[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1106 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1106

  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow the Secretary of 
         Education to award Early College Federal Pell Grants.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 28, 2015

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow the Secretary of 
         Education to award Early College Federal Pell Grants.

    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 ``Go to High School, Go to College Act 
of 2015''.

SEC. 2. EARLY COLLEGE FEDERAL PELL GRANT.

    Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Early College Federal Pell Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding the requirement under 
        section 484(a)(1) that a student not been enrolled in an 
        elementary or secondary school to be eligible to receive a 
        Federal Pell Grant under this section, for the award years 
        beginning on July 1, 2015, and ending on June 30, 2021, the 
        Secretary shall carry out a program to award Early College 
        Federal Pell Grants to eligible students to support enrollment 
        in, and completion of, postsecondary courses offered through an 
        early college high school.
            ``(2) Maximum period for early college federal pell 
        grants.--An eligible student may receive an Early College 
        Federal Pell Grant under this subsection in an amount equal to 
        the cost of not more than 4 full-time postsecondary semesters, 
        or the equivalent of 4 full-time postsecondary semesters, as 
        determined by the Secretary by regulation, while enrolled in 
        postsecondary courses offered by an early college high school.
            ``(3) Counting of awards for purposes of federal pell 
        grants.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An Early College Federal Pell 
                Grant received under this subsection shall be counted 
                toward the maximum period for which a student may 
                receive Federal Pell Grants under this section, as 
                provided under subsection (c)(5).
                    ``(B) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the 
                requirement under subparagraph (A) on a case-by-case 
                basis for any student demonstrating evidence of a 
                credible disruption or redirection in course of study 
                necessitating additional time to complete a 
                postsecondary degree or credential.
            ``(4) Terms and conditions.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in this 
                subsection, an Early College Federal Pell Grant 
                received under this subsection shall have the same 
                terms and conditions, and be awarded in the same 
                manner, as Federal Pell Grants awarded under this 
                section.
                    ``(B) Minimum completion.--An eligible student may 
                only receive an Early College Federal Pell Grant under 
                this subsection upon completion of a full-time 
                postsecondary semester, or the equivalent of a full-
                time postsecondary semester, as determined by the 
                Secretary by regulation.
                    ``(C) Amount.--The Secretary shall pay an eligible 
                institution that is engaged in a partnership as part of 
                an early college high school an amount equal to the 
                cost of tuition, fees, and books for each postsecondary 
                course (including with respect to the postsecondary 
                courses completed to satisfy the requirement under 
                subparagraph (B)) an eligible student completes through 
                such early college high school, provided such eligible 
                student satisfies the requirement under subparagraph 
                (B).
            ``(5) Reporting.--Each early college high school shall 
        annually submit to the Secretary a report on the program of 
        postsecondary courses provided to eligible students that 
        includes the following information:
                    ``(A) Total number and percentage of eligible 
                students who enroll in and subsequently complete the 
                program at the early college high school.
                    ``(B) The number of postsecondary credits earned by 
                eligible students while enrolled in the early college 
                high school that may be applied toward a postsecondary 
                degree or credential program.
                    ``(C) The percentage of eligible students enrolled 
                in the early college high school who concurrently earn 
                a secondary school diploma and an associate degree or 
                equivalent.
                    ``(D) The percentage of early college high school 
                graduates completing the program who enroll in a 
                postsecondary institution.
                    ``(E) The total amount of Early College Federal 
                Pell Grants awarded to eligible students served by the 
                early college high school.
            ``(6) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Early college high school.--The term `early 
                college high school' means a partnership between a 
                public secondary school and at least 1 eligible 
                institution--
                            ``(i) that enables a student enrolled at 
                        such secondary school to simultaneously earn a 
                        secondary school diploma and postsecondary 
                        credits that are transferable to such eligible 
                        institution as part of an organized course of 
                        study toward a postsecondary degree or 
                        credential at no cost to the student or the 
                        family of the student;
                            ``(ii) that offers students enrolled at 
                        such secondary school postsecondary courses 
                        provided by an eligible institution as part of 
                        a State-approved program of study that leads to 
                        a postsecondary degree, certificate, or general 
                        education core that is transferable to such 
                        eligible institution;
                            ``(iii) that provides such students the 
                        opportunity to earn not less than 12 credit 
                        hours in such postsecondary courses; and
                            ``(iv) that provides support, placement 
                        test prep strategies, tutoring, or comparable 
                        strategies to ensure student preparation for 
                        and success in college courses.
                    ``(B) Eligible student.--The term `eligible 
                student' means a student enrolled at an early college 
                high school who, if such student met the requirements 
                of section 484 for eligibility for a Federal Pell 
                Grant, would be awarded a Federal Pell Grant after the 
                determination of the expected family contribution for 
                such student.''.
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