Partnerships for Affordability and Student Success Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
Partnerships for Affordability and Student Success Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require states, for academic year 2014 and each of the succeeding four academic years, to maintain their support for: (1) institutions of higher education (IHEs) (excluding support for capital projects, research and development, or tuition and fees paid by students) at least at the level of such support for academic year 2012, and (2) student postsecondary financial aid at least at the level of such support for academic year 2012.
Directs the Secretary of Education to waive those requirements if such a waiver would be appropriate due to exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances.
Replaces the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership program with a program that allots matching incentive grants to states, based on each state's share of students eligible for Federal Pell Grants, to assist states in:
providing need-based grants to students attending IHEs or participating in study abroad programs approved for credit by the IHEs,
providing subgrants to IHEs or consortia of IHEs to improve student outcomes and to develop and implement practices that reduce costs for students, and
providing public accountability and consumer information on the performance of IHEs in the state.
Requires each state grantee to have a comprehensive plan for public postsecondary education that:
has measurable goals for student outcomes, including enrollment, participation, and completion rates;
has measurable college affordability goals;
is aligned with the state's workforce and economic development plan;
is aligned with the state's elementary and secondary education plan; and
addresses the postsecondary education needs of unserved and underserved individuals, including those who are beyond the traditional college age.
Requires each state grantee to report annually to the public on its progress in meeting its public postsecondary education goals and comprehensive plan for public higher education.
Allows private, nonprofit IHEs to participate on a voluntary basis in a state's comprehensive plan for postsecondary education.
Requires at least 70% of the funds allocated to a state to be reserved for need-based grants to students.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 29, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on November 17, 2014: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
RUBEN HINOJOSA (D-TX) introduced it on May 29, 2014, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 5 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 29, 2014, 4534 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4362 days ago, on November 17, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers