[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1866 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.1866
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and seventeen
An Act
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.''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.