[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4206 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4206
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include requirements for
programs of training to prepare students for gainful employment in a
recognized occupation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 23, 2019
Mr. Takano (for himself and Ms. Shalala) 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 include requirements for
programs of training to prepare students for gainful employment in a
recognized occupation.
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 ``Student and Taxpayer Protection
Act''.
SEC. 2. GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS.
Part A of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 104. PROGRAM OF TRAINING TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR GAINFUL
EMPLOYMENT IN A RECOGNIZED OCCUPATION.
``(a) Gainful Employment Program Defined.--In this Act (including
for purposes of sections 101 and 102), the term `program of training to
prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation' (in
this section referred to as `training program') means a training
program that--
``(1) is in compliance with the performance metrics
(including the eligibility thresholds for each such metric)
established under subsection (b)(1);
``(2) is in compliance with the notice requirements under
subsection (b)(1)(C)(i)(II);
``(3) is otherwise eligible to receive funds under title
IV; and
``(4) is not a training program that is substantially
similar to a training program which, during a period determined
by the Secretary, did not meet one or more of the performance
metrics (such as an eligibility threshold) described in
paragraph (1).
``(b) Secretarial Requirements.--
``(1) Establishment of requirements.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 18 months after
the date of enactment of the Student and Taxpayer
Protection Act, the Secretary shall establish
requirements for training programs to be eligible
training programs for purposes of receiving funds under
title IV, which shall include--
``(i) establishing performance metrics
(including eligibility thresholds for each such
metric) described in subparagraph (B); and
``(ii) developing a disclosure template and
a verification process for disclosures
described in subparagraph (C).
``(B) Performance metrics.--
``(i) In general.--In establishing the
performance metrics under subparagraph (A)(i),
the Secretary shall, at a minimum, establish
the requirements for a debt-to-earnings rate
that serves the best interests of students and
taxpayers, which shall include--
``(I) a methodology for calculating
such debt-to-earnings rate for a
training program, including--
``(aa) a definition of the
cohort of individuals on whom
such rate shall be based, who
shall be selected from the
individuals who were enrolled
in such training program
(without regard to whether the
individuals received a loan for
such enrollment);
``(bb) a determination of
the debt amount for such rate
based on the median annual loan
payment for the loans made
under title IV and the private
education loans received for
such enrollment by such cohort;
and
``(cc) a determination of
the earnings amount for such
rate based on the mean or
median of the actual, student-
level annual earnings for such
cohort;
``(II) establishing a process (such
as an appeals process) to authorize
training programs to use alternate
earnings in lieu of the mean or median
of the actual, student-level annual
earnings of a cohort; and
``(III) establishing a threshold
rate that each training program shall
meet to be eligible to receive funds
under title IV.
``(ii) Earnings data.--In determining the
mean or median of the actual, student-level
annual earnings for purposes of this
subparagraph, the Secretary shall obtain and
use the most currently available Federal data
on such earnings.
``(C) Disclosure template.--The Secretary shall
develop--
``(i) a disclosure template that--
``(I) is consumer tested; and
``(II) is used by each training
program to provide enrolled and
prospective students (including through
publication on the website of the
program)--
``(aa) on an annual basis,
student outcome information for
such program (including the
debt-to-earnings rate and
whether the eligibility
threshold for any other
performance metric established
under subparagraph (A)(i) has
been met); and
``(bb) in a case in which
the training program receives a
notice of determination under
paragraph (2)(B) that the
program may be ineligible for
funds under title IV, or may
receive other sanctions, not
later than 30 days after
receipt of such notice, an
explanation of such notice of
determination; and
``(ii) a process to annually verify that
each training program is providing the
disclosures required under clause (i)(II).
``(2) Enforcement of requirements.--Not later than 2 years
after the Secretary establishes requirements under paragraph
(1), and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall, with respect
to each training program--
``(A) calculate the debt-to-earnings rate and
assess performance with respect to any other metric
established under paragraph (1)(A)(i) for the preceding
award year, and make such information publicly
available on the website of the Department of
Education;
``(B) issue a notice of determination on whether
the program is meeting the requirements established by
the Secretary, including whether the program shall be
subject to sanctions (such as loss of eligibility under
title IV); and
``(C) enforce the applicable sanctions.''.
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