[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3422 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3422

 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify competency-based 
                               education.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 21, 2019

Mr. Grothman (for himself, Mr. Steil, and Mr. Gallagher) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                                 Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify competency-based 
                               education.

    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 ``Competency-Based Education Act of 
2019'' or the ``CBE Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. REGULATORY RELIEF.

    (a) Repeal.--
            (1) Definition of credit hour.--The definition of the term 
        ``credit hour'' in section 600.2 of title 34, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, as added by the final regulations published by the 
        Department of Education in the Federal Register on October 29, 
        2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 66946).
            (2) Effect of repeal.--To the extent that regulations 
        repealed by paragraph (1) amended regulations that were in 
        effect on June 30, 2011, the provisions of the regulations that 
        were in effect on June 30, 2011, and were so amended are 
        restored and revived as if the regulations repealed by such 
        subparagraph had not taken effect.
    (b) Credit Hour.--The Secretary of Education shall not, on or after 
the date of enactment of this Act, promulgate or enforce any regulation 
or rule with respect to the definition of the term ``credit hour'' for 
any purpose under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 
seq.).

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(25) Competency-based education; competency-based 
        education program.--
                    ``(A) Competency-based education.--Except as 
                otherwise provided, the term `competency-based 
                education' means education that--
                            ``(i) measures academic progress and 
                        attainment--
                                    ``(I) by direct assessment of a 
                                student's level of mastery of 
                                competencies;
                                    ``(II) by expressing a student's 
                                level of mastery of competencies in 
                                terms of equivalent credit or clock 
                                hours; or
                                    ``(III) by a combination of the 
                                methods described in subclauses (I) or 
                                (II) and credit or clock hours; and
                            ``(ii) provides the educational content, 
                        activities, and resources, including 
                        substantive instructional interaction, 
                        including by faculty, and regular support by 
                        the institution, necessary to enable students 
                        to learn or develop what is required to 
                        demonstrate and attain mastery of such 
                        competencies, as assessed by the accrediting 
                        agency or association of the institution of 
                        higher education.
                    ``(B) Competency-based education program.--Except 
                as otherwise provided, the term `competency-based 
                education program' means a postsecondary program 
                offered by an institution of higher education that--
                            ``(i) provides competency-based education, 
                        which upon a student's demonstration or mastery 
                        of a set of competencies identified and 
                        required by the institution, leads to or 
                        results in the award of a certificate, degree, 
                        or other recognized educational credential;
                            ``(ii) ensures title IV funds may be used 
                        only for learning that results from instruction 
                        provided, or overseen, by the institution, not 
                        for the portion of the program of which the 
                        student has demonstrated mastery prior to 
                        enrollment in the program or tests of learning 
                        that are not associated with educational 
                        activities overseen by the institution; and
                            ``(iii) is organized in such a manner that 
                        an institution can determine, based on the 
                        method of measurement selected by the 
                        institution under subparagraph (A)(i), what 
                        constitutes a full-time, three-quarter time, 
                        half-time, and less than half-time workload for 
                        the purposes of awarding and administering 
                        assistance under title IV of this Act, or 
                        assistance provided under another provision of 
                        Federal law to attend an institution of higher 
                        education.
                    ``(C) Competency defined.--In this paragraph, the 
                term `competency' means the knowledge, skill, or 
                ability demonstrated by a student in a subject area.''.

SEC. 4. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO STUDENT ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Definitions of Academic Year and Eligible Program.--Section 481 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3)(A) For the purpose of a competency-based education program 
the term `academic year' shall be the published measured period 
established by the institution of higher education that is necessary 
for a student with a normal full-time workload for the course of study 
the student is pursuing (as measured using the value of competencies or 
sets of competencies required by such institution and approved by such 
institution's accrediting agency or association) to earn--
            ``(i) one-quarter of a bachelor's degree;
            ``(ii) one-half of an associate's degree; or
            ``(iii) with respect to a non-degree or graduate program, 
        the equivalent of a period described in clause (i) or (ii).
    ``(B)(i) A competency-based education program that is not a term-
based program may be treated as a term-based program for purposes of 
establishing payment periods for disbursement of loans and grants under 
this title if--
            ``(I) the institution of higher education that offers such 
        program charges a flat subscription fee for access to 
        instruction during a period determined by the institution; and
            ``(II) the institution is able to determine the 
        competencies a student is expected to demonstrate for such 
        subscription period.
    ``(ii) Clause (i) shall apply even in a case in which instruction 
or other work with respect to a competency that is expected to be 
attributable to a subscription period begins prior to such subscription 
period.
    ``(iii) In a case in which a competency-based education program 
offered by an institution of higher education is treated as a term-
based program under clause (i), the institution shall review the 
academic progress of each student enrolled in such program in 
accordance with section 484(c), except that such review shall occur at 
the end of each payment period.''; and
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (4) and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(4) For purposes of this title, the term `eligible program' 
includes a competency-based program that--
            ``(A) has been evaluated and approved by an accrediting 
        agency or association that--
                    ``(i) is recognized by the Secretary under subpart 
                2 of part H; and
                    ``(ii) has evaluation of competency-based education 
                programs within the scope of its recognition in 
                accordance with section 496(a)(4)(C); or
            ``(B) as of the day before the date of enactment of the CBE 
        Act of 2019, met the requirements of a direct assessment 
        program under section 481(b)(4) (as such section was in effect 
        on the day before such date of enactment).''.
    (b) Student Eligibility.--Section 484 of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following:
    ``(6) For purposes of competency-based education, in order to be 
eligible to receive any loan under this title for an award year, a 
student may be enrolled in coursework attributable only to 2 academic 
years within the award year.''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B)--
                                    (I) by striking ``the student has a 
                                cumulative'' and inserting the 
                                following: ``the student has--''
                    ``(i) a cumulative;'';
                                    (II) by striking ``the second'' and 
                                inserting ``each'';
                                    (III) by striking the period at the 
                                end and inserting ``; or''; and
                                    (IV) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                    ``(ii) for the purposes of competency-based 
                programs, a non-grade equivalent demonstration of 
                academic standing consistent with the requirements for 
                graduation, as determined by the institution, at the 
                end of each such academic year; and''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(C) the student maintains a pace in his or her 
        educational program that--
                    ``(i) ensures that the student completes the 
                program within the maximum timeframe; and
                    ``(ii) is measured by a method determined by the 
                institution which may be based on credit hours, clock 
                hours, or competencies completed.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``grading 
                period'' and inserting ``evaluation period''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term `maximum timeframe' 
means--
            ``(A) with respect to an undergraduate program measured in 
        credit hours, a period that is no longer than 150 percent of 
        the published length of the educational program, as measured in 
        credit hours;
            ``(B) with respect to an undergraduate program measured in 
        competencies, a period that is no longer than 150 percent of 
        the published length of the educational program, as measured in 
        competencies;
            ``(C) with respect to an undergraduate program measured in 
        clock hours, a period that is no longer than 150 percent of the 
        published length of the educational program, as measured by the 
        cumulative number of clock hours the student is required to 
        complete and expressed in calendar time; and
            ``(D) with respect to a graduate program, a period defined 
        by the institution that is based on the length of the 
        educational program.''.
    (c) Recognition of Accrediting Agency or Association.--Section 496 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(4)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end; and
                    (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(B) such agency or association demonstrates the ability 
        to review, evaluate, and assess the quality of any instruction 
        delivery model or method such agency or association has or 
        seeks to include within its scope of recognition, without 
        giving preference to or differentially treating a particular 
        instruction delivery model or method offered by an institution 
        of higher education or program except that, in a case in which 
        the instruction delivery model allows for the separation of the 
        student from the instructor--
                    ``(i) the agency or association requires the 
                institution to have processes through which the 
                institution establishes that the student who registers 
                in a course or program is the same student who 
                participates in, including, to the extent practicable, 
                testing or other assessment, and completes the program 
                and receives the academic credit; and
                    ``(ii) the agency or association requires that any 
                process used by an institution to comply with the 
                requirement under clause (i) does not infringe upon 
                student privacy and is implemented in a manner that is 
                minimally burdensome to the student; and
            ``(C) if such an agency or association evaluates or 
        assesses the quality of competency-based education programs, 
        the agency's or association's evaluation or assessment--
                    ``(i) shall address effectively the quality of an 
                institution's competency-based education programs as 
                set forth in paragraph (5), except that the agency or 
                association is not required to have separate standards, 
                procedures, or policies for the evaluation of 
                competency-based education;
                    ``(ii) shall establish whether an institution has 
                demonstrated that its program satisfies the definitions 
                in section 103(25); and
                    ``(iii) shall establish whether an institution has 
                demonstrated that it has defined an academic year for a 
                competency-based program in accordance with section 
                481(a)(3).'';
            (2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ``or competency-
        based education'' after ``distance education'';
            (3) in subsection (n)(3), by inserting ``, or competency-
        based education programs,'' after each occurrence of ``distance 
        education courses or programs''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(r) Waiver.--The Secretary shall establish a process through 
which an agency or association may seek to have a requirement of this 
subpart waived, if such agency or association--
            ``(1) demonstrates that such waiver is necessary to enable 
        an institution of higher education or program accredited by the 
        agency or association to implement innovative practices 
        intended to--
                    ``(A) reduce administrative burdens to the 
                institution or program without creating costs for the 
                taxpayer; or
                    ``(B) improve the delivery of services to students, 
                improve instruction or learning outcomes, or otherwise 
                benefit students; and
            ``(2) describes the terms and conditions that will be 
        placed upon the program or institution to ensure academic 
        integrity and quality.''.
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