[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6309 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6309

 To improve data collection related to student parents pursuing higher 
                   education, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 8, 2023

 Ms. Ross (for herself and Mrs. McBath) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve data collection related to student parents pursuing higher 
                   education, 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 ``Understanding Student Parent 
Outcomes Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. DATA ON STUDENT PARENTS PURSUING HIGHER EDUCATION.

    (a) IPEDS Data Elements.--The Commissioner of Education Statistics 
shall--
            (1) not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act, develop data elements related to the parental 
        status of students attending institutions of higher education 
        for the surveys conducted as a part of the Integrated 
        Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to collect data 
        related to students who are parents or caregivers of dependent 
        children, including--
                    (A) the number of students who identify as a 
                parent;
                    (B) the number of students who identify as a 
                caregiver;
                    (C) the enrollment, retention, and completion rates 
                of students who are a parent or caregiver;
                    (D) the average individual net price (calculated in 
                the same manner as the average individual net price of 
                such institution is calculated under section 132(h)(2) 
                of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                1015a(h)(2))) charged to students who are a parent or 
                caregiver;
                    (E) with respect to students who are a parent or 
                caregiver--
                            (i) the marital status of such students 
                        (reported in aggregate by marital status 
                        categories);
                            (ii) the number of such students who are 
                        employed for all or part of the academic year 
                        while enrolled;
                            (iii) the median income of such students, 
                        and the number of such students in each income 
                        category (determined in accordance with section 
                        132(i)(6) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
                        (20 U.S.C. 1015a(i)(6));
                            (iv) the total number of such students who 
                        are enrolled in an associate, baccalaureate, or 
                        graduate degree program, or a certificate 
                        program;
                            (v) the total number of such students who 
                        are enrolled full-time, part-time, or less than 
                        part-time;
                            (vi) the total number of such students who 
                        are Federal Pell grant recipients; and
                            (vii) the total number of such students who 
                        use campus-based childcare services; and
            (2) beginning with academic year 2024-2025 and annually 
        thereafter, collect information regarding the data elements 
        described in paragraph (1) with respect to at least all 
        institutions of higher education participating in programs 
        under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1070 et seq.).
    (b) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary of Education, in 
consultation with the Commissioner of Education Statistics, shall 
provide technical assistance to States and institutions of higher 
education related to developing and carrying out State and 
institutional data collection mechanisms for data on the parental 
status of students collected in accordance with subsection (a), 
including--
            (1) how to leverage existing systems, surveys, and other 
        data collection mechanisms to collect and report such data, and 
        examples and best practices related to data collection and 
        privacy;
            (2) integration and reporting of such data with State 
        information systems, including Statewide Longitudinal Data 
        Systems;
            (3) how to account for data elements that change over time; 
        and
            (4) recommendations of best practices to institutions of 
        higher education related to communicating with students about 
        data use and privacy, including how data will be used to help 
        students who are parents or caregivers of dependent children.

SEC. 3. STUDY ON IMPROVING STUDENT PARENT OUTCOMES.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of Education shall conduct a study of a 
demographically and geographically representative sample of 
institutions of higher education (as determined by the Secretary) on 
best practices of institutions of higher education that improve 
outcomes for students attending institutions of higher education who 
are parents or caregivers of dependent children. Such study shall 
include qualitative and quantitative research on--
            (1) the enrollment, persistence, and retention of students 
        attending institutions of higher education who are parents or 
        caregivers of dependent children, disaggregated by race, 
        ethnicity, gender, income, and the type of program in which 
        such students are enrolled (such as an associate, 
        baccalaureate, or graduate degree program, or a certificate 
        program);
            (2) the effects of the availability of campus-based 
        childcare services on such outcomes of students who are parents 
        or caregivers of dependent children, including a comparison of 
        students whose children are served by the campus-based 
        childcare services with students whose children are not served 
        by campus-based childcare services;
            (3) enrollment trends of students who are parents or 
        caregivers of dependent children to attend certain institutions 
        or types of institutions, and whether such trends and 
        preferences are based on the availability of institutional 
        support services for such students, such as campus-based child 
        care, student parent centers, and Child Care Access Means 
        Parents in School Program grants;
            (4) the percentage of children served by campus-based 
        childcare services who are the children of students, compared 
        to the percentage of such children who are children of faculty, 
        staff, and other community members, disaggregated by--
                    (A) race, ethnicity, gender, employment or student 
                status (including faculty, staff, community member, and 
                student status), and family income of the parent of 
                such children; and
                    (B) only with respect to students who are parents 
                of such children, the type of program in which the 
                student is enrolled (such as an associate, 
                baccalaureate, or graduate degree program, or a 
                certificate program); and
            (5) the strategies used by institutions of higher education 
        for integration of on-campus services for students who are 
        parents or caregivers of dependent children with other State 
        and institution-provided services, such as the supplemental 
        nutrition assistance program established under the Food and 
        Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the program of 
        block grants for States for temporary assistance for needy 
        families established under part A of title IV of the Social 
        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the special supplemental 
        nutrition program for women, infants, and children under the 
        Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), workforce 
        programs including adult education and literacy activities (as 
        defined in section 203 of the Workforce Innovation and 
        Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3272)), and Head Start and Early 
        Head Start programs carried out under the Head Start Act (42 
        U.S.C. 9831 et seq.).
    (b) Report and Dissemination of Findings.--Not later than 2 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education 
shall report the findings of the study conducted under subsection (a) 
to Congress, and make such findings publicly available. Such findings 
shall include information on the best practices identified by the 
Secretary to be most effective at improving outcomes for students 
attending institutions of higher education who are parents or 
caregivers of dependent children.
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