[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2342 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2342
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to create an innovation zone
initiative, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 25, 2018
Mr. Young introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to create an innovation zone
initiative, and for other purposes.
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 ``Innovation Zone Act''.
SEC. 2. INNOVATION ZONE INITIATIVE AUTHORITY.
Section 487A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094a)
is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 487A. INNOVATION ZONE INITIATIVE.
``(a) Innovation Zone Initiative.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to establish
an innovation zone initiative consisting of voluntary
experiments under which the Secretary and institutions of
higher education are permitted to test the effectiveness of
statutory and regulatory flexibility that aims to achieve the
following outcomes:
``(A) Increase in student success, which may be
defined as one or more of the following:
``(i) Reduction in student loan debt.
``(ii) Increase in student retention and
program completion at institutions of higher
education.
``(iii) Increase in student job placement
rate upon graduation.
``(iv) Improved financial aid disbursement
and service to students.
``(v) Increase in student safety, wellness,
or food and housing security.
``(vi) Other innovative practices that
benefit students.
``(B) Reduction of regulatory burden on
institutions of higher education or the Department,
without harm to students.
``(2) Waivers.--The Secretary is authorized to waive, for
any institution of higher education participating in an
innovation zone experiment under paragraph (1), one or more
requirements of title I or IV.
``(b) Solicitation of Experiment Suggestions.--
``(1) Solicitation of suggestions.--Not less frequently
than every 2 years, the Secretary shall provide an opportunity
for the public, institutions of higher education, and other
stakeholders to submit suggestions for potential experiments
under this section.
``(2) Contents of suggestions.--Any person that wishes to
submit a suggestion under paragraph (1) shall include--
``(A) the goals or objectives of the proposed
experiment;
``(B) a description of how the experiment would be
conducted, including participation protections;
``(C) the specific statutory or regulatory
requirements for which a waiver would be requested; and
``(D) an examination of the current need or
interest, as of the date of the submission, for the
experiment.
``(c) Selection of Experiments and Designation of Participating
Institutions.--
``(1) Selection considerations.--After considering any
suggestions submitted under subsection (b), the Secretary may
select experiments to be carried out under subsection (a). The
Secretary shall base any such selection on the following:
``(A) Sufficient interest in the experiment among
institutions of higher education, researchers, and
practitioners.
``(B) Promising evidence of fulfilling outcomes
described in subsection (a)(1).
``(C) Other general interest, as supported by
evidence.
``(2) Determination of evaluation plans.--After selecting
an experiment under this section, but before any participating
institutions for such experiment are chosen, the Secretary
shall complete the following:
``(A) Identify answerable questions for the
experiment and design an experiment that can measure
those answers.
``(B) Identify the methodology of data collection
for the experiment.
``(C) Identify rigorous evaluation methods for the
experiment, in partnership with the Institute of
Education Sciences, that are informed by--
``(i) external researchers;
``(ii) responses to requests from the
Department for information; and
``(iii) other opportunities for stakeholder
feedback.
``(D) Establish a timeframe for conducting the
experiment that shall not exceed 10 years.
``(E) Estimate the cost of conducting the
experiment.
``(F) Estimate the necessary size of the treatment
group needed to have statistically significant grants.
``(3) Dissemination of information.--The Secretary shall
notify institutions of higher education, through the website of
the Department or other means, of the experiments selected by
the Secretary under this section and the steps necessary to
participate in an experiment. Such notice shall include the
information described in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of
paragraph (2) for the experiment.
``(4) Commencement of experiment.--The Secretary may carry
out an experiment, in accordance with the requirements of this
section, only if the Secretary has entered into agreements with
not less than 5, and not more than 100, institutions of higher
education, under which the institutions agree--
``(A) to participate in the experiment described in
the applicable evaluation plan under paragraph (2);
``(B) to comply with the data collection
requirements under subsection (d)(1) and any other
reporting requirements determined by the Secretary; and
``(C)(i) to the methodology for data collection
established by the Secretary under paragraph (2)(B) for
the experiment; or
``(ii) upon the request of the institution and if
the Secretary determines appropriate, to an alternative
methodology for data collection.
``(5) Fast-track process to comply with information
collection requirements.--Notwithstanding section 3507 of title
44, United States Code, the Secretary shall be deemed to have
the authority to approve, for purposes of such section 3507,
any proposed collection of information related to an experiment
conducted under this section, in the same manner and to the
same extent as such authority is provided to a senior official
by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under
section 3507(i) of such title.
``(d) Outcomes Reporting.--
``(1) Data submission.--Each institution of higher
education participating in an experiment under this section
shall timely submit to the Secretary, on a periodic basis to be
determined by the Secretary, data on outcomes relating to the
experiment.
``(2) Report.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall--
``(i) review and evaluate the experience of
all institutions participating in each
experiment carried out under this section; and
``(ii) beginning 2 years after the date of
enactment of the Innovation Zone Act, and every
2 years thereafter--
``(I) prepare and submit a report
regarding the innovation zone
initiative under this section to the
authorizing committees; and
``(II) post the report on the
public website of the Department.
``(B) Contents of report.--The report required
under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I) shall include, for each
experiment supported as of the date of the report--
``(i) a summary of the status of the
experiment;
``(ii) a summary and analysis of the
findings, to date, of the experiment;
``(iii) the methodology of data collection;
``(iv) an analysis of the value of
continuation of the experiment;
``(v) an explanation of any current or
foreseen barriers to conducting the experiment;
and
``(vi) an evaluation of the quality of data
and intended results.
``(C) Completed experiment report.--By not later
than 30 days after the completion of the timeframe
established under subsection (c)(2)(D) or (e)(2)(B)(ii)
for an experiment, the Secretary shall--
``(i) prepare a report that includes--
``(I) the findings of the
experiment; and
``(II) in the case of an experiment
for which the Secretary determines
there is sufficient value in continuing
the experiment past the established
timeframe, adequate documentation to
justify such continuation; and
``(ii) publish the report on the public
website of the Department and submit the report
to the authorizing committees.
``(e) Transition; Review.--
``(1) Continuation of existing experiments.--The Secretary
may continue any experiment commenced under this section before
the date of enactment of the Innovation Zone Act (referred to
in this subsection as an `existing experiment'). Any such
existing experiment shall be subject to the requirements of
this section, as amended by the Innovation Zone Act, except for
the requirements of subsection (c).
``(2) Review of existing experiments.--By not later than 90
days after the date of enactment of the Innovation Zone Act,
the Secretary shall--
``(A) conduct an extensive review and assessment of
existing experiments still in effect; and
``(B) prepare and submit to the authorizing
committees, and publish on the public website of the
Department, a report of the status of the existing
experiments, which shall include, for each such
experiment--
``(i) the total cost to date and the
projected cost of continuation;
``(ii) an established timeframe for
completion;
``(iii) the current methodology of data
collection;
``(iv) an analysis of findings, as of the
date of the report;
``(v) an analysis of the value in
continuation of the existing experiment; and
``(vi) an analysis of whether the
assessment of the experiment could be
restructured to answer other policy
questions.''.
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