Higher Education Affordability Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Higher Education Affordability Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise and reauthorize HEA programs.
Title I: General Provisions - Requires proprietary institutions of higher education, for student aid eligibility purposes, to derive at least 15% of their revenue from sources other than federal funds.
Prohibits institutions of higher education (IHEs) that are affiliated with a consumer financial product or service from receiving HEA funds unless they take specified steps to avoid conflicts of interest.
Prohibits IHEs or other postsecondary educational institutions from using revenues derived from federal educational assistance funds for recruiting or marketing activities.
Requires the establishment of new college cost and assistance information resources for students, parents, and the public and the enhancement of existing resources.
Prohibits a state from charging certain active duty military personnel and homeless and foster care youth tuition for attending a public institution of higher education at a rate that is greater than the rate charged for state residents.
Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a complaint tracking system to collect, monitor, and respond to complaints or inquiries regarding the educational practices and services, and recruiting and marketing practices, of all postsecondary educational institutions.
Establishes the Proprietary Education Oversight Coordination Committee to oversee proprietary IHEs and publish an annual Warning List for Parents and Students regarding certain issues facing such schools.
Title II: Improving Educator Preparation - Revises title II of the HEA to establish a new part A program awarding grants to partnerships of high-need local educational agencies (LEAs), high-need schools, IHEs, and high-need early childhood education programs to design and implement effective educator residency programs that prepare educators for success in high-need schools.
Establishes a new part B program awarding grants to states to reform and improve educator preparation programs.
Establishes a new part C requiring educator preparation programs to set annual quantifiable goals for increasing the number of prospective educators trained in educator shortage areas designated by the Secretary or the applicable state. Requires states to identify and assist low-performing educator preparation programs. Cuts off federal funding for those programs that lose state support or funding due to low performance.
The summary continues for 83 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on November 20, 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 20, 2014: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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?
THOMAS HARKIN (D-IA) introduced it on November 20, 2014. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 November 20, 2014, 4312 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4312 days ago, on November 20, 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers