H.R. 3487 · 116th Congress
PRO Students Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 116th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
TakanoSponsor4 cosponsors · 4 D
0 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Protections and Regulation for Our Students Act or the PRO Students Act
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Jun 25, 2019
Protections and Regulation for Our Students Act or the PRO Students Act
This bill increases oversight of postsecondary educational institutions and provides consumer protections for students.
Proprietary (i.e., for-profit) institutions of higher education (IHEs) must derive at least 15% of their revenue from non-federal sources or risk becoming ineligible for federal educational assistance funds.
Postsecondary educational institutions must meet certain requirements regarding entrance counseling for first-time borrowers, disclosure of clinical training agreement terms, disclosure of a mandatory program review, and preparation of students upon successful program completion. The bill prohibits such institutions from using revenues derived from federal educational assistance funds for recruiting or marketing activities.
The bill revises requirements governing IHEs that receive federal educational assistance funds, including to broaden the ban on institutions compensating employees based on their successes in securing either enrollments or student aid awards, prohibit predispute arbitration agreements in student loan contracts that waive the rights available to borrowers, and increase protections for whistleblowers who disclose institutional violations.
The Department of Education (ED) must (1) establish a complaint tracking system, (2) conduct mandatory program reviews of institutions that pose a significant risk of failing to comply with certain requirements, and (3) recalculate the cohort default rate for institutions that engage in default manipulation and redetermine their eligibility for federal educational assistance funds.
The bill expands the defenses that a borrower may assert for not repaying a student loan. ED may impose civil penalties on IHEs that engage in substantial misrepresentation or other serious violations.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: PRO Students Act
Also known as: Protections and Regulation for Our Students Act
Latest action (Jun 25, 2019): Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Policy area: Education · Origin: House · Introduced: Jun 25, 2019
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.