[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 621 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 621

  To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants with 
minority serving institutions for the purpose of establishing verified 
    delivery systems to address social and academic problems facing 
    veterans enrolled at such institutions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 28, 2015

  Mr. Vargas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants with 
minority serving institutions for the purpose of establishing verified 
    delivery systems to address social and academic problems facing 
    veterans enrolled at such institutions, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Veteran Excellence Through Education 
Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS GRANTS TO MINORITY SERVING 
              INSTITUTIONS TO ADDRESS SOCIAL AND ACADEMIC PROBLEMS 
              FACING VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may make grants 
to minority serving institutions for the purpose of establishing 
verified delivery systems to address social and academic problems 
facing veterans enrolled at such institutions.
    (b) Use of Funds.--The recipient of a grant under this section 
shall use the grant funds to carry out any of the following activities 
for veterans enrolled at the institution receiving the grant:
            (1) Providing education services, including post-secondary 
        education, courses in English as a second language, general 
        education development preparation, financial literacy workshops 
        and courses, generational diversity awareness programs, and 
        health and wellness programs.
            (2) Activities designed to increase access to workforce 
        services, including on-job training, internships, skills 
        training, job placement, and personal development.
            (3) Other types of support services, including health and 
        nutrition services, housing assistance, transportation, and 
        child care.
            (4) Establishing a center for veteran student success on 
        the campus of the institution to provide a single point of 
        contact to coordinate comprehensive support services for 
        veterans who are enrolled in a program of education offered by 
        the institution.
            (5) Establishing a veteran support team, including 
        representatives from the offices of the institution responsible 
        for admissions, registration, financial aid, veterans benefits, 
        academic advising, student health, personal or mental health 
        counseling, career advising, and disabilities services, and any 
        other office of the institution that provides support to 
        veteran students on campus.
            (6) Providing a coordinator whose primary responsibility is 
        to coordinate the activities carried out under the grant.
            (7) Monitoring the rates of enrollment, persistence, and 
        completion of veterans who are enrolled in a program of 
        education offered by the institution.
            (8) Developing a plan to sustain a center described in 
        paragraph (4) after the institution no longer receives funds 
        under this section.
            (9) Providing outreach to veterans to encourage them to 
        enroll in a program of education offered by the institution.
            (10) Providing supportive instructional services for 
        veterans enrolled in a program of education offered by the 
        institution, including--
                    (A) personal, academic, and career counseling;
                    (B) tutoring and academic skill-building 
                assistance; and
                    (C) assistance with special admissions and 
                transferring credits from previously attended 
                institutions of higher learning or other relevant 
                credits.
            (11) Providing assistance to veterans admitted for 
        enrollment in a program of education offered by the institution 
        in obtaining student financial aid.
            (12) Providing housing support for veterans enrolled in a 
        program of education offered by the institution who live in 
        institutional facilities or who commute.
            (13) Academic programs, orientation programs, and other 
        activities designed to ease the transition to campus life for 
        such veterans.
            (14) Support for veteran student organizations and veteran 
        student support groups at the institution.
            (15) Coordination of academic advising and admissions 
        counseling with military installations and national guard units 
        located in the same geographic area as the institution.
            (16) Other support services the institution determines 
        necessary to ensure the success of veterans enrolled in a 
        program of education offered by the institution in achieving 
        educational and career goals.
    (c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, a minority serving institution shall submit to the Secretary 
an application containing a program plan containing a strategy for 
meeting the needs of veterans enrolled in the institution. Such a plan 
shall include--
            (1) an identification of the population to be served;
            (2) an identification of the education and employment needs 
        of the population to be served and the manner in which the 
        activities proposed to be provided using grant funds are 
        designed to strengthen the ability of such individuals to 
        achieve their higher education goals;
            (3) a description of the activities proposed to be provided 
        using grant funds and the manner in which such activities would 
        be integrated with other appropriate activities carried out by 
        or at the institution; and
            (4) a description, developed in consultation with the 
        Secretary, of the performance measures proposed to be used to 
        assess the performance of the institution in carrying out 
        activities using grant funds.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``minority serving institution'' means a 
        historically Black college or university, a Hispanic-serving 
        institution, a Tribal College or University, or a Predominantly 
        Black Institution.
            (2) The term ``historically Black college'' has the meaning 
        given the term ``part B institution'' as defined in section 
        322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)).
            (3) The term ``Hispanic-serving institution'' has the 
        meaning given that term in as section 502(a)(5) of such Act (20 
        U.S.C. 1101a(a)(5)).
            (4) The term ``Tribal College or University'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 316(b)(3) of such Act (20 
        U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3)).
            (5) The term ``Predominantly Black Institution'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 318(b)(6) of such Act (20 
        U.S.C. 1059e(b)(6)).
    (e) Termination.--The Secretary may only make a grant under this 
section during fiscal years 2016 through 2021.
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