[House Report 119-270]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Rept. 119-270
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { Part 2
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STUDENT COMPENSATION AND OPPORTUNITY THROUGH
RIGHTS AND ENDORSEMENTS ACT
----------------
September 11, 2025.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
----------------
Mr. Walberg, from the Committee on Education and Workforce,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 4312]
The Committee on Education and Workforce, to whom was
referred the bill (H.R. 4312) to protect the name, image, and
likeness rights of student athletes and to promote fair
competition with respect to intercollegiate athletics, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as
amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Student Compensation and Opportunity
through Rights and Endorsements Act'' or the ``SCORE Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agent.--The term ``agent'' means an individual who
receives compensation to represent a student athlete with
respect to--
(A) a name, image, and likeness agreement; or
(B) another agreement for compensation related to the
participation of such student athlete on a varsity
sports team.
(2) Antitrust laws.--The term ``antitrust laws'' has the
meaning given such term in the 1st section of the Clayton Act
(15 U.S.C. 12) and includes section 5 of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent that such section 5
applies to unfair methods of competition.
(3) Associated entity or individual.--The term ``associated
entity or individual'' means, with respect to an institution,
each of the following:
(A) An entity that is known or should be known to the
employees of the athletic department of such
institution to exist, in significant part, for the
purpose of--
(i) promoting or supporting the varsity
sports teams or student athletes of such
institution; or
(ii) creating or identifying opportunities
relating to name, image, and likeness
agreements solely for the student athletes of
such institution.
(B) An individual who is or has been a member,
employee, director, officer, owner, or other
representative of an entity described in subparagraph
(A).
(C) An individual who directly or indirectly
(including through contributions by an entity
affiliated with such individual or an immediate family
member of such individual) has contributed more than
$50,000 (as adjusted on July 1 each year by the
percentage increase (if any), during the preceding 12-
month period, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics)
over the lifetime of the individual to the athletic
programs of such institution or to an entity described
in subparagraph (A).
(D) An individual or entity who--
(i) is directed or requested by the employees
of the athletic department of such institution
to assist in the recruitment or retention of
prospective student athletes or student
athletes, respectively; or
(ii) otherwise assists in such recruitment or
retention.
(E) Any entity (other than a publicly traded
corporation) owned, controlled, operated by, or
otherwise affiliated with an individual or entity
described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D).
(4) College sports revenue.--The term ``college sports
revenue'' means any revenue (without regard to ownership or
legal title to such revenue) received by an institution with
respect to intercollegiate athletics--
(A) from the sale of admission to intercollegiate
athletic competitions or any other event involving a
varsity sports team, including actual monetary revenue
received by or for the benefit of such institution for
a suite license (unless such suite license is
associated with philanthropy or any purpose not related
to intercollegiate athletic competitions, including a
concert);
(B) from participation by the varsity sports teams of
such institution in intercollegiate athletic
competitions held at other institutions, including
payments received due to cancellations of such
intercollegiate athletic competitions;
(C) for radio, television, internet, digital, and e-
commerce rights, including revenue relating to media
rights distributed by a conference to members of the
conference, if applicable;
(D) from an interstate intercollegiate athletic
association, including any grant, distribution of
revenue, reimbursement relating to travel with respect
to a championship of such interstate intercollegiate
athletic association, and payment for hosting such a
championship;
(E) generated by a post-season football bowl,
including any distribution of revenue by a conference
to members of the conference and any other payment
related to the participation of such institution in
such post-season football bowl, including for ticket
sales and reimbursement of expenses;
(F) from a conference, other than any revenue
otherwise described in this paragraph;
(G) for sponsorships, licensing agreements,
advertisements, royalties, and in-kind products and
services as part of a sponsorship agreement; or
(H) relating to any additional form of revenue,
including fundraising, an interstate intercollegiate
athletic association uses with respect to the pool
limit of such interstate intercollegiate athletic
association.
(5) Compensation.--The term ``compensation''--
(A) means, with respect to a student athlete or a
prospective student athlete, any form of payment or
remuneration, whether provided through cash, benefits,
awards, or any other means, including payments for--
(i) licenses relating to, or the use of,
name, image, and likeness rights; or
(ii) licenses relating to, or the use of, any
other Federal or State intellectual or
intangible property right; and
(B) does not include--
(i) grants-in-aid;
(ii) Federal Pell Grants and other Federal or
State grants unrelated to and not awarded with
regard to participation in intercollegiate
athletics;
(iii) health insurance and payments for the
costs of health care, including health
insurance and payments for the costs of health
care wholly or partly self-funded by an
institution, conference, or interstate
intercollegiate athletic association;
(iv) disability and loss-of-value insurance,
including disability and loss-of-value
insurance that is wholly or partly self-funded
by an institution, conference, or interstate
intercollegiate athletic association;
(v) career counseling, job placement
services, and other guidance available to all
students at an institution;
(vi) payment of hourly wages and benefits for
work actually performed (and not for
participation in intercollegiate athletics) at
a rate commensurate with the going rate in the
locality of an institution for similar work;
(vii) academic awards paid to student
athletes by institutions;
(viii) provision of financial literacy or tax
education resources and guidance; or
(ix) any program to connect student athletes
with employers and facilitate employment
opportunities, if--
(I) the financial terms of such
employment opportunities are consistent
with the terms offered to similarly
situated employees who are not student
athletes; and
(II) such program is not used to
induce a student athlete to attend a
particular institution.
(6) Conference.--The term ``conference'' means an entity
that--
(A) has as members 2 or more institutions;
(B) arranges regular season intercollegiate athletic
competitions and championships for such members; and
(C) sets rules with respect to such intercollegiate
athletic competitions and championships.
(7) Cost of attendance.--The term ``cost of attendance'' has
the meaning given such term in section 472 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll).
(8) Grant-in-aid.--The term ``grant-in-aid'' means a
scholarship, grant, stipend, or other form of financial
assistance, including the provision of tuition, room, board,
books, or funds for fees or personal expenses, that--
(A) is paid or provided by an institution to a
student for the undergraduate or graduate course of
study of the student; and
(B) is in an amount that does not exceed the cost of
attendance at the institution for such student.
(9) Image.--The term ``image'' means, with respect to a
student athlete, a picture or a video that identifies, is
linked to, or is reasonably linkable to such student athlete.
(10) Institution.--The term ``institution'' has the meaning
given the term ``institution of higher education'' in section
102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002).
(11) Intercollegiate athletic competition.--The term
``intercollegiate athletic competition'' means any contest,
game, meet, match, tournament, regatta, or other event in which
varsity sports teams of more than 1 institution compete.
(12) Intercollegiate athletics.--The term ``intercollegiate
athletics''--
(A) means the varsity sports teams for which the
length of time a student athlete is eligible to
participate and the academic standards for
participation are established by a conference or an
interstate intercollegiate athletic association; and
(B) does not include any recreational, intramural, or
club teams.
(13) Interstate intercollegiate athletic association.--The
term ``interstate intercollegiate athletic association''
means--
(A) any entity that--
(i) sets common rules, standards, procedures,
or guidelines for the administration and
regulation of varsity sports teams and
intercollegiate athletic competitions;
(ii) is composed of 2 or more institutions or
conferences located in more than 1 State; and
(iii) has rules or bylaws prohibiting the
provision of prohibited compensation to student
athletes and prospective student athletes; and
(B) does not include any entity affiliated with
professional athletic competitions.
(14) Likeness.--The term ``likeness'' means, with respect to
a student athlete, a physical or digital depiction or
representation that identifies, is linked to, or is reasonably
linkable to such student athlete.
(15) Name.--The term ``name'' means, with respect to a
student athlete, the first, middle, or last name, or the
nickname or former name, of such student athlete if used in a
context that identifies, is linked to, or is reasonably
linkable to such student athlete.
(16) Name, image, and likeness agreement.--The term ``name,
image, and likeness agreement'' means a contract or similar
agreement under which a student athlete licenses or authorizes,
or a contract or similar agreement that otherwise is in
relation to, the commercial use of the name, image, or likeness
of the student athlete.
(17) Name, image, and likeness rights.--The term ``name,
image, and likeness rights'' means rights recognized under
Federal or State law that allow an individual to control and
profit from the commercial use of the name, image, and likeness
of such individual, including all rights commonly referred to
as ``publicity rights''.
(18) Pool limit.--The term ``pool limit'' means a dollar
amount based on college sports revenue that--
(A) is calculated and published by an interstate
intercollegiate athletic association pursuant to the
rules the interstate intercollegiate athletic
association establishes under section 6; and
(B) serves as the annual maximum amount that an
institution that is a member of such interstate
intercollegiate athletic association may provide, in
total, to student athletes of such institution,
including in the form of a name, image, and likeness
agreement or direct payment.
(19) Prohibited compensation.--The term ``prohibited
compensation'' means--
(A) compensation (including an agreement for
compensation) to a student athlete from an associated
entity or individual of the institution at which the
student athlete is enrolled (or to a prospective
student athlete from an associated entity or individual
of an institution for which the prospective student
athlete is being recruited) for any license or use of
the name, image, and likeness rights of such student
athlete or prospective student athlete (or any other
license or use), unless the license or use is for a
valid business purpose related to the promotion or
endorsement of goods or services provided to the
general public for profit, with compensation at rates
and terms commensurate with compensation paid to
individuals with name, image, and likeness rights of
comparable value who are not student athletes or
prospective student athletes with respect to such
institution; and
(B) compensation to a student athlete (or a
prospective student athlete) if such compensation is
paid by or on behalf of the institution at which the
student athlete is enrolled (or for which the
prospective student athlete is being recruited) and
results in the exceeding of the pool limit established
by the interstate intercollegiate athletic association
of which such institution is a member.
(20) Prospective student athlete.--The term ``prospective
student athlete'' means an individual who is solicited to
enroll at an institution by, or at the direction of, an
employee or an associated entity or individual of the
institution in order for such individual to participate in a
varsity sports team of such institution.
(21) State.--The term ``State'' means each State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, and each commonwealth,
territory, or possession of the United States.
(22) Student athlete.--The term ``student athlete'' means an
individual who--
(A) is enrolled or has agreed to enroll at an
institution; and
(B) participates in a varsity sports team of such
institution.
(23) Varsity sports team.--The term ``varsity sports team''
means an entity composed of an individual or group of
individuals enrolled at an institution that is organized by
such institution for the purpose of participation in
intercollegiate athletic competitions.
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF NAME, IMAGE, AND LIKENESS RIGHTS OF STUDENT
ATHLETES.
(a) Right To Enter Into Name, Image, and Likeness Agreements.--
(1) In general.--No institution, conference, or interstate
intercollegiate athletic association may restrict the ability
of a student athlete to enter into a name, image, and likeness
agreement.
(2) Exceptions.--
(A) Prohibited compensation.--Paragraph (1) does not
apply with respect to a name, image, and likeness
agreement to the extent such agreement provides
prohibited compensation.
(B) Codes of conduct and conflicting agreements.--
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an institution may
restrict the ability of a student athlete of such
institution (including a prospective student athlete
who has agreed to attend such institution) to enter
into a name, image, and likeness agreement that--
(i) violates the code of conduct of such
institution; or
(ii) conflicts with the terms of a contract
or similar agreement to which such institution
is a party.
(b) Right to Representation.--Except as provided by this Act, no
institution, conference, or interstate intercollegiate athletic
association may restrict the ability of a student athlete to obtain an
agent.
(c) Right to Privacy.--Except as provided by this Act, no
institution, conference, or interstate intercollegiate athletic
association may release information with respect to a name, image, and
likeness agreement without the express written consent of any student
athlete who is a party to such agreement.
(d) Right to Transparent Agreements.--A name, image, and likeness
agreement under which a student athlete is provided compensation in an
amount greater than $600 shall be considered void from the inception of
such agreement if such agreement does not satisfy the following:
(1) The agreement is in writing.
(2) The agreement contains the following:
(A) A description of any services to be rendered
under the agreement.
(B) The names of the parties to the agreement.
(C) The term of the agreement.
(D) The amount of compensation to be provided to the
student athlete under the agreement.
(E) A provision specifying the circumstances or
events under which the agreement may be terminated due
to non-performance of obligations by the student
athlete.
(F) A provision specifying that the student athlete
may terminate the agreement, notwithstanding any other
term described in the agreement, beginning on the date
that is 6 months after the date on which the student
athlete is no longer enrolled at any institution.
(G) The signature of the student athlete or, if the
student athlete is under the age of 18 years, the
signature of the parent or guardian of the student
athlete.
(e) Actions by States.--In any case in which the attorney general of
a State, or an official or agency of a State, has reason to believe
that an interest of the residents of such State has been or is
threatened or adversely affected by an act or practice in violation of
this section, the State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on
behalf of the residents of the State in an appropriate State court or
an appropriate district court of the United States to--
(1) enjoin such act or practice;
(2) enforce compliance with this section;
(3) obtain damages, restitution, or other compensation on
behalf of residents of the State; or
(4) obtain such other legal and equitable relief as the court
may consider to be appropriate.
SEC. 4. SPORTS AGENT RESPONSIBILITY AND TRUST ACT.
The Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act (15 U.S.C. 7801 et
seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 3(b)(3), by striking ``Warning to Student
Athlete: If you agree orally or in writing to be represented by
an agent now or in the future you may lose your eligibility to
compete as a student athlete in your sport.'' and inserting
``Notice to Student Athlete:''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 9. DISCLOSURE AND CONSENT RELATING TO NAME, IMAGE, AND LIKENESS
AGREEMENTS.
``(a) In General.--An athlete agent who assists a student athlete
with an endorsement contract shall disclose in writing to the student
athlete--
``(1) whether the athlete agent is registered with an
interstate intercollegiate athletic association (as defined in
section 2 of the SCORE Act); and
``(2) if the athlete agent is registered with an interstate
intercollegiate athletic association, whether the athlete agent
is registered with the interstate intercollegiate athletic
association that has as a member the institution (as defined in
section 2 of the SCORE Act) at which the student athlete is
enrolled.
``(b) Consent.--In the case of an athlete agent who is not registered
with an interstate intercollegiate athletic association, the athlete
agent may only assist a student athlete with an endorsement contract if
the student athlete (or, in the case of a student athlete who is under
18 years of age, the parent or guardian of the student athlete)
provides to the athlete agent written consent for such assistance after
receiving the disclosure under subsection (a).
``(c) Enforcement.--
``(1) In general.--If an attorney general of a State has
reason to believe that an interest of the residents of that
State has been or is threatened or adversely affected by the
engagement of any athlete agent in a practice that violates
this section, the attorney general may bring a civil action
pursuant to section 5 in the same manner as the attorney
general may bring a civil action with respect to a violation of
section 3.
``(2) Sole authority.--No individual or entity other than an
attorney general of a State may enforce this section.
``(3) No federal notice necessary.--Subsections (a)(2), (b),
and (d) of section 5 do not apply to an action brought by an
attorney general of a State pursuant to this subsection.''.
SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS.
(a) Requirements.--An institution described in subsection (c) shall--
(1) provide comprehensive academic support and career
counseling services to student athletes that include life
skills development programs with respect to--
(A) mental health, including alcohol and substance
abuse;
(B) strength and conditioning;
(C) nutrition;
(D) name, image, and likeness rights;
(E) access to legal and tax services provided by
entities other than an institution;
(F) financial literacy;
(G) career readiness and counseling;
(H) the process for transferring between
institutions; and
(I) sexual violence prevention and consequences;
(2) provide medical and health benefits to student athletes
that include--
(A) medical care, including payment of out-of-pocket
expenses, for an injury of a student athlete incurred
during the involvement of such student athlete in
intercollegiate athletics for such institution that is
available to such student athlete during the period of
enrollment of such student athlete with such
institution and a period of at least 3 years following
graduation or separation from such institution (unless
such separation is due to violation of a code of
conduct);
(B) mental health services and support, including
mental health educational materials and resources;
(C) an administrative structure that provides
independent medical care, including with respect to
decisions regarding return to play; and
(D) a certification of insurance coverage for medical
expenses resulting from injuries of student athletes
incurred during the involvement of such student
athletes in intercollegiate athletics for such
institution;
(3) maintain a grant-in-aid provided to a student athlete in
relation to the involvement of such student athlete in
intercollegiate athletics during the period of that grant-in-
aid for such institution without regard to--
(A) athletic performance;
(B) contribution to team success;
(C) injury, illness, or physical or mental condition;
or
(D) receipt of compensation pursuant to a name,
image, and likeness agreement;
(4) provide degree completion assistance--
(A) for each former student athlete of such
institution--
(i) who received a grant-in-aid from such
institution;
(ii) who was a student athlete at such
institution on or after the date of enactment
of this Act and who ceased participating as a
student athlete for a reason other than a
reason described in clause (i) or (ii) of
subparagraph (D);
(iii) who has not received a bachelor's
degree (or an equivalent degree) from any
institution; and
(iv) for whom such institution is the last
institution such former student athlete
attended;
(B) that makes available to such former student
athlete, for the period described in subparagraph (C)
and subject to subparagraph (D), financial aid in an
annual amount that is equal to the average annual
grant-in-aid provided to such former student athlete
during the period that such former student athlete was
a student athlete at such institution;
(C) for the period beginning on the last date of the
final period of enrollment during which such former
student athlete was a student athlete at such
institution and ending on the date that such former
student athlete completes a bachelor's degree (or an
equivalent degree), not to exceed 7 years; and
(D) that prohibits a former student athlete from
receiving the financial aid described in subparagraph
(B) if such former student athlete--
(i) fails to meet the institution's academic
progress requirements for the degree program;
or
(ii) violates the institution's code of
conduct; and
(5) establish, not later than July 1, 2027, and thereafter
maintain, at least 16 varsity sports teams and, if a recipient
of Federal financial assistance, establish and maintain such
teams in accordance with section 106.41(c) of title 34, Code of
Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
(b) Collaboration.--An institution may carry out subsection (a) in
conjunction with a conference or interstate intercollegiate athletic
association.
(c) Applicability.--An institution is described in this subsection if
such institution reports (as required under section 485(g) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(g))) having generated not
less than $20,000,000 (as adjusted on July 1 each year by the
percentage increase (if any), during the preceding 12-month period, in
the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics) in total revenue derived by the institution
from the institution's intercollegiate athletics activities during the
preceding academic year, as determined in accordance with paragraph
(1)(I) of section 485(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1092(g)), as amended by this Act.
(d) Program Participation Agreements.--Section 487(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(30) In the case of an institution described in subsection
(c) of section 5 of the SCORE Act, the institution will comply
with subsection (a) of such section.''.
SEC. 6. ROLES OF INTERSTATE INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATIONS.
(a) Authority to Establish Rules.--An interstate intercollegiate
athletic association is authorized to establish and enforce rules with
respect to--
(1) requiring a student athlete or prospective student
athlete to disclose, in a timely manner, the terms of a name,
image, and likeness agreement entered into by such student
athlete;
(2) establishing and implementing a process to collect and
publicly share aggregated and anonymized data related to the
name, image, and likeness agreements of student athletes
(without regard to whether such an agreement includes an
institution as a party to the agreement);
(3) prohibited compensation, including processes for dispute
resolution and penalties, if such rules provide that a student
athlete does not lose eligibility to compete in intercollegiate
athletic competitions while a process for dispute resolution is
ongoing;
(4) setting parameters for the manner in which and the time
period during which student athletes and prospective student
athletes may be recruited for intercollegiate athletics;
(5) calculating a pool limit, if such rules provide that such
pool limit is at least 22 percent of the average annual college
sports revenue of the 70 highest earning (with respect to such
revenue) member institutions of such interstate intercollegiate
athletic association (or, if such interstate intercollegiate
athletic association has fewer than 70 members, the average
annual college sports revenue of all members), and monitoring
payments of compensation related to such pool limit;
(6) setting parameters for the manner in which a student
athlete may transfer between institutions, if such rules
provide that--
(A) on at least 1 occasion each student athlete may
transfer between institutions and be immediately
eligible to participate on a varsity sports team of the
institution to which the student athlete transfers (if
academically eligible to participate); and
(B) an institution to which a student athlete is
transferring or is considering transferring shall
provide to such student athlete, at the request of such
student athlete, in writing and at a reasonable time
prior to completion of the transfer, a notice of the
previously earned academic credits of such student
athlete that such institution will accept, including
with respect to the program of study of such student
athlete;
(7) the length of time a student athlete is eligible to
participate in intercollegiate athletics and the academic
standards to be eligible to participate in intercollegiate
athletics;
(8) establishing and implementing a process, including a
database, with respect to agent registration, including--
(A) setting qualifications to be registered as an
agent;
(B) setting parameters for the ability of member
institutions to negotiate with agents who are not
registered under such process; and
(C) limiting the amount of the compensation under a
name, image, and likeness agreement between a student
athlete and an institution that may be provided to the
agent of such student athlete to not more than 5
percent of such compensation;
(9) the membership of, and participation in, such interstate
intercollegiate athletic association (including any
championships administered by such interstate intercollegiate
athletic association), under which such interstate
intercollegiate athletic association may establish membership
qualifications, remove members, and otherwise regulate
participation; and
(10) intercollegiate athletic competitions and playing
seasons, including rules with respect to season length, maximum
number of contests, and student athlete time demands (whether
during a playing season or outside of such season).
(b) Requirements.--
(1) Authority conditioned on compliance.--An interstate
intercollegiate athletic association is only authorized to
establish and enforce rules under subsection (a) if such
interstate intercollegiate athletic association is in
compliance with this subsection and section 3.
(2) Governance structure.--An interstate intercollegiate
athletic association (except for an interstate intercollegiate
athletic association that is also a conference) shall carry out
the following:
(A) Ensure that the membership of any board,
committee, or other similar body of such interstate
intercollegiate athletic association, if tasked with a
decision-making role (including a decision-making role
with respect to establishing or enforcing a rule under
section 6(a)), satisfies the following:
(i) Not less than 20 percent of the members
of the board, committee, or body are
individuals who are student athletes or were
student athletes at any point during the
preceding 10-year period, with--
(I) men and women equally represented
with respect to such individuals; and
(II) each such individual
participating in or having participated
in a different sport.
(ii) Not less than 30 percent of the members
of the board, committee, or body represent
institutions that are not among the 70 highest
earning member institutions of such interstate
intercollegiate athletic association with
respect to annual college sports revenue.
(B) Establish a council to serve as the primary
deliberative body of the interstate intercollegiate
athletic association and that is--
(i) responsible for developing proposals with
respect to policy; and
(ii) composed of individuals who represent
each conference that is a member of such
interstate intercollegiate athletic
association.
SEC. 7. TITLE IX.
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, may be
construed to limit or otherwise affect title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.).
SEC. 8. LIABILITY LIMITATION.
(a) In General.--Adoption of, agreement to, compliance with, or
enforcement of any rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other
provision established pursuant to, or in compliance with, section 6 of
this Act shall be treated as lawful under the antitrust laws and any
similar State provision having the force and effect of law.
(b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in subsection (a) may be construed
to limit or otherwise affect any provision of law, including any
provision of Federal or State law or the common law, other than the
antitrust laws and any similar State provision having the force and
effect of law.
SEC. 9. EMPLOYMENT STANDING.
Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal or State law, no
individual may be considered an employee of an institution, a
conference, or an interstate intercollegiate athletic association based
on the participation of such individual on a varsity sports team or in
an intercollegiate athletic competition as a student athlete, without
regard to the existence of rules or requirements for being a member of
such team or for participating in such competition.
SEC. 10. STUDENT ATHLETIC FEES.
(a) Transparency Requirements.--
(1) Information dissemination activities.--Section
485(a)(1)(E) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1092(a)(1)(E)) is amended by inserting ``(including the amount
of such fees used to support intercollegiate athletic
programs)'' after ``and fees''.
(2) Data required.--
(A) In general.--Section 485(g) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(g)) is amended--
(i) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end
the following:
``(K) With respect to fees charged to students to
support intercollegiate athletic programs--
``(i) the total amount of such fees charged
to students;
``(ii) the uses of such fees with respect to
facilities, operating expenses, scholarships,
payments to athletes, salaries of coaches and
support staff, and any other expenses reported
under this paragraph; and
``(iii) the percentage of the total cost of
such programs covered by such fees.''; and
(ii) in paragraph (3)--
(I) by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and'';
(II) by striking ``that all
students'' and inserting the following:
``that--
``(A) all students''; and
(III) by adding at the end the
following:
``(B) with respect to the information described in
paragraph (1)(K), the institution shall annually
publish such information on a publicly available
website of the institution not later than October 15
following the end of each fiscal year of the
institution.''.
(B) Effective date.--The amendments made by
subparagraph (A) shall take effect on July 1, 2026, and
shall apply with respect to academic year 2026-2027 and
each succeeding academic year.
(b) Restricting Student Fees for High-media-rights-revenue
Institutions.--
(1) Media rights revenues.--Section 485(g)(1)(I)(ii) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(g)(1)(I)(ii)) is
amended by striking ``broadcast revenues'' and inserting
``media rights revenues (including revenues from broadcasting,
streaming, or digital distribution of intercollegiate athletic
events)''.
(2) Program participation agreements.--Section 487(a) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)), as amended by
this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(31)(A) Beginning in academic year 2028-2029, and each
succeeding academic year, the institution will determine the
average annual media rights revenue of such institution by
averaging the media rights revenues reported under section
485(g)(1)(I) for the second and third preceding academic years.
``(B) In the case of an institution with an average annual
media rights revenue of $50,000,000 or more, as determined
under subparagraph (A) for an academic year, the institution
will not, for the first academic year that begins after such
academic year, use student fees to support intercollegiate
athletic programs (including with respect to facilities,
operating expenses (as defined in section 485(g)(5)),
scholarships, payments to athletes, salaries of coaches and
support staff, and any other expenses reported under section
485(g)(1)).''.
SEC. 11. PREEMPTION.
(a) In General.--No State, or political subdivision of a State, may
maintain, enforce, prescribe, or continue in effect any law, rule,
regulation, requirement, standard, or other provision having the force
and effect of law that conflicts with this Act, including the
amendments made by this Act, and that--
(1) governs or regulates the compensation, payment, benefits,
or employment status of a student athlete (including a
prospective student athlete) with respect to participation in
intercollegiate athletics, including any law, rule, regulation,
requirement, standard, or other provision that--
(A) relates to the right of a student athlete to
receive compensation or other payments or benefits
directly or indirectly from any institution, associated
entity or individual, conference, or interstate
intercollegiate athletic association; or
(B) relates to the length of time a student athlete
is eligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics
or the academic standards to be eligible to participate
in intercollegiate athletics;
(2) limits or restricts a right provided to an institution, a
conference, or an interstate intercollegiate athletic
association under this Act; or
(3) requires a release of or license to use the name, image,
and likeness rights of any individual participant, or group of
participants, in an intercollegiate athletic competition (or an
individual spectator or group of spectators at an
intercollegiate athletic competition) for purposes of audio-
visual, audio, or visual broadcasts or other distributions of
such intercollegiate athletic competition.
(b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in subsection (a) may be construed
to--
(1) relieve any person of liability under a State law of
general applicability that does not conflict with this Act,
including the amendments made by this Act; or
(2) relieve any person of liability under common law.
SEC. 12. REPORTS.
(a) Federal Trade Commission Study.--
(1) Study.--The Federal Trade Commission shall conduct a
study to analyze the impacts of establishing a program,
administered by an entity independent of any institution,
conference, or interstate intercollegiate athletic association,
to develop standards for, certify as compliant with such
standards, and otherwise regulate agents who enter into
agreements with student athletes, which shall include an
analysis of--
(A) options for establishing such a program;
(B) potential sources of funding for such a program;
(C) a reasonable timeline for establishing such a
program; and
(D) the costs and benefits associated with such a
program.
(2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall
submit to Congress a report on the results of the study
conducted under paragraph (1), which shall include legislative
recommendations with respect to the establishment and funding
of the program described in such paragraph.
(b) Compliance Reporting.--
(1) Biennial report.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter,
each interstate intercollegiate athletic association shall
submit to Congress a report that includes--
(A) a summary of the issues faced by such interstate
intercollegiate athletic association relating to
compliance with this Act, including the amendments made
by this Act;
(B) a summary of the trends among institutions,
conferences, and interstate intercollegiate athletic
associations relating to such compliance; and
(C) recommendations to improve the health, safety,
and educational opportunities of student athletes.
(2) Comptroller general report.--Not later than 5 years after
the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 5 years
thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall--
(A) conduct an investigation with respect to
compliance with this Act, including the amendments made
by this Act; and
(B) submit to Congress a report that includes--
(i) a summary of the findings of the
investigation conducted under subparagraph (A);
and
(ii) recommendations to improve the health,
safety, and educational opportunities of
student athletes.
(c) Study on Olympic Sports.--
(1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study--
(A) to assess the impact of this Act on Olympic
Sports, including the funding of Olympic Sports; and
(B) to develop recommendations for support of Olympic
Sports, given the unique nature of Olympic Sports and
intercollegiate athletics in the United States.
(2) Contents.--The study conducted under paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) a survey of international models of support for
Olympic Sports, including models that could be adapted
to the unique nature of Olympic Sports and
intercollegiate athletics in the United States;
(B) the projected scale and magnitude of potential
support for Olympic Sports, given historic levels of
support provided by institutions;
(C) the coordination required to develop and
cultivate Olympic Sports at institutions; and
(D) an analysis of the trends with respect to roster
sizes for Olympic Sports at institutions, with a focus
on the top 70 highest earning institutions with respect
to average annual college sports revenue.
(3) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the
study conducted under paragraph (1).
(4) Olympic sports defined.--In this subsection, the term
``Olympic Sports'' means the sports officially recognized and
contested during the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
Purpose
The purpose of H.R. 4312, the Student Compensation and
Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act, is to
establish a national framework that provides stability and
consistency in college sports. Specifically, the bill
establishes a national framework for Name, Image, and Likeness
(NIL) compensation, clarifies that student-athletes are not
employees, and grants athletic associations authority to set
and enforce consistent rules. Additionally, the SCORE Act
protects student-athletes from exploitation in NIL deals and
ensures that universities provide student-athletes academic
support, degree completion programs, financial literacy, and
preparation for life after sports. H.R. 4312 upholds the
tradition of college sports by delivering a sustainable
framework that protects broad-based academic and athletic
opportunities for student-athletes.
Committee Action
118TH CONGRESS
Second Session--Hearings
On March 6, 2024, the Committee's Subcommittees on Health,
Employment, Labor, and Pensions and Higher Education and
Workforce Development held a hearing on ``Safeguarding Student-
Athletes from NLRB Misclassification.'' The purpose of the
hearing was to examine the National Labor Relations Board's
(NLRB or Board) efforts to classify student-athletes as
employees, including the NLRB Region 1's decision finding that
Dartmouth College's men's basketball players are employees
under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Testifying
before the Subcommittees were Ms. Jill Bodensteiner, Vice
President and Director of Athletics, Saint Joseph's University,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Mr. Tyler Sims, Shareholder,
Littler Mendelson, Tampa, Florida; Mr. Matthew Mitten,
Professor of Law and Executive Director, National Sports Law
Institute, Marquette University Law School, Milwaukee,
Wisconsin; and Mr. Mark Gaston Pearce, Executive Director,
Workers' Rights Institute at Georgetown Law, Washington, D.C.
Legislative Action
On May 23, 2024, Representative Bob Good (R-VA) introduced
H.R. 8534, the Protecting Student Athletes' Economic Freedom
Act, with then-Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and
Representatives Burgess Owens (R-UT), Eric Burlison (R-MO),
Andrew Ogles (R-TN), Tim Walberg (R-MI), Rick Allen (R-GA),
Mike Kelly (R-PA), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Mary E. Miller (R-IL),
and Robert B. Aderholdt (R-AL) as original cosponsors. The bill
was referred solely to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce.
On June 13, 2024, the Committee considered H.R. 8534 in
legislative session and reported it favorably, as amended, to
the House of Representatives by a recorded vote of 23-16.
Representative Good offered an amendment in the nature of a
substitute making a technical change. The amendment was adopted
by voice vote.
119TH CONGRESS
First Session--Hearings
On April 8, 2025, the Committee on Education and Workforce
Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions held a
hearing on ``Game Changer: the NLRB, Student-Athletes, and the
Future of College Sports.'' The purpose of the hearing was to
examine the changing intercollegiate athletics landscape and
the NLRB's efforts during the Biden administration to classify
student-athletes as employees. Testifying before the
Subcommittee were Mr. Daniel L. Nash, Shareholder, Littler,
Washington, D.C.; Ms. Morgyn Wynne, Former Softball Student-
Athlete, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma; Ms.
Jacqie McWilliams Parker, Commissioner, Central Intercollegiate
Athletic Association, Charlotte, North Carolina; and Mr. Ramogi
Huma, Executive Director, National College Players Association,
Norco, California.
Legislative Action
On July 9, 2025, Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)
introduced H.R. 4312, the Student Compensation and Opportunity
through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act, with Chairmen
Walberg, Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Jim Jordan (R-OH), House
Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI), and
Representatives Russell Fry (R-SC), Janelle Bynum (D-OR), and
Shomari Figures (D-AL) as original cosponsors. The bill was
referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce and the
Committee on Energy and Commerce.
On July 23, 2025, the Committee considered H.R. 4312 in
legislative session and reported it favorably, as amended, to
the House of Representatives by a recorded vote of 18-17. The
Committee considered the following amendments to H.R. 4312:
1. Representative McClain offered an amendment in the
nature of a substitute that strengthens enforcement of the bill
and ensures the representation of smaller institutions in
college sports decision making, among other changes. The
amendment passed by voice vote.
2. Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT) offered an amendment
that extends medical coverage for athletic related injuries
from 3 to 10 years. The amendment failed by a recorded vote of
16-20.
3. Representative Michael Baumgartner (R-WA) offered an
amendment that builds on college sports governance provisions
in the bill and requires the council established in section 6
to develop polices on revenue sharing between institutions and
compensation limits. The amendment failed by a recorded vote of
16-19.
4. Representative Summer Lee (D-PA) offered an amendment
that strikes the prohibition on student-athletes being
classified as employees. The amendment failed by a recorded
vote of 15-20.
5. Representative Baumgartner offered an amendment that
requires any institution that provides compensation to student-
athletes to distribute compensation in equal amounts to all
student-athletes. The amendment failed by a recorded vote of
14-21.
6. Representative Alma Adams (D-NC) offered an amendment
that inserts broad language regarding discrimination on the
basis of sex into the bill. The amendment failed by a recorded
vote of 16-19.
7. Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA) offered an amendment
that removes authorization for an interstate intercollegiate
athletic association to set membership rules, remove members,
or control participation, ensuring these actions remain subject
to fair competition laws by excluding them from the antitrust
exemption in section 7. The amendment was withdrawn.
8. Representative Adams offered an amendment that inserts a
new Section 13 to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to
include data reporting on gender equity in athletic programs.
The amendment failed by a recorded vote of 16-19.
9. Representative Baumgartner offered an amendment that
prohibits a conference from scheduling a regular season
intercollegiate athletics competition in a location that is
more than two time zones away from the primary campus of the
school. The amendment was withdrawn.
10. Representative Greg Casar (D-TX) offered an amendment
that strikes preemption language as it relates to compensation,
payment, benefits, and employment status of student-athletes.
The amendment failed by a recorded vote of 15-20.
11. Representative Baumgartner offered an amendment that
requires institutions generating at least $20 million in
athletic revenue to establish a student-athlete advisory
committee to provide guidance on institutional policies
affecting the well-being of student-athletes and requires these
schools to also provide certain benefits to student-athletes
that are required to travel across more than two time zones.
The amendment failed by a recorded vote of 16-19.
12. Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) offered an
amendment that requires colleges to provide to any employee
associated with athletics an annual training on Title IX, what
conduct constitutes sex discrimination, and the procedures for
submitting Title IX complaints. The amendment also requires
that these employees notify the Title IX coordinator when the
employee has received information about sex discrimination. The
amendment failed by a recorded vote of 16-19.
13. Ranking Member Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott (D-VA) offered
an amendment that inserts a private right of action for both
current or previous student-athletes to bring an action in
federal or state court against the interstate intercollegiate
athletic association or institution alleging a violation of the
Act. The amendment failed by a recorded vote of 16-20.
Committee Views
INTRODUCTION
College athletics are in a transformational period, driven
by the introduction of NIL rights and the finalized House v.
NCAA settlement that allows schools to share up to $20.5
million of revenue directly with student-athletes. Student-
athletes deserve to be compensated for their contributions to
college athletics, but the current environment is unsustainable
and risks exploitation of student-athletes. The absence of
uniform NIL regulations across states, coupled with ongoing
antitrust litigation and attempts to classify student-athletes
as employees, has created chaos. Ongoing lawsuits have the
potential to fundamentally alter the financial structure,
operational framework, and governance of college athletics,
creating substantial implications for the NCAA, its member
institutions, and the availability of academic and athletic
opportunities for thousands of student-athletes.
BACKGROUND ON COLLEGE SPORTS LANDSCAPE
In recent years, antitrust laws have been used to challenge
the long-standing policies of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA), a nonprofit organization that serves as the
primary governing body for college athletics in the United
States.\1\ For decades, the NCAA enforced strict rules of
amateurism, which barred student-athletes from receiving
compensation for their NIL, a legal concept referring to an
individual's ability to profit from the use of his or her own
name, image, or likeness through activities such as
endorsements, appearances, autographs, or digital content
creation. Courts scrutinized whether these restrictions
unlawfully suppressed competition and violated antitrust
principles. In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled
in NCAA v. Alston that the NCAA is not exempt from antitrust
law.\2\ Following the ruling, the NCAA quickly adopted an
interim NIL policy that for the first time allowed student-
athletes to benefit financially from their NIL without fear of
NCAA penalty.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20-512_gfbh.pdf.
\2\Ibid.
\3\https://www.ncaa.org/news/2021/6/30/ncaa-adopts-interim-name-
image-and-likeness-
policy.aspx.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NCAA v. Alston ruling, combined with the expansion of
NIL rights for student-athletes, has transformed the landscape
of college sports. After the NCAA's interim policy went into
effect in July 2021, so-called ``NIL Collectives'' quickly
emerged at many institutions. NIL Collectives are organizations
that fundraise from boosters with the intent to direct that
money to a school's athletes through NIL deals. Collectives are
not formally associated with schools or athletic departments,
but they exist to benefit those entities. Collectives can pay
student-athletes, but for the student-athletes to remain NCAA-
eligible, the student-athletes must prove they completed a
deliverable service in return for the payment, including:
signing autographs, appearing at commercials or events, or
marketing a product.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\https://www.on3.com/nil/news/what-are-nil-collectives-and-how-
do-they-operate/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In an effort to preserve the principles of amateurism and
support fair competition across college sports, NCAA rules
maintain that NIL opportunities cannot be used as recruiting
inducements or as direct compensation for athletic
performance.\5\ However, in February 2024, a federal judge in
Tennessee issued a preliminary injunction preventing the NCAA
from enforcing rules related to NIL Collectives offering deals
to recruits.\6\ This ruling, stemming from an antitrust lawsuit
filed by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia
against the NCAA, allows recruits to discuss and negotiate NIL
deals with schools and collectives before they commit to a
school.\7\ This shift has fundamentally altered the recruiting
process, with student-athletes now factoring NIL opportunities
and revenue sharing payments into their decisions about where
to enroll or transfer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\https://www.ncaa.org/news/2021/6/30/ncaa-adopts-interim-name-
image-and-likeness-
policy.aspx.
\6\https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/39585390/ncaa-
enforce-nil-rules-judge-grants-injunction.
\7\Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Transfer Portal
Alongside the expansion of NIL, the transfer portal has
been a key driver of change in college sports. The transfer
portal is a platform administered by the NCAA to regulate the
process by which student-athletes transfer between NCAA member
schools. The transfer portal allows student-athletes to signal
their intention to transfer by having their name added to an
online database. Once listed, the athlete becomes eligible to
be contacted by coaches and staff from other institutions who
can discuss potential opportunities such as campus visits and
athletic scholarships. It applies across all three NCAA
divisions, though most public attention centers on its use
within Division I.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\https://www.ncaa.org/news/2023/2/8/media-center-what-the-ncaa-
transfer-portal-is-and-what-it-isn-t.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before the launch of the transfer portal in 2018, student-
athletes transferring between Division I schools had to request
permission to contact other programs, and without it, those
schools were barred from engaging with them. Denials were
common, appeals were slow, and approved transfers often
required athletes to sit out one year. Schools also had the
power to limit or block transfers to specific schools, such as
conference rivals or future opponents.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\https://espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/23782893/ncaa-passes-
reform-allows-athletes-
transfer-permission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the beginning, the transfer portal complemented the
existing transfer rules. To initiate a transfer, a student-
athlete would notify their current school, which was then
required to enter the athlete's name into the transfer portal.
Once listed, the athlete was free to communicate with coaches
at other NCAA institutions. Initially, the transfer portal did
not change eligibility requirements, and athletes in high-
profile sports were still required to sit out one year of
competition unless they were granted a waiver.
This changed in April 2021 when the NCAA introduced a one-
time transfer rule, allowing student-athletes in all sports to
transfer once without sitting out a year.\10\ In 2024, under
threat of litigation challenging its authority to limit athlete
transfers, the NCAA eliminated the limit on immediate
eligibility, allowing college athletes to transfer multiple
times without sitting out a season.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\NCAA Board of Directors ratifies one-time transfer legislation
allowing athletes immediate eligibility--CBSSports.com.
\11\Division I Council approves changes to transfer rules--
NCAA.org.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
These shifts, paired with the expansion of NIL deals, have
fueled a free-agency-like environment that undermines the
educational foundation of college athletics by encouraging
frequent transfers over degree completion. The transfer portal
has disrupted college sports, creating roster instability,
intensifying pay-for-play recruiting, and shifting focus from
academic development to athletic and financial gain.
House v. NCAA Settlement
These shifts also triggered a wave of legal action seeking
retroactive remedies for athletes who had previously been
barred from profiting under the NCAA's former compensation
rules. Chief among these lawsuits was House v. NCAA, a class-
action lawsuit that challenged the NCAA's historical
restrictions on athlete earnings and sought restitution for the
economic harm caused to past and current student-athletes.
That legal effort reached a major milestone on June 6,
2025, when Judge Claudia Wilken of the U.S. District Court for
the Northern District of California granted final approval of
the settlement agreement. The resolution encompassed three
major cases--House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA, and Carter v.
NCAA--and addressed both back-wage damages and the
establishment of future benefits for Division I student-
athletes.\12\ The settlement was reached after extensive
negotiations between the NCAA, the Power Five conferences (ACC,
Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and Pac-12), and attorneys representing
the athlete plaintiffs, marking a historic shift in the
collegiate model. This landmark settlement, made effective July
1, 2025, establishes a 10-year injunction with potential
extension and drives a transformative shift in college
athletics. It creates the College Sports Commission (CSC), an
independent body charged with enforcing the settlement terms,
while the NCAA retains its role focused on managing
championships, eligibility standards, and certain regulatory
functions.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/45467505/judge-
grants-final-approval-house-v-ncaa-settlement.
\13\https://www.collegesportscommission.org/faq.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The settlement includes four primary changes:
Distributing approximately $2.78 billion in back
damages to Division I athletes who competed between 2016 and
2024, paid over 10 years at roughly $280 million annually.
About 95 percent of these funds will go
to football and men's and women's basketball players
from the Defendant Conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12,
SEC, Pac-12, and Notre Dame).\14\ More than 100,000
former student-athletes will receive back damages.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\https://www.courthousenews.com/ncaa-athletes-score-big-with-
final-approval-2-8-billion-
antitrust-settlement/.
\15\https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/2-8-billion-
house-v-ncaa-settlement-hangs-in-balance-as-federal-judge-extends-
response-deadline/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Permitting schools to share up to 22 percent of
the average athletic revenue generated by schools in the ACC,
Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and Pac-12 from media rights, ticket
sales, and sponsorships, often referred to as ``revenue
sharing.'' For the 2025-2026 academic year, each institution
that opts-in can share up to $20.5 million, increasing by 4
percent annually for the next two years and subject to re-
evaluation every three years. Under the settlement terms,
institutions are permitted to determine how they will
distribute the money to the institution's individual student-
athletes.
For example, Texas Tech, a Big 12
school, plans to allocate $15.1 million (74 percent) to
football, $3.6 million (17.5 percent) to men's
basketball, $410,000 (2 percent) to women's basketball,
$390,000 (1.9 percent) to baseball, and $920,000 (4.6
percent) to other sports.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/sports/college/red-raiders/
2024/12/16/texas-tech-football-kirby-hocutt-details-plan-for-revenue-
sharing-era/76962416007/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schools may also facilitate NIL deals between
athletes and third parties, but these deals must reflect fair
market value for legitimate business purposes, not merely pay-
for-play arrangements.\17\ The CSC, supported by a Deloitte-led
clearinghouse called NIL Go, will assess these deals to ensure
reasonable compensation and compliance, with enhanced scrutiny
for agreements involving entities like NIL Collectives.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\https://www.collegesportscommission.org/.
\18\https://businessofcollegesports.com/name-image-likeness/
details-emerging-about-
enforcement-of-the-house-settlement/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eliminating athletics scholarship limits for
individual teams (e.g., NCAA rules previously capped the number
of scholarships institutions could award to football players
per season at 85) and instead instituting roster limits for
each sport.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ncaa-removes-
scholarship-limits-aligns-with-house-settlement-as-roster-sizes-evolve-
in-new-college-sports-era/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Patchwork of State Laws
The absence of a federal framework for NIL deals has
produced a patchwork of state laws. As of mid-2025, 33 states
and the District of Columbia have enacted their own NIL
statutes, creating competitive disadvantages and compliance
challenges for student-athletes and institutions. The
interstate nature of college sports renders these
inconsistencies unsustainable, as state legislatures engage in
competitive lawmaking to give their universities an edge in
recruiting and competition. In the absence of clear national
guidance, state legislatures have engaged in what amounts to an
NIL policy arms race--crafting laws that are not only favorable
to their own universities but that also directly undermine or
preempt NCAA authority. These state laws often prohibit
investigations, restrict the NCAA's ability to impose
penalties, or provide tax and legal advantages that incentivize
athletes to choose schools in those jurisdictions. These
inconsistencies have created significant competitive
disparities between institutions based on geography.
Ongoing Legal Challenges
The NCAA is also confronting significant legal battles that
challenge its rules on athlete compensation, eligibility, and
prize money restrictions. These lawsuits, some of which are
outlined below, allege violations of antitrust laws and labor
protections. They have the potential to fundamentally alter the
financial structure, operational framework, and governance of
college athletics, creating substantial implications for the
NCAA, its member institutions, and the availability of athletic
opportunities for thousands of student-athletes.
Fontenot v. NCAA
Filed in federal court in Colorado in 2023 and led by
former University of Colorado running back Alex Fontenot, this
case alleges NCAA Bylaw 12 and rules prohibiting direct athlete
compensation, especially from billions in television revenue,
violate Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by restraining
trade. Unlike House v. NCAA, which addresses lost NIL earnings,
Fontenot seeks a fully open market for all athlete earnings,
including salaries and broadcast rights shares, aiming to
dismantle NCAA amateurism entirely. Heard separately from the
House settlement on May 23, 2024, it challenges the
settlement's revenue-sharing and roster restrictions as
anticompetitive restraints. With 292 plaintiffs, the case seeks
class certification for all Division I athletes since 2016. A
successful outcome for the plaintiff, with treble damages
potentially exceeding $10 billion, would jeopardize college
sports' long-term viability by imposing unsustainable financial
burdens on the NCAA, conferences, and schools.\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\20\https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2024/fontenot-
ncaa-lawsuit-hollingshed-fuller-plaintiffs-1234790750/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Johnson v. NCAA
In Johnson v. NCAA, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
considered whether ``NCAA Division I athletes can be employees
of the colleges and universities they attend for purposes of
the Fair Labor Standards Act solely by virtue of their
participation in interscholastic athletics.''\21\ The
plaintiffs--athletes at 13 Division I NCAA member schools--
contended they are entitled to minimum wage and overtime under
the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for time spent on their
sport-related activities. The defendants--the NCAA and various
colleges and universities--argued in the case that because of a
``revered tradition of amateurism,'' FLSA protections should
not apply to student-athletes, but that argument did not find
purchase with the Third Circuit.\22\ On July 11, 2024, the
court held that college athletes may be employees under the
FLSA when they perform services for another party, perform
those services for the college or university's benefit, perform
those services under the college or university's control or
right of control, and perform those services in return for
express or implied compensation or benefits.\23\ The Third
Circuit remanded the case back to a Pennsylvania federal
district court and instructed it to apply an ``economic
realities analysis grounded in common-law agency principles''
to determine whether the student-athlete plaintiffs should be
considered employees under the FLSA.\24\ A ruling in favor of
student-athletes could grant them labor rights and collective
bargaining, eliminating thousands of academic opportunities and
threatening college sports as we know them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\21\108 F.4th 163, 175 (3d Cir. 2024).
\22\Id. at 182.
\23\Id. at 180.
\24\Id. at 167.
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Pavia v. NCAA
Filed in federal court by Vanderbilt University quarterback
Diego Pavia, this antitrust lawsuit challenges the NCAA's four-
seasons-in-five-years eligibility rule as an unreasonable
restraint on trade. Pavia argued his two years at New Mexico
Military Institute, a junior college (JUCO), should not count
against his eligibility. In December 2024, a district judge
granted a preliminary injunction that allows Pavia to play a
sixth season. Subsequently, the NCAA granted a one-year
eligibility extension for all JUCO athletes. The NCAA appealed
to the Sixth Circuit where the case remains active. A ruling
dismantling the NCAA's four-seasons-in-five-years eligibility
framework would significantly disrupt college sports by
encouraging increased JUCO participation as athletes seek
additional eligibility years to maximize NIL earnings. This
shift would limit athletic opportunities for high school
athletes as they'd be forced to compete for roster spots with
older, more experienced JUCO athletes.\25\
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\25\https://www.fplegal.com/news/reporting-as-eligible-two-recent-
rulings-cast-doubt-on-ncaa-
eligibility-rules.
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BACKGROUND ON STUDENT-ATHLETE EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Student-athletes have not been treated as employees under
federal labor law until recent attempts by the Biden
administration intended to advance its pro-labor agenda at the
NLRB. The Biden NLRB tried to give unions the ability to
organize student-athletes and the potential to collect millions
of dollars in union dues and fees from student-athletes. In
September 2021, NLRB General Counsel (GC) Jennifer Abruzzo
issued a memorandum updating guidance to all NLRB field offices
articulating her position that certain student-athletes are
employees under the NLRA.\26\ The memo states that ``the law
fully supports a finding that scholarship football players at
Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) private colleges and
universities, and other similarly situated Players at Academic
Institutions, are employees under the NLRA.''\27\ The memo also
reflected the GC's position that ``misclassifying such
employees as mere `student-athletes,' and leading them to
believe that they do not have statutory protections is a
violation of Section 8(a)(1) of the [NLRA].''\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\26\https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/nlrb-general-
counsel-jennifer-abruzzo-issues-memo-on-employee-status-of. NLRB GC
Abruzzo refuses to use the term ``student-athlete'' and deems them
``Players at Academic Institutions.''
\27\Id.
\28\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In May 2023, NLRB Region 31 issued a complaint against the
University of Southern California (USC), the Pac-12 Conference,
and the NCAA for ``misclassifying'' players as student-
athletes.\29\ The complaint pursued the GC's theory that
misclassifying student-athletes as non-employees intentionally
discourages student-athletes from exercising their rights to
engage in protected concerted activity under the NLRA. On
January 10, 2025, after an NLRB administrative law judge
presided over a trial but before a decision was issued, the
National College Players Association formally withdrew its
unfair labor practice charge against USC, the Pac-12, and the
NCAA.\30\
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\29\https://www.law360.com/articles/1679404/attachments/0.
\30\https://apps.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d4583f009c4.
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In February 2024, the Regional Director of NLRB Region 1
directed a certification election for which the Dartmouth
College men's basketball team had petitioned. The Regional
Director stated that because ``Dartmouth has the right to
control the work performed by the Dartmouth men's basketball
team, and the players perform that work in exchange for
compensation, . . . the petitioned-for basketball players are
employees within the meaning of the Act.''\31\ The following
month, the Dartmouth men's basketball players voted to form the
first labor union in college sports,\32\ with the 15-player
roster voting 13-2 in favor of joining SEIU Local 560.
Dartmouth challenged the vote, and on December 31, 2024, SEIU
Local 560 requested the withdrawal of its petition to represent
the Dartmouth men's basketball team. On January 15, 2025, the
Regional Director approved the withdrawal petition.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\31\https://apps.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d4583c5ebe4.
\32\https://apps.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d4583cafa84.
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Withdrawing an unfair labor practice charge or a
certification petition after a presidential election and before
the new administration can install its nominees is a common
tactic employed by parties before the NLRB. Unless Congress
clearly defines the employment status of student-athletes, the
NLRB in a future administration may classify student-athletes
as employees. The uncertainty about student-athlete employment
status alone could unravel college sports.
Adverse Consequences of Classifying Student-Athletes as Employees
Many student-athletes are apprehensive about the
repercussions of being classified as employees. Ms. Morgyn
Wynne, a former Division I softball player at Oklahoma State
University, articulated her concerns in her April 8, 2025,
testimony before the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor,
and Pensions (HELP). She stated, ``I fear that shifting
student-athletes into an employment model would erode the very
essence of what makes collegiate athletics so
transformative.''\33\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\33\https://edworkforce.house.gov/uploadedfiles/
wynne_testimony.pdf.
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If student-athletes at private universities are classified
as employees under the NLRA and the student-athletes unionize,
then universities and unions will bargain over terms and
conditions of employment. The scope of mandatory subjects of
bargaining in the context of student-athletes is unclear.
Traditionally, mandatory subjects of bargaining include changes
to wages, hours, and working conditions; grievance and
arbitration procedures; contract length; seniority; union
security clauses; strikes and lockouts; management rights
clauses; and discipline.\34\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\34\https://www.nlrb.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/basic-
page/node-3024/basicguide.pdf.
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For student-athletes, potential mandatory subjects of
bargaining could include the amount student-athletes receive
for scholarships and stipends, the number of games played in a
season, the number of hours spent training and practicing,
amount of payment, use of players' likenesses, availability of
health care, required credit hours per semester, and the grade
point average required to remain eligible to participate in
athletics. What the NLRB would consider mandatory subjects of
bargaining in the context of student-athletes would likely
depend on which political party is in power, and that reality
alone makes the consequences of classifying student-athletes as
employees unpredictable.
Today, student-athletes can receive an array of benefits
from their universities, including scholarships covering
tuition costs, room and board, annual stipends, health
insurance benefits, catastrophic injury benefits, apparel, and
counseling. Student-athletes also have freedoms to transfer
relatively freely from one school to another and negotiate
their own NIL deals. However, if student-athletes are
classified as employees and organize as such, then some or all
of these benefits and freedoms could be revoked pursuant to
provisions in the collective bargaining agreement.
Classifying student-athletes as employees could also reduce
the number of sports on college campuses, sparing only the most
high-profile, profitable sports. There are very few profitable
college athletic programs, and unionizing student-athletes will
only increase the financial strain on colleges and
universities. Under financial pressure, many colleges may cut
sports with fewer participants or those that bring little to no
revenue to the school. Many athletes and sports will become
collateral damage of the well-intentioned desire to protect
student-athletes like they are employees. Ms. Wynne testified:
The reality is that many institutions, especially
mid-major programs, do not have the financial resources
to support student-athletes under an employment model.
The fear is not just about what employment might mean
for us individually--it is about what it means for the
sustainability of our sports, our teammates, and the
thousands of student-athletes who dream of competing at
this level in the future.\35\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\35\https://edworkforce.house.gov/uploadedfiles/
wynne_testimony.pdf.
Additionally, as employees, student-athletes' scholarships
could be viewed as income by the Internal Revenue Service and
taxed in full, as is the case for graduate assistants who are
considered employees. If classified as employees, student-
athletes could also have to pay state and local taxes for every
location they play. Considering the rising costs of tuition for
four-year colleges and universities, students could face a
substantial tax burden which they may struggle to pay on their
scholarships.
Collective bargaining agreements could also undermine the
importance of education in the life of students. The union
could bargain for lower grade point average requirements
(possibly in conflict with NCAA rules) and more time for
practice, changing the nature of university athletics and, more
importantly, the quality of university education. These
individuals would become semi-professional athletes rather than
playing sports as a part of their educational pursuits. Mr.
Daniel Nash, an attorney at Littler Mendelson P.C., testified
before the HELP Subcommittee at its April 8, 2025, hearing that
``[A]pplying the labor laws to student-athletes more generally
could have the effect of eroding the academic relationship
between schools and their students.''\36\ Similarly, Ms.
Jacqueline D. McWilliams Parker, the Commissioner of the
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, stated in her
testimony to the HELP Subcommittee:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\36\https://edworkforce.house.gov/uploadedfiles/nash_testimony.pdf.
A move toward an employment model for student-
athletes would shift college sports from being a
pathway to education and a developmental platform for
hundreds of thousands of student-athletes across dozens
of sports at more than 1,000 colleges and universities,
to a professional occupation concentrated among a few
sports primarily at America's largest universities.\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\37\https://edworkforce.house.gov/uploadedfiles/
mcwilliams_parker_testimony.pdf.
Finally, if a school and student-athlete union cannot agree
on the terms and conditions of employment, then it is possible
that either party could resort to economic pressure, including
lockouts and strikes. In response to either a lockout or
strike, the employer may hire temporary replacements. While it
is hard to imagine how universities would find replacements in
the case of student-athlete strikes, any lockout or strike
would interfere with athletics in the entire athletic division.
By classifying student-athletes as employees under the
NLRA, the Biden NLRB intended to allow student-athletes to
unionize. Organizing student-athletes and negotiating
collective bargaining agreements with compulsory union dues
would funnel millions of dollars to union coffers. In short,
the Biden NLRB put union financial interests ahead of the
interests and wellbeing of student-athletes. Classifying
student-athletes as employees under the NLRA would help unions
at the expense of student-athletes. H.R. 4312 would recenter
student-athletes at the heart of college sports.
KEY PROVISIONS OF H.R. 4312
Name, Image, and Likeness Rights
The SCORE Act protects student-athletes' rights to enter
into NIL agreements by prohibiting institutions, conferences,
or interstate intercollegiate athletic associations from
restricting such agreements, except in cases of prohibited
compensation or conflicts with institutional codes of conduct
or existing contracts. The bill ensures student-athletes can
secure representation without restriction and safeguards their
privacy by requiring express written consent for disclosing NIL
agreement details. For NIL agreements exceeding $600, H.R. 4312
requires written contracts with clear terms, including
services, compensation, and termination provisions. These
measures establish clear rules for NIL agreements, protecting
student-athletes from exploitation.
Transfer Portal
The SCORE Act gives the NCAA authority to regulate the
transfer portal in college athletics. The Act ensures student-
athletes can transfer at least once with immediate eligibility
to compete, provided they are academically eligible. It also
requires institutions to provide written notice of accepted
academic credits applicable to the student-athlete's program of
study at a reasonable time before transfer completion. These
measures reduce the disruptions of frequent transfers and pay-
for-play recruiting in college athletics and ensure student-
athletes stay on track academically.
NCAA Core Guarantees
The NCAA core guarantees, implemented on August 1, 2024,
and incorporated into the SCORE Act, mandate enhanced benefits
for student-athletes at Division I schools. These guarantees
emerged from NCAA reforms following legal pressures to address
athlete welfare amid evolving regulations. They require schools
to provide academic services, career counseling, and life
skills training in areas like mental health, financial
literacy, NIL opportunities, and legal counsel, alongside
healthcare coverage for athletically related injuries for at
least two years post-graduation or separation that covers out-
of-pocket expenses. Scholarship protections also prohibit
reducing or canceling aid due to injury, performance, or roster
decisions, while degree completion programs expand eligibility
for former student-athletes to complete their education.
Currently, student-athletes are receiving more benefits than
ever. Between NIL deals, scholarships, revenue share payments,
and additional student-athlete benefits, the NCAA estimates
compensation to student-athletes is approaching 50 percent of
total athletic revenue at their schools.\38\ These Core
Guarantees are incorporated into H.R. 4312 to standardize
benefits across NCAA institutions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\38\https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/how-college-
athletes-will-be-paid-after-house-v-ncaa-settlement-nil-changes-
enforcement-contracts-and-more/#::text=The%20
settlement%20estimates%20that%20the,resemble%20that%20of%20independent%2
0contractors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Olympic Sports
H.R. 4312 requires Division I institutions with athletic
budgets of $20 million or more to sustain at least 16 varsity
sports teams. This provision shields thousands of student-
athletes in non-revenue generating Olympic sports from budget
cuts driven by the House v. NCAA settlement's revenue-sharing
demands. In 2024, 80 percent of U.S. Olympians trained in
college programs; the SCORE Act helps maintain that essential
pipeline.
Student Fees
Since 1970, tuition at four-year public and private
nonprofit colleges has increased fivefold in real terms,
outpacing nearly all other goods and services in the U.S.
economy.\39\ A significant factor is the escalating cost of
intercollegiate athletics. In 2022, Division I institutions
spent $17.1 billion on athletics, a 24 percent increase from
2021,\40\ with recruiting costs nearly doubling from 2012 to
2022.\41\ Most programs, unable to cover expenses solely with
generated revenue, rely on subsidies from institutional budgets
or mandatory student fees. These subsidies include direct
institutional support (university budget transfers), indirect
institutional support (e.g., debt service or facility rent),
and student fees. In 2022, 92 percent of Division I programs
required such subsidies to offset deficits.\42\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\39\https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/
dt19_330.10.asp?current=yes.
\40\https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/research/Finances/2023RES_DI-
RevExpReport
_FINAL.pdf.
\41\U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary
Education, Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act survey, ``Generate Trend
Data,'' accessed on January 6, 2025, https://ope.ed.gov/
athletics/Trend/public/#/answer/5/501/trend/-1/-1/-1/-1.
\42\National Collegiate Athletic Association, ``NCAA Membership
Financial Database,'' accessed on January 27, 2025, https://
www.ncaa.org/sports/2019/11/12/finances-of-intercollegiate-athletics-
database.aspx.
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Student fees are mandatory charges levied on all full-time
undergraduate students that fund various student activities,
including club sports, intramural programs, and, in some cases,
intercollegiate athletics. These fees, ranging from $50 to over
$1,500 annually, are often undisclosed until tuition bills
arrive and apply to all students, including those who do not
attend sporting events. Student fees contributing to athletics,
which is not a core mission of colleges and universities,
significantly impacts education costs, diverts resources away
from academic programs and student services, and exacerbates
student debt. In 2023, Division I schools generated $669
million in student fees according to Sportico's college finance
database.\43\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\43\https://www.sportico.com/business/commerce/2023/college-sports-
finances-database-
intercollegiate-1234646029/.
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The House v. NCAA settlement, permitting schools to share
up to $20.5 million in annual revenue with student-athletes,
places further strain on athletic department budgets, prompting
institutions to seek additional revenue sources, including
increased or newly imposed mandatory student fees. This year,
more than 20 Division I schools have implemented or increased
such fees. Examples include:
University of Maryland: 4 percent increase in
tuition and mandatory athletic fee.\44\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\44\https://dbknews.com/2025/06/13/umd-tuition-fees-increase-usm-
budget/.
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University of South Carolina: $300 per semester
athletics auxiliary fee.\45\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\45\https://www.mensjournal.com/sports/students-major-sec-
university-forced-pay-nearly-500-fees.
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Virginia Tech University: $295 per semester
increase in student athletic fee.\46\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\46\https://roanoke.com/sports/college/football/virginia-tech-
hokies/article_7ac906a0-b04f-4236-81df-8ff79636cc09.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clemson University: $150 per semester athletic
surcharge.\47\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\47\https://apnews.com/article/clemson-students-athletic-fee-
a6abc6390b50a97319a084beca483f
79:text=(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Clemson%20University's%20board,athletic%20dep
artment %20in%202025%2D26.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Virginia University: $125 per student
Mountaineer Athletic Advantage Fee.\48\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\48\https://www.thedaonline.com/featured/wvu-raises-tuition-adds-
mountaineer-athletics-
advantage-fee-for-morgantown-students/article_3741ed5c-9677-41b1-9691-
2919d19b29af.html.
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To address this, H.R. 4312 requires institutions receiving
federal student aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act
(Title IV) to annually disclose on their websites and tuition
bills the amount of student fees used for intercollegiate
athletics, their specific allocations (e.g., facilities,
salaries, scholarships, athlete payments), and the percentage
of the athletic department budget these fees cover. These
reporting requirements ensure students and families know the
amount of the fee and its allocations. Current public data
lacks detailed breakdowns of fee allocations, underscoring the
need for such measures. As the University of Illinois Athletic
Director stated in 2024, ``We want to avoid any suggestion that
the student body is underwriting more expansive economic
benefits for their fellow students.''\49\ Additionally, the
SCORE Act prohibits Title IV recipients that earn $50 million
or more in annual media rights revenue from using student fees
to fund their intercollegiate athletics programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\49\https://fightingillini.com/news/2024/7/9/general-illinois-
athletics-to-phase-out-athletic-
facilities-student-fee.aspx.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONCLUSION
H.R. 4312, the SCORE Act, brings much needed stability to
college sports by establishing a national framework for NIL
deals, resolving state-law disparities, clarifying that
student-athletes are not employees, and putting an end to the
ongoing litigation frenzy threatening college sports. By
establishing a sustainable framework, H.R. 4312 provides
consistency for the governance of college athletics, supports a
broad array of athletic opportunities, and ensures long-term
stability for this vital piece of American culture.
H.R. 4312 Section-by-Section Summary
Section 1: Short title
This Act may be cited as the ``Student Compensation and
Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act.''
Section 2: Definitions
This section defines the key terms of the Act.
Section 3: NIL-related rights
The bill:
Gives student-athletes the right to receive NIL
payments unless the payment (1) is from a booster and not for a
valid business purpose, (2) is from a school and exceeds the
pool limit, or (3) violates the school's code of conduct or
otherwise conflicts with the school's contracts.
Gives student-athletes the right to be
represented by an agent.
Requires NIL agreements over $600 to include
written detailed terms on services, compensation, duration, and
termination.
Gives authority to state attorneys general to
bring civil actions for NIL violations on behalf of state
residents.
Keeps personally identifiable NIL-related
information private.
Section 4: Agent disclosure
The bill requires agents to inform student-
athletes if the agent is registered.
Section 5: Guaranteed benefits to student-athletes
The bill requires any institution with $20,000,000 or more
in athletics revenue (which includes most Division I schools)
to:
Provide student-athletes academic support,
career counselling, and life skills development (including
advice and guidance related to health, nutrition, NIL legal
requirements, financial literacy, career readiness,
transferring to other institutions, and sexual violence
prevention).
Provide student-athletes medical and health
benefits, including benefits for three years after graduation
or separation from the institution for a sports-related injury;
mental health services; independent medical care and return-to-
play decision-making; and certification of insurance coverage
for medical expenses from sports-related injuries.
Provide student-athletes grant-in-aid guarantees
regardless of performance or injury.
Provide an annual grant-in-aid guarantee to any
former student-athlete who returns to an institution to
graduate that is equal to previous average annual amounts
received by that student.
Establish and maintain at least 16 varsity
sports teams.
Comply with this section in order to participate
in Title IV programs under the Higher Education Act.
Section 6: College Athletic Association Rulemaking Authority
The bill provides college athletic associations (e.g., the
NCAA) authority to create and enforce rules relating to:
Requiring disclosure of NIL contracts.
Creating a process to publicly share aggregated
and anonymized NIL data.
Prohibiting compensation from boosters if the
compensation is not for a valid business purpose or from
institutions if that compensation exceeds the pool limit.
Recruiting from high school and other
institutions.
Creating a pool limit that is equal to 22 percent
of the sports revenue of the 70 highest-earning institutions
and monitoring pool limit payments.
Student-athletes transferring between
institutions, so long as a student-athlete can transfer one
time with immediate eligibility and receiving schools provide
student-athletes with information about transferring credits
before the student transfers.
Student-athlete eligibility requirements,
including years and academic standing.
Establishing an agent registry.
Establishing parameters for institutions to engage
with unregistered agents, protecting student-athletes from
exploitation.
Institutional membership and championship
participation requirements.
The bill also stipulates that athletic associations must
comply with the Act to receive the antitrust exemption allowing
the associations to establish and enforce rules.
The bill also adds governance requirements for athletic
associations that ensure any decision-making body consists of
at least 20 percent current or recent student-athletes (equally
representing men and women from different sports) and 30
percent from non-top 70 revenue institutions.
Section 7: Title IX
Clarifies that the Act does not affect Title IX of
the Education Amendments of 1972.
Section 8: Antitrust liability protections
Compliance with this bill and adoption and
enforcement of rules specified under this bill are deemed
lawful under the antitrust laws.
Section 9: Student-athletes are not employees
Establishes that no student-athlete may be
considered an employee of an institution, conference, or
interstate intercollegiate athletic association by virtue of
that student's participation on a varsity sports team or in an
intercollegiate athletic competition, regardless of any other
provision of federal or state law.
Section 10: Student fee reporting and prohibition
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require
institutions to disclose the amount of student fees used to
support their intercollegiate athletic program as part of their
tuition and fee reporting requirements.
Requires institutions to report the total amount
of student fees charged to support intercollegiate athletic
programs, the specific uses of such fees, and the percentage of
the total cost of the athletic department covered by such fees.
Requires institutions to annually publish this
student fee information on a publicly available website.
Prohibits any school that receives media revenue
over $50 million from charging its students fees to support
athletic programs.
Section 11: Preemption
The bill prohibits states from enforcing laws
related to compensation, payment, or employment status as well
as other policies that conflict with the bill.
Section 12: Reports
Requires the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a
study on establishing an independent program to develop
standards and certify compliance for agents entering agreements
with student-athletes.
Requires interstate intercollegiate athletic
associations to submit a report to Congress on compliance with
the Act.
Requires the Comptroller General to investigate
compliance with the Act and report to Congress.
Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a
study on the Act's impact on Olympic sports.
Explanation of Amendments
The amendments, including the amendment in the nature of a
substitute, are explained in the body of this report.
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch
Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a
description of the application of this bill to the legislative
branch. H.R. 4312 establishes a national framework that
provides stability and consistency in college sports. H.R. 4312
is applicable to student-athletes and intercollegiate athletics
and therefore does not apply to the legislative branch.
Unfunded Mandate Statement
Pursuant to Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-344 (as amended
by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of
1995, Pub. L. No. 104-4), the Committee traditionally adopts as
its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) pursuant to section 402 of
the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
The Committee reports that because this cost estimate was not
timely submitted to the Committee before the filing of this
report, the Committee is not in a position to make a cost
estimate for H.R. 4312.
Earmark Statement
H.R. 4312 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9 of House rule XXI.
Roll Call Votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee Report to include for
each record vote on a motion to report the measure or matter
and on any amendments offered to the measure or matter the
total number of votes for and against and the names of the
Members voting for and against.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
In accordance with clause (3)(c) of House of
Representatives rule XIII, the goal of H.R. 4312, the Student
Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements
(SCORE) Act, is to establish a national framework that provides
stability and consistency in college sports. Specifically, the
bill establishes a national framework for NIL compensation,
clarifies that student-athletes are not employees, and grants
athletic associations authority to set and enforce consistent
rules. Additionally, the SCORE Act protects student-athletes
from exploitation in NIL deals and ensures universities provide
student-athletes academic support, degree completion programs,
financial literacy, and preparation for life after sports.
Duplication of Federal Programs
No provision of H.R. 4312 establishes or reauthorizes a
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of
another Federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives,
the Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are
reflected in the body of this report.
Required Committee Hearing
In compliance with clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives the following hearing held
during the 119th Congress was used to develop or consider H.R.
4312: On April 8, 2025, the Subcommittee on Health, Employment,
Labor, and Pensions held a hearing on ``Game Changer: the NLRB,
Student-Athletes, and the Future of College Sports.''
New Budget Authority and CBO Cost Estimate
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect
to requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, a cost estimate was not made
available to the Committee in time for the filing of this
report. The Chairman of the Committee shall cause such estimate
to be printed in the Congressional Record upon its receipt by
the Committee.
Committee Cost Estimate
Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison of the
costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 4312.
However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that rule provides that this
requirement does not apply when, as with the present report,
the Committee has requested a cost estimate for the bill from
the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
SPORTS AGENT RESPONSIBILITY AND TRUST ACT
* * * * * * *
SEC. 3. REGULATION OF UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACTS AND PRACTICES IN
CONNECTION WITH THE CONTACT BETWEEN AN ATHLETE AGENT
AND A STUDENT ATHLETE.
(a) Conduct Prohibited.--It is unlawful for an athlete agent
to--
(1) directly or indirectly recruit or solicit a
student athlete to enter into an agency contract, by--
(A) giving any false or misleading
information or making a false promise or
representation; or
(B) providing anything of value to a student
athlete or anyone associated with the student
athlete before the student athlete enters into
an agency contract, including any consideration
in the form of a loan, or acting in the
capacity of a guarantor or co-guarantor for any
debt;
(2) enter into an agency contract with a student
athlete without providing the student athlete with the
disclosure document described in subsection (b); or
(3) predate or postdate an agency contract.
(b) Required Disclosure by Athlete Agents to Student
Athletes.--
(1) In general.--In conjunction with the entering
into of an agency contract, an athlete agent shall
provide to the student athlete, or, if the student
athlete is under the age of 18, to such student
athlete's parent or legal guardian, a disclosure
document that meets the requirements of this
subsection. Such disclosure document is separate from
and in addition to any disclosure which may be required
under State law.
(2) Signature of student athlete.--The disclosure
document must be signed by the student athlete, or, if
the student athlete is under the age of 18, by such
student athlete's parent or legal guardian, prior to
entering into the agency contract.
(3) Required language.--The disclosure document must
contain, in close proximity to the signature of the
student athlete, or, if the student athlete is under
the age of 18, the signature of such student athlete's
parent or legal guardian, a conspicuous notice in
boldface type stating: ``[Warning to Student Athlete:
If you agree orally or in writing to be represented by
an agent now or in the future you may lose your
eligibility to compete as a student athlete in your
sport.] Notice to Student Athlete: Within 72 hours
after entering into this contract or before the next
athleticevent in which you are eligible to participate,
whichever occurs first, both you and the agent by whom
you are agreeing to be represented must notify the
athletic director of the educational institution at
which you are enrolled, or other individual responsible
for athletic programs at such educational institution,
that you have entered into an agency contract.''.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 9. DISCLOSURE AND CONSENT RELATING TO NAME, IMAGE, AND
LIKENESS AGREEMENTS.
(a) In General.--An athlete agent who assists a student
athlete with an endorsement contract shall disclose in writing
to the student athlete--
(1) whether the athlete agent is registered with an
interstate intercollegiate athletic association (as
defined in section 2 of the SCORE Act); and
(2) if the athlete agent is registered with an
interstate intercollegiate athletic association,
whether the athlete agent is registered with the
interstate intercollegiate athletic association that
has as a member the institution (as defined in section
2 of the SCORE Act) at which the student athlete is
enrolled.
(b) Consent.--In the case of an athlete agent who is not
registered with an interstate intercollegiate athletic
association, the athlete agent may only assist a student
athlete with an endorsement contract if the student athlete
(or, in the case of a student athlete who is under 18 years of
age, the parent or guardian of the student athlete) provides to
the athlete agent written consent for such assistance after
receiving the disclosure under subsection (a).
(c) Enforcement.--
(1) In general.--If an attorney general of a State
has reason to believe that an interest of the residents
of that State has been or is threatened or adversely
affected by the engagement of any athlete agent in a
practice that violates this section, the attorney
general may bring a civil action pursuant to section 5
in the same manner as the attorney general may bring a
civil action with respect to a violation of section 3.
(2) Sole authority.--No individual or entity other
than an attorney general of a State may enforce this
section.
(3) No federal notice necessary.--Subsections (a)(2),
(b), and (d) of section 5 do not apply to an action
brought by an attorney general of a State pursuant to
this subsection.
----------
HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965
* * * * * * *
TITLE IV--STUDENT ASSISTANCE
* * * * * * *
Part G--General Provisions Relating to Student Assistance Programs
* * * * * * *
SEC. 485. INSTITUTIONAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE INFORMATION FOR
STUDENTS.
(a) Information Dissemination Activities.--(1) Each eligible
institution participating in any program under this title shall
carry out information dissemination activities for prospective
and enrolled students (including those attending or planning to
attend less than full time) regarding the institution and all
financial assistance under this title. The information required
by this section shall be produced and be made readily available
upon request, through appropriate publications, mailings, and
electronic media, to an enrolled student and to any prospective
student. Each eligible institution shall, on an annual basis,
provide to all enrolled students a list of the information that
is required to be provided by institutions to students by this
section and section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act
(commonly known as the ``Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act of 1974''), together with a statement of the procedures
required to obtain such information. The information required
by this section shall accurately describe--
(A) the student financial assistance programs
available to students who enroll at such institution;
(B) the methods by which such assistance is
distributed among student recipients who enroll at such
institution;
(C) any means, including forms, by which application
for student financial assistance is made and
requirements for accurately preparing such application;
(D) the rights and responsibilities of students
receiving financial assistance under this title;
(E) the cost of attending the institution, including
(i) tuition and fees (including the amount of such fees
used to support intercollegiate athletic programs),
(ii) books and supplies, (iii) estimates of typical
student room and board costs or typical commuting
costs, and (iv) any additional cost of the program in
which the student is enrolled or expresses a specific
interest;
(F) a statement of--
(i) the requirements of any refund policy
with which the institution is required to
comply;
(ii) the requirements under section 484B for
the return of grant or loan assistance provided
under this title; and
(iii) the requirements for officially
withdrawing from the institution;
(G) the academic program of the institution,
including (i) the current degree programs and other
educational and training programs, (ii) the
instructional, laboratory, and other physical plant
facilities which relate to the academic program, (iii)
the faculty and other instructional personnel, and (iv)
any plans by the institution for improving the academic
program of the institution;
(H) each person designated under subsection (c) of
this section, and the methods by which and locations in
which any person so designated may be contacted by
students and prospective students who are seeking
information required by this subsection;
(I) special facilities and services available to
students with disabilities;
(J) the names of associations, agencies, or
governmental bodies which accredit, approve, or license
the institution and its programs, and the procedures
under which any current or prospective student may
obtain or review upon request a copy of the documents
describing the institution's accreditation, approval,
or licensing;
(K) the standards which the student must maintain in
order to be considered to be making satisfactory
progress, pursuant to section 484(a)(2);
(L) the completion or graduation rate of certificate-
or degree-seeking, full-time, undergraduate students
entering such institutions;
(M) the terms and conditions of the loans
that students receive under parts B, D, and E;
(N) that enrollment in a program of study abroad
approved for credit by the home institution may be
considered enrollment in the home institution for
purposes of applying for Federal student financial
assistance;
(O) the campus crime report prepared by the
institution pursuant to subsection (f), including all
required reporting categories;
(P) institutional policies and sanctions
related to copyright infringement, including--
(i) an annual disclosure that
explicitly informs students that
unauthorized distribution of
copyrighted material, including
unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing,
may subject the students to civil and
criminal liabilities;
(ii) a summary of the penalties for
violation of Federal copyright laws;
and
(iii) a description of the
institution's policies with respect to
unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing,
including disciplinary actions that are
taken against students who engage in
unauthorized distribution of
copyrighted materials using the
institution's information technology
system;
(Q) student body diversity at the
institution, including information on the
percentage of enrolled, full-time students
who--
(i) are male;
(ii) are female;
(iii) receive a Federal Pell Grant;
and
(iv) are a self-identified member of
a major racial or ethnic group;
(R) the placement in employment of, and types
of employment obtained by, graduates of the
institution's degree or certificate programs,
gathered from such sources as alumni surveys,
student satisfaction surveys, the National
Survey of Student Engagement, the Community
College Survey of Student Engagement, State
data systems, or other relevant sources;
(S) the types of graduate and professional
education in which graduates of the
institution's four-year degree programs
enrolled, gathered from such sources as alumni
surveys, student satisfaction surveys, the
National Survey of Student Engagement, State
data systems, or other relevant sources;
(T) the fire safety report prepared by the
institution pursuant to subsection (i);
(U) the retention rate of certificate- or
degree-seeking, first-time, full-time,
undergraduate students entering such
institution; and
(V) institutional policies regarding
vaccinations.
(2) For the purpose of this section, the term ``prospective
student'' means any individual who has contacted an eligible
institution requesting information concerning admission to that
institution.
(3) In calculating the completion or graduation rate under
subparagraph (L) of paragraph (1) of this subsection or under
subsection (e), a student shall be counted as a completion or
graduation if, within 150 percent of the normal time for
completion of or graduation from the program, the student has
completed or graduated from the program, or enrolled in any
program of an eligible institution for which the prior program
provides substantial preparation. The information required to
be disclosed under such subparagraph--
(A) shall be made available by July 1 each year to
enrolled students and prospective students prior to the
students enrolling or entering into any financial
obligation; and
(B) shall cover the one-year period ending on August
31 of the preceding year.
(4) For purposes of this section, institutions may--
(A) exclude from the information disclosed in
accordance with subparagraph (L) of paragraph
(1) the completion or graduation rates of
students who leave school to serve in the Armed
Forces, on official church missions, or with a
recognized foreign aid service of the Federal
Government; or
(B) in cases where the students described in
subparagraph (A) represent 20 percent or more
of the certificate- or degree-seeking, full-
time, undergraduate students at the
institution, recalculate the completion or
graduation rates of such students by excluding
from the calculation described in paragraph (3)
the time period during which such students were
not enrolled due to their service in the Armed
Forces, on official church missions, or with a
recognized foreign aid service of the Federal
Government.
(5) The Secretary shall permit any institution of higher
education that is a member of an athletic association or
athletic conference that has voluntarily published completion
or graduation rate data or has agreed to publish data that, in
the opinion of the Secretary, is substantially comparable to
the information required under this subsection, to use such
data to satisfy the requirements of this subsection; and
(6) Each institution may provide supplemental information to
enrolled and prospective students showing the completion or
graduation rate for students described in paragraph (4) or for
students transferring into the institution or information
showing the rate at which students transfer out of the
institution.
(7)(A)(i) Subject to clause (ii), the information
disseminated under paragraph (1)(L), or reported under
subsection (e), shall be disaggregated by gender, by
each major racial and ethnic subgroup, by recipients of
a Federal Pell Grant, by recipients of a loan made
under part B or D (other than a loan made under section
428H or a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan)
who did not receive a Federal Pell Grant, and by
recipients of neither a Federal Pell Grant nor a loan
made under part B or D (other than a loan made under
section 428H or a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford
Loan), if the number of students in such subgroup or
with such status is sufficient to yield statistically
reliable information and reporting will not reveal
personally identifiable information about an individual
student. If such number is not sufficient for such
purposes, then the institution shall note that the
institution enrolled too few of such students to so
disclose or report with confidence and confidentiality.
(ii) The requirements of clause (i) shall not apply
to two-year, degree-granting institutions of higher
education until academic year 2011-2012.
(B)(i) In order to assist two-year degree-granting
institutions of higher education in meeting the
requirements of paragraph (1)(L) and subsection (e),
the Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner
for Education Statistics, shall, not later than 90 days
after the date of enactment of the Higher Education
Opportunity Act, convene a group of representatives
from diverse institutions of higher education, experts
in the field of higher education policy, state higher
education officials, students, and other stakeholders
in the higher education community, to develop
recommendations regarding the accurate calculation and
reporting of the information required to be
disseminated or reported under paragraph (1)(L) and
subsection (e) by two-year, degree-granting
institutions of higher education. In developing such
recommendations, the group of representatives shall
consider the mission and role of two-year degree-
granting institutions of higher education, and may
recommend additional or alternative measures of student
success for such institutions in light of the mission
and role of such institutions.
(ii) The Secretary shall widely disseminate the
recommendations required under this subparagraph to
two-year, degree-granting institutions of higher
education, the public, and the authorizing committees
not later than 18 months after the first meeting of the
group of representatives convened under clause (i).
(iii) The Secretary shall use the recommendations
from the group of representatives convened under clause
(i) to provide technical assistance to two-year,
degree-granting institutions of higher education in
meeting the requirements of paragraph (1)(L) and
subsection (e).
(iv) The Secretary may modify the information
required to be disseminated or reported under paragraph
(1)(L) or subsection (e) by a two-year, degree-granting
institution of higher education--
(I) based on the recommendations received
under this subparagraph from the group of
representatives convened under clause (i);
(II) to include additional or alternative
measures of student success if the goals of the
provisions of paragraph (1)(L) and subsection
(e) can be met through additional means or
comparable alternatives; and
(III) during the period beginning on the date
of enactment of the Higher Education
Opportunity Act, and ending on June 30, 2011.
(b) Exit Counseling for Borrowers.--(1)(A) Each eligible
institution shall, through financial aid offices or otherwise,
provide counseling to borrowers of loans that are made,
insured, or guaranteed under part B (other than loans made
pursuant to section 428C or loans under section 428B made on
behalf of a student) or made under part D (other than Federal
Direct Consolidation Loans or Federal Direct PLUS Loans made on
behalf of a student) or made under part E of this title prior
to the completion of the course of study for which the borrower
enrolled at the institution or at the time of departure from
such institution. The counseling required by this subsection
shall include--
(i) information on the repayment plans available,
including a description of the different features of
each plan and sample information showing the average
anticipated monthly payments, and the difference in
interest paid and total payments, under each plan;
(ii) debt management strategies that are designed to
facilitate the repayment of such indebtedness;
(iii) an explanation that the borrower has the
options to prepay each loan, pay each loan on a shorter
schedule, and change repayment plans;
(iv) for any loan forgiveness or cancellation
provision of this title, a general description of the
terms and conditions under which the borrower may
obtain full or partial forgiveness or cancellation of
the principal and interest, and a copy of the
information provided by the Secretary under section
485(d);
(v) for any forbearance provision of this title, a
general description of the terms and conditions under
which the borrower may defer repayment of principal or
interest or be granted forbearance, and a copy of the
information provided by the Secretary under section
485(d);
(vi) the consequences of defaulting on a loan,
including adverse credit reports, delinquent debt
collection procedures under Federal law, and
litigation;
(vii) information on the effects of using a
consolidation loan under section 428C or a Federal
Direct Consolidation Loan to discharge the borrower's
loans under parts B, D, and E, including at a minimum--
(I) the effects of consolidation on total
interest to be paid, fees to be paid, and
length of repayment;
(II) the effects of consolidation on a
borrower's underlying loan benefits, including
grace periods, loan forgiveness, cancellation,
and deferment opportunities;
(III) the option of the borrower to prepay
the loan or to change repayment plans; and
(IV) that borrower benefit programs may vary
among different lenders;
(viii) a general description of the types of tax
benefits that may be available to borrowers;
(ix) a notice to borrowers about the availability of
the National Student Loan Data System and how the
system can be used by a borrower to obtain information
on the status of the borrower's loans; and
(x) an explanation that--
(I) the borrower may be
contacted during the repayment
period by third-party student
debt relief companies;
(II) the borrower should use
caution when dealing with those
companies; and
(III) the services that those
companies typically provide are
already offered to borrowers
free of charge through the
Department or the borrower's
servicer; and
(B) In the case of borrower who leaves an institution without
the prior knowledge of the institution, the institution shall
attempt to provide the information described in subparagraph
(A) to the student in writing.
(2)(A) Each eligible institution shall require that the
borrower of a loan made under part B, D, or E submit to the
institution, during the exit interview required by this
subsection--
(i) the borrower's expected permanent address after
leaving the institution (regardless of the reason for
leaving);
(ii) the name and address of the borrower's expected
employer after leaving the institution;
(iii) the address of the borrower's next of kin; and
(iv) any corrections in the institution's records
relating the borrower's name, address, social security
number, references, and driver's license number.
(B) The institution shall, within 60 days after the
interview, forward any corrected or completed information
received from the borrower to the guaranty agency indicated on
the borrower's student aid records.
(C) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit
an institution of higher education from utilizing electronic
means to provide personalized exit counseling.
(c) Financial Assistance Information Personnel.--Each
eligible institution shall designate an employee or group of
employees who shall be available on a full-time basis to assist
students or potential students in obtaining information as
specified in subsection (a). The Secretary may, by regulation,
waive the requirement that an employee or employees be
available on a full-time basis for carrying out
responsibilities required under this section whenever an
institution in which the total enrollment, or the portion of
the enrollment participating in programs under this title at
that institution, is too small to necessitate such employee or
employees being available on a full-time basis. No such waiver
may include permission to exempt any such institution from
designating a specific individual or a group of individuals to
carry out the provisions of this section.
(d) Departmental Publication of Descriptions of Assistance
Programs.--(1) The Secretary shall make available to eligible
institutions, eligible lenders, and secondary schools
descriptions of Federal student assistance programs including
the rights and responsibilities of student and institutional
participants, in order to (A) assist students in gaining
information through institutional sources, and (B) assist
institutions in carrying out the provisions of this section, so
that individual and institutional participants will be fully
aware of their rights and responsibilities under such programs.
In particular, such information shall include information to
enable students and prospective students to assess the debt
burden and monthly and total repayment obligations that will be
incurred as a result of receiving loans of varying amounts
under this title. Such information shall also include
information on the various payment options available for
student loans, including income-sensitive and income-based
repayment plans for loans made, insured, or guaranteed under
part B and income-based repayment plans for loans made under
part D. In addition, such information shall include information
to enable borrowers to assess the practical consequences of
loan consolidation, including differences in deferment
eligibility, interest rates, monthly payments, and finance
charges, and samples of loan consolidation profiles to
illustrate such consequences. The Secretary shall provide
information concerning the specific terms and conditions under
which students may obtain partial or total cancellation or
defer repayment of loans for service, shall indicate (in terms
of the Federal minimum wage) the maximum level of compensation
and allowances that a student borrower may receive from a tax-
exempt organization to qualify for a deferment, and shall
explicitly state that students may qualify for such partial
cancellations or deferments when they serve as a paid employee
of a tax-exempt organization. The Secretary shall also provide
information on loan forbearance, including the increase in debt
that results from capitalization of interest. Such information
shall be provided by eligible institutions and eligible lenders
at any time that information regarding loan availability is
provided to any student.
(2) The Secretary, to the extent the information is
available, shall compile information describing State and other
prepaid tuition programs and savings programs and disseminate
such information to States, eligible institutions, students,
and parents in departmental publications.
(3) The Secretary, to the extent practicable, shall update
the Department's Internet site to include direct links to
databases that contain information on public and private
financial assistance programs. The Secretary shall only provide
direct links to databases that can be accessed without charge
and shall make reasonable efforts to verify that the databases
included in a direct link are not providing fraudulent
information. The Secretary shall prominently display adjacent
to any such direct link a disclaimer indicating that a direct
link to a database does not constitute an endorsement or
recommendation of the database, the provider of the database,
or any services or products of such provider. The Secretary
shall provide additional direct links to information resources
from which students may obtain information about fraudulent and
deceptive practices in the provision of services related to
student financial aid.
(4) The Secretary shall widely publicize the location of the
information described in paragraph (1) among the public,
eligible institutions, and eligible lenders, and promote the
use of such information by prospective students, enrolled
students, families of prospective and enrolled students, and
borrowers.
(e) Disclosures Required With Respect to Athletically Related
Student Aid.--(1) Each institution of higher education which
participates in any program under this title and is attended by
students receiving athletically related student aid shall
annually submit a report to the Secretary which contains--
(A) the number of students at the institution of
higher education who received athletically related
student aid broken down by race and sex in the
following sports: basketball, football, baseball, cross
country/track, and all other sports combined;
(B) the number of students at the institution of
higher education, broken down by race and sex;
(C) the completion or graduation rate for students at
the institution of higher education who received
athletically related student aid broken down by race
and sex in the following sports: basketball, football,
baseball, cross country/track and all other sports
combined;
(D) the completion or graduation rate for students at
the institution of higher education, broken down by
race and sex;
(E) the average completion or graduation rate for the
4 most recent completing or graduating classes of
students at the institution of higher education who
received athletically related student aid broken down
by race and sex in the following categories:
basketball, football, baseball, cross country/track,
and all other sports combined; and
(F) the average completion or graduation rate for the
4 most recent completing or graduating classes of
students at the institution of higher education broken
down by race and sex.
(2) When an institution described in paragraph (1) of this
subsection offers a potential student athlete athletically
related student aid, such institution shall provide to the
student and the student's parents, guidance counselor, and
coach the information contained in the report submitted by such
institution pursuant to paragraph (1). If the institution is a
member of a national collegiate athletic association that
compiles graduation rate data on behalf of the association's
member institutions that the Secretary determines is
substantially comparable to the information described in
paragraph (1), the distribution of the compilation of such data
to all secondary schools in the United States shall fulfill the
responsibility of the institution to provide information to a
prospective student athlete's guidance counselor and coach.
(3) For purposes of this subsection, institutions
may--
(A) exclude from the reporting requirements
under paragraphs (1) and (2) the completion or
graduation rates of students and student
athletes who leave school to serve in the Armed
Forces, on official church missions, or with a
recognized foreign aid service of the Federal
Government; or
(B) in cases where the students described in
subparagraph (A) represent 20 percent or more
of the certificate- or degree-seeking, full-
time, undergraduate students at the
institution, calculate the completion or
graduation rates of such students by excluding
from the calculations described in paragraph
(1) the time period during which such students
were not enrolled due to their service in the
Armed Forces, on official church missions, or
with a recognized foreign aid service of the
Federal Government.
(4) Each institution of higher education described in
paragraph (1) may provide supplemental information to students
and the Secretary showing the completion or graduation rate
when such completion or graduation rate includes students
transferring into and out of such institution.
(5) The Secretary, using the reports submitted under this
subsection, shall compile and publish a report containing the
information required under paragraph (1) broken down by--
(A) individual institutions of higher education; and
(B) athletic conferences recognized by the National
Collegiate Athletic Association and the National
Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
(6) The Secretary shall waive the requirements of this
subsection for any institution of higher education that is a
member of an athletic association or athletic conference that
has voluntarily published completion or graduation rate data or
has agreed to publish data that, in the opinion of the
Secretary, is substantially comparable to the information
required under this subsection.
(7) The Secretary, in conjunction with the National Junior
College Athletic Association, shall develop and obtain data on
completion or graduation rates from two-year colleges that
award athletically related student aid. Such data shall, to the
extent practicable, be consistent with the reporting
requirements set forth in this section.
(8) For purposes of this subsection, the term ``athletically
related student aid'' means any scholarship, grant, or other
form of financial assistance the terms of which require the
recipient to participate in a program of intercollegiate
athletics at an institution of higher education in order to be
eligible to receive such assistance.
(9) The reports required by this subsection shall be due each
July 1 and shall cover the 1-year period ending August 31 of
the preceding year.
(f) Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime
Statistics.--(1) Each eligible institution participating in any
program under this title, other than a foreign institution of
higher education, shall on August 1, 1991, begin to collect the
following information with respect to campus crime statistics
and campus security policies of that institution, and beginning
September 1, 1992, and each year thereafter, prepare, publish,
and distribute, through appropriate publications or mailings,
to all current students and employees, and to any applicant for
enrollment or employment upon request, an annual security
report containing at least the following information with
respect to the campus security policies and campus crime
statistics of that institution:
(A) A statement of current campus policies regarding
procedures and facilities for students and others to
report criminal actions or other emergencies occurring
on campus and policies concerning the institution's
response to such reports.
(B) A statement of current policies concerning
security and access to campus facilities, including
campus residences, and security considerations used in
the maintenance of campus facilities.
(C) A statement of current policies concerning campus
law enforcement, including--
(i) the law enforcement authority of campus
security personnel;
(ii) the working relationship of campus
security personnel with State and local law
enforcement agencies, including whether the
institution has agreements with such agencies,
such as written memoranda of understanding, for
the investigation of alleged criminal offenses;
and
(iii) policies which encourage accurate and
prompt reporting of all crimes to the campus
police and the appropriate law enforcement
agencies, when the victim of such crime elects
or is unable to make such a report.
(D) A description of the type and frequency of
programs designed to inform students and employees
about campus security procedures and practices and to
encourage students and employees to be responsible for
their own security and the security of others.
(E) A description of programs designed to inform
students and employees about the prevention of crimes.
(F) Statistics concerning the occurrence on campus,
in or on noncampus buildings or property, and on public
property during the most recent calendar year, and
during the 2 preceding calendar years for which data
are available--
(i) of the following criminal offenses
reported to campus security authorities or
local police agencies:
(I) murder;
(II) sex offenses, forcible or
nonforcible;
(III) robbery;
(IV) aggravated assault;
(V) burglary;
(VI) motor vehicle theft;
(VII) manslaughter;
(VIII) arson;
(IX) arrests or persons referred for
campus disciplinary action for liquor
law violations, drug-related
violations, and weapons possession;
(ii) of the crimes described in subclauses
(I) through (VIII) of clause (i), of larceny-
theft, simple assault, intimidation, and
destruction, damage, or vandalism of property,
and of other crimes involving bodily injury to
any person, in which the victim is
intentionally selected because of the actual or
perceived race, gender, religion, national
origin, sexual orientation, gender identity,,
ethnicity, or disability of the victim that are
reported to campus security authorities or
local police agencies, which data shall be
collected and reported according to category of
prejudice;
(iii) of domestic violence, dating violence,
and stalking incidents that were reported to
campus security authorities or local police
agencies; and
(iv) of hazing incidents that were reported
to campus security authorities or local police
agencies.
(G) A statement of policy concerning the monitoring
and recording through local police agencies of criminal
activity at off-campus student organizations which are
recognized by the institution and that are engaged in
by students attending the institution, including those
student organizations with off-campus housing
facilities.
(H) A statement of policy regarding the possession,
use, and sale of alcoholic beverages and enforcement of
State underage drinking laws and a statement of policy
regarding the possession, use, and sale of illegal
drugs and enforcement of Federal and State drug laws
and a description of any drug or alcohol abuse
education programs as required under section 120 of
this Act.
(I) A statement advising the campus community where
law enforcement agency information provided by a State
under section 170101(j) of the Violent Crime Control
and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14071(j)),
concerning registered sex offenders may be obtained,
such as the law enforcement office of the institution,
a local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction for
the campus, or a computer network address.
(J) A statement of current campus policies
regarding immediate emergency response and
evacuation procedures, including the use of
electronic and cellular communication (if
appropriate), which policies shall include
procedures to--
(i) immediately notify the campus
community upon the confirmation of a
significant emergency or dangerous
situation involving an immediate threat
to the health or safety of students or
staff occurring on the campus, as
defined in paragraph (6), unless
issuing a notification will compromise
efforts to contain the emergency;
(ii) publicize emergency response and
evacuation procedures on an annual
basis in a manner designed to reach
students and staff; and
(iii) test emergency response and
evacuation procedures on an annual
basis.
(K) A statement of current policies relating to
hazing (as defined by the institution), how to report
incidents of such hazing, and the process used to
investigate such incidents of hazing, and information
on applicable local, State, and Tribal laws on hazing
(as defined by such local, State, and Tribal laws).
(L) A statement of policy regarding prevention and
awareness programs related to hazing (as defined by the
institution) that includes a description of research-
informed campus-wide prevention programs designed to
reach students, staff, and faculty, which includes--
(i) the information referred to in
subparagraph (K); and
(ii) primary prevention strategies intended
to stop hazing before hazing occurs, which may
include skill building for bystander
intervention, information about ethical
leadership, and the promotion of strategies for
building group cohesion without hazing.
(2) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
authorize the Secretary to require particular policies,
procedures, or practices by institutions of higher education
with respect to campus crimes or campus security.
(3) Each institution participating in any program under this
title, other than a foreign institution of higher education,
shall make timely reports to the campus community on crimes
considered to be a threat to other students and employees
described in paragraph (1)(F) that are reported to campus
security or local law police agencies. Such reports shall be
provided to students and employees in a manner that is timely,
that withholds the names of victims as confidential, and that
will aid in the prevention of similar occurrences.
(4)(A) Each institution participating in any program under
this title, other than a foreign institution of higher
education, that maintains a police or security department of
any kind shall make, keep, and maintain a daily log, written in
a form that can be easily understood, recording all crimes
reported to such police or security department, including--
(i) the nature, date, time, and general location of
each crime; and
(ii) the disposition of the complaint, if known.
(B)(i) All entries that are required pursuant to this
paragraph shall, except where disclosure of such information is
prohibited by law or such disclosure would jeopardize the
confidentiality of the victim, be open to public inspection
within two business days of the initial report being made to
the department or a campus security authority.
(ii) If new information about an entry into a log becomes
available to a police or security department, then the new
information shall be recorded in the log not later than two
business days after the information becomes available to the
police or security department.
(iii) If there is clear and convincing evidence that the
release of such information would jeopardize an ongoing
criminal investigation or the safety of an individual, cause a
suspect to flee or evade detection, or result in the
destruction of evidence, such information may be withheld until
that damage is no longer likely to occur from the release of
such information.
(5) On an annual basis, each institution participating in any
program under this title, other than a foreign institution of
higher education, shall submit to the Secretary a copy of the
statistics required to be made available under paragraph
(1)(F). The Secretary shall--
(A) review such statistics and report to the
authorizing committees on campus crime statistics by
September 1, 2000;
(B) make copies of the statistics submitted to the
Secretary available to the public; and
(C) in coordination with representatives of
institutions of higher education, identify exemplary
campus security policies, procedures, and practices and
disseminate information concerning those policies,
procedures, and practices that have proven effective in
the reduction of campus crime.
(6)(A) In this subsection:
(i) The terms ``dating violence'', ``domestic
violence'', and ``stalking'' have the meaning given
such terms in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against
Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)).
(ii) The term ``campus'' means--
(I) any building or property owned or
controlled by an institution of higher
education within the same reasonably contiguous
geographic area of the institution and used by
the institution in direct support of, or in a
manner related to, the institution's
educational purposes, including residence
halls; and
(II) property within the same reasonably
contiguous geographic area of the institution
that is owned by the institution but controlled
by another person, is used by students, and
supports institutional purposes (such as a food
or other retail vendor).
(iii) The term ``noncampus building or property''
means--
(I) any building or property owned or
controlled by a student organization recognized
by the institution; and
(II) any building or property (other than a
branch campus) owned or controlled by an
institution of higher education that is used in
direct support of, or in relation to, the
institution's educational purposes, is used by
students, and is not within the same reasonably
contiguous geographic area of the institution.
(iv) The term ``public property'' means all public
property that is within the same reasonably contiguous
geographic area of the institution, such as a sidewalk,
a street, other thoroughfare, or parking facility, and
is adjacent to a facility owned or controlled by the
institution if the facility is used by the institution
in direct support of, or in a manner related to the
institution's educational purposes.
(v) The term ``sexual assault'' means an offense
classified as a forcible or nonforcible sex offense
under the uniform crime reporting system of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
(vi) The term ``hazing'', for purposes of reporting
statistics on hazing incidents under paragraph
(1)(F)(iv), means any intentional, knowing, or reckless
act committed by a person (whether individually or in
concert with other persons) against another person or
persons regardless of the willingness of such other
person or persons to participate, that--
(I) is committed in the course of an
initiation into, an affiliation with, or the
maintenance of membership in, a student
organization; and
(II) causes or creates a risk, above the
reasonable risk encountered in the course of
participation in the institution of higher
education or the organization (such as the
physical preparation necessary for
participation in an athletic team), of physical
or psychological injury including--
(aa) whipping, beating, striking,
electronic shocking, placing of a
harmful substance on someone's body, or
similar activity;
(bb) causing, coercing, or otherwise
inducing sleep deprivation, exposure to
the elements, confinement in a small
space, extreme calisthenics, or other
similar activity;
(cc) causing, coercing, or otherwise
inducing another person to consume
food, liquid, alcohol, drugs, or other
substances;
(dd) causing, coercing, or otherwise
inducing another person to perform
sexual acts;
(ee) any activity that places another
person in reasonable fear of bodily
harm through the use of threatening
words or conduct;
(ff) any activity against another
person that includes a criminal
violation of local, State, Tribal, or
Federal law; and
(gg) any activity that induces,
causes, or requires another person to
perform a duty or task that involves a
criminal violation of local, State,
Tribal, or Federal law.
(vii) The term ``student organization'', for purposes
of reporting under paragraph (1)(F)(iv) and paragraph
(9)(A), means an organization at an institution of
higher education (such as a club, society, association,
varsity or junior varsity athletic team, club sports
team, fraternity, sorority, band, or student
government) in which two or more of the members are
students enrolled at the institution of higher
education, whether or not the organization is
established or recognized by the institution.
(B) In cases where branch campuses of an institution of
higher education, schools within an institution of higher
education, or administrative divisions within an institution
are not within a reasonably contiguous geographic area, such
entities shall be considered separate campuses for purposes of
the reporting requirements of this section.
(7) The statistics described in clauses (i) and (ii) of
paragraph (1)(F) shall be compiled in accordance with the
definitions used in the uniform crime reporting system of the
Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the
modifications in such definitions as implemented pursuant to
the Hate Crime Statistics Act. For the offenses of domestic
violence, dating violence, and stalking, such statistics shall
be compiled in accordance with the definitions used in section
40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C.
13925(a)). Such statistics shall not identify victims of crimes
or persons accused of crimes.
(8)(A) Each institution of higher education participating in
any program under this title and title IV of the Economic
Opportunity Act of 1964, other than a foreign institution of
higher education, shall develop and distribute as part of the
report described in paragraph (1) a statement of policy
regarding--
(i) such institution's programs to prevent domestic
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and
stalking; and
(ii) the procedures that such institution will follow
once an incident of domestic violence, dating violence,
sexual assault, or stalking has been reported,
including a statement of the standard of evidence that
will be used during any institutional conduct
proceeding arising from such a report.
(B) The policy described in subparagraph (A) shall address
the following areas:
(i) Education programs to promote the awareness of
rape, acquaintance rape, domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, and stalking, which shall
include--
(I) primary prevention and awareness programs
for all incoming students and new employees,
which shall include--
(aa) a statement that the institution
of higher education prohibits the
offenses of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, and stalking;
(bb) the definition of domestic
violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, and stalking in the applicable
jurisdiction;
(cc) the definition of consent, in
reference to sexual activity, in the
applicable jurisdiction;
(dd) safe and positive options for
bystander intervention that may be
carried out by an individual to prevent
harm or intervene when there is a risk
of domestic violence, dating violence,
sexual assault, or stalking against a
person other than such individual;
(ee) information on risk reduction to
recognize warning signs of abusive
behavior and how to avoid potential
attacks; and
(ff) the information described in
clauses (ii) through (vii); and
(II) ongoing prevention and awareness
campaigns for students and faculty, including
information described in items (aa) through
(ff) of subclause (I).
(ii) Possible sanctions or protective measures that
such institution may impose following a final
determination of an institutional disciplinary
procedure regarding rape, acquaintance rape, domestic
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
(iii) Procedures victims should follow if a sex
offense, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, or stalking has occurred, including
information in writing about--
(I) the importance of preserving evidence as
may be necessary to the proof of criminal
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, or stalking, or in obtaining a
protection order;
(II) to whom the alleged offense should be
reported;
(III) options regarding law enforcement and
campus authorities, including notification of
the victim's option to--
(aa) notify proper law enforcement
authorities, including on-campus and
local police;
(bb) be assisted by campus
authorities in notifying law
enforcement authorities if the victim
so chooses; and
(cc) decline to notify such
authorities; and
(IV) where applicable, the rights of victims
and the institution's responsibilities
regarding orders of protection, no contact
orders, restraining orders, or similar lawful
orders issued by a criminal, civil, or tribal
court.
(iv) Procedures for institutional disciplinary action
in cases of alleged domestic violence, dating violence,
sexual assault, or stalking, which shall include a
clear statement that--
(I) such proceedings shall--
(aa) provide a prompt, fair, and
impartial investigation and resolution;
and
(bb) be conducted by officials who
receive annual training on the issues
related to domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, and stalking
and how to conduct an investigation and
hearing process that protects the
safety of victims and promotes
accountability;
(II) the accuser and the accused are entitled
to the same opportunities to have others
present during an institutional disciplinary
proceeding, including the opportunity to be
accompanied to any related meeting or
proceeding by an advisor of their choice; and
(III) both the accuser and the accused shall
be simultaneously informed, in writing, of--
(aa) the outcome of any institutional
disciplinary proceeding that arises
from an allegation of domestic
violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, or stalking;
(bb) the institution's procedures for
the accused and the victim to appeal
the results of the institutional
disciplinary proceeding;
(cc) of any change to the results
that occurs prior to the time that such
results become final; and
(dd) when such results become final.
(v) Information about how the institution will
protect the confidentiality of victims, including how
publicly-available recordkeeping will be accomplished
without the inclusion of identifying information about
the victim, to the extent permissible by law.
(vi) Written notification of students and employees
about existing counseling, health, mental health,
victim advocacy, legal assistance, and other services
available for victims both on-campus and in the
community.
(vii) Written notification of victims about options
for, and available assistance in, changing academic,
living, transportation, and working situations, if so
requested by the victim and if such accommodations are
reasonably available, regardless of whether the victim
chooses to report the crime to campus police or local
law enforcement.
(C) A student or employee who reports to an institution of
higher education that the student or employee has been a victim
of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or
stalking, whether the offense occurred on or off campus, shall
be provided with a written explanation of the student or
employee's rights and options, as described in clauses (ii)
through (vii) of subparagraph (B).
(9)(A) Each institution participating in any program under
this title, other than a foreign institution of higher
education, shall develop, in accordance with the institution's
statement of policy relating to hazing under paragraph (1)(K),
a report (which shall be referred to as the ``Campus Hazing
Transparency Report'') summarizing findings concerning any
student organization (except that this shall only apply to
student organizations that are established or recognized by the
institution) found to be in violation of an institution's
standards of conduct relating to hazing, as defined by the
institution, (hereinafter referred to in this paragraph as a
``hazing violation'') that requires the institution to--
(i) beginning July 1, 2025, collect information with
respect to hazing incidents at the institution;
(ii) not later than 12 months after the date of the
enactment of the Stop Campus Hazing Act, make the
Campus Hazing Transparency Report publicly available on
the public website of the institution; and
(iii) not less frequently than 2 times each year,
update the Campus Hazing Transparency Report to
include, for the period beginning on the date on which
the Report was last published and ending on the date on
which such update is submitted, each incident involving
a student organization for which a finding of
responsibility is issued relating to a hazing
violation, including--
(I) the name of such student organization;
(II) a general description of the violation
that resulted in a finding of responsibility,
including whether the violation involved the
abuse or illegal use of alcohol or drugs, the
findings of the institution, and any sanctions
placed on the student organization by the
institution, as applicable; and
(III) the dates on which--
(aa) the incident was alleged to have
occurred;
(bb) the investigation into the
incident was initiated;
(cc) the investigation ended with a
finding that a hazing violation
occurred; and
(dd) the institution provided notice
to the student organization that the
incident resulted in a hazing
violation.
(B) The Campus Hazing Transparency Report may include--
(i) to satisfy the requirements of this paragraph,
information that--
(I) is included as part of a report published
by the institution; and
(II) meets the requirements of the Campus
Hazing Transparency Report; and
(ii) any additional information--
(I) determined by the institution to be
necessary; or
(II) reported as required by State law.
(C) The Campus Hazing Transparency Report shall not include
any personally identifiable information, including any
information that would reveal personally identifiable
information, about any individual student in accordance with
section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (commonly
known as the ``Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
1974'').
(D) The institution shall publish, in a prominent location on
the public website of the institution, the Campus Hazing
Transparency Report, including--
(i) a statement notifying the public of the annual
availability of statistics on hazing pursuant to the
report required under paragraph (1)(F), including a
link to such report;
(ii) information about the institution's policies
relating to hazing under paragraph (1)(K) and
applicable local, State, and Tribal laws on hazing; and
(iii) the information included in each update
required under subparagraph (A)(iii), which shall be
maintained for a period of 5 calendar years from the
date of publication of such update.
(E) The institution may include, as part of the publication
of the Campus Hazing Transparency Report under subparagraph
(D), a description of the purposes of, and differences
between--
(i) the report required under paragraph (1)(F); and
(ii) the Campus Hazing Transparency Report required
under this paragraph.
(F) For purposes of this paragraph, the definition of
``campus'' under paragraph (6)(A)(ii) shall not apply.
(G) An institution described in subparagraph (A) is not
required to--
(i) develop the Campus Hazing Transparency Report
under this subsection until such institution has a
finding of a hazing violation; or
(ii) update the Campus Hazing Transparency Report in
accordance with clause (iii) of subparagraph (A) for a
period described in such clause if such institution
does not have a finding of a hazing violation for such
period.
(10) The Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General
of the United States, shall provide technical assistance in
complying with the provisions of this section to an institution
of higher education who requests such assistance.
(11) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require
the reporting or disclosure of privileged information.
(12) The Secretary shall report to the appropriate committees
of Congress each institution of higher education that the
Secretary determines is not in compliance with the reporting
requirements of this subsection.
(13) For purposes of reporting the statistics with respect to
crimes described in paragraph (1)(F), an institution of higher
education shall distinguish, by means of separate categories,
any criminal offenses that occur--
(A) on campus;
(B) in or on a noncampus building or property;
(C) on public property; and
(D) in dormitories or other residential facilities
for students on campus.
(14) Upon a determination pursuant to section 487(c)(3)(B)
that an institution of higher education has substantially
misrepresented the number, location, or nature of the crimes
required to be reported under this subsection, the Secretary
shall impose a civil penalty upon the institution in the same
amount and pursuant to the same procedures as a civil penalty
is imposed under section 487(c)(3)(B).
(15)(A) Nothing in this subsection may be construed to--
(i) create a cause of action against any institution
of higher education or any employee of such an
institution for any civil liability; or
(ii) establish any standard of care.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, evidence
regarding compliance or noncompliance with this subsection
shall not be admissible as evidence in any proceeding of any
court, agency, board, or other entity, except with respect to
an action to enforce this subsection.
(16) The Secretary shall annually report to the
authorizing committees regarding compliance with this
subsection by institutions of higher education,
including an up-to-date report on the Secretary's
monitoring of such compliance.
(17)(A) The Secretary shall seek the advice and counsel of
the Attorney General of the United States concerning the
development, and dissemination to institutions of higher
education, of best practices information about campus safety
and emergencies.
(B) The Secretary shall seek the advice and counsel of the
Attorney General of the United States and the Secretary of
Health and Human Services concerning the development, and
dissemination to institutions of higher education, of best
practices information about preventing and responding to
incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, and stalking, including elements of institutional
policies that have proven successful based on evidence-based
outcome measurements.
(18) No officer, employee, or agent of an institution
participating in any program under this title shall retaliate,
intimidate, threaten, coerce, or otherwise discriminate against
any individual for exercising their rights or responsibilities
under any provision of this subsection.
(19) This subsection may be cited as the ``Jeanne Clery
Campus Safety Act''.
(g) Data Required.--
(1) In general.--Each coeducational institution of
higher education that participates in any program under
this title, and has an intercollegiate athletic
program, shall annually, for the immediately preceding
academic year, prepare a report that contains the
following information regarding intercollegiate
athletics:
(A) The number of male and female full-time
undergraduates that attended the institution.
(B) A listing of the varsity teams that
competed in intercollegiate athletic
competition and for each such team the
following data:
(i) The total number of participants,
by team, as of the day of the first
scheduled contest for the team.
(ii) Total operating expenses
attributable to such teams, except that
an institution may also report such
expenses on a per capita basis for each
team and expenditures attributable to
closely related teams such as track and
field or swimming and diving, may be
reported together, although such
combinations shall be reported
separately for men's and women's teams.
(iii) Whether the head coach is male
or female and whether the head coach is
assigned to that team on a full-time or
part-time basis. Graduate assistants
and volunteers who serve as head
coaches shall be considered to be head
coaches for the purposes of this
clause.
(iv) The number of assistant coaches
who are male and the number of
assistant coaches who are female for
each team and whether a particular
coach is assigned to that team on a
full-time or part-time basis. Graduate
assistants and volunteers who serve as
assistant coaches shall be considered
to be assistant coaches for the
purposes of this clause.
(C) The total amount of money spent on
athletically related student aid, including the
value of waivers of educational expenses,
separately for men's and women's teams overall.
(D) The ratio of athletically related student
aid awarded male athletes to athletically
related student aid awarded female athletes.
(E) The total amount of expenditures on
recruiting, separately for men's and women's
teams overall.
(F) The total annual revenues generated
across all men's teams and across all women's
teams, except that an institution may also
report such revenues by individual team.
(G) The average annual institutional salary
of the head coaches of men's teams, across all
offered sports, and the average annual
institutional salary of the head coaches of
women's teams, across all offered sports.
(H) The average annual institutional salary
of the assistant coaches of men's teams, across
all offered sports, and the average annual
institutional salary of the assistant coaches
of women's teams, across all offered sports.
(I)(i) The total revenues, and the revenues
from football, men's basketball, women's
basketball, all other men's sports combined and
all other women's sports combined, derived by
the institution from the institution's
intercollegiate athletics activities.
(ii) For the purpose of clause (i), revenues
from intercollegiate athletics activities
allocable to a sport shall include (without
limitation) gate receipts, [broadcast revenues]
media rights revenues (including revenues from
broadcasting, streaming, or digital
distribution of intercollegiate athletic
events), appearance guarantees and options,
concessions, and advertising, but revenues such
as student activities fees or alumni
contributions not so allocable shall be
included in the calculation of total revenues
only.
(J)(i) The total expenses, and the expenses
attributable to football, men's basketball,
women's basketball, all other men's sports
combined, and all other women's sports
combined, made by the institution for the
institution's intercollegiate athletics
activities.
(ii) For the purpose of clause (i), expenses
for intercollegiate athletics activities
allocable to a sport shall include (without
limitation) grants-in-aid, salaries, travel,
equipment, and supplies, but expenses such as
general and administrative overhead not so
allocable shall be included in the calculation
of total expenses only.
(K) With respect to fees charged to students
to support intercollegiate athletic programs--
(i) the total amount of such fees
charged to students;
(ii) the uses of such fees with
respect to facilities, operating
expenses, scholarships, payments to
athletes, salaries of coaches and
support staff, and any other expenses
reported under this paragraph; and
(iii) the percentage of the total
cost of such programs covered by such
fees.
(2) Special rule.--For the purposes of paragraph
(1)(G), if a coach has responsibilities for more than
one team and the institution does not allocate such
coach's salary by team, the institution should divide
the salary by the number of teams for which the coach
has responsibility and allocate the salary among the
teams on a basis consistent with the coach's
responsibilities for the different teams.
(3) Disclosure of information to students and
public.--An institution of higher education described
in paragraph (1) shall make available to students and
potential students, upon request, and to the public,
the information contained in the report described in
paragraph (1), except [that all students] that--
(A) all students shall be informed of their
right to request such information[.]; and
(B) with respect to the information described
in paragraph (1)(K), the institution shall
annually publish such information on a publicly
available website of the institution not later
than October 15 following the end of each
fiscal year of the institution.
(4) Submission; report; information availability.--
(A) On an annual basis, each institution of higher
education described in paragraph (1) shall provide to
the Secretary, within 15 days of the date that the
institution makes available the report under paragraph
(1), the information contained in the report.
(B) The Secretary shall ensure that the reports
described in subparagraph (A) are made available to the
public within a reasonable period of time.
(C) Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998,
the Secretary shall notify all secondary schools in all
States regarding the availability of the information
made available under paragraph (1), and how such
information may be accessed.
(5) Definition.--For the purposes of this subsection,
the term ``operating expenses'' means expenditures on
lodging and meals, transportation, officials, uniforms
and equipment.
(h) Transfer of Credit Policies.--
(1) Disclosure.--Each institution of higher education
participating in any program under this title shall
publicly disclose, in a readable and comprehensible
manner, the transfer of credit policies established by
the institution which shall include a statement of the
institution's current transfer of credit policies that
includes, at a minimum--
(A) any established criteria the institution
uses regarding the transfer of credit earned at
another institution of higher education; and
(B) a list of institutions of higher
education with which the institution has
established an articulation agreement.
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed to--
(A) authorize the Secretary or the National
Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and
Integrity to require particular policies,
procedures, or practices by institutions of
higher education with respect to transfer of
credit;
(B) authorize an officer or employee of the
Department to exercise any direction,
supervision, or control over the curriculum,
program of instruction, administration, or
personnel of any institution of higher
education, or over any accrediting agency or
association;
(C) limit the application of the General
Education Provisions Act; or
(D) create any legally enforceable right on
the part of a student to require an institution
of higher education to accept a transfer of
credit from another institution.
(i) Disclosure of Fire Safety Standards and Measures.--
(1) Annual fire safety reports on student housing
required.--Each eligible institution participating in
any program under this title that maintains on-campus
student housing facilities shall, on an annual basis,
publish a fire safety report, which shall contain
information with respect to the campus fire safety
practices and standards of that institution,
including--
(A) statistics concerning the following in
each on-campus student housing facility during
the most recent calendar years for which data
are available:
(i) the number of fires and the cause
of each fire;
(ii) the number of injuries related
to a fire that result in treatment at a
medical facility;
(iii) the number of deaths related to
a fire; and
(iv) the value of property damage
caused by a fire;
(B) a description of each on-campus student
housing facility fire safety system, including
the fire sprinkler system;
(C) the number of regular mandatory
supervised fire drills;
(D) policies or rules on portable electrical
appliances, smoking, and open flames (such as
candles), procedures for evacuation, and
policies regarding fire safety education and
training programs provided to students,
faculty, and staff; and
(E) plans for future improvements in fire
safety, if determined necessary by such
institution.
(2) Report to the secretary.--Each institution
described in paragraph (1) shall, on an annual basis,
submit to the Secretary a copy of the statistics
required to be made available under paragraph (1)(A).
(3) Current information to campus community.--Each
institution described in paragraph (1) shall--
(A) make, keep, and maintain a log, recording
all fires in on-campus student housing
facilities, including the nature, date, time,
and general location of each fire; and
(B) make annual reports to the campus
community on such fires.
(4) Responsibilities of the secretary.--The Secretary
shall--
(A) make the statistics submitted under
paragraph (1)(A) to the Secretary available to
the public; and
(B) in coordination with nationally
recognized fire organizations and
representatives of institutions of higher
education, representatives of associations of
institutions of higher education, and other
organizations that represent and house a
significant number of students--
(i) identify exemplary fire safety
policies, procedures, programs, and
practices, including the installation,
to the technical standards of the
National Fire Protection Association,
of fire detection, prevention, and
protection technologies in student
housing, dormitories, and other
buildings;
(ii) disseminate the exemplary
policies, procedures, programs and
practices described in clause (i) to
the Administrator of the United States
Fire Administration;
(iii) make available to the public
information concerning those policies,
procedures, programs, and practices
that have proven effective in the
reduction of fires; and
(iv) develop a protocol for
institutions to review the status of
their fire safety systems.
(5) Rules of construction.--Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to--
(A) authorize the Secretary to require
particular policies, procedures, programs, or
practices by institutions of higher education
with respect to fire safety, other than with
respect to the collection, reporting, and
dissemination of information required by this
subsection;
(B) affect section 444 of the General
Education Provisions Act (commonly known as the
``Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
1974'') or the regulations issued under section
264 of the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d-2
note);
(C) create a cause of action against any
institution of higher education or any employee
of such an institution for any civil liability;
or
(D) establish any standard of care.
(6) Compliance report.--The Secretary shall annually
report to the authorizing committees regarding
compliance with this subsection by institutions of
higher education, including an up-to-date report on the
Secretary's monitoring of such compliance.
(7) Evidence.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, evidence regarding compliance or noncompliance
with this subsection shall not be admissible as
evidence in any proceeding of any court, agency, board,
or other entity, except with respect to an action to
enforce this subsection.
(j) Missing Person Procedures.--
(1) Option and procedures.--Each institution of
higher education that provides on-campus housing and
participates in any program under this title shall--
(A) establish a missing student notification
policy for students who reside in on-campus
housing that--
(i) informs each such student that
such student has the option to identify
an individual to be contacted by the
institution not later than 24 hours
after the time that the student is
determined missing in accordance with
official notification procedures
established by the institution under
subparagraph (B);
(ii) provides each such student a
means to register confidential contact
information in the event that the
student is determined to be missing for
a period of more than 24 hours;
(iii) advises each such student who
is under 18 years of age, and not an
emancipated individual, that the
institution is required to notify a
custodial parent or guardian not later
24 hours after the time that the
student is determined to be missing in
accordance with such procedures;
(iv) informs each such residing
student that the institution will
notify the appropriate law enforcement
agency not later than 24 hours after
the time that the student is determined
missing in accordance with such
procedures; and
(v) requires, if the campus security
or law enforcement personnel has been
notified and makes a determination that
a student who is the subject of a
missing person report has been missing
for more than 24 hours and has not
returned to the campus, the institution
to initiate the emergency contact
procedures in accordance with the
student's designation; and
(B) establish official notification
procedures for a missing student who resides in
on-campus housing that--
(i) includes procedures for official
notification of appropriate individuals
at the institution that such student
has been missing for more than 24
hours;
(ii) requires any official missing
person report relating to such student
be referred immediately to the
institution's police or campus security
department; and
(iii) if, on investigation of the
official report, such department
determines that the missing student has
been missing for more than 24 hours,
requires--
(I) such department to
contact the individual
identified by such student
under subparagraph (A)(i);
(II) if such student is under
18 years of age, and not an
emancipated individual, the
institution to immediately
contact the custodial parent or
legal guardian of such student;
and
(III) if subclauses (I) or
(II) do not apply to a student
determined to be a missing
person, inform the appropriate
law enforcement agency.
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed--
(A) to provide a private right of action to
any person to enforce any provision of this
subsection; or
(B) to create a cause of action against any
institution of higher education or any employee
of the institution for any civil liability.
(l) Entrance Counseling for Borrowers.--
(1) Disclosure required prior to disbursement.--
(A) In general.--Each eligible institution
shall, at or prior to the time of a
disbursement to a first-time borrower of a loan
made, insured, or guaranteed under part B
(other than a loan made pursuant to section
428C or a loan made on behalf of a student
pursuant to section 428B) or made under part D
(other than a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan
or a Federal Direct PLUS loan made on behalf of
a student), ensure that the borrower receives
comprehensive information on the terms and
conditions of the loan and of the
responsibilities the borrower has with respect
to such loan in accordance with paragraph (2).
Such information--
(i) shall be provided in a simple and
understandable manner; and
(ii) may be provided--
(I) during an entrance
counseling session conduction
in person;
(II) on a separate written
form provided to the borrower
that the borrower signs and
returns to the institution; or
(III) online, with the
borrower acknowledging receipt
of the information.
(B) Use of interactive programs.--The
Secretary shall encourage institutions to carry
out the requirements of subparagraph (A)
through the use of interactive programs that
test the borrower's understanding of the terms
and conditions of the borrower's loans under
part B or D, using simple and understandable
language and clear formatting.
(2) Information to be provided.--The information to
be provided to the borrower under paragraph (1)(A)
shall include the following:
(A) To the extent practicable, the effect of
accepting the loan to be disbursed on the
eligibility of the borrower for other forms of
student financial assistance.
(B) An explanation of the use of the master
promissory note.
(C) Information on how interest accrues and
is capitalized during periods when the interest
is not paid by either the borrower or the
Secretary.
(D) In the case of a loan made under section
428B or 428H, a Federal Direct PLUS Loan, or a
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, the
option of the borrower to pay the interest
while the borrower is in school.
(E) The definition of half-time enrollment at
the institution, during regular terms and
summer school, if applicable, and the
consequences of not maintaining half-time
enrollment.
(F) An explanation of the importance of
contacting the appropriate offices at the
institution of higher education if the borrower
withdraws prior to completing the borrower's
program of study so that the institution can
provide exit counseling, including information
regarding the borrower's repayment options and
loan consolidation.
(G) Sample monthly repayment amounts based
on--
(i) a range of levels of indebtedness
of--
(I) borrowers of loans under
section 428 or 428H; and
(II) as appropriate, graduate
borrowers of loans under
section 428, 428B, or 428H; or
(ii) the average cumulative
indebtedness of other borrowers in the
same program as the borrower at the
same institution.
(H) The obligation of the borrower to repay
the full amount of the loan, regardless of
whether the borrower completes or does not
complete the program in which the borrower is
enrolled within the regular time for program
completion.
(I) The likely consequences of default on the
loan, including adverse credit reports,
delinquent debt collection procedures under
Federal law, and litigation.
(J) Information on the National Student Loan
Data System and how the borrower can access the
borrower's records.
(K) The name of and contact information for
the individual the borrower may contact if the
borrower has any questions about the borrower's
rights and responsibilities or the terms and
conditions of the loan.
(m) Disclosures of Reimbursements for Service on Advisory
Boards.--
(1) Disclosure.--Each institution of higher education
participating in any program under this title shall
report, on an annual basis, to the Secretary, any
reasonable expenses paid or provided under section
140(d) of the Truth in Lending Act to any employee who
is employed in the financial aid office of the
institution, or who otherwise has responsibilities with
respect to education loans or other financial aid of
the institution. Such reports shall include--
(A) the amount for each specific instance of
reasonable expenses paid or provided;
(B) the name of the financial aid official,
other employee, or agent to whom the expenses
were paid or provided;
(C) the dates of the activity for which the
expenses were paid or provided; and
(D) a brief description of the activity for
which the expenses were paid or provided.
(2) Report to congress.--The Secretary shall
summarize the information received from institutions of
higher education under paragraph (1) in a report and
transmit such report annually to the authorizing
committees.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 487. PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS.
(a) Required for Programs of Assistance; Contents.--In order
to be an eligible institution for the purposes of any program
authorized under this title, an institution must be an
institution of higher education or an eligible institution (as
that term is defined for the purpose of that program) and
shall, except with respect to a program under subpart 4 of part
A, enter into a program participation agreement with the
Secretary. The agreement shall condition the initial and
continuing eligibility of an institution to participate in a
program upon compliance with the following requirements:
(1) The institution will use funds received by it for
any program under this title and any interest or other
earnings thereon solely for the purpose specified in
and in accordance with the provision of that program.
(2) The institution shall not charge any student a
fee for processing or handling any application, form,
or data required to determine the student's eligibility
for assistance under this title or the amount of such
assistance.
(3) The institution will establish and maintain such
administrative and fiscal procedures and records as may
be necessary to ensure proper and efficient
administration of funds received from the Secretary or
from students under this title, together with
assurances that the institution will provide, upon
request and in a timely fashion, information relating
to the administrative capability and financial
responsibility of the institution to--
(A) the Secretary;
(B) the appropriate guaranty agency; and
(C) the appropriate accrediting agency or
association.
(4) The institution will comply with the provisions
of subsection (c) of this section and the regulations
prescribed under that subsection, relating to fiscal
eligibility.
(5) The institution will submit reports to the
Secretary and, in the case of an institution
participating in a program under part B or part E, to
holders of loans made to the institution's students
under such parts at such times and containing such
information as the Secretary may reasonably require to
carry out the purpose of this title.
(6) The institution will not provide any student with
any statement or certification to any lender under part
B that qualifies the student for a loan or loans in
excess of the amount that student is eligible to borrow
in accordance with sections 425(a), 428(a)(2), and
428(b)(1) (A) and (B).
(7) The institution will comply with the requirements
of section 485.
(8) In the case of an institution that advertises job
placement rates as a means of attracting students to
enroll in the institution, the institution will make
available to prospective students, at or before the
time of application (A) the most recent available data
concerning employment statistics, graduation
statistics, and any other information necessary to
substantiate the truthfulness of the advertisements,
and (B) relevant State licensing requirements of the
State in which such institution is located for any job
for which the course of instruction is designed to
prepare such prospective students.
(9) In the case of an institution participating in a
program under part B or D, the institution will inform
all eligible borrowers enrolled in the institution
about the availability and eligibility of such
borrowers for State grant assistance from the State in
which the institution is located, and will inform such
borrowers from another State of the source for further
information concerning such assistance from that State.
(10) The institution certifies that it has in
operation a drug abuse prevention program that is
determined by the institution to be accessible to any
officer, employee, or student at the institution.
(11) In the case of any institution whose students
receive financial assistance pursuant to section
484(d), the institution will make available to such
students a program proven successful in assisting
students in obtaining a certificate of high school
equivalency.
(12) The institution certifies that--
(A) the institution has established a campus
security policy; and
(B) the institution has complied with the
disclosure requirements of section 485(f).
(13) The institution will not deny any form of
Federal financial aid to any student who meets the
eligibility requirements of this title on the grounds
that the student is participating in a program of study
abroad approved for credit by the institution.
(14)(A) The institution, in order to participate as
an eligible institution under part B or D, will develop
a Default Management Plan for approval by the Secretary
as part of its initial application for certification as
an eligible institution and will implement such Plan
for two years thereafter.
(B) Any institution of higher education which changes
ownership and any eligible institution which changes
its status as a parent or subordinate institution
shall, in order to participate as an eligible
institution under part B or D, develop a Default
Management Plan for approval by the Secretary and
implement such Plan for two years after its change of
ownership or status.
(C) This paragraph shall not apply in the case of an
institution in which (i) neither the parent nor the
subordinate institution has a cohort default rate in
excess of 10 percent, and (ii) the new owner of such
parent or subordinate institution does not, and has
not, owned any other institution with a cohort default
rate in excess of 10 percent.
(15) The institution acknowledges the authority of
the Secretary, guaranty agencies, lenders, accrediting
agencies, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the
State agencies under subpart 1 of part H to share with
each other any information pertaining to the
institution's eligibility to participate in programs
under this title or any information on fraud and abuse.
(16)(A) The institution will not knowingly employ an
individual in a capacity that involves the
administration of programs under this title, or the
receipt of program funds under this title, who has been
convicted of, or has pled nolo contendere or guilty to,
a crime involving the acquisition, use, or expenditure
of funds under this title, or has been judicially
determined to have committed fraud involving funds
under this title or contract with an institution or
third party servicer that has been terminated under
section 432 involving the acquisition, use, or
expenditure of funds under this title, or who has been
judicially determined to have committed fraud involving
funds under this title.
(B) The institution will not knowingly contract with
or employ any individual, agency, or organization that
has been, or whose officers or employees have been--
(i) convicted of, or pled nolo contendere or
guilty to, a crime involving the acquisition,
use, or expenditure of funds under this title;
or
(ii) judicially determined to have committed
fraud involving funds under this title.
(17) The institution will complete surveys conducted
as a part of the Integrated Postsecondary Education
Data System (IPEDS) or any other Federal postsecondary
institution data collection effort, as designated by
the Secretary, in a timely manner and to the
satisfaction of the Secretary.
(18) The institution will meet the requirements
established pursuant to section 485(g).
(19) The institution will not impose any penalty,
including the assessment of late fees, the denial of
access to classes, libraries, or other institutional
facilities, or the requirement that the student borrow
additional funds, on any student because of the
student's inability to meet his or her financial
obligations to the institution as a result of the
delayed disbursement of the proceeds of a loan made
under this title due to compliance with the provisions
of this title, or delays attributable to the
institution.
(20) The institution will not provide any commission,
bonus, or other incentive payment based directly or
indirectly on success in securing enrollments or
financial aid to any persons or entities engaged in any
student recruiting or admission activities or in making
decisions regarding the award of student financial
assistance, except that this paragraph shall not apply
to the recruitment of foreign students residing in
foreign countries who are not eligible to receive
Federal student assistance.
(21) The institution will meet the requirements
established by the Secretary and accrediting agencies
or associations, and will provide evidence to the
Secretary that the institution has the authority to
operate within a State.
(22) The institution will comply with the refund
policy established pursuant to section 484B.
(23)(A) The institution, if located in a State to
which section 4(b) of the National Voter Registration
Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-2(b)) does not apply,
will make a good faith effort to distribute a mail
voter registration form, requested and received from
the State, to each student enrolled in a degree or
certificate program and physically in attendance at the
institution, and to make such forms widely available to
students at the institution.
(B) The institution shall request the forms from the
State 120 days prior to the deadline for registering to
vote within the State. If an institution has not
received a sufficient quantity of forms to fulfill this
section from the State within 60 days prior to the
deadline for registering to vote in the State, the
institution shall not be held liable for not meeting
the requirements of this section during that election
year.
(C) This paragraph shall apply to general and special
elections for Federal office, as defined in section
301(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2
U.S.C. 431(3)), and to the elections for Governor or
other chief executive within such State).
(D) The institution shall be considered in
compliance with the requirements of
subparagraph (A) for each student to whom the
institution electronically transmits a message
containing a voter registration form acceptable
for use in the State in which the institution
is located, or an Internet address where such a
form can be downloaded, if such information is
in an electronic message devoted exclusively to
voter registration.
(24) In the case of a proprietary institution of
higher education (as defined in section 102(b)), such
institution will derive not less than ten percent of
such institution's revenues from sources other than
Federal funds that are disbursed or delivered to or on
behalf of a student to be used to attend such
institution (referred to in this paragraph and
subsection (d) as ``Federal education assistance
funds''), as calculated in accordance with subsection
(d)(1), or will be subject to the sanctions described
in subsection (d)(2).
(25) In the case of an institution that participates
in a loan program under this title, the institution
will--
(A) develop a code of conduct with respect to
such loans with which the institution's
officers, employees, and agents shall comply,
that--
(i) prohibits a conflict of interest
with the responsibilities of an
officer, employee, or agent of an
institution with respect to such loans;
and
(ii) at a minimum, includes the
provisions described in subsection (e);
(B) publish such code of conduct prominently
on the institution's website; and
(C) administer and enforce such code by, at a
minimum, requiring that all of the
institution's officers, employees, and agents
with responsibilities with respect to such
loans be annually informed of the provisions of
the code of conduct.
(26) The institution will, upon written request,
disclose to the alleged victim of any crime of violence
(as that term is defined in section 16 of title 18,
United States Code), or a nonforcible sex offense, the
report on the results of any disciplinary proceeding
conducted by such institution against a student who is
the alleged perpetrator of such crime or offense with
respect to such crime or offense. If the alleged victim
of such crime or offense is deceased as a result of
such crime or offense, the next of kin of such victim
shall be treated as the alleged victim for purposes of
this paragraph.
(27) In the case of an institution that has entered
into a preferred lender arrangement, the institution
will at least annually compile, maintain, and make
available for students attending the institution, and
the families of such students, a list, in print or
other medium, of the specific lenders for loans made,
insured, or guaranteed under this title or private
education loans that the institution recommends,
promotes, or endorses in accordance with such preferred
lender arrangement. In making such list, the
institution shall comply with the requirements of
subsection (h).
(28)(A) The institution will, upon the request of an
applicant for a private education loan, provide to the
applicant the form required under section 128(e)(3) of
the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1638(e)(3)), and
the information required to complete such form, to the
extent the institution possesses such information.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term
``private education loan'' has the meaning given such
term in section 140 of the Truth in Lending Act.
(29) The institution certifies that the institution--
(A) has developed plans to effectively combat
the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted
material, including through the use of a
variety of technology-based deterrents; and
(B) will, to the extent practicable, offer
alternatives to illegal downloading or peer-to-
peer distribution of intellectual property, as
determined by the institution in consultation
with the chief technology officer or other
designated officer of the institution.
(30) In the case of an institution described in
subsection (c) of section 5 of the SCORE Act, the
institution will comply with subsection (a) of such
section.
(31)(A) Beginning in academic year 2028-2029, and
each succeeding academic year, the institution will
determine the average annual media rights revenue of
such institution by averaging the media rights revenues
reported under section 485(g)(1)(I) for the second and
third preceding academic years.
(B) In the case of an institution with an average
annual media rights revenue of $50,000,000 or more, as
determined under subparagraph (A) for an academic year,
the institution will not, for the first academic year
that begins after such academic year, use student fees
to support intercollegiate athletic programs (including
with respect to facilities, operating expenses (as
defined in section 485(g)(5)), scholarships, payments
to athletes, salaries of coaches and support staff, and
any other expenses reported under section 485(g)(1)).
(b) Hearings.--(1) An institution that has received written
notice of a final audit or program review determination and
that desires to have such determination reviewed by the
Secretary shall submit to the Secretary a written request for
review not later than 45 days after receipt of notification of
the final audit or program review determination.
(2) The Secretary shall, upon receipt of written notice under
paragraph (1), arrange for a hearing and notify the institution
within 30 days of receipt of such notice the date, time, and
place of such hearing. Such hearing shall take place not later
than 120 days from the date upon which the Secretary notifies
the institution.
(c) Audits; Financial Responsibility; Enforcement of
Standards.--(1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
title, the Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as may be
necessary to provide for--
(A)(i) except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii),
a financial audit of an eligible institution with
regard to the financial condition of the institution in
its entirety, and a compliance audit of such
institution with regard to any funds obtained by it
under this title or obtained from a student or a parent
who has a loan insured or guaranteed by the Secretary
under this title, on at least an annual basis and
covering the period since the most recent audit,
conducted by a qualified, independent organization or
person in accordance with standards established by the
Comptroller General for the audit of governmental
organizations, programs, and functions, and as
prescribed in regulations of the Secretary, the results
of which shall be submitted to the Secretary and shall
be available to cognizant guaranty agencies, eligible
lenders, State agencies, and the appropriate State
agency notifying the Secretary under subpart 1 of part
H, except that the Secretary may modify the
requirements of this clause with respect to
institutions of higher education that are foreign
institutions, and may waive such requirements with
respect to a foreign institution whose students receive
less than $500,000 in loans under this title during the
award year preceding the audit period;
(ii) with regard to an eligible institution which is
audited under chapter 75 of title 31, United States
Code, deeming such audit to satisfy the requirements of
clause (i) for the period covered by such audit; or
(iii) at the discretion of the Secretary, with regard
to an eligible institution (other than an eligible
institution described in section 102(a)(1)(C)) that has
obtained less than $200,000 in funds under this title
during each of the 2 award years that precede the audit
period and submits a letter of credit payable to the
Secretary equal to not less than \1/2\ of the annual
potential liabilities of such institution as determined
by the Secretary, deeming an audit conducted every 3
years to satisfy the requirements of clause (i), except
for the award year immediately preceding renewal of the
institution's eligibility under section 498(g);
(B) in matters not governed by specific program
provisions, the establishment of reasonable standards
of financial responsibility and appropriate
institutional capability for the administration by an
eligible institution of a program of student financial
aid under this title, including any matter the
Secretary deems necessary to the sound administration
of the financial aid programs, such as the pertinent
actions of any owner, shareholder, or person exercising
control over an eligible institution;
(C)(i) except as provided in clause (ii), a
compliance audit of a third party servicer (other than
with respect to the servicer's functions as a lender if
such functions are otherwise audited under this part
and such audits meet the requirements of this clause),
with regard to any contract with an eligible
institution, guaranty agency, or lender for
administering or servicing any aspect of the student
assistance programs under this title, at least once
every year and covering the period since the most
recent audit, conducted by a qualified, independent
organization or person in accordance with standards
established by the Comptroller General for the audit of
governmental organizations, programs, and functions,
and as prescribed in regulations of the Secretary, the
results of which shall be submitted to the Secretary;
or
(ii) with regard to a third party servicer that is
audited under chapter 75 of title 31, United States
Code, such audit shall be deemed to satisfy the
requirements of clause (i) for the period covered by
such audit;
(D)(i) a compliance audit of a secondary market with
regard to its transactions involving, and its servicing
and collection of, loans made under this title, at
least once a year and covering the period since the
most recent audit, conducted by a qualified,
independent organization or person in accordance with
standards established by the Comptroller General for
the audit of governmental organizations, programs, and
functions, and as prescribed in regulations of the
Secretary, the results of which shall be submitted to
the Secretary; or
(ii) with regard to a secondary market that is
audited under chapter 75 of title 31, United States
Code, such audit shall be deemed to satisfy the
requirements of clause (i) for the period covered by
the audit;
(E) the establishment, by each eligible institution
under part B responsible for furnishing to the lender
the statement required by section 428(a)(2)(A)(i), of
policies and procedures by which the latest known
address and enrollment status of any student who has
had a loan insured under this part and who has either
formally terminated his enrollment, or failed to re-
enroll on at least a half-time basis, at such
institution, shall be furnished either to the holder
(or if unknown, the insurer) of the note, not later
than 60 days after such termination or failure to re-
enroll;
(F) the limitation, suspension, or termination of the
participation in any program under this title of an
eligible institution, or the imposition of a civil
penalty under paragraph (3)(B) whenever the Secretary
has determined, after reasonable notice and opportunity
for hearing, that such institution has violated or
failed to carry out any provision of this title, any
regulation prescribed under this title, or any
applicable special arrangement, agreement, or
limitation, except that no period of suspension under
this section shall exceed 60 days unless the
institution and the Secretary agree to an extension or
unless limitation or termination proceedings are
initiated by the Secretary within that period of time;
(G) an emergency action against an institution, under
which the Secretary shall, effective on the date on
which a notice and statement of the basis of the action
is mailed to the institution (by registered mail,
return receipt requested), withhold funds from the
institution or its students and withdraw the
institution's authority to obligate funds under any
program under this title, if the Secretary--
(i) receives information, determined by the
Secretary to be reliable, that the institution
is violating any provision of this title, any
regulation prescribed under this title, or any
applicable special arrangement, agreement, or
limitation,
(ii) determines that immediate action is
necessary to prevent misuse of Federal funds,
and
(iii) determines that the likelihood of loss
outweighs the importance of the procedures
prescribed under subparagraph (D) for
limitation, suspension, or termination,
except that an emergency action shall not exceed 30
days unless limitation, suspension, or termination
proceedings are initiated by the Secretary against the
institution within that period of time, and except that
the Secretary shall provide the institution an
opportunity to show cause, if it so requests, that the
emergency action is unwarranted;
(H) the limitation, suspension, or termination of the
eligibility of a third party servicer to contract with
any institution to administer any aspect of an
institution's student assistance program under this
title, or the imposition of a civil penalty under
paragraph (3)(B), whenever the Secretary has
determined, after reasonable notice and opportunity for
a hearing, that such organization, acting on behalf of
an institution, has violated or failed to carry out any
provision of this title, any regulation prescribed
under this title, or any applicable special
arrangement, agreement, or limitation, except that no
period of suspension under this subparagraph shall
exceed 60 days unless the organization and the
Secretary agree to an extension, or unless limitation
or termination proceedings are initiated by the
Secretary against the individual or organization within
that period of time; and
(I) an emergency action against a third party
servicer that has contracted with an institution to
administer any aspect of the institution's student
assistance program under this title, under which the
Secretary shall, effective on the date on which a
notice and statement of the basis of the action is
mailed to such individual or organization (by
registered mail, return receipt requested), withhold
funds from the individual or organization and withdraw
the individual or organization's authority to act on
behalf of an institution under any program under this
title, if the Secretary--
(i) receives information, determined by the
Secretary to be reliable, that the individual
or organization, acting on behalf of an
institution, is violating any provision of this
title, any regulation prescribed under this
title, or any applicable special arrangement,
agreement, or limitation,
(ii) determines that immediate action is
necessary to prevent misuse of Federal funds,
and
(iii) determines that the likelihood of loss
outweighs the importance of the procedures
prescribed under subparagraph (F), for
limitation, suspension, or termination,
except that an emergency action shall not exceed 30
days unless the limitation, suspension, or termination
proceedings are initiated by the Secretary against the
individual or organization within that period of time,
and except that the Secretary shall provide the
individual or organization an opportunity to show
cause, if it so requests, that the emergency action is
unwarranted.
(2) If an individual who, or entity that, exercises
substantial control, as determined by the Secretary in
accordance with the definition of substantial control in
subpart 3 of part H, over one or more institutions
participating in any program under this title, or, for purposes
of paragraphs (1) (H) and (I), over one or more organizations
that contract with an institution to administer any aspect of
the institution's student assistance program under this title,
is determined to have committed one or more violations of the
requirements of any program under this title, or has been
suspended or debarred in accordance with the regulations of the
Secretary, the Secretary may use such determination,
suspension, or debarment as the basis for imposing an emergency
action on, or limiting, suspending, or terminating, in a single
proceeding, the participation of any or all institutions under
the substantial control of that individual or entity.
(3)(A) Upon determination, after reasonable notice and
opportunity for a hearing, that an eligible institution has
engaged in substantial misrepresentation of the nature of its
educational program, its financial charges, or the
employability of its graduates, the Secretary may suspend or
terminate the eligibility status for any or all programs under
this title of any otherwise eligible institution, in accordance
with procedures specified in paragraph (1)(D) of this
subsection, until the Secretary finds that such practices have
been corrected.
(B)(i) Upon determination, after reasonable notice and
opportunity for a hearing, that an eligible institution--
(I) has violated or failed to carry out any provision
of this title or any regulation prescribed under this
title; or
(II) has engaged in substantial misrepresentation of
the nature of its educational program, its financial
charges, and the employability of its graduates,
the Secretary may impose a civil penalty upon such institution
of not to exceed $25,000 for each violation or
misrepresentation.
(ii) Any civil penalty may be compromised by the Secretary.
In determining the amount of such penalty, or the amount agreed
upon in compromise, the appropriateness of the penalty to the
size of the institution of higher education subject to the
determination, and the gravity of the violation, failure, or
misrepresentation shall be considered. The amount of such
penalty, when finally determined, or the amount agreed upon in
compromise, may be deducted from any sums owing by the United
States to the institution charged.
(4) The Secretary shall publish a list of State agencies
which the Secretary determines to be reliable authority as to
the quality of public postsecondary vocational education in
their respective States for the purpose of determining
eligibility for all Federal student assistance programs.
(5) The Secretary shall make readily available to appropriate
guaranty agencies, eligible lenders, State agencies notifying
the Secretary under subpart 1 of part H, and accrediting
agencies or associations the results of the audits of eligible
institutions conducted pursuant to paragraph (1)(A).
(6) The Secretary is authorized to provide any information
collected as a result of audits conducted under this section,
together with audit information collected by guaranty agencies,
to any Federal or State agency having responsibilities with
respect to student financial assistance, including those
referred to in subsection (a)(15) of this section.
(7) Effective with respect to any audit conducted under this
subsection after December 31, 1988, if, in the course of
conducting any such audit, the personnel of the Department of
Education discover, or are informed of, grants or other
assistance provided by an institution in accordance with this
title for which the institution has not received funds
appropriated under this title (in the amount necessary to
provide such assistance), including funds for which
reimbursement was not requested prior to such discovery or
information, such institution shall be permitted to offset that
amount against any sums determined to be owed by the
institution pursuant to such audit, or to receive reimbursement
for that amount (if the institution does not owe any such
sums).
(d) Implementation of Non-Federal Revenue Requirement.--
(1) Calculation.--In making calculations under
subsection (a)(24), a proprietary institution of higher
education shall--
(A) use the cash basis of accounting, except
in the case of loans described in subparagraph
(D)(i) that are made by the proprietary
institution of higher education;
(B) consider as revenue only those funds
generated by the institution from--
(i) tuition, fees, and other
institutional charges for students
enrolled in programs eligible for
assistance under this title;
(ii) activities conducted by the
institution that are necessary for the
education and training of the
institution's students, if such
activities are--
(I) conducted on campus or at
a facility under the control of
the institution;
(II) performed under the
supervision of a member of the
institution's faculty; and
(III) required to be
performed by all students in a
specific educational program at
the institution; and
(iii) funds paid by a student, or on
behalf of a student by a party other
than the institution, for an education
or training program that is not
eligible for funds under this title, if
the program--
(I) is approved or licensed
by the appropriate State
agency;
(II) is accredited by an
accrediting agency recognized
by the Secretary; or
(III) provides an industry-
recognized credential or
certification;
(C) presume that any Federal education
assistance funds that are disbursed or
delivered to or on behalf of a student will be
used to pay the student's tuition, fees, or
other institutional charges, regardless of
whether the institution credits those funds to
the student's account or pays those funds
directly to the student, except to the extent
that the student's tuition, fees, or other
institutional charges are satisfied by--
(i) grant funds provided by non-
Federal public agencies or private
sources independent of the institution;
(ii) funds provided under a
contractual arrangement with a Federal,
State, or local government agency for
the purpose of providing job training
to low-income individuals who are in
need of that training;
(iii) funds used by a student from
savings plans for educational expenses
established by or on behalf of the
student and which qualify for special
tax treatment under the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986; or
(iv) institutional scholarships
described in subparagraph (D)(iii);
(D) include institutional aid as revenue to
the school only as follows:
(i) in the case of loans made by a
proprietary institution of higher
education on or after July 1, 2008 and
prior to July 1, 2012, the net present
value of such loans made by the
institution during the applicable
institutional fiscal year accounted for
on an accrual basis and estimated in
accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles and related
standards and guidance, if the loans--
(I) are bona fide as
evidenced by enforceable
promissory notes;
(II) are issued at intervals
related to the institution's
enrollment periods; and
(III) are subject to regular
loan repayments and
collections;
(ii) in the case of loans made by a
proprietary institution of higher
education on or after July 1, 2012,
only the amount of loan repayments
received during the applicable
institutional fiscal year, excluding
repayments on loans made and accounted
for as specified in clause (i); and
(iii) in the case of scholarships
provided by a proprietary institution
of higher education, only those
scholarships provided by the
institution in the form of monetary aid
or tuition discounts based upon the
academic achievements or financial need
of students, disbursed during each
fiscal year from an established
restricted account, and only to the
extent that funds in that account
represent designated funds from an
outside source or from income earned on
those funds;
(E) in the case of each student who receives
a loan on or after July 1, 2008, and prior to
July 1, 2011, that is authorized under section
428H or that is a Federal Direct Unsubsidized
Stafford Loan, treat as revenue received by the
institution from sources other than funds
received under this title, the amount by which
the disbursement of such loan received by the
institution exceeds the limit on such loan in
effect on the day before the date of enactment
of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student
Loans Act of 2008; and
(F) exclude from revenues--
(i) the amount of funds the
institution received under part C,
unless the institution used those funds
to pay a student's institutional
charges;
(ii) the amount of funds the
institution received under subpart 4 of
part A;
(iii) the amount of funds provided by
the institution as matching funds for a
program under this title;
(iv) the amount of funds provided by
the institution for a program under
this title that are required to be
refunded or returned; and
(v) the amount charged for books,
supplies, and equipment, unless the
institution includes that amount as
tuition, fees, or other institutional
charges.
(2) Sanctions.--
(A) Ineligibility.--A proprietary institution
of higher education that fails to meet a
requirement of subsection (a)(24) for two
consecutive institutional fiscal years shall be
ineligible to participate in the programs
authorized by this title for a period of not
less than two institutional fiscal years. To
regain eligibility to participate in the
programs authorized by this title, a
proprietary institution of higher education
shall demonstrate compliance with all
eligibility and certification requirements
under section 498 for a minimum of two
institutional fiscal years after the
institutional fiscal year in which the
institution became ineligible.
(B) Additional enforcement.--In addition to
such other means of enforcing the requirements
of this title as may be available to the
Secretary, if a proprietary institution of
higher education fails to meet a requirement of
subsection (a)(24) for any institutional fiscal
year, then the institution's eligibility to
participate in the programs authorized by this
title becomes provisional for the two
institutional fiscal years after the
institutional fiscal year in which the
institution failed to meet the requirement of
subsection (a)(24), except that such
provisional eligibility shall terminate--
(i) on the expiration date of the
institution's program participation
agreement under this subsection that is
in effect on the date the Secretary
determines that the institution failed
to meet the requirement of subsection
(a)(24); or
(ii) in the case that the Secretary
determines that the institution failed
to meet a requirement of subsection
(a)(24) for two consecutive
institutional fiscal years, on the date
the institution is determined
ineligible in accordance with
subparagraph (A).
(3) Publication on college navigator website.--The
Secretary shall publicly disclose on the College
Navigator website--
(A) the identity of any proprietary
institution of higher education that fails to
meet a requirement of subsection (a)(24); and
(B) the extent to which the institution
failed to meet such requirement.
(4) Report to congress.--Not later than July 1, 2009,
and July 1 of each succeeding year, the Secretary shall
submit to the authorizing committees a report that
contains, for each proprietary institution of higher
education that receives assistance under this title, as
provided in the audited financial statements submitted
to the Secretary by each institution pursuant to the
requirements of subsection (a)(24)--
(A) the amount and percentage of such
institution's revenues received from sources
under this title; and
(B) the amount and percentage of such
institution's revenues received from other
sources.
(e) Code of Conduct Requirements.--An institution of higher
education's code of conduct, as required under subsection
(a)(25), shall include the following requirements:
(1) Ban on revenue-sharing arrangements.--
(A) Prohibition.--The institution shall not
enter into any revenue-sharing arrangement with
any lender.
(B) Definition.--For purposes of this
paragraph, the term ``revenue-sharing
arrangement'' means an arrangement between an
institution and a lender under which--
(i) a lender provides or issues a
loan that is made, insured, or
guaranteed under this title to students
attending the institution or to the
families of such students; and
(ii) the institution recommends the
lender or the loan products of the
lender and in exchange, the lender pays
a fee or provides other material
benefits, including revenue or profit
sharing, to the institution, an officer
or employee of the institution, or an
agent.
(2) Gift ban.--
(A) Prohibition.--No officer or employee of
the institution who is employed in the
financial aid office of the institution or who
otherwise has responsibilities with respect to
education loans, or agent who has
responsibilities with respect to education
loans, shall solicit or accept any gift from a
lender, guarantor, or servicer of education
loans.
(B) Definition of gift.--
(i) In general.--In this paragraph,
the term ``gift'' means any gratuity,
favor, discount, entertainment,
hospitality, loan, or other item having
a monetary value of more than a de
minimus amount. The term includes a
gift of services, transportation,
lodging, or meals, whether provided in
kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment
in advance, or reimbursement after the
expense has been incurred.
(ii) Exceptions.--The term ``gift''
shall not include any of the following:
(I) Standard material,
activities, or programs on
issues related to a loan,
default aversion, default
prevention, or financial
literacy, such as a brochure, a
workshop, or training.
(II) Food, refreshments,
training, or informational
material furnished to an
officer or employee of an
institution, or to an agent, as
an integral part of a training
session that is designed to
improve the service of a
lender, guarantor, or servicer
of education loans to the
institution, if such training
contributes to the professional
development of the officer,
employee, or agent.
(III) Favorable terms,
conditions, and borrower
benefits on an education loan
provided to a student employed
by the institution if such
terms, conditions, or benefits
are comparable to those
provided to all students of the
institution.
(IV) Entrance and exit
counseling services provided to
borrowers to meet the
institution's responsibilities
for entrance and exit
counseling as required by
subsections (b) and (l) of
section 485, as long as--
(aa) the
institution's staff are
in control of the
counseling, (whether in
person or via
electronic
capabilities); and
(bb) such counseling
does not promote the
products or services of
any specific lender.
(V) Philanthropic
contributions to an institution
from a lender, servicer, or
guarantor of education loans
that are unrelated to education
loans or any contribution from
any lender, guarantor, or
servicer that is not made in
exchange for any advantage
related to education loans.
(VI) State education grants,
scholarships, or financial aid
funds administered by or on
behalf of a State.
(iii) Rule for gifts to family
members.--For purposes of this
paragraph, a gift to a family member of
an officer or employee of an
institution, to a family member of an
agent, or to any other individual based
on that individual's relationship with
the officer, employee, or agent, shall
be considered a gift to the officer,
employee, or agent if--
(I) the gift is given with
the knowledge and acquiescence
of the officer, employee, or
agent; and
(II) the officer, employee,
or agent has reason to believe
the gift was given because of
the official position of the
officer, employee, or agent.
(3) Contracting arrangements prohibited.--
(A) Prohibition.--An officer or employee who
is employed in the financial aid office of the
institution or who otherwise has
responsibilities with respect to education
loans, or an agent who has responsibilities
with respect to education loans, shall not
accept from any lender or affiliate of any
lender any fee, payment, or other financial
benefit (including the opportunity to purchase
stock) as compensation for any type of
consulting arrangement or other contract to
provide services to a lender or on behalf of a
lender relating to education loans.
(B) Exceptions.--Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed as prohibiting--
(i) an officer or employee of an
institution who is not employed in the
institution's financial aid office and
who does not otherwise have
responsibilities with respect to
education loans, or an agent who does
not have responsibilities with respect
to education loans, from performing
paid or unpaid service on a board of
directors of a lender, guarantor, or
servicer of education loans;
(ii) an officer or employee of the
institution who is not employed in the
institution's financial aid office but
who has responsibility with respect to
education loans as a result of a
position held at the institution, or an
agent who has responsibility with
respect to education loans, from
performing paid or unpaid service on a
board of directors of a lender,
guarantor, or servicer of education
loans, if the institution has a written
conflict of interest policy that
clearly sets forth that officers,
employees, or agents must recuse
themselves from participating in any
decision of the board regarding
education loans at the institution; or
(iii) an officer, employee, or
contractor of a lender, guarantor, or
servicer of education loans from
serving on a board of directors, or
serving as a trustee, of an
institution, if the institution has a
written conflict of interest policy
that the board member or trustee must
recuse themselves from any decision
regarding education loans at the
institution.
(4) Interaction with borrowers.--The institution
shall not--
(A) for any first-time borrower, assign,
through award packaging or other methods, the
borrower's loan to a particular lender; or
(B) refuse to certify, or delay certification
of, any loan based on the borrower's selection
of a particular lender or guaranty agency.
(5) Prohibition on offers of funds for private
loans.--
(A) Prohibition.--The institution shall not
request or accept from any lender any offer of
funds to be used for private education loans
(as defined in section 140 of the Truth in
Lending Act), including funds for an
opportunity pool loan, to students in exchange
for the institution providing concessions or
promises regarding providing the lender with--
(i) a specified number of loans made,
insured, or guaranteed under this
title;
(ii) a specified loan volume of such
loans; or
(iii) a preferred lender arrangement
for such loans.
(B) Definition of opportunity pool loan.--In
this paragraph, the term ``opportunity pool
loan'' means a private education loan made by a
lender to a student attending the institution
or the family member of such a student that
involves a payment, directly or indirectly, by
such institution of points, premiums,
additional interest, or financial support to
such lender for the purpose of such lender
extending credit to the student or the family.
(6) Ban on staffing assistance.--
(A) Prohibition.--The institution shall not
request or accept from any lender any
assistance with call center staffing or
financial aid office staffing.
(B) Certain assistance permitted.--Nothing in
paragraph (1) shall be construed to prohibit
the institution from requesting or accepting
assistance from a lender related to--
(i) professional development training
for financial aid administrators;
(ii) providing educational counseling
materials, financial literacy
materials, or debt management materials
to borrowers, provided that such
materials disclose to borrowers the
identification of any lender that
assisted in preparing or providing such
materials; or
(iii) staffing services on a short-
term, nonrecurring basis to assist the
institution with financial aid-related
functions during emergencies, including
State-declared or federally declared
natural disasters, federally declared
national disasters, and other localized
disasters and emergencies identified by
the Secretary.
(7) Advisory board compensation.--Any employee who is
employed in the financial aid office of the
institution, or who otherwise has responsibilities with
respect to education loans or other student financial
aid of the institution, and who serves on an advisory
board, commission, or group established by a lender,
guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, shall be
prohibited from receiving anything of value from the
lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors,
except that the employee may be reimbursed for
reasonable expenses incurred in serving on such
advisory board, commission, or group.
(f) Institutional Requirements for Teach-Outs.--
(1) In general.--In the event the Secretary initiates
the limitation, suspension, or termination of the
participation of an institution of higher education in
any program under this title under the authority of
subsection (c)(1)(F) or initiates an emergency action
under the authority of subsection (c)(1)(G) and its
prescribed regulations, the Secretary shall require
that institution to prepare a teach-out plan for
submission to the institution's accrediting agency or
association in compliance with section 496(c)(3), the
Secretary's regulations on teach-out plans, and the
standards of the institution's accrediting agency or
association.
(2) Teach-out plan defined.--In this subsection, the
term ``teach-out plan'' means a written plan that
provides for the equitable treatment of students if an
institution of higher education ceases to operate
before all students have completed their program of
study, and may include, if required by the
institution's accrediting agency or association, an
agreement between institutions for such a teach-out
plan.
(g) Inspector General Report on Gift Ban Violations.--The
Inspector General of the Department shall--
(1) submit an annual report to the authorizing
committees identifying all violations of an
institution's code of conduct that the Inspector
General has substantiated during the preceding year
relating to the gift ban provisions described in
subsection (e)(2); and
(2) make the report available to the public through
the Department's website.
(h) Preferred Lender List Requirements.--
(1) In general.--In compiling, maintaining, and
making available a preferred lender list as required
under subsection (a)(27), the institution will--
(A) clearly and fully disclose on such
preferred lender list--
(i) not less than the information
required to be disclosed under section
153(a)(2)(A);
(ii) why the institution has entered
into a preferred lender arrangement
with each lender on the preferred
lender list, particularly with respect
to terms and conditions or provisions
favorable to the borrower; and
(iii) that the students attending the
institution, or the families of such
students, do not have to borrow from a
lender on the preferred lender list;
(B) ensure, through the use of the list of
lender affiliates provided by the Secretary
under paragraph (2), that--
(i) there are not less than three
lenders of loans made under part B that
are not affiliates of each other
included on the preferred lender list
and, if the institution recommends,
promotes, or endorses private education
loans, there are not less than two
lenders of private education loans that
are not affiliates of each other
included on the preferred lender list;
and
(ii) the preferred lender list under
this paragraph--
(I) specifically indicates,
for each listed lender, whether
the lender is or is not an
affiliate of each other lender
on the preferred lender list;
and
(II) if a lender is an
affiliate of another lender on
the preferred lender list,
describes the details of such
affiliation;
(C) prominently disclose the method and
criteria used by the institution in selecting
lenders with which to enter into preferred
lender arrangements to ensure that such lenders
are selected on the basis of the best interests
of the borrowers, including--
(i) payment of origination or other
fees on behalf of the borrower;
(ii) highly competitive interest
rates, or other terms and conditions or
provisions of loans under this title or
private education loans;
(iii) high-quality servicing for such
loans; or
(iv) additional benefits beyond the
standard terms and conditions or
provisions for such loans;
(D) exercise a duty of care and a duty of
loyalty to compile the preferred lender list
under this paragraph without prejudice and for
the sole benefit of the students attending the
institution, or the families of such students;
(E) not deny or otherwise impede the
borrower's choice of a lender or cause
unnecessary delay in loan certification under
this title for those borrowers who choose a
lender that is not included on the preferred
lender list; and
(F) comply with such other requirements as
the Secretary may prescribe by regulation.
(2) Lender affiliates list.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall maintain
and regularly update a list of lender
affiliates of all eligible lenders, and shall
provide such list to institutions for use in
carrying out paragraph (1)(B).
(B) Use of most recent list.--An institution
shall use the most recent list of lender
affiliates provided by the Secretary under
subparagraph (A) in carrying out paragraph
(1)(B).
(i) Definitions.--For the purpose of this section:
(1) Agent.--The term ``agent'' has the meaning given
the term in section 151.
(2) Affiliate.--The term ``affiliate'' means a person
that controls, is controlled by, or is under common
control with another person. A person controls, is
controlled by, or is under common control with another
person if--
(A) the person directly or indirectly, or
acting through one or more others, owns,
controls, or has the power to vote five percent
or more of any class of voting securities of
such other person;
(B) the person controls, in any manner, the
election of a majority of the directors or
trustees of such other person; or
(C) the Secretary determines (after notice
and opportunity for a hearing) that the person
directly or indirectly exercises a controlling
interest over the management or policies of
such other person's education loans.
(3) Education loan.--The term ``education loan'' has
the meaning given the term in section 151.
(4) Eligible institution.--The term ``eligible
institution'' means any such institution described in
section 102 of this Act.
(5) Officer.--The term ``officer'' has the meaning
given the term in section 151.
(6) Preferred lender arrangement.--The term
``preferred lender arrangement'' has the meaning given
the term in section 151.
(j) Construction.--Nothing in the amendments made by the
Higher Education Amendments of 1992 shall be construed to
prohibit an institution from recording, at the cost of the
institution, a hearing referred to in subsection (b)(2),
subsection (c)(1)(D), or subparagraph (A) or (B)(i) of
subsection (c)(2), of this section to create a record of the
hearing, except the unavailability of a recording shall not
serve to delay the completion of the proceeding. The Secretary
shall allow the institution to use any reasonable means,
including stenographers, of recording the hearing.
* * * * * * *
MINORITY VIEWS
INTRODUCTION
H.R. 4312, the Student Compensation and Opportunity through
Rights and Endorsements Act, or SCORE Act, seeks to regulate
college athletics and the ``Name, Image, and Likeness''
marketplace. While the SCORE Act is being promoted as a measure
to empower college athletes,\1\ in reality it is a series of
blank checks and bailouts for the revenue-rich National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its most prominent
athletic conferences to the detriment of the athletes the
legislation purports to support. The SCORE Act falls short of
meaningfully addressing the educational, health, and financial
needs of college athletes and instead imposes a radical and
permanent ban on college athletes from ever receiving labor and
employment rights and protections under any federal or state
law as well as eliminates any current or future college athlete
protections at the state level. This legislation puts the NCAA
before the needs and interests of college athletes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\This report uses the phrase ``college athletes'' or ``athletes''
to refer to the population impacted by the legislation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
H.R. 4312 is opposed by the AFL-CIO, American Association
for Justice, American Economic Liberties Project, Center for
Law and Social Policy, Women's Sports Foundation, National
College Players Association, and Service Employees
International Union.
BACKGROUND
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The NCAA is an administrative body that is responsible for
regulating college athletics among nearly 1,100 member colleges
and universities\2\ across 102 athletic conferences in North
America.\3\ NCAA member institutions are divided into three
divisions: Division I (DI), Division II (DII), and Division III
(DIII).\4\ DI is the most competitive level of college
athletics and is primarily populated by sizeable institutions
with large athletic budgets.\5\ Each division is governed by
the member schools in the division through committees.\6\ In
the 2023-2024 season, approximately 197,000 athletes
participated in DI, 137,000 in DII, and over 205,000 in DIII,
totaling 539,000 college athletes in the NCAA.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\The use of ``colleges'' and ``universities'' independently in
this report includes reference to the other.
\3\Overview, NCAA, https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2021/2/16/
overview.aspx (last visited Apr. 2, 2025); What is the NCAA?, NCAA,
https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2021/2/10/about-resources-media-center-
ncaa-101-what-ncaa.aspx (last visited Apr. 2, 2025).
\4\What is the NCAA?, NCAA, https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2021/2/10/
about-resources-media-
center-ncaa-101-what-ncaa.aspx (last visited Apr. 2, 2025). (Of the
1,098 members schools in the NCAA, 350 are in DI, 310 in DII, and 438
in DIII.).
\5\The Differences Between NCAA Divisions, NCSA College Recruiting,
https://www.ncsasports.org/recruiting/how-to-get-recruited/college-
divisions (last visited Apr. 2, 2025).
\6\Our Three Divisions, NCAA, https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2016/1/7/
about-resources-media-
center-ncaa-101-our-three-divisions.aspx (last visited Apr. 2, 2025).
\7\NCAA, NCAA Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates Report 94-
97 (Oct. 19, 2024), https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/research/
sportpart/2024RES_SportsSponsorshipParticipationRatesReport.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In recent years, college athletes across the country have
organized for a meaningful voice and better conditions due to
the failure to address longstanding issues they experience in
many athletic programs. Below are some of the core problems
college athletes face.
Compensation
The NCAA has long asserted that the draw of collegiate
sports is amateurism.\8\ These ``amateur'' sports, however, are
a multi-billion-dollar industry.\9\ In Fiscal Year (FY) 2024,
the NCAA brought in almost $1.4 billion in revenue, a $91
million increase from the prior fiscal year.\10\ The NCAA's
most prominent athletic conferences collectively ``generated
over $3.55 billion in revenue during the 2023 fiscal
year.''\11\ In FY 2023, DI schools ``reported total revenue of
almost $19 billion on athletics,'' nearly a 10 percent increase
over the prior fiscal year.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\Safeguarding Student-Athletes from NLRB Misclassification:
Hearing Before the Subcomm. on H, Employ., Lab., & Pensions of the H.
Comm. on Educ. & the Wrkf., 118th Cong. (2024) (statement of Mark
Gaston Pearce, Exec. Dir., Workers' Rights Inst. at Geo. L. Ctr.)
(accessible at https://democrats-edworkforce.house.gov/imo/media/doc/
31424pearcetestimony.pdf) [hereinafter Pearce Testimony].
\9\Andrew Zimbalist, Analysis: Who is winning in the high-revenue
world of college sports?, PBS (Mar. 18, 2023), https://www.pbs.org/
newshour/economy/analysis-who-is-winning-in-the-high-
revenue-world-of-college-sports.
\10\Steve Berkowitz, NCAA shows revenue increase to $1.4 billion
and $166 million surplus in 2024 fiscal year, USA Today (Feb. 27,
2025), https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2025/02/27/ncaa-
financial-report-revenue-surplus/80733616007/.
\11\Will Backus, Big Ten Remains Power Five Revenue Leader with
$880 Million Haul for 2023 Fiscal Year, per Report, CBS Sports (May 23,
2024), https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-remains-
power-five-revenue-leader-with-880-million-haul-for-2023-fiscal-year-
per-report/.
\12\NCAA, Division I Athletics Finances: 10-Year Trends from 2014
to 2023 12 (Dec. 2024), https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/research/
Finances/2024D1RES_DI-RevExpReport.pdf [hereinafter DI Athletics
Finances].
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Despite the flow of billions of dollars to the NCAA,
athletic conferences, and member schools resulting from
athletics, college athletes do not share in the prosperity
their effort and performance creates. In 2023, DI schools doled
out over $3.1 billion in financial aid for college athletes,
accounting for just 16 percent of total expenses.\13\ However,
not every athlete is able to secure a robust scholarship. In a
2019 survey, almost 25 percent of DI college athletes reported
experiencing food insecurity in the last month and nearly 14
percent were homeless over the last year.\14\ A 2011 study by
the National College Players Association and Drexel University
Department of Sport Management found ``86 percent of players
[receiving full athletic scholarships] living off campus living
below the federal poverty level.''\15\ In an opinion piece
written by two members of Dartmouth's men's basketball team,
they describe a driving factor for their decision to unionize:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\Id. at 20.
\14\Mark Gaston Pearce & Daphne Assimakopoulos, Organizing and the
College Athlete, Wrkrs' Rgts Inst (2022), https://
www.law.georgetown.edu/workers-rights-institute/publications/
organizing-and-the-college-athlete/.
\15\Press Release, Drexel University, Study College Athletes Worth
Six Figures Live Below Federal Poverty Line (Sept. 13, 2011), https://
drexel.edu/news/archive/2011/september/study-
college-athletes-worth-six-figures-live-below-federal-poverty-line.
First, many of our players currently juggle part-time
jobs alongside their academic and athletic commitments
to help pay for their tuition and living expenses.
While we currently receive many forms of non-
traditional compensation, these don't pay our bills,
and so we are unionizing to be compensated like other
student employees, with hourly wages similar to other
student wages on campus or scholarships. This would
alleviate the need for second jobs and enhance our
experience as part of the Dartmouth community.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\Romeo Myrthil & Cade Haskins, Haskins and Myrthil: Why We Are
Unionizing, The Dartmouth (Sept. 18, 2023), https://
www.thedartmouth.com/article/2023/09/haskins-and-myrthil-why-we-are-
unionizing.
Conversely, DI schools spent more than $3.6 billion
compensating coaches in 2023, making up the largest category
(19%) of expenditures for the schools.\17\ Compensation is only
one part of college athletes' experience, and limiting the
conversation to this ignores the various other issues they face
at academic institutions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\See DI Athletics Finances, supra note 12, at 20.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excessive Hours
The NCAA caps the number of hours college athletes may
engage in ``countable athletically related activities'' at four
hours each day and 20 hours each week when in-season, and eight
hours each week during the offseason.\18\ Athletes are also
provided one day off each week during the season and two days
off in the offseason.\19\ NCAA regulations may appear
reasonable, however, the reality is different. NCAA athletes
report significantly exceeding the limit on maximum hours
during the season across all sports.\20\ ``On average,
football, men's basketball, women's basketball, and baseball
players in [DI] spend about 40 hours a week on athletic
activities.''\21\ The issue persists in the offseason, with a
majority of DI and DII college athletes engaging in athletic
related activities for the same or greater number of hours as
their regular season.\22\ A 2015 survey of athletes in the Pac-
12 Conference\23\ found that 73 percent of college athletes
believed an athletic activity labeled as voluntary was
mandatory, leading them to put more time into the sport or face
retaliation.\24\ In addition to a full course load, college
athletes are managing the equivalent of a full-time job that
takes away from rest, sleep, extracurricular activities, social
activities, and academics.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\This Study Proves Just How Much Time College Athletes Spend on
Their Sport, NCSA College Recruiting, https://www.ncsasports.org/blog/
study-time-demands-d1-studentathletes-
excessive (last visited Apr. 2, 2025).
\19\Id.
\20\Jake New, What Off-Season?, INSD. Higher Ed (May 7, 2015),
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/05/08/college-athletes-say-
they-devote-too-much-time-sports-year-round.
\21\Id.
\22\Id.
\23\The Pac-12 Conference was made up of 12 schools on the west
coast and in the southwest region of the U.S. In 2024, 10 of the 12
schools left the conference.
\24\Student-Athlete Time Demands, Penn Schoen Berland (Apr. 2015),
https://sports.cbsimg.net/images/Pac-12-Student-Athlete-Time-Demands-
Obtained-by-CBS-Sports.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harassment, Discrimination, and Abuse
While many college athletes have a special bond with their
coaches that is built on mutual respect and trust, others have
dealt with coaches that abuse, harass, and discriminate--
harming athletes' health and wellbeing. For example:\25\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\25\Michael H. LeRoy, Harassment, Abuse, and Mistreatment in
College Sports: Protecting Players through Employment Laws, 42:1 Brkely
Journ. Of Emplymt & Lab. Law 101 (2020), https://law.illinois.edu/wp-
content/uploads/2021/03/LeRoy-42.1-Formatted-w-Edits_12.2.20.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In January 2023, five players on Concordia
University Chicago's men's basketball team were
hospitalized after a practice believed to be in
retaliation for curfew violations.\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\26\Jake Sheridan, Concordia University Chicago basketball players
hospitalized after intense practice, Chic. Tribune (Jan. 6, 2023),
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2023/01/06/concordia-
university-chicago-basketball-players-hospitalized-after-intense-
practice/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 2021, Syracuse University women's
basketball coach resigned after allegations of
inappropriate and abusive behavior, including verbal
threats, denial of requests for water, and unwanted
physical contact.\27\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\27\Matt Bonesteel, Syracuse women's basketball coach resigns after
players accuse him of improper behavior, Wash Post (Aug. 2, 2021),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/08/02/syracuse-coach-
quentin-hillsman-resigns/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 2009, a basketball player at Grambling
State University died and another became physically and
psychologically disabled after a punitive practice.\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\28\Michael H. LeRoy, Considering College Athletes as Employees
Could Curb Coaching Abuse, Sportico (Mar. 1, 2023), https://
www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2023/college-athletes-as-
employees-could-curb-coaching-abuse-1234708592/.
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Players for the University of Nebraska's
softball team stated their coach engaged in
``systematic emotional abuse'' and created a toxic
culture. Players reported experiencing harassment to
the point that over half of the players in 2018
attended counseling sessions with psychologists and
eventually transferred out of the program. One player
even said she had suicidal thoughts because of the
toxic environment.\29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\29\Ben Strauss, Complaints against Nebraska softball coach show
college athletes' limited option, Wash Post (Aug. 30, 2019), https://
www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/08/30/complaints-against-nebraska-
softball-coach-show-college-athletes-limited-options/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 2013, a University of Utah swimming coach
was accused of showing up to practices inebriated,
assaulting an assistant coach, using racial slurs, and
coercing an athlete to ``swim underwater with his hands
tied to a PVC pipe that was strapped to his back until
he blacked out.''\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\30\Utah hires out for new investigation, ESPN (Mar. 11, 2013),
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9040762/utah-utes-open-
new-investigation-greg-winslow.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign's head football coach was fired for routinely
pressuring players to play through their injuries,
ignoring medical staff, and threatening to revoke
scholarships, among other abusive conduct.\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\31\Vinnie Duber, Report contains ugly details of Tim Beckman's
behavior as Illini coach, NBC Sports Chic. (Nov. 9, 2015), https://
www.nbcsportschicago.com/news/report-contains-ugly-
details-of-tim-beckmans-behavior-as-illini-coach/271326/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Rutgers University men's basketball coach
was recorded over two years ``hurling basketballs from
close range at his players' heads, legs and feet;
shoving and grabbing his players; feigning punching
them; kicking them; and screaming obscenities and
homophobic slurs.''\32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\32\Don Van Natta, Video shows Mike Rice's ire, ESPN (Apr. 2,
2013), https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9125796/practice-video-
shows-rutgers-basketball-coach-mike-rice-berated-
pushed-used-slurs-players.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
These examples are just a snapshot of unscrupulous coaches
engaging in inappropriate and abusive behavior that ranges from
vulgar or discriminatory language to punishing commands that
result in injuries.\33\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\33\See LeRoy, supra note 25.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sports-Related Injuries
Unsurprisingly, college athletes are inherently at risk of
injury through their participation in sports. An analysis of
NCAA injury data by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) estimated that over 210,000 injuries occurred
each year.\34\ Among men's sports, football had the highest
annual average of injuries, and wrestling accounted for the
highest overall injury rate.\35\ Among women's sports,
gymnastics had the top overall injury and practice injury rate,
and soccer yielded the largest competition injury rate.\36\
Importantly, injured college athletes are not eligible for
workers' compensation, which provides cash benefits and medical
care for workers who become injured or ill through their
occupation.\37\ College athletes are mandated by the NCAA to
have their own medical insurance to participate, even if it is
through their parents or guardians, or the school, and many
schools provide some form of coverage. However, there are
college athletes without adequate coverage.\38\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\34\Zachary Y. Kerr et al., College Sports-Related Injuries--United
States, 2009-10 Through 2013-14 Academic Years, CDC (Dec. 11, 2015),
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6448a2.htm.
\35\Id.
\36\Id.
\37\Tom Dart, College Athletes Are Unpaid. What If Injury Ruins
Their Chance of Turning Pro?, The Guardian (Sept. 6, 2021), https://
www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/sep/06/college-athletes-are-unpaid-what-
if-injury-ruins-their-chance-of-turning-pro.
\38\Cory McCune, NCAA Policies for Student-Athlete Medical
Insurance Breakdown, Bleacher Report (Apr. 8, 2013), https://
bleacherreport.com/articles/1595326-ncaa-policies-for-student-
athlete-medical-insurance-breakdown.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCUSSION
While some college athletes have been engaged in active
organizing and advocacy efforts, there is and has been no
effort to broadly classify college athletes as employees. In
fact, the legal tests used to determine whether there exists an
employee-employer relationship is predicated on a case-by-case
basis using a fact-intensive review of the circumstances under
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA)\39\ and the
National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA).\40\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\39\29 U.S.C. Sec. 201 et seq.
\40\29 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Given the situation-specific analysis required under both
the FLSA and the NLRA (as described below), it is likely that
only college athletes in the most demanding and controlling
athletic programs would potentially be classified as employees.
The Fair Labor Standards Act
The FLSA is the core federal workplace standards law
governing the minimum wage,\41\ overtime,\42\ oppressive child
labor,\43\ and discrimination in pay on the basis of sex,\44\
among other rights and protections. The FLSA is enforced by
both the U.S. Department of Labor and private litigants.\45\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\41\Id. Sec. 6.
\42\Id. Sec. 7.
\43\Id. Sec. 12.
\44\Id. Sec. 6(d).
\45\Id. Sec. 16.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the FLSA, the term ``employ'' includes ``to suffer or
permit to work.''\46\ When establishing this broad definition
of employment, Congress rejected the narrower common law
standard of employment, which turns on the degree to which the
employer has control over an employee. Congress instead sought
to expand the employment relationship to hold accountable
employers who would not be liable for violations under a
control test.\47\ Courts test the applicability of the FLSA
definition using the ``economic realities'' test, which looks
underneath whatever terms the parties use to describe it and
focuses instead on the reality of the relationship based on the
totality of the circumstances to determine whether the putative
employee is economically dependent on the potential
employer.\48\ Ultimately, the application of the economic
realities factors is guided by the overarching principle that
the FLSA should be ``construed liberally to apply to the
furthest reaches consistent with congressional direction.''\49\
The FLSA definition of employment is the ``broadest definition
that has ever been included in any one act.''\50\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\46\Id. Sec. 3(g).
\47\Bruce Goldstein et al., Enforcing Fair Labor Standards in the
Modern American Sweatshop: Rediscovering the Statutory Definition of
Employment, 46 UCLA L. Rev. 983, 991 (1999).
\48\Tony & Susan Alamo Found. v. Sec'y of Labor, 471 U.S. 290, 301
(1985) (reiterating that the test of employment under the FLSA is
economic reality); Goldberg v. Whitaker House Co-op, Inc., 366 U.S. 28,
33 (1961).
\49\Mitchell v. Lublin, McGaughy & Assocs., 358 U.S. 207 (1959).
\50\United States v. Rosenwasser, 323 U.S. 360, 363 (1945) (quoting
81 Cong. Rec. 7,657 (1938) (remarks of Sen. Hugo Black)). The FLSA's
definition of ``employ'' is a standard of ``striking breadth'' that
``stretches the meaning of `employee' to cover some parties who might
not qualify as such under a strict application of traditional agency
law principles.'' Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co v. Darden, 503 U.S. 318, 323
(1992).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Labor Relations Act
The NLRA is the foundational federal law governing labor
relations that protects the rights of private sector workers to
engage in concerted activity, organize a union, and
collectively bargain over pay, benefits, and working conditions
with their employer. Section 2(3) of the NLRA defines
``employees'' broadly to include ``any employee'' subject to
only a few enumerated exceptions that do not include athletes
at academic institutions. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that
in applying this broad definition of ``employee'' it is
necessary to consider the common law definition of
``employee.''\51\ Under the common law definition, an employee
is a person who performs services for another under a contract
of hire, subject to the other's control or right of control, in
return for payment.\52\ The NLRB and courts have applied the
common law test to determine that as long as individuals meets
the broad Section 2(3) definition of ``employees'' they are
indeed statutory employees.\53\ But as the Supreme Court has
acknowledged, even when the NLRB has the statutory authority to
act, ``the Board sometimes properly declines to do so, stating
that the policies of the Act would not be effectuated by its
assertion of jurisdiction in that case.''\54\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\51\NLRB v. Town & Country Electric, Inc., 516 U.S. 85, 89 (1995)
(rights guaranteed by the NLRA ``belong only to those workers who
qualify as `employees' as that term is defined in the [NLRA]'').
\52\Brown University, 342 NLRB 483, 490 n.27 (2004) (citing NLRB v.
Town & Country Electric, 516 U.S. at 94). See also Restatement (Second)
of Agency Sec. 2(2) (1958).
\53\See, e.g., Seattle Opera, 331 NLRB 1072 (2002), enf'd 292 F.3d
757, 761-62 (D.C. Cir. 2002).
\54\NLRB v. Denver Building Trades Council, 341 U.S. 675, 684
(1951). See also NLRB v. Teamsters Local 364, 274 F.2d 19, 23 (7th Cir.
1960).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The broad language of Section 2(3), the policies underlying
the NLRA, Board law, and the common law can support the
conclusion that certain athletes at academic institutions
subject to the NLRB's jurisdiction are statutory employees who
have the right to act collectively to improve their terms and
conditions of employment. Along these lines, in September 2021,
NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo (GC) issued a memorandum
declaring the GC's position that ``certain Players at Academic
Institutions are employees under the [NLRA].''\55\ It further
established the GC's intent to prosecute the misclassification
of such employees as ``student-athletes'' as an unfair labor
practice because it leads players to believe they lack
protections granted by the NLRA.\56\ In February 2025, NLRB
Acting General Counsel William Cowen rescinded the
memorandum.\57\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\55\Press Release, NLRB Off. of Pub. Afrs., NLRB General Counsel
Jennifer Abruzzo Issues Memo on Employee Status of Players at Academic
Institutions (Sept. 29, 2021), https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-
story/nlrb-general-counsel-jennifer-abruzzo-issues-memo-on-
employee-status-of; Memorandum GC 21-08, Statutory Rights of Players at
Academic Institutions (Student-Athletes) Under the National Labor
Relations Act (Sept. 29, 2021), download available at https://
apps.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d458356ec26.
\56\Id.
\57\Press Release, NLRB Off. of Pub. Afrs., GC 25-05 Rescission of
Certain General Counsel Memoranda (Feb. 14, 2025), https://
www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/gc-25-05-rescission-of-certain-
general-counsel-memoranda.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employment Ban
Section 9 of H.R. 4312 excludes college athletes from being
determined under any federal or state law to be employees of
their school or any collegiate athletics body on the basis of
their participation in covered varsity sports or any control
exerted over them as a condition of athletics participation in
perpetuity, regardless of the facts that exist on the ground.
Putative employers who are shielded from any employment-related
liability under this bill are institutions of higher education
that sponsor varsity intercollegiate athletics; intercollegiate
athletic conferences; and the NCAA and any other associations
that serve as governing bodies for varsity sports.
The blanket prohibition on employee classification in H.R.
4312 is a blank check for the NCAA and its largest athletic
conferences and programs to continue to exert significant
control over college athletes, even outside of athletics. In
return, college athletes are permanently stripped from ever
receiving labor and employment rights and protections,
including a minimum wage; overtime pay; workers' compensation
for injuries, illnesses, or fatalities; safety and health
protections; and the right to organize a union and collectively
bargain for fair conditions. Students who participate in
varsity intercollegiate athletics report significant demands on
their time, being subject to substantial control by colleges
over their time and activities, and constraints on their
ability to pursue their studies. As noted earlier in this
report, one NCAA survey found that, ``[o]n average, football,
men's basketball, women's basketball, and baseball players in
[DI] spend about 40 hours a week on athletic activities.''\58\
The issue persists in the offseason, with a majority of DI and
DII college athletes engaging in athletic related activities
for the same or greater number of hours as their regular
season.\59\ Beyond the hours spent on the activity, college
athletes have also spoken out about the control institutions
have on their lives off the field. As noted in Mark Gaston
Pearce's testimony before the Committee in March 2024:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\58\See New, supra note 20.
\59\Id.
Former University of Southern California football
players testified that USC officials retained rigid
control over their lives almost year-round including
fingerprint scanning players to mark their presence at
daily meals and conducting hydration testing and weigh-
ins multiple times a week. USC hired other students to
check that the athletes went to class. One former
football player testified that there was so much
pressure to attend practices that he would rather study
into the wee hours of the night than miss practice.\60\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\60\Pearce Testimony, supra note 8, at 10.
Moreover, the demands of sports reportedly impinge on
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
students' ability to pursue the academic path of their choice:
Student athletes at NCAA [DI] schools must schedule
classes around their required NCAA athletic activities
and cannot reschedule their NCAA athletic activities
around their academic programs. As a result, Villanova
University only excuses a student athlete from
participating in required athletic activities if there
is a conflict between practice and a mandatory core
class. For example, when [one student] played football
at Villanova University he was required to participate
in NCAA athletically related activities on weekdays
between 5:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. and could not enroll
in a non-core class during that time, including classes
that were prerequisites for academic degree programs .
. . Because student athletes have to schedule their
classes around their required athletic activities, many
student athletes have reported that participation in
NCAA [DI] sports have prevented them from taking
classes that they wanted to take. Many student athletes
have also reported that their participation in NCAA
[DI] sports has prevented them from majoring in their
preferred major.\61\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\61\Johnson v. NCAA, 556 F. Supp. 3d 491, 496-97 (E.D. Pa. 2021).
This bill would only encourage even more demands on college
athletes' time, without any check or counterbalance.
Congress should not be in the business of creating
loopholes that allow college athletes to be exploited, such as
the employment safe harbor in the SCORE Act. If colleges do not
want their athletes to be classified as employees and be
responsible for the aforementioned labor and employment
obligations, there is an existing path available that does not
require congressional intervention at an unprecedented scale.
The simplest and most straightforward solution to avoid an
employee-employer relationship is not a categorical ban; rather
colleges, athletic conferences, and the NCAA can stop treating
college athletes like employees.
During the markup, Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) offered an
amendment to strike Section 9 of the bill. While all present
Committee Democrats voted to support the amendment, it
regrettably failed on a party-line vote.
Student Supports
Section 5(a) of H.R. 4312 amends the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (HEA)\62\ to require colleges that have generated $20
million or more in athletics revenue in a 12-month period to
provide college athletes with additional student supports and
tuition assistance regardless of performance in their sport.
While it is unclear the complete world of colleges that could
be required to implement these programs, this financial
threshold will likely capture DI colleges.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\62\20 U.S.C. Sec. 1001 et seq.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 5(a)(1) of the bill requires these colleges to
provide college athletes with academic and career support that
addresses: mental health, including alcohol and substance
misuse; strength and conditioning; nutrition; name, image, and
likeness rights; legal and tax advice; financial literacy;
career readiness and counseling; transfer process; and sexual
violence prevention. These requirements heavily align with
requirements established by the NCAA in their bylaws governing
Academic Counseling and Support Services, Life Skills, and
Health, Safety, and Performance Support Services.\63\
Unsurprisingly, H.R. 4312 also allows colleges to carry out
these services ``in conjunction'' with the NCAA, meaning
colleges can simply pass along important financial counseling,
academic supports, and other resources to a third-party without
fully vetting the resources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\63\See Bylaw 16.3.1.1, Academic Counseling/Support Services, NCAA
(revised Aug. 3, 2022), https://web3.ncaa.org/lsdbi/
bylaw?ruleId=3589&refDate=20240702; Bylaw 16.3.1.2, Life Skills
Programs, NCAA (revised Aug. 7, 2014), https://web3.ncaa.org/lsdbi/
bylaw?ruleId=3590&
refDate=20240702; Bylaw 20.2.4.26, Consensus-Based Care, Education and
Services Model, NCAA (effective Aug. 1, 2024), https://web3.ncaa.org/
lsdbi/search/bylawView?id=131129.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To enforce these requirements, H.R. 4312 ties this
requirement to colleges' Program Participation Agreement (PPA),
which is colleges' agreement to follow applicable laws in
exchange for participating in the federal financial aid.
However, Committee Republicans have not provided any
information on how the Department of Education might evaluate
compliance, particularly if services are outsourced to the NCAA
or other athletic associations. The bill does not measure the
quality of support services, their impact on athletes, or their
possible costs, and it does not direct the Department of
Education to engage in rulemaking or provide guidance on any of
these topics. The bill also does not clarify whether existing
programs at colleges designed for all student populations would
be sufficient for the purposes of compliance. For these
reasons, Committee Democrats are concerned that this section
establishes a weak framework to ensure the academic and non-
academic success of college athletes.
Section 5(a)(3) of the bill requires these colleges to
maintain any grant-in-aid to college athletes regardless of:
athletic performance, contribution to team success; injury,
illness, or physical or mental condition; or receipt of
compensation pursuant to a name, image, and likeness agreement.
Section 5(a)(4) requires colleges to provide a degree
completion program for any former varsity college athletes who
received grant-in-aid but did not complete their program.
Together, these provisions appear designed to support the
academic success of college athletes regardless of athletic
success. While Committee Democrats support providing all
students--including college athletes--the resources they need
to succeed, we are deeply concerned that House Republicans are
forcing these financial aid policies on institutions without
any analysis of the cost or implementation logistics, without
concern for what other student populations need, and while the
federal government is gutting federal student aid.\64\
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\64\Jocelyn Salguero and Michele Zampini, Provisions Affecting
Higher Education in the Reconciliation Law, Inst. for Col. Access &
Success (Jul. 15, 2025), https://ticas.org/affordability-2/provisions-
affecting-higher-education-in-the-reconciliation-law/.
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Athletics-Related Injuries
The industry of college sports has a long history with
sports-related injuries. The NCAA was formed in large part in
reaction to sports-related deaths,\65\ and it first adopted the
term ``student athlete'' in the course of litigating against
the workers' compensation claim of a widow seeking benefits
after her husband was killed while playing college
football.\66\ For the more than 500,000 students participating
in NCAA-governed athletics, there are more than 210,000
injuries each year that require attention by a physician or
athletic trainer.\67\ The incidence of severe injury is high
enough to warrant the establishment of the National Center for
Catastrophic Sport Injury Research.\68\
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\65\NCAA and the Movement to Reform College Football: Topics in
Chronicling America, Lib. of Cong., https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-
america-ncaa-college-football-reform (last visited Aug. 14, 2025).
\66\Chuck Slothower, Fort Lewis' First `Student-Athlete', Durango
Herald (Sept. 25, 2014), https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/fort-
lewis-first-student-athlete/.
\67\Zachary Y. Kerr et al., College Sports-Related Injuries--United
States, 2009-10 Through 2013-14 Academic Years, 64 Morb. & Mort. Wkly.
Rep. 1330 (2015), https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/
mm6448a2.htm.
\68\See generally Nat'l Ctr. for Catastrophic Sport Injury Rsch.,
https://nccsir.unc.edu/ (last visited Aug. 14, 2025).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Players and their families face significant risks not just
from the injuries themselves but also the resulting costs,\69\
even as the NCAA and some member institutions have begun to
offer some insurance coverage.\70\ The NCAA, for example,
authorizes catastrophic coverage that kicks in after an
athlete's expenses exceed $90,000.\71\ The NCAA also allows
members to draw from a shared fund to pay for health expense
coverage, and the member institutions have considerable leeway
in deciding how to do so.\72\
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\69\Ben Strauss, A Fight to Keep College Athletes From the Pain of
Injury Costs, N.Y. Times (Apr. 24, 2014), https://www.nytimes.com/2014/
04/25/sports/a-fight-to-keep-college-athletes-from-the-pain-of-injury-
costs.html (``Under N.C.A.A. rules, players can still lose their
scholarships after being hurt, often pay for their own insurance and
are generally responsible for long-term health care for injuries
sustained on the playing field.'').
\70\Tom Dart, College Athletes Are Unpaid. What If Injury Ruins
Their Chance of Turning Pro?, The Guardian (Sept. 6, 2021), https://
www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/sep/06/college-athletes-are-unpaid-what-
if-injury-ruins-their-chance-of-turning-pro.
\71\NCAA Catastrophic Injury Insurance Program, NCAA, https://
www.ncaa.org/sports/2019/2/18/ncaa-catastrophic-injury-insurance-
program.aspx (last visited Aug. 14, 2025).
\72\Dart, supra note 70 (``[T]he current system invites dilemmas
over the most appropriate use of limited . . . funds. For example, if a
college allocates $100,000 annually for insurance, should it decide to
pay $50,000 each for generous policies for its best two football
players, or purchase 20 $5,000 policies to cover more athletes, albeit
less extensively? Or would that sum be better deployed to buy computers
for a hundred students?'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
H.R. 4312 includes two provisions addressing coverage for
sports-related injuries:
Section 5(a)(2)(A) requires schools to
provide athletes with limited medical coverage for
injuries sustained during athletics participation.
Institutions are required to cover medical care,
including out-of-pocket expenses, for such injuries.
The obligation continues throughout an athlete's time
as a student and for three years following graduation
or other separation from the college, but it terminates
earlier if a student is dismissed for a code-of-conduct
violation.
Relatedly, section 5(a)(2)(C) requires
schools to create ``an administrative structure'' for
``provid[ing] independent medical care, including with
respect to decisions regarding return to play.'' The
``administrative structure'' appears to apply not only
to the medical care attendant to sports injuries but
also, more broadly, to any use of medical services
relevant to fitness and eligibility to play, including
return-to-play decisions following injuries sustained
off the field.
The medical coverage provision appears to be a rough stand-
in for workers' compensation, which most employers are required
to provide for injuries employees sustain in the course of
employment.\73\ Although states have been in a decades-long
race to the bottom in workers' compensation practices since the
1990s,\74\ even the stingiest workers' compensation program
provides more robust benefits for employees than college
athletes would receive under this bill:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\73\For a useful overview of the history and contemporary state of
workers' compensation, see Emily A. Spieler, (Re) Assessing the Grand
Bargain: Compensation for Work Injuries in the United States, 1900-
2017, 69 Rutgers U.L. Rev. 891, 937 (2017).
\74\After a brief period in the early 1970s, when state workers'
compensation programs improved their benefits levels in order to meet
the adequacy criteria of the 1972 National Commission on State
Workmen's Compensation Laws, there was a significant turnaround in the
1990s as states revised their laws to reduce employer costs by making
workers' comp stingier and more difficult for workers to access. Study
Panel on Benefit Adequacy, Nat'l Acad. of Soc. Ins., Adequacy of
Earnings Replacement in Workers' Compensation Programs 7-8, 15-17 (H.
Allan Hunt ed. 2004).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The medical coverage would be limited in
time to the duration of the student's enrollment plus
an additional three years following graduation or
separation from enrollment (unless separation is the
result of a code-of-conduct violation). By contrast,
workers' compensation programs typically allow for
medical coverage for the duration of the work-related
injury, including permanently disabling conditions.
The three-year duration omits any coverage
for sports-related injuries for which clinical
presentations have a long latency period (such as
chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)\75\ and other
long-term neurodegenerative conditions).\76\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\75\In cases of CTE confirmed by postmortem examination, ``the
onset of clinical symptoms occurs an average of 14.5 years after
retirement from the sport,'' and ``the clinical course in CTE is
prolonged (mean duration = 15.0 years, SEM = 1.2, n = 125).'' Joshua
Kriegel, Zachary Papadopolous & Ann C. McKee, Chronic Traumatic
Encephalopathy: Is Latency in Symptom Onset Explained by Tau
Propagation?, Cold Spring Harbor Persps. in Med. (Jan. 17, 2017),
https://perspectivesinmedicine.cshlp.org/content/8/2/
a024059.full.pdf+html.
\76\Bree Clare, Study Shows Sports-Related Brain Injuries Linked to
Long-Term Neurodegenerative Diseases, PatientWorthy (Jan. 14, 2025),
https://patientworthy.com/2025/01/14/study-shows-sports-related-brain-
injuries-linked-to-long-term-neurodegenerative-diseases/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The bill offers no income replacement for
permanently disabling injuries.
The bill offers no death benefit or
survivors' benefit for cases of fatal sports-related
injuries.
Workers' compensation is a no-fault system.
The proviso limiting colleges' liabilities after
conduct-related separation could introduce an element
of fault by allowing colleges to allege conduct
violations on the field related to the injury, expel
students, and then absolve themselves of liability for
medical coverage.
The provision for ``independent medical
care'' does not specify that athletes would have full
choice of provider, only that they could receive
``independent'' care within the ``administrative
structure'' established by the college.
There is no requirement for the institutions
to insure or collateralize, if self-insured, their
medical care obligations. An athlete injured at an
institution that suffers a reversal of fortunes and
winds down operations may be left without care for a
sports-related injury.
During the markup, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) offered an
amendment to extend the eligibility for college athletes to
receive medical care for an injury incurred during athletic
activities from at least three years to at least 10 years.
While all Committee Democrats voted to support the amendment,
it regrettably failed on a party-line vote.
Student Athletic Fees
Although many college athletics programs generally generate
revenue through streams including ticket sales, corporate
sponsorships, private donations, and broadcasting deals, most
athletic departments consistently operate with a budget
deficit, sometimes spending far more than generated
revenue.\77\ For example, in the Big Ten conference\78\ alone
for FY 2024, the Ohio State University athletics department had
an operating deficit of $38 million, the University of
California, Los Angeles ran a $30 million deficit, Rutgers
University had a deficit of $28.6 million, and Michigan State
University had a $16.7 deficit.\79\ To help offset these costs,
most colleges charge some form of student athletic fee. Student
athletic fees can range from a few hundred dollars to several
thousand dollars, depending on the college, and students often
do not realize that these fees directly fund the athletics
department operating budget.\80\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\77\Andrew Zimbalist, Who Wins With College Sports?, EconoFact
(Jan. 22, 2023), https://econofact.org/who-wins-with-college-sports;
Mark Drozdowski, Do Colleges Make Money From Athletics?, BestColleges
(Oct. 12. 2023), https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/analysis/2020/11/20/
do-college-sports-make-money/.
\78\The Big Ten Conference was made up of 14 schools in the Midwest
and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. In 2024, four new West Coast
schools joined the conference after leaving the PAC-12 Conference.
\79\Michael Nietzel, Several Big Ten Universities Bleed Red Ink In
Their Athletics Budgets, Forbes (Jan. 28, 2025), https://
www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2025/01/28/several-big-ten-
universities-bleed-red-ink-in-their-athletics-budgets/.
\80\Merrit Enright et al., Hidden Figures: College Students May Be
Paying Thousands in Athletic Fees and Not Know It, NBC News (Mar. 8,
2020), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/education/hidden-figures-college-
students-may-be-paying-thousands-athletic-fees-n1145171.
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In an attempt to address concerns around student athletic
fees, Section 10 of H.R. 4312 amends the HEA to establish
transparency requirements and restrictions on student athletic
fees. First, it requires all colleges to annually publish the
amount of athletic fees charged to students, the use of these
fees, and the percentage of total athletics costs covered by
athletic fees. Second, it restricts any college with annual
media rights revenues of $50 million or more from using student
fees to support athletics programs. Although it is unclear
which colleges would be subject to this restriction, Committee
Democrats believe it will target colleges in the Power Four
conferences\81\ that earn significant media revenue, primarily
from football and basketball games.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\81\The Power Four Conferences include the Atlantic Coast
Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, and
Southeastern Conference (SEC).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
While House Republicans argue these reforms will improve
college price transparency, it is still unclear whether the
policies will meaningfully lower the cost of college for
students. This is because there is limited data to understand
the relationship between student athletic fees and athletics
financing. In February 2025, Chair Walberg requested a
Government Accountability Office study examining how DI and DII
colleges finance their athletics programs and how student
athletic fees and other athletic revenue streams impact the
cost of college for students.\82\ Committee Democrats urge
Congress to review the findings and recommendations of this
study prior to making any changes to student athletics fees.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\82\Press Release, Cmte. on Educ. & Workforce, Chairman Walberg
Requests Examination of College Sports Spending's Impact on Student
Tuition and Fees (Feb. 3, 2025), https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/
documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=412173.
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Preemption of State and Local Laws
Section 11 of H.R. 4312 preempts states and any ``political
subdivision'' of states from enacting and/or enforcing any
laws, rules, regulations, requirements, or standards related to
the bill. In effect, this provision removes any protections put
in place by states for college athletes and prohibits them from
doing so in the future. The breadth of this section is
unprecedented as it would also eliminate the ability of college
athletes to go to court to address or remedy non-compliance
with the SCORE Act and any claims related to the provisions of
the SCORE Act.
The American Association for Justice noted that, ``The bill
goes far beyond non-enforcement of the Act itself. The
preemption clause in the current draft of the SCORE Act not
only stops states from enacting or enforcing `laws, rules,
regulations, requirements or standards,' but it also allows any
defendant to get lawsuits dismissed by asserting
preemption.''\83\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\83\Letter of opposition re: Oppose the SCORE Act to U.S. House of
Representatives from American Association for Justice (July 2025) (on
file with Democratic Committee Staff).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This section would clear the field of any existing
protections, permanently prevent states from protecting college
athletes, and strip athletes of their ability to hold athletic
programs, conferences, and the NCAA accountable for violations
or abuses.
During the markup, Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) offered an
amendment to strike the bill's preemption of state and local
laws related to the compensation, payment, benefits, and
employment status of college athletes. Additionally, Ranking
Member Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott (D-VA) offered an amendment to
provide college athletes with a private right of action to
enforce the rights under the bill. While all present Committee
Democrats voted to support these two amendments, both
regrettably failed on a party-line vote.
Title IX
H.R. 4312 is deficient for failing to address issues of
gender equity in college athletics. For over fifty years, Title
IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) has created
opportunities for millions of women and girls to participate in
sports at the high school and college levels. Despite the
success of Title IX, there are still numerous obstacles to true
equality for girls and women in athletic settings. For example,
there are several known ``loopholes'' in the enforcement of
Title IX that result in inequitable treatment between
university men's and women's athletic programs.\84\ There is
concern that without explicit acknowledgment that Title IX
applies to any compensation or name, image, and likeness (NIL)
regimes developed in H.R. 4312, the bill could further
exacerbate inequitable outcomes for male and female college
athletes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\84\Lisa Antonucci, Powerful Title IX report reveals reporting
loopholes and roster manipulation in women's college sports, CNBC (May
27, 2022), https://www.nbcsports.com/on-her-turf/news/powerful-title-
ix-report-reveals-reporting-loopholes-and-roster-manipulation-in-
womens-college-sports.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Longstanding Title IX athletic regulations outline three
areas where schools are obligated to provide equity between
their men's and women's athletic programs: proportional
financial assistance (i.e., scholarships); equivalent
treatment, benefits, and opportunities; and effective
accommodation of interests and abilities.\85\ Based on these
longstanding principles, in January 2025, the Biden
Administration's Department of Education's Office for Civil
Rights (OCR) issued guidance stating that a school could be in
violation of Title IX if it failed to provide equivalent
benefits, opportunities, and treatment in the aspects of its
athletics program that ``relate to NIL activities.''\86\
Unfortunately the guidance was rescinded by the Trump
Administrations' OCR in February 2025, but the underlying
regulations the guidance was based on are still in effect.\87\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\85\The Policy Interpretation was first articulated by the
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1979. See Title IX of
the Education Amendments of 1972; a Policy Interpretation; Title IX and
Intercollegiate Athletics, 44 Fed. Reg. 239, Dec. 11, 1979, https://
www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/t9interp.html.
\86\U.S. Dep't of Educ., Fact Sheet, Ensuring Equal Opportunity
Based on Sex in School Athletic Programs in the Context of Name, Image,
and Likeness (NIL) Activities (Jan. 2025), https://democrats-
edworkforce.house.gov/download/office-of-civil-rights-factsheet-on-
benefits-to-student-athletes-jan-2025 (the factsheet has been
completely scrubbed from the OCR website).
\87\U.S. Dep't of Educ., Press Release, U.S. Department of
Education Rescinds Biden 11th Hour Guidance on NIL Compensation (Feb.
12, 2025), https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-
of-education-rescinds-biden-11th-hour-guidance-nil-compensation; 44
Fed. Reg. 239.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the markup, there was a bipartisan attempt to ensure
that H.R. 4312 promoted equity between men's and women's
college athletic teams. The first amendment considered on this
subject came from a Majority member, Rep. Michael Baumgartner
(R-WA), whose amendment would have required pay parity across
all college athletics in the case of institutions that chose to
``provide compensation to student athletes under this Act.''
This amendment would have ensured that any pay from a school
was equitable regardless of an athlete's sport, gender,
performance, or other characteristic. The amendment failed with
Rep. Baumgartner the only Republican joining all present
Committee Democrats voting in support.
Recognizing that schools are bound by Title IX but the
NCAA, a major factor in intercollegiate athletics, is not, Rep.
Alma Adams (D-NC) offered an amendment that would have
prevented interstate intercollegiate athletic associations from
discrimination on the basis of sex. This ban would have covered
everything from the sports a collegiate association required
schools to play to the manner in which an association staged
competitions and championships and how an association
distributed revenues to schools or teams. This amendment also
failed with Rep. Baumgartner the only Republican joining all
present Committee Democrats voting in support.
Recognizing the wall of opposition to the amendments that
would extend Title IX protections, Rep. Adams proposed an
amendment that would have simply required additional data
collection by schools on athletic activity already mandated by
the Higher Education Act. The Adams amendment would have
required further data, disaggregated by gender, to show: the
total number and amounts spent on athletic scholarships;
compensation of head and assistant coaches; and revenues and
expenses. The amendment would have required schools to provide
more granular information when certifying compliance with Title
IX in an attempt to address known loopholes in the law. This
amendment also failed with Rep. Baumgartner the only Republican
joining all present Committee Democrats voting in support.
While these three amendments all dealt with equitable
treatment of men's and women's sports, Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-
AZ) offered an amendment that focused on another aspect of
Title IX, namely the prevention of sexual assault and violence,
which are forms of sex discrimination under Title IX. Under
H.R. 4312, the major athletic schools\88\ would be required to
provide training on ``sexual violence prevention and
consequences.'' Realizing this was not sufficient to protect
student athletes, and that these well-resourced schools could
be a model for others, the Ansari amendment would have required
these schools to maintain policies that, at a minimum, would
require every employee of the athletic department to be trained
to recognize sex discrimination and be a mandatory reporter of
said discrimination. Since the 2024 Title IX regulations were
vacated nationwide in 2025, the standard for knowledge in cases
of sex discrimination requires that a Title IX coordinator have
actual knowledge of a sex discrimination issue.\89\ Further, at
the postsecondary level, the regulations do not make all
university employees mandatory reporters.\90\ Unless there are
ample mandatory reporters trained to both recognize these cases
and how to report them, many cases will never make it to the a
college's Title IX coordinators, allowing schools to escape
liability. For decades, college wrestlers at Ohio State
University suffered sexual abuse at the hands of their team
trainer, claiming that team coaches knew of the abuse but
turned a blind eye to it.\91\ The Ansari amendment would have
required those coaches to report what they saw. Regrettably,
the Ansari amendment failed on a party line vote.
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\88\Under H.R. 4312, section 5 would apply only to institutions
that reported generating not less than $20 million in intercollegiate
athletic revenue in a calendar year. This would likely include the
colleges in the Power Four Conferences--Atlantic Coast Conference
(ACC), Big 10, Big 12, and Southeastern Conference (SEC)--if not all
NCAA Division I schools.
\89\Tennessee v. Cardona, No. 2:24-cv-00072-DCR-CJS, mem. (E.D. Ky.
Jan. 9, 2025); see 34 C.F.R. Sec. 106.44 (a), (c); U.S. Dep't of Educ.,
Press Release, U.S. Department of Education to Enforce 2020 Title IX
Rule Protecting Women, Jan. 31, 2025, https://www.ed.gov/about/news/
press-release/us-department-of-education-enforce-2020-title-ix-rule-
protecting-women.
\90\34 C.F.R. Sec. 106.44 (a), (c); see U.S. Dep't of Educ., Off.
for Civ. Rts., Summary of Key Provisions of the Department of
Education's 2024 Title IX Final Rule (Apr. 19, 2024), https://
www.ed.gov/media/document/title-ix-final-rule-summary-33970.pdf (``The
2020 amendments . . . require a recipient to respond only when it has
``actual knowledge'' of allegations of ``sexual harassment,'' and only
in a manner that is not deliberately indifferent. The 2020 amendments
provide that postsecondary institutions have ``actual knowledge'' when
the Title IX Coordinator and employees with authority to institute
corrective measures have notice of allegations of sexual harassment . .
.'').
\91\E.g. David Maraniss & Sally Jenkins, Relentless Wrestler, Wash.
Post (Oct. 21, 2023), https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/
interactive/2023/jim-jordan/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2 (``The Post
interviewed 11 former wrestlers from the [OH-Rep. Jim] Jordan era at
Ohio State who said Strauss used medical exams to perpetrate
molestations or worse. Eight said they had clear recollections of team
members protesting Strauss's conduct either directly to Jordan or
within Jordan's range of hearing. All considered it inconceivable that
Jordan did not know about Strauss's disturbing behaviors.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEMOCRATIC AMENDMENTS OFFERED DURING THE
MARKUP OF H.R. 4312
Committee Democrats proffered seven amendments to improve
the bill.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amendment Offered By Description Action Taken
------------------------------------------------------------------------
# 2......... Mr. Courtney...... Amend Section Defeated
5(a)(2)(A) to extend
the eligibility of
college athletes to
receive medical care
for an injury
incurred during the
involvement of
intercollegiate
athletics from at
least three years to
10 years following
graduation or
separation from an
institution.
# 4......... Ms. Lee........... Strike section 9 to Defeated
prohibit employee
classification of
college athletes
under federal and
state labor and
employment law.
# 6......... Ms. Adams......... Prohibit interstate Defeated
intercollegiate
athletic associations
from discrimination
on the basis of sex.
# 8......... Ms. Adams......... Require additional Defeated
data collection on
college athletics
programs
disaggregated by sex.
# 10........ Ms. Casar......... Strike Section 11(1) Defeated
to preempt any state
law, rule,
regulation,
requirement,
standard, or other
provision related to
the compensation,
payment, benefits,
and employment status
of college athletes.
# 12........ Ms. Ansari........ Require the highest Defeated
resourced athletic
programs to provide
comprehensive sex
discrimination
training to all
athletic department
employees and deem
them mandatory
reporters of sex
discrimination.
# 13........ Mr. Scott......... Provide college Defeated
athletes with a
private right of
action to enforce
rights under the
SCORE Act.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committee Republicans rejected all of them.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, Committee Democrats
unanimously opposed H.R. 4312 when the Committee on Education
and Workforce considered it on July 23, 2025. We urge the House
of Representatives to do the same.
Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott,
Ranking Member.
Joe Courtney,
Frederica S. Wilson,
Suzanne Bonamici,
Mark Takano,
Alma S. Adams,
Mark DeSaulnier,
Donald Norcross,
Lucy McBath,
Jahana Hayes,
Ilhan Omar,
Haley Stevens,
Greg Casar,
Summer Lee,
John Mannion,
Yassamin Ansari,
Members of Congress.
[all]