--
                            ``(i) median annual earnings and employment 
                        metrics, disaggregated by--
                                    ``(I) educational program based on 
                                CIP code;
                                    ``(II) credential received;
                                    ``(III) educational institution; 
                                and
                                    ``(IV) State of employment; and
                            ``(ii) the disaggregated median annual 
                        earnings for each of the categories described 
                        in subclauses (I) through (IV) of clause (i), 
                        further disaggregated for each of the following 
                        time periods:
                                    ``(I) 2 years after educational 
                                program completion.
                                    ``(II) 6 years after educational 
                                program completion.
                                    ``(III) 15 years after educational 
                                program completion.
                    ``(I) Other information determined necessary by the 
                Secretary.
            ``(3) Consultation.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Secretary shall consult extensively with State offices with 
        existing, as of the date of the consultation, student-level 
        data collections from public and private institutions, 
        particularly in the formulation of the calculation and 
        reporting standards outlined in this subsection and subsections 
        (a) and (b), and the public access to data under subsection 
        (e)(2).
            ``(4) Guidelines.--The Secretary shall issue guidelines to 
        institutions of higher education regarding the amendments 
        needed to the annual privacy notices required under section 
        444(c)(3) of the General Education Provisions Act (commonly 
        referred to as the `Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act 
        of 1974') of the institutions in order to reference the data 
        collection required under this section.
    ``(d) Unauthorized Uses.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any personally identifiable information 
        collected for the data system under this section shall not be 
        used for any use that is not either specifically authorized by 
        this section or permitted as a disclosure under this section.
            ``(2) No federal action.--No action of Federal authority 
        may be taken against an individual based on data collected for 
        the data system developed under this section. No Federal 
        agency, officer, or employee and no recipient of a Federal 
        grant, contract, or cooperative agreement may, for any reason, 
        require the Secretary or any employee of the Secretary to 
        disclose personally identifiable information that has been 
        collected or retained under this section.
            ``(3) Immunity.--Personally identifiable information 
        collected or retained under this section shall be immune from 
        legal process and shall not, without the consent of the 
        individual concerned, be admitted as evidence or used for any 
        purpose in any action, suit, or other judicial or 
        administrative proceeding.
            ``(4) No institution action.--An institution of higher 
        education may not use the data system developed under this 
        section, or data accessed through such system, to take any 
        action against an individual.
            ``(5) Application.--This subsection shall not apply to 
        requests for personally identifiable information submitted by 
        or on behalf of the individual identified in the information. 
        Any such individual has the right to request and receive from 
        the Secretary the data containing personally identifiable 
        information collected on the individual's behalf, upon 
        demonstrating the individual's identity to the satisfaction of 
        the Secretary.
    ``(e) Permissible Disclosures.--
            ``(1) Disclosure limitation.--In carrying out the public 
        reporting and disclosure requirements of this Act, the 
        Secretary shall use appropriate statistical disclosure 
        limitation techniques necessary such that the data released to 
        the public cannot include personally identifiable information 
        or be used to identify specific individuals.
            ``(2) Public availability.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall post the 
                aggregate data collected under this section on a 
                website of the Department in a timely and user-friendly 
                manner.
                    ``(B) Additional research availability.--The 
                Secretary may make available the non-personally 
                identifiable data set used to prepare the data for the 
                website in accordance with subparagraph (A) to 
                researchers performing studies or evaluations approved 
                by the Secretary or the Director of the Institute of 
                Education Sciences.
                    ``(C) Enabling administrative improvement by 
                institutions of higher education.--The Secretary shall 
                create a process through which institutions of higher 
                education participating in programs under this title 
                and States may request and receive from the Department 
                aggregate student outcome data for the purposes of 
                institutional improvement and program evaluation. The 
                Secretary shall promulgate regulations to ensure fair 
                and equitable access to such data.
            ``(3) No sale of data.--The Secretary shall not sell any 
        data collected under this section, including the public use 
        data set available under paragraph (2)(B), to any third party.
    ``(f) Ensuring Comparability of Data Metric.--For a period of 5 
years following the date of enactment of the Student Right to Know 
Before You Go Act of 2015, the Secretary shall be responsible for 
publishing all student-level components of IPEDS as such components 
would have been produced on the day before the date of enactment of the 
Student Right to Know Before You Go Act of 2015.
    ``(g) Felony for Willful Disclosure.--
            ``(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any person who 
        obtains or has access to personally identifiable information in 
        connection with the data system described in this section to 
        willfully disclose such personally identifiable information, in 
        any manner, to any person that is not entitled to receive the 
        information.
            ``(2) Penalty.--Any person who violates paragraph (1) shall 
        be found guilty of a felony and imprisoned for not more than 5 
        years, or fined as specified in section 3571 of title 18, 
        United States Code, or both.
    ``(h) Protection of Data.--The Secretary shall promulgate and 
periodically review guidance and regulations relating to security, 
which shall govern the access, use, and disclosure of data collected in 
connection with the activities authorized in this Act. The regulations 
developed and reviewed shall be consistent with the need to protect 
data from unauthorized access, use, and disclosure, and shall include--
            ``(1) an audit capability;
            ``(2) access controls; and
            ``(3) requirements to ensure sufficient data security, 
        quality, validity, and reliability.
    ``(i) Definition of Personally Identifiable Information.--In this 
section, the term `personally identifiable information' includes--
            ``(1) a student's name;
            ``(2) the name of a student's parent or other family 
        members;
            ``(3) the address of a student or student's family;
            ``(4) a personal identifier, such as a student's social 
        security number, student number, or biometric record;
            ``(5) other indirect identifiers, such as a student's date 
        of birth, place of birth, and mother's maiden name;
            ``(6) other information that, alone or in combination, is 
        linked or linkable to a specific student that would allow a 
        reasonable person in the school community, who does not have 
        personal knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to identify 
        the student with reasonable certainty; or
            ``(7) information requested by a person who the educational 
        agency or institution reasonably believes knows the identity of 
        the student to whom the education record relates.
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary 
for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2024.''.
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