[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1866 Considered and Passed Senate (CPS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1866

  To provide the Secretary of Education with waiver authority for the 
reallocation rules and authority to extend the deadline by which funds 
   have to be reallocated in the campus-based aid programs under the 
 Higher Education Act of 1965 due to Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, 
  and Hurricane Maria, to provide equitable services to children and 
          teachers in private schools, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 26, 2017

  Mr. Alexander introduced the following bill; which was read twice, 
              considered, read the third time, and passed

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide the Secretary of Education with waiver authority for the 
reallocation rules and authority to extend the deadline by which funds 
   have to be reallocated in the campus-based aid programs under the 
 Higher Education Act of 1965 due to Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, 
  and Hurricane Maria, to provide equitable services to children and 
          teachers in private schools, 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 ``Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria 
Education Relief Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. ALLOCATION AND USE OF CAMPUS-BASED HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Affected area.--The term ``affected area'' means an 
        area for which the President declared a major disaster or an 
        emergency under section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert 
        T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
        U.S.C. 5170 and 5191) as a result of Hurricane Harvey, 
        Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, Tropical Storm Harvey, 
        Tropical Storm Irma, or Tropical Storm Maria.
            (2) Affected student.--The term ``affected student'' means 
        an individual who has applied for or received student financial 
        assistance under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
        (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), and who--
                    (A) was enrolled or accepted for enrollment on 
                August 25, 2017, at an institution of higher education 
                that is located in an affected area;
                    (B) is a dependent student who was enrolled or 
                accepted for enrollment on August 25, 2017, at an 
                institution of higher education that is not located in 
                an affected area, but whose parent or parents resided 
                or was employed on August 25, 2017, in an affected 
                area; or
                    (C) suffered direct economic hardship as a direct 
                result of Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane 
                Maria, Tropical Storm Harvey, Tropical Storm Irma, or 
                Tropical Storm Maria, as determined by the Secretary.
            (3) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1002).
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.
    (b) Waivers.--
            (1) Waiver of non-federal share requirement.--
        Notwithstanding sections 413C(a)(2) and 443(b)(5) of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b-2(a)(2) and 1087-
        53(b)(5)), with respect to funds made available for award years 
        2016-2017 and 2017-2018--
                    (A) in the case of an institution of higher 
                education that is located in an affected area, the 
                Secretary shall waive the requirement that a 
                participating institution of higher education provide a 
                non-Federal share to match Federal funds provided to 
                the institution for the programs authorized pursuant to 
                subpart 3 of part A and part C of title IV of the 
                Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b et seq. 
                and 1087-51 et seq.); and
                    (B) in the case of an institution of higher 
                education that is not located in an affected area but 
                has enrolled or accepted for enrollment any affected 
                students, the Secretary may waive the non-Federal share 
                requirement described in subparagraph (A) after 
                considering the institution's student population and 
                existing resources.
            (2) Waiver of reallocation rules.--
                    (A) Authority to reallocate.--Notwithstanding 
                sections 413D(d) and 442(d) of the Higher Education Act 
                of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b-3(d) and 1087-52(d)), the 
                Secretary shall--
                            (i) reallocate any funds returned under 
                        such section 413D or 442 of the Higher 
                        Education Act of 1965 that were allocated to 
                        institutions of higher education for award year 
                        2016-2017 to an institution of higher education 
                        that is eligible under subparagraph (B); and
                            (ii) waive the allocation reduction for 
                        award year 2018-2019 for an institution of 
                        higher education that is eligible under 
                        subparagraph (B) returning more than 10 percent 
                        of its allocation under such section 413D or 
                        442 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 for 
                        award year 2017-2018.
                    (B) Institutions eligible for reallocation.--An 
                institution of higher education is eligible under this 
                subparagraph if the institution--
                            (i) participates in the program for which 
                        excess allocations are being reallocated; and
                            (ii)(I) is located in an affected area; or
                            (II) has enrolled or accepted for 
                        enrollment any affected students in award year 
                        2017-2018.
                    (C) Basis of reallocation.--The Secretary shall--
                            (i) determine the manner in which excess 
                        allocations will be reallocated pursuant to 
                        this paragraph; and
                            (ii) give preference in making 
                        reallocations to the needs of institutions of 
                        higher education located in an affected area.
                    (D) Additional waiver authority.--Notwithstanding 
                any other provision of law, in order to carry out this 
                paragraph, the Secretary may waive or modify any 
                statutory or regulatory provision relating to the 
                reallocation of excess allocations under subpart 3 of 
                part A or part C of title IV of the Higher Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b et seq. and 1087-51 et 
                seq.) in order to ensure that assistance is received by 
                institutions of higher education that are eligible 
                under subparagraph (B).
            (3) Availability of funds date extension.--Notwithstanding 
        any other provision of law--
                    (A) any funds available to the Secretary under 
                sections 413A and 441 of the Higher Education Act of 
                1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b and 1087-51) for which the period 
                of availability would otherwise expire on September 30, 
                2017, shall be available for obligation by the 
                Secretary until September 30, 2018, for the purposes of 
                the programs authorized pursuant to subpart 3 of part A 
                and part C of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
                1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b et seq. and 1087-51 et seq.); and
                    (B) the Secretary may recall any funds allocated to 
                an institution of higher education for award year 2016-
                2017 under section 413D or 442 of the Higher Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070b-3 and 1087-52), that, if 
                not returned to the Secretary as excess allocations 
                pursuant to either of those sections, would otherwise 
                lapse on September 30, 2017, and reallocate those funds 
                in accordance with paragraph (2)(A).
    (c) Emergency Requirement.--This section is designated as an 
emergency requirement pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-
You-Go Act of 2010 (title I of Public Law 111-139; 2 U.S.C. 933(g)).
    (d) Report.--Not later than October 1, 2018, the Secretary shall 
submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 
the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 
House of Representatives information on--
            (1) the total volume of assistance received by each 
        eligible institution of higher education under subsection 
        (b)(2); and
            (2) the total volume of the non-Federal share waived for 
        each institution of higher education under subsection (b)(1).
    (e) Sunset.--The provisions of subsection (b) shall cease to be 
effective on September 30, 2018.

SEC. 3. PROJECT SERV AND EQUITABLE SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND TEACHERS 
              IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS.

    Section 8501(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7881(b)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'';
            (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) section 4631, with regard to Project SERV.''.
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