[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 496 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 496

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend Federal Pell Grant 
         eligibility to certain short-term workforce programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 25, 2023

 Ms. Stefanik (for herself, Ms. Foxx, Mr. Banks, Mrs. Hinson, and Mr. 
  Thompson of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend Federal Pell Grant 
         eligibility to certain short-term workforce programs.

    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 ``Promoting Employment and Lifelong 
Learning Act'' or the ``PELL Act''.

SEC. 2. PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY FOR WORKFORCE PELL GRANTS.

    Section 481(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1088(b)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs 
        (4) and (5), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) (A) A program is an eligible program for purposes of 
        the Workforce Pell Grants program under section 401(k) only 
        if--
                    ``(i) it is at least 150 clock hours of 
                instruction, but not more than 600 clock hours of 
                instruction, or an equivalent number of credit hours, 
                offered during a minimum of 8 weeks, but not more than 
                15 weeks;
                    ``(ii) it is determined by an accrediting agency or 
                association recognized by the Secretary pursuant to 
                section 496(a) to--
                            ``(I) provide an education aligned with the 
                        requirements of in-demand industry sectors or 
                        occupations, as defined in section 3 of the 
                        Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act;
                            ``(II) meet the hiring requirements of 
                        potential employers in the sectors or 
                        occupations described in subclause (I);
                            ``(III) have been offered by an institution 
                        for not less than 1 year prior to a 
                        determination by such agency or association 
                        under this paragraph;
                            ``(IV) have a verified completion rate of 
                        at least 70 percent, calculated so as to ensure 
                        that a student shall be counted as a completion 
                        if the student completes the program within 150 
                        percent of the normal time for completion; and
                            ``(V) have verified a job placement rate of 
                        at least 70 percent; and
                    ``(iii) for each award year, the total amount of 
                the published tuition and fees of the program for such 
                year is an amount that does not exceed the value-added 
                earnings of students who received Federal financial aid 
                under this title and who completed the program 3 years 
                prior to the award year, as such earnings are 
                determined by calculating the difference between--
                            ``(I) the median earnings of such students, 
                        as adjusted by the State and metropolitan area 
                        regional price parities of the Bureau of 
                        Economic Analysis based on the location of such 
                        program; and
                            ``(II) 150 percent of the poverty line 
                        applicable to a single individual as determined 
                        under section 673(2) of the Community Services 
                        Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) for such 
                        year.
            ``(B)(i) In the case of a program that has not previously 
        participated in programs under this title and is being 
        determined eligible for the first time under this paragraph, 
        the Secretary may consider such program to be an eligible 
        program for purposes of the Workforce Pell Grants program under 
        section 401(k) for a provisional eligibility period that may 
        not exceed 3 years, if such program--
                    ``(I) subject to subclause (II), meets the 
                requirements of subparagraph (A); and
                    ``(II) in lieu of the determination of median 
                earnings under subclause (I) of subparagraph (A)(iii), 
                provides to the Secretary for purposes of meeting the 
                requirements of subparagraph (A)(iii), alternate 
                earnings of students who complete the program, which 
                are statistically rigorous, accurate, comparable, and 
                representative of students who complete such program.
            ``(ii) In a case in which the Secretary determines that a 
        program provided inaccurate earnings data under clause (i)(II) 
        for purposes of receiving provisional eligibility under clause 
        (i), such program shall return to the Secretary any funds 
        received under this title during the period beginning on first 
        date of the provisional eligibility period and ending on the 
        date of determination under this clause.
            ``(C) The Secretary shall establish an appeals process to 
        permit eligible programs for purposes of the Workforce Pell 
        Grants program under section 401(k) to submit alternate 
        earnings data to comply with subparagraph (A)(iii), provided 
        that such data are statistically rigorous, accurate, 
        comparable, and representative of students who receive a 
        Workforce Pell Grant and complete the eligible program.''.

SEC. 3. DATA COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION RELATED TO WORKFORCE PELL.

    Section 131 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Data Collection and Dissemination Related to Workforce 
Pell.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, on an annual basis, 
        collect, verify, and make publicly available on the College 
        Scorecard or any similar successor website, the information 
        required under clause (i), subclauses (IV) and (V) of clause 
        (ii), and clause (iii), and of subsection (b)(3)(A) of section 
        481, with respect to each eligible program that meets the 
        requirements of section 481(b)(3), including--
                    ``(A) the length of the program (as measured in 
                clock hours, credit hours, or weeks);
                    ``(B) the number of students enrolled in the 
                eligible program during the most recent academic year 
                for which data is available;
                    ``(C) the percentage of students who enroll in the 
                eligible program and who complete the eligible program 
                within--
                            ``(i) 150 percent of the normal time for 
                        completion of such program; and
                            ``(ii) 200 percent of the normal time for 
                        completion of such program;
                    ``(D) the percentage of students who are employed 
                not later than 180 days after completing the eligible 
                program; and
                    ``(E) the percentage of individuals--
                            ``(i) who have completed such eligible 
                        program; and
                            ``(ii) 3 years after such completion, whose 
                        median earnings exceed 150 percent of the 
                        poverty line applicable to a single individual, 
                        as determined under section 673(2) of the 
                        Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        9902(2)).
            ``(2) Exceptions.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        this subsection, if disclosure of any data under paragraph (1) 
        is prohibited under State or Federal privacy laws or 
        regulations, the Secretary shall take such steps as the 
        Secretary determines necessary to make publicly available such 
        data in accordance with such laws and regulations.''.

SEC. 4. WORKFORCE PELL GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1070a), as amended by section 703 of the FAFSA 
Simplification Act (title VII of division FF of Public Law 116-260), is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Workforce Pell Grants Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--For the award year beginning on July 1, 
        2024, and each subsequent award year, the Secretary shall award 
        grants (referred to as `Workforce Pell Grants') to eligible 
        students under paragraph (2) in accordance with this 
        subsection.
            ``(2) Eligible students.--For award year 2024-2025 and each 
        succeeding award year, to be eligible to receive a Workforce 
        Pell Grant under this subsection for any period of enrollment, 
        a student shall meet the eligibility requirements for a Federal 
        Pell Grant under this section, except that the student--
                    ``(A) shall be enrolled, or accepted for 
                enrollment, in an eligible program described in section 
                481(b)(3); and
                    ``(B) may not have received a postbaccalaureate 
                degree.
            ``(3) Terms and conditions of awards.--The Secretary shall 
        award Workforce Pell Grants under this subsection in the same 
        manner and with the same terms and conditions as the Secretary 
        awards Federal Pell Grants under subsection (b), except that a 
        student who is eligible for a grant equal to less than the 
        amount of the minimum Federal Pell Grant because the eligible 
        workforce development program in which the student is enrolled 
        or accepted for enrollment is less than an academic year (in 
        hours of instruction or weeks of duration) may still be 
        eligible for a Workforce Pell Grant.
            ``(4) Prevention of double benefits.--No eligible student 
        described in paragraph (2) may, for the same period of 
        enrollment, receive both a grant under this subsection and a 
        Federal Pell Grant under subsection (b).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect as if included in section 703 of the FAFSA Simplification 
Act (title VII of division FF of Public Law 116-260; 134 Stat. 3191) 
and in accordance with section 701(b) of such Act.

SEC. 5. ACCREDITING AGENCY DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 
              FOR THE WORKFORCE PELL GRANTS PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 496(a)(4) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)(4)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by inserting ``and'' at the 
        end; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(C) if such agency or association has or seeks to include 
        within its scope of recognition the evaluation of the quality 
        of institutions offering an eligible program for purposes of 
        the Workforce Pell Grants program (in accordance with section 
        481(b)(3)), such agency or association shall, in addition to 
        meeting the other requirements of this subpart, demonstrate to 
        the Secretary that, with respect to such eligible programs--
                    ``(i) the agency's or association's standards 
                include a process for determining if the institution 
                has the capability to effectively offer such an 
                eligible program; and
                    ``(ii) the agency or association requires a 
                demonstration that the program--
                            ``(I) satisfies the requirements of 
                        subparagraph (A)(ii) of section 481(b)(3); and
                            ``(II) provides academic content, an amount 
                        of instructional time, and competencies to 
                        satisfy any applicable educational requirement 
                        so that a student who completes the program and 
                        seeks employment is qualified to practice or 
                        work in the sectors or occupations that the 
                        program prepares students to enter;''.
    (b) Additional NACIQI Review Meetings.--For the purpose of 
preparing for the implementation of the Workforce Pell Grant program 
under section 401(k) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as added by 
section 4), in addition to the meetings required under section 
114(d)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011c(d)(1)), 
the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity 
(as established by such section 114) shall, through 2025, hold meetings 
to evaluate the additions to the scope of recognition of accrediting 
agencies and associations with respect to an eligible program for 
purposes of the Workforce Pell Grants program (in accordance with 
section 481(b)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as added by 
section 2).
    (c) Interim Accreditation Authority.--
            (1) Notification.--Beginning on the date of enactment of 
        this Act, a qualified accrediting agency or association which 
        seeks to include within its scope of recognition the evaluation 
        of the quality of institutions offering eligible programs for 
        the purposes of the Workforce Pell Grants program, may include 
        within its scope of recognition the evaluation of such 
        institutions if the accrediting agency or association--
                    (A) submits to the Secretary a notification of the 
                agency's or association's intent to add the evaluation 
                of such institutions to its scope of recognition; and
                    (B) includes with such notification an explanation 
                of how the agency or association intends to meet the 
                criteria under section 496(a)(4)(C) of the Higher 
                Education Act of 1965 (as added by subsection (a)) with 
                respect to the evaluation of institutions for purposes 
                of the Workforce Pell Grants program.
            (2) Review of scope of changes.--Upon receipt of a 
        notification from an accrediting agency or association under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall direct the National Advisory 
        Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (as 
        established by section 114 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
        (20 U.S.C. 1011c)) to evaluate, at the next available meeting 
        of such Committee, the addition to the scope of recognition of 
        the agency or association and to advise the Secretary with 
        respect to whether the agency or association meets the criteria 
        under section 496(a)(4)(C) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
        (as added by subsection (a)).
            (3) Termination of interim authority.--The interim 
        authority under this subsection for an agency or association to 
        include within its scope of recognition the evaluation of the 
        quality of institutions offering eligible programs for the 
        purposes of the Workforce Pell Grants program shall terminate 
        on the earlier of--
                    (A) the date that is 5 years after the date of 
                enactment of this Act; or
                    (B) the date on which the Secretary determines 
                whether such agency or association meets the criteria 
                under section 496(a)(4)(C) of the Higher Education Act 
                of 1965 (as added by subsection (a)).
            (4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    (A) The term ``qualified accrediting agency or 
                association'' means an accrediting agency or 
                association recognized by the Secretary under section 
                496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                1099b) that seeks, for the first time, to add to its 
                scope of recognition the evaluation of the quality of 
                institutions offering an eligible program for purposes 
                of the Workforce Pell Grants program.
                    (B) The term ``Workforce Pell Grants program'' 
                means the Workforce Pell Grant program under section 
                401(k) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as added by 
                section 4).

SEC. 6. ORDERLY IMPLEMENTATION OF WORKFORCE PELL GRANT PROGRAM.

    The Secretary of Education shall have the authority to take such 
steps as are necessary before July 1, 2024, to provide for the orderly 
implementation on such date of the amendments to the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 made by this Act.
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