[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5572 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5572
To provide consumer protections for students.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 18, 2014
Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Grijalva, and Mr. Ellison)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed
Services and Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
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 Metropolitan Statistical
Area and State in which the student resides (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 Metropolitan Statistical Area and State in
which the student resides, including satisfying
all Federal, 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; and
(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, such as clinical
placements, internships, or apprenticeships.
(3) Regulations on pre-accredited programs.--The Secretary
of Education shall promulgate regulations on requirements of an
institution of higher education with respect to any program of
the institution that is in a pre-accredited status, including
limitations on, or requirements of, advertisement of the
program to students. Such regulations shall be consistent with
the provisions of paragraph (2).
(4) Loan discharge.--The Secretary of Education shall
promulgate regulations that condition eligibility for an
institution of higher education to participate in any Federal
financial assistance program on the institution signing with
each student enrolled in any program of the institution that is
in a pre-accredited status, a loan discharge agreement.
(b) Effective Date.--This section shall be effective on the date
that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
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