Sec. 3. Program eligibility for Workforce Pell grants
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/bill/118/hr/6585/rh/section-3·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 481(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1088(b) ) is amended— by redesignating paragraphs
(3)and
(4)as paragraphs
(4)and (5), respectively; and by inserting after paragraph
(2)the following: A program is an eligible program for purposes of the Workforce Pell Grant program under section 401(k) only if— it is a program of at least 150 clock hours of instruction, but less than 600 clock hours of instruction, or an equivalent number of credit hours, offered during a minimum of 8 weeks, but less than 15 weeks; it is not offered as a correspondence course, as defined in 600.2 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on September 20, 2020); the State board makes a determination that the program— provides an education aligned with the requirements of high-skill, high-wage (as identified by the State pursuant to section 122 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act ( 20 U.S.C. 2342 ), or in-demand industry sectors or occupations; meets the hiring requirements of potential employers in the sectors or occupations described in subclause (I); and satisfies any applicable educational prerequisite requirement for professional licensure or certification in the State or States in which the program is offered, as applicable, such that a student who completes the program is qualified to— practice or find employment in the sectors or occupations described in subclause (I); and as applicable, take any licensure or certification examinations required to practice or find employment in such sectors or occupations; after the State board makes the determination that the program meets the requirements under clause (iii), the accrediting agency or association recognized by the Secretary pursuant to section 496(a) determines that the program— either— leads to a recognized postsecondary credential that is stackable and portable across more than one employer; or with respect to students enrolled in the program— prepares such students for employment in an occupation for which there is only one recognized postsecondary credential; and provides such students with such a credential upon completion of such program; prepares students to pursue 1 or more certificate or degree programs at 1 or more institutions of higher education (which may include the institution of higher education providing the program), including by ensuring— that a student, upon completion of the program and enrollment in such a related certificate or degree program, will receive academic credit for the program that will be accepted toward meeting such certificate or degree program requirements; and the acceptability of such credit toward meeting such certificate or degree program requirements; and posts prominently on the website of the institution the recognized postsecondary credential that will be awarded to the student upon completion of the program, including the entity issuing the credential, any third-party endorsements of the credential, the occupation or occupations for which the credential prepares individuals for employment, the competencies achieved to earn the credential, the level of mastery of such competencies and how mastery is assessed, and specific information with respect to where, whether, and under what circumstances the credential is stackable or portable; with respect to the information collected under section 131(i)— posts such information prominently on the website of the institution; and provides such information in a written disclosure to each prospective student prior to entering into an enrollment agreement with such student for such program, and establishes procedures for each such student to confirm receipt of such disclosure; has established a plan to ensure students who completed the program have access to transcripts for completed coursework without a fee; and has been offered by an eligible institution of higher education for not less than 1 year prior to the date on which such agency or association is to make a determination under this paragraph; after the accrediting agency makes the determination that the program meets the requirements under clause (iv), the Secretary determines that— for each award year, the program has a verified completion rate of at least 70 percent, within 150 percent of the normal time for completion; for each award year, the program has a verified job placement rate of at least 70 percent, measured 180 days after completion; for each award year, the program charges to a Workforce Pell Grant recipient under section 401(k) a total amount of tuition and fees for the program for such year that does not exceed the value-added earnings of students for the most recent year for which data is available; and for at least 2 of the 3 most recent consecutive award years for which data are available, the median earnings of students who completed the program, measured three years after students completed the program, exceeded the annual median earnings of individuals in the State in which the program is located— who are in the labor force; who are between 25 and 34 years of age, inclusive; and for whom the highest degree attained is a high school diploma (or recognized equivalent); and in the case of a program that has been an eligible workforce program under this paragraph for 3 or more years, it uses common, linked, open, and interoperable data formats when posting on the website of the institution the data required under subclauses
(III)and
(IV)of clause (iv). The Secretary shall establish an appeals process wherein a program may request that, in making a determination under subparagraph (A)(v) (other than with respect to the median earnings of the individuals in the State described in subclause
(IV)of such subparagraph), the Secretary use alternate earnings data, provided by the program, that is based on local, State, or Federal administrative data sources and that is statistically rigorous, accurate, comparable to, and representative of such students, if such program objects to a determination made by the Secretary under such subparagraph for purposes of— eligibility under this paragraph; or the reporting or publishing of the rates or earnings described in such a determination under section 131(i). In the case of a program that is seeking to establish initial eligibility under this paragraph that does not have data available for the Secretary to make the determinations required under subparagraph (A)(v), the Secretary may, for a period that does not exceed 1 year, make such determinations (other than the median earnings of the individuals in the State described in subclause
(IV)of such subparagraph) with respect to the program using, as provided by the program— alternate earnings data of students who complete the program, provided such data are statistically rigorous, accurate, comparable to, and representative of such students; and alternate completion and job placement rates of students who enroll in the program, provided such data are statistically rigorous, accurate, comparable, and representative of such students. If the Secretary determines that a program provided inaccurate earnings data under clause (i)(I) or clause (ii), such program shall return to the Secretary any funds received under section 401(k) during the period beginning on the date that is the first day of the provisional eligibility period and ending on the date on which the Secretary makes such determination. In the case of a program that is seeking to establish initial eligibility under this paragraph, the Secretary shall grant eligibility for the program if it meets the requirements of this paragraph not more than 120 days after the date on which the Secretary receives a submission from such program for consideration as an eligible workforce program under this paragraph. If a program that is an eligible workforce program under this paragraph no longer meets one or more of the requirements under this paragraph, as determined by the State Board, accrediting agency, or the Secretary, the Secretary— may withdraw the eligibility of such program; and shall prohibit such program, and any substantially similar program of the institution, from being considered an eligible workforce program under this paragraph for a period of not less than 3 years. In the case of a program with a number of enrolled students that is insufficient to provide the Secretary with enough relevant data to make the determinations under subparagraph (A)(v), the Secretary shall— aggregate up to 4 years of additional data for such program and use such aggregated data to make such determinations; or only if such aggregated data under subclause
(I)is insufficient, aggregate up to 4 years of data of students who completed or were enrolled in, as applicable, similar programs at the institution (as determined using the first 4 digits of the CIP codes of such programs) and use such data to make such determinations. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term CIP code means the 6-digit taxonomic identification code assigned by an institution of higher education to a specific program of study at the institution, determined by the institution in accordance with the Classification of Instructional Programs published by the National Center for Education Statistics. In this paragraph: The term eligible institution of higher education means an institution of higher education (as defined in section 102) that— is approved by an accrediting agency or association that meets the requirements of section 496(a)(4)(C); and has not been subject, during any of the preceding 3 years, to— any suspension, emergency action, or termination under this title; any adverse action by the institution’s accrediting agency or association that revokes or denies accreditation for the institution; or any final action by the State where the institution holds its legal domicile, authorization, and accreditation that revokes a license or other authority to operate. The term median earnings , when used with respect to an eligible workforce program under this paragraph— means the median annualized earnings, calculated using earnings for a pay period, month, quarter, or other time period deemed appropriate by the Secretary, of all students who received Federal financial assistance under this title and who completed the program in an academic year; and shall be measured a given number of years after such students completed the program, with the number of years determined in accordance with this Act based on the intended use of the median earnings data being calculated. With respect to students who received Federal financial aid under this title and who completed an eligible workforce program under this paragraph in a given year, the term value-added earnings means— the median earnings of such students, measured one year after students completed the program; minus for the year median earnings are measured for such students under subclause (I), 150 percent of the poverty line applicable to a single individual as determined under section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act ( 42 U.S.C. 9902(2) ) for such year and, in the case of a program offered in-person, adjusted by the regional price parity index of the Bureau of Economic Analysis for the metropolitan statistical area in which the eligible institution of higher education offering such program is located. The terms industry or sector partnership , in-demand industry sector or occupation , recognized postsecondary credential , and State board have the meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. .
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