[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3474 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3474
To provide consumer protections for students.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 1, 2012
Mr. Merkley (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, and Mr. Harkin) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide consumer protections for students.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Students from Worthless
Degrees Act''.
SEC. 2. CONSUMER PROTECTIONS FOR STUDENTS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Definitions.--In this section:
(A) Federal financial assistance program.--The term
``Federal financial assistance program'' means a
program authorized and funded by the Federal Government
under any of the following provisions of law:
(i) Title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).
(ii) Title I of the Workforce Investment
Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.).
(iii) The Adult Education and Family
Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.).
(iv) Chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, or 35 of
title 38, United States Code.
(v) Chapter 101, 105, 106A, 1606, 1607, or
1608 of title 10, United States Code.
(vi) Section 1784a, 2005, or 2007 of title
10, United States Code.
(B) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education''--
(i) with respect to a program authorized
under subparagraph (A)(i), has the meaning
given the term in section 102 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002);
(ii) with respect to a program authorized
under subparagraph (A)(ii), has the meaning
given the term ``postsecondary educational
institution'' as defined in section 101 of the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C.
2801);
(iii) with respect to a program authorized
under subparagraph (A)(iii), has the meaning
given the term ``postsecondary educational
institution'' as defined in section 203 of the
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (20
U.S.C. 9202);
(iv) with respect to a program authorized
under subparagraph (A)(iv), has the meaning
given the term ``educational institution''
under section 3452 of title 38, United States
Code;
(v) with respect to a program authorized
under subparagraph (A)(v), means an educational
institution that awards a degree or certificate
and is located in any State; and
(vi) with respect to a program authorized
under subparagraph (A)(vi), means an
educational institution that awards a degree or
certificate and is located in any State.
(C) State.--
(i) State.--The term ``State'' includes, in
addition to the several States of the United
States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the
United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Freely
Associated States.
(ii) Freely associated states.--The term
``Freely Associated States'' means the Republic
of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States
of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
(2) Consumer protections.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, an institution of higher education is not
eligible to participate in a Federal financial assistance
program with respect to any program of postsecondary education
or training, including a degree or certificate program, that is
designed to prepare students for entry into a recognized
occupation or profession that requires licensing or other
established requirements as a pre-condition for entry into such
occupation or profession, unless--
(A) the successful completion of the program fully
qualifies a student, in the State in which the
institution offering the program is located (and in any
State in which the institution indicates, through
advertising or marketing activities or direct contact
with potential students, that a student will be
prepared to work in the occupation or profession after
successfully completing the program), to--
(i) take any examination required for entry
into the recognized occupation or profession in
the State, including satisfying all State or
professionally mandated programmatic and
specialized accreditation requirements, if any;
and
(ii) be certified or licensed or meet any
other academically related pre-conditions that
are required for entry into the recognized
occupation or profession in the State;
(B) the institution offering the program provides
timely placement for all of the academically related
pre-licensure requirements for entry into the
recognized occupation or profession in the State, such
as clinical placements, internships, or
apprenticeships;
(C) in the case of State licensing or
professionally mandated requirements for entry into the
recognized occupation or profession in the State in
which the institution offering the program is located
(and in any State in which the institution indicates,
through advertising or marketing activities or direct
contact with potential students, that a student will be
prepared to work in the occupation or profession after
successfully completing the program) that require
specialized accreditation--
(i) the program meets that requirement for
specialized accreditation through its
accreditation or pre-accreditation by an
accrediting agency or association recognized by
the Secretary of Education as a reliable
authority as to the quality or training offered
by the institution in that program; and
(ii) if the program is in a pre-accredited,
probation, or show cause status by an
accrediting agency or association described in
clause (i), and the requirement for specialized
accreditation is for full accreditation, the
institution--
(I) establishes, to the
satisfaction of the Secretary of
Education, that each student who
enrolls before the program is fully
accredited attests of being advised
that the program is in a pre-
accredited, probation, or show cause
status and of being informed of the
effect on the student's eligibility for
assistance under this title and on the
student's ability to satisfy State or
professionally mandated requirements
for entry into the recognized
occupation or profession if full
accreditation is delayed, denied,
terminated, or withdrawn; and
(II) publicly and prominently
discloses in any advertising,
marketing, or recruitment materials and
activities for the institution, the
institution's pre-accredited,
probation, or show cause status and the
implications of such status for
prospective students; and
(D) the institution--
(i) discloses on the application to enroll
in the institution that its program does not
necessarily satisfy out-of-State requirements,
if applicable; and
(ii) upon receipt of an application to
enroll in the institution, notifies the
student, prior to enrollment, if the program in
which the student intends to enroll does not
satisfy the requirements of the State in which
the student is a resident, if applicable.
(b) Effective Date.--This section shall be effective 6 months after
the date of enactment of this Act.
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