[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4379 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4379

   To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to change certain grant 
  requirements for certain students with disabilities, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 2024

Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Booker) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to change certain grant 
  requirements for certain students with disabilities, 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 ``Higher Education Grant Flexibility 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL PELL GRANTS.

    Section 401(b)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070a(b)(2)), as amended by section 703 of division FF of the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260), is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``In any case'' and inserting the 
        following:
                    ``(A) Reduction.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), in any case''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Students with disabilities.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In the case of a student 
                        with a disability (as defined in section 3 of 
                        the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 
                        U.S.C. 12102)) for whom a reduced course load 
                        has been approved as a reasonable accommodation 
                        under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 
                        1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) or the Americans with 
                        Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et 
                        seq.), the student's enrollment in the reduced 
                        course load or 5 credits (or the equivalent), 
                        whichever is greater, shall be deemed to be 
                        enrollment on a full-time basis for purposes of 
                        calculating the elements of cost of attendance 
                        for such student under paragraphs (2) through 
                        (14) of section 472(a) for purposes of 
                        determining the amount of the Federal Pell 
                        Grant to which the student is entitled. 
                        Subsection (b) of section 472 shall not apply 
                        with respect to such student.
                            ``(ii) Limited application.--A 
                        determination under clause (i) shall not be 
                        used in the calculation of Federal Pell Grant 
                        semester eligibility under subsection 
                        (d)(5).''.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS.

    Section 413B(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070b-2(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subpart 
        or part F of this title, in the case of a student with a 
        disability (as defined in section 3 of the Americans with 
        Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)) for whom a reduced 
        course load has been approved as a reasonable accommodation 
        under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
        794) or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
        12101 et seq.), the student's enrollment in the reduced course 
        load or 5 credits (or the equivalent), whichever is greater, 
        shall be deemed to be enrollment on a full-time basis for 
        purposes of calculating the elements of cost of attendance for 
        such student under paragraphs (2) through (14) of section 
        472(a) for purposes of determining the amount of the 
        supplemental grant to which the student is entitled in 
        accordance with the provisions of part F of this title. 
        Subsection (b) of section 472 shall not apply with respect to 
        such student.''.

SEC. 4. TEACH GRANTS.

    Section 420M(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070g-1(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``In any case'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to paragraph (3), in any case''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Teacher candidates with a disability.--In the case of 
        a teacher candidate with a disability (as defined in section 3 
        of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
        12102)) for whom a reduced course load has been approved as a 
        reasonable accommodation under section 504 of the 
        Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) or the Americans 
        with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the 
        teacher candidate's enrollment in the reduced course load or 5 
        credits (or the equivalent), whichever is greater, shall be 
        deemed to be enrollment on a full-time basis for purposes of 
        calculating the elements of cost of attendance for such student 
        under paragraphs (2) through (14) of section 472(a) for 
        purposes of determining the amount of the grant under this 
        subpart to which the teacher candidate is entitled. Subsection 
        (b) of section 472 shall not apply with respect to such teacher 
        candidate.''.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if 
included in section 703 of division FF of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260) and subject to the 
effective date of section 701(b) of such FAFSA Simplification Act, as 
amended by section 102(a) of the FAFSA Simplification Act Technical 
Corrections Act (division R of Public Law 117-103) (including the 
authorization provided under section 102(c)(1)(A) of such Act).
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