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Higher Education Act

The Higher Education Act (HEA) is a federal law that governs the administration of federal higher education programs. Its purpose is to strengthen the educational resources of our colleges and universities and to provide financial assistance for students in postsecondary and higher education.

First passed in 1965 to ensure that every individual has access to higher education, regardless of income or zip code, the HEA governs student-aid programs, federal aid to colleges, and oversight of teacher preparation programs. It is generally scheduled for reauthorization by Congress every five years to encourage growth and change.

The HEA has been reauthorized in 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1986, 1992, 1998, and 2008. Current authorization for the programs in the Higher Education Act expired at the end of 2013, but has been extended while Congress prepares changes and amendments.
Capitol

Latest Actions

Efforts to update the Higher Education Act stalled as the COVID-19 pandemic put Congressional discussions on hold. Prior to the outbreak, lawmakers were reportedly close to reaching a deal after years of failure. However, there is hope that negotiations will eventually resume in the 117th Congress.

HEA in the 116th Congress

  • Senate Action

    U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in September 2019 introduced a piecemeal approach to update the Higher Education Act in the 116th Congress (2019-2020). The Student Aid Improvement Act, S. 2557, included eight bipartisan bills to streamline the Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), simplify financial aid award letters, expand Pell Grant eligibility for students in prisons and allow Pell to be used for short-term programs, among other changes. The proposal followed months of stalled efforts to reach a bipartisan deal for a comprehensive HEA reauthorization.

    SENATE PRESS RELEASE   BILL TEXT

  • House Action

    Democrats on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee in October 2019 unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the federal higher education law, aiming to cut the cost of college and increase access to college for low-income and minority students. The College Affordability Act included provisions that would:

    • Include the Reverse Transfer Efficiency Act, which AACRAO strongly supports and has advocated for over the past several years
    • Create a national tuition-free community college through a federal-state partnership model where the federal government contributes a per student amount at least 75 percent of the average resident tuition for public community colleges and states contribute 25 percent
    • Increase the maximum Pell Grant award by $500 and permanently index the award to inflation
    • Simplify FAFSA, including an automatic zero EFC for recipients of means-tested benefits
    • Create the Federal Direct Perkins Loan Program to provide an additional source of borrowing for undergraduates and graduates
    • Allow Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and certain other undocumented students access to federal student aid
    • Repeal the federal "student unit record" ban and require the Education Department to develop a system that uses student-level data to evaluate postsecondary outcomes
    • Change the 90/10 rule ratio (the percentage cap of Title IV aid an institution may receive) to 85/15 and expand it to include all educational programs
    • Require the Education Department to establish a Borrower Defense to Repayment process to discharge the federal loans of students who were defrauded by their colleges
    • Require the Education Department to establish a compliance standard that includes a debt-to-earnings threshold for training programs that are statutorily required to lead to gainful employment
    • Prohibit the Education Department from issuing or enforcing the proposed Title IX rules that the Trump administration published in November 2018, among other things.
     

    The College Affordability Act shared some key provisions with the Senate's package of bipartisan bills. Both proposals aimed to streamline FAFSA, simplify financial aid award letters, and expand Pell eligibility for incarcerated students and short-term programs—although the House bill excluded for-profit colleges.

    However, the House measure did not gain any traction in the 116th Congress's Republican-controlled Senate.

    HOUSE PRESS RELEASE BILL TEXT OVERVIEW OF COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY ACT

     

UPDATES

Alexander Blocks Vote on HBCU, MSI Funding Bill

Sep 24, 2019, 20:24 PM
legacy id :
Summary : Senate education committee chair objects to vote on FUTURE Act but offers to address the funding in a broader package on higher education.
Url :

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, last week blocked legislation to extend funding for minority-serving colleges and universities, The Washington Post reported. 

The Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act, which the House approved last Tuesday, would provide a two-year extension of the $255 million in annual funding for historically black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions that will otherwise expire at the end of the month.

Instead, Sen. Alexander offered to address the issue in a long-term extension of Title III, Part F, funding as part of a broader package on higher education, Inside Higher Ed reported. His proposals include measures to streamline the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, lift restrictions on Pell Grants for some incarcerated students, and expand Pell eligibility for short-term career education programs, among other things.

The offer illustrates the senator's urgency to pass major higher education legislation before he retires after next year. Efforts to reach a bipartisan deal for a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) have been stalled for months. The piecemeal approach outlined by Alexander would allow him to accomplish some top priorities. However, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the ranking member on the HELP committee, has repeated stated that she opposes that approach and is unlikely to support anything less than a comprehensive bill.

Sen. Alexander's move was met with frustration by congressional Democrats and higher education advocates, who accuse him of using the schools as leverage for his agenda. They say that time is running out, with little chance that Republicans and Democrats will agree on reforms by the end of the month, the Post reported.

"We should pass the bipartisan Future Act instead of playing politics with valuable and under-resourced institutions," Sen. Murray said on the Senate floor.

AACRAO joined 43 other associations in a letter urging Senate leaders to immediately pass the FUTURE Act. 

"Meeting the September 30 deadline is of vital importance to institutions," the letter asserts. 

"We share the concerns of some senators that the FUTURE Act provides only a temporary extension, and we agree that a permanent extension is needed," the groups state. "The two-year window provided by passage of the FUTURE Act would secure this critical funding stream in the short-term, allowing additional time for Congress to provide a permanent solution, either as a stand-alone measure or as part of the reauthorization of the HEA."

Related Links

The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/09/19/lamar-alexander-blocks-vote-funding-minority-serving-colleges/

Inside Higher Ed

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/09/20/alexander-blocks-hbcu-funding-bill-proposes-broader-package-legislation

 
Michelle Mott
Categories :
  • Advocacy
  • Financial Aid and FAFSA
  • Higher Education Act
Tags :
  • Federal relations
  • hbcu
  • MSI
  • pell grant
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