[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4158 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4158

 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reinstate the ability-to-
                          benefit eligibility.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 2, 2015

  Mr. Gibson (for himself and Ms. Lee) 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 reinstate the ability-to-
                          benefit eligibility.

    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 ``Restoring Investment in ATB Student 
Education Act'' or the ``RISE Act''.

SEC. 2. ABILITY-TO-BENEFIT ELIGIBILITY.

    (a) In General.--Section 484(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1091(d)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Students Who Are Not High School Graduates.--In order for a 
student who does not have a certificate of graduation from a school 
providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such 
certificate, to be eligible for any assistance under subparts 1, 3, and 
4 of part A and parts B, C, D, and E of this title, the student shall 
meet one of the following standards:
            ``(1) The student shall take an independently administered 
        examination and shall achieve a score, specified by the 
        Secretary, demonstrating that such student can benefit from the 
        education or training being offered. Such examination shall be 
        approved by the Secretary on the basis of compliance with such 
        standards for development, administration, and scoring as the 
        Secretary may prescribe in regulations.
            ``(2) The student shall be determined as having the ability 
        to benefit from the education or training in accordance with 
        such process as the State shall prescribe. Any such process 
        described or approved by a State for the purposes of this 
        section shall be effective 6 months after the date of 
        submission to the Secretary unless the Secretary disapproves 
        such process. In determining whether to approve or disapprove 
        such process, the Secretary shall take into account the 
        effectiveness of such process in enabling students without high 
        school diplomas or the equivalent thereof to benefit from the 
        instruction offered by institutions utilizing such process, and 
        shall also take into account the cultural diversity, economic 
        circumstances, and educational preparation of the populations 
        served by the institutions.
            ``(3) The student has completed a secondary school 
        education in a home school setting that is treated as a home 
        school or private school under State law.
            ``(4) The student shall be determined by the institution of 
        higher education as having the ability to benefit from the 
        education or training offered by the institution of higher 
        education upon satisfactory completion of six credit hours or 
        the equivalent clock hours that are applicable toward a degree 
        or certificate offered by the institution of higher 
        education.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 401(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(2)(A)(ii)) is amended by 
striking ``484(d)(1)(A)'' and inserting ``484(d)''.
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