| 1 | 1 | | II |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 1347 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make college affordable |
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| 6 | 6 | | and accessible by expanding access to dual or concurrent enrollment |
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| 7 | 7 | | programs and early college high school programs. |
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| 8 | 8 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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| 9 | 9 | | APRIL8, 2025 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Mr. P |
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| 11 | 11 | | ETERS(for himself and Mr. BOOZMAN) introduced the following bill; |
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| 12 | 12 | | which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- |
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| 13 | 13 | | cation, Labor, and Pensions |
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| 14 | 14 | | A BILL |
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| 15 | 15 | | To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make college |
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| 16 | 16 | | affordable and accessible by expanding access to dual |
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| 17 | 17 | | or concurrent enrollment programs and early college high |
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| 18 | 18 | | school programs. |
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| 19 | 19 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 20 | 20 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 21 | 21 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 22 | 22 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Making Education Af-4 |
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| 23 | 23 | | fordable and Accessible Act of 2025’’. 5 |
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| 25 | 25 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
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| 26 | 26 | | •S 1347 IS |
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| 27 | 27 | | SEC. 2. DUAL OR CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT PROGRAMS 1 |
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| 28 | 28 | | AND EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL. 2 |
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| 29 | 29 | | Part B of title VII of the Higher Education Act of 3 |
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| 30 | 30 | | 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1138 et seq.) is amended— 4 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) by redesignating section 745 as section 746; 5 |
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| 32 | 32 | | (2) in section 746, as redesignated by para-6 |
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| 33 | 33 | | graph (1), by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2009’’ and insert-7 |
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| 34 | 34 | | ing ‘‘fiscal year 2025’’; and 8 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (3) by inserting after section 744 the following: 9 |
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| 36 | 36 | | ‘‘SEC. 745. DUAL OR CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT PRO-10 |
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| 37 | 37 | | GRAMS AND EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL. 11 |
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| 38 | 38 | | ‘‘(a) P |
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| 39 | 39 | | URPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to ex-12 |
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| 40 | 40 | | pand access for high school students to the opportunities 13 |
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| 41 | 41 | | offered in dual or concurrent enrollment programs and 14 |
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| 42 | 42 | | early college high school programs established through 15 |
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| 43 | 43 | | partnerships between local educational agencies and insti-16 |
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| 44 | 44 | | tutions of higher education that enable such students to 17 |
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| 45 | 45 | | earn postsecondary credits while enrolled in a public high 18 |
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| 46 | 46 | | school. 19 |
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| 47 | 47 | | ‘‘(b) D |
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| 48 | 48 | | EFINITIONS.—In this section: 20 |
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| 49 | 49 | | ‘‘(1) ESEA |
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| 50 | 50 | | DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘dual or 21 |
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| 51 | 51 | | concurrent enrollment program’, ‘early college high 22 |
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| 52 | 52 | | school’, ‘high school’, and ‘parent’ have the mean-23 |
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| 53 | 53 | | ings given to those terms in section 8101 of the Ele-24 |
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| 54 | 54 | | mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 25 |
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| 56 | 56 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 |
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| 57 | 57 | | •S 1347 IS |
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| 58 | 58 | | ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi-1 |
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| 59 | 59 | | ble institution’ means an institution of higher edu-2 |
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| 60 | 60 | | cation that carries out or plans to carry out a dual 3 |
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| 61 | 61 | | or concurrent enrollment program or an early college 4 |
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| 62 | 62 | | high school program. 5 |
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| 63 | 63 | | ‘‘(3) F |
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| 64 | 64 | | IRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT .— 6 |
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| 65 | 65 | | The term ‘first-generation college student’ has the 7 |
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| 66 | 66 | | meaning given the term in section 402A(h). 8 |
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| 67 | 67 | | ‘‘(4) R |
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| 68 | 68 | | URAL SCHOOL.—The term ‘rural school’ 9 |
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| 69 | 69 | | means a school designated with a locale code of 41, 10 |
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| 70 | 70 | | 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary. 11 |
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| 71 | 71 | | ‘‘(c) G |
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| 72 | 72 | | RANTSAUTHORIZED.— 12 |
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| 73 | 73 | | ‘‘(1) I |
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| 74 | 74 | | N GENERAL.—The Secretary may award 13 |
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| 75 | 75 | | grants to eligible institutions to carry out dual or 14 |
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| 76 | 76 | | concurrent enrollment programs or early college high 15 |
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| 77 | 77 | | school programs. 16 |
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| 78 | 78 | | ‘‘(2) D |
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| 79 | 79 | | URATION.—A grant awarded under this 17 |
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| 80 | 80 | | subsection shall be for a period of not more than 5 18 |
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| 81 | 81 | | years. 19 |
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| 82 | 82 | | ‘‘(3) R |
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| 83 | 83 | | ENEWAL.—The Secretary may renew a 20 |
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| 84 | 84 | | grant awarded to an eligible institution under this 21 |
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| 85 | 85 | | subsection if the Secretary determines that the eligi-22 |
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| 86 | 86 | | ble institution demonstrated sufficient positive out-23 |
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| 87 | 87 | | comes under the program carried out under the 24 |
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| 89 | 89 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 |
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| 90 | 90 | | •S 1347 IS |
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| 91 | 91 | | grant, based on the reports submitted under sub-1 |
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| 92 | 92 | | section (h). 2 |
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| 93 | 93 | | ‘‘(d) A |
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| 94 | 94 | | PPLICATION.—An eligible institution that de-3 |
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| 95 | 95 | | sires to receive a grant under this section shall submit to 4 |
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| 96 | 96 | | the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 5 |
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| 97 | 97 | | and containing such information as the Secretary may re-6 |
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| 98 | 98 | | quire. Such application shall include a description of— 7 |
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| 99 | 99 | | ‘‘(1) the partnership between the eligible insti-8 |
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| 100 | 100 | | tution and each local educational agency involved in 9 |
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| 101 | 101 | | carrying out the dual or concurrent enrollment pro-10 |
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| 102 | 102 | | gram or early college high school program; and 11 |
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| 103 | 103 | | ‘‘(2) how the eligible institution will expand stu-12 |
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| 104 | 104 | | dent access to a dual or concurrent enrollment pro-13 |
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| 105 | 105 | | gram or an early college high school program, espe-14 |
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| 106 | 106 | | cially for students described in subsection (e). 15 |
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| 107 | 107 | | ‘‘(e) P |
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| 108 | 108 | | RIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-16 |
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| 109 | 109 | | tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible institu-17 |
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| 110 | 110 | | tions that will use grant funds for dual or concurrent en-18 |
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| 111 | 111 | | rollment programs or early college high school programs 19 |
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| 112 | 112 | | that serve students from low-income families, students 20 |
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| 113 | 113 | | who attend rural schools, or first-generation college stu-21 |
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| 114 | 114 | | dents. 22 |
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| 115 | 115 | | ‘‘(f) U |
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| 116 | 116 | | SE OFFUNDS.—An eligible institution that re-23 |
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| 117 | 117 | | ceives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds 24 |
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| 118 | 118 | | to carry out a dual or concurrent enrollment program or 25 |
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| 120 | 120 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 |
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| 121 | 121 | | •S 1347 IS |
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| 122 | 122 | | an early college high school program for students enrolled 1 |
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| 123 | 123 | | in a public high school, which may include activities such 2 |
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| 124 | 124 | | as— 3 |
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| 125 | 125 | | ‘‘(1) providing educators, principals, counselors, 4 |
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| 126 | 126 | | and other school leaders with professional develop-5 |
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| 127 | 127 | | ment activities, trainings, and certifications that en-6 |
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| 128 | 128 | | hance or enable the provision of postsecondary 7 |
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| 129 | 129 | | coursework through a dual or concurrent enrollment 8 |
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| 130 | 130 | | program or an early college high school program; 9 |
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| 131 | 131 | | ‘‘(2) designing the sequence of courses for a 10 |
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| 132 | 132 | | dual or concurrent enrollment program or an early 11 |
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| 133 | 133 | | college high school program— 12 |
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| 134 | 134 | | ‘‘(A) to match the academic standards and 13 |
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| 135 | 135 | | rigor of a corresponding postsecondary course; 14 |
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| 136 | 136 | | and 15 |
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| 137 | 137 | | ‘‘(B) in collaboration with educators from 16 |
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| 138 | 138 | | the local educational agency and faculty from 17 |
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| 139 | 139 | | the eligible institution; 18 |
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| 140 | 140 | | ‘‘(3) establishing a course articulation process 19 |
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| 141 | 141 | | for defining and approving courses for high school 20 |
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| 142 | 142 | | and postsecondary credit or credentials for both 2- 21 |
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| 143 | 143 | | year and 4-year institutions of higher education in 22 |
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| 144 | 144 | | the State; 23 |
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| 145 | 145 | | ‘‘(4) establishing outreach programs to provide 24 |
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| 146 | 146 | | elementary school and secondary school students, es-25 |
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| 148 | 148 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 |
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| 149 | 149 | | •S 1347 IS |
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| 150 | 150 | | pecially those students in middle grades, and their 1 |
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| 151 | 151 | | parents, educators, school counselors, and principals 2 |
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| 152 | 152 | | with general information about a dual or concurrent 3 |
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| 153 | 153 | | enrollment program or an early college high school 4 |
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| 154 | 154 | | program, including the eligibility requirements and 5 |
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| 155 | 155 | | academic preparation needed for the program; 6 |
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| 156 | 156 | | ‘‘(5) helping students meet eligibility criteria 7 |
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| 157 | 157 | | for postsecondary courses and ensuring that stu-8 |
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| 158 | 158 | | dents understand how credits earned will transfer to 9 |
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| 159 | 159 | | institutions of higher education in the State; or 10 |
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| 160 | 160 | | ‘‘(6) coordinating high school transition with 11 |
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| 161 | 161 | | academic calendars. 12 |
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| 162 | 162 | | ‘‘(g) F |
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| 163 | 163 | | LEXIBILITY OFFUNDS.— 13 |
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| 164 | 164 | | ‘‘(1) I |
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| 165 | 165 | | N GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 14 |
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| 166 | 166 | | an eligible institution that receives a grant under 15 |
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| 167 | 167 | | this section may use grant funds for any of the costs 16 |
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| 168 | 168 | | associated with carrying out a dual or concurrent 17 |
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| 169 | 169 | | enrollment program or an early college high school 18 |
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| 170 | 170 | | program, including the costs of— 19 |
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| 171 | 171 | | ‘‘(A) tuition and fees, books, and required 20 |
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| 172 | 172 | | instructional materials for the program so that 21 |
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| 173 | 173 | | students will not be required to pay tuition or 22 |
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| 174 | 174 | | fees for postsecondary courses; and 23 |
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| 175 | 175 | | ‘‘(B) transportation to and from the pro-24 |
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| 176 | 176 | | gram. 25 |
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| 179 | 179 | | •S 1347 IS |
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| 180 | 180 | | ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—An eligible institution may 1 |
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| 181 | 181 | | use not more than 20 percent of grant funds re-2 |
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| 182 | 182 | | ceived under this section for transportation costs de-3 |
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| 183 | 183 | | scribed in paragraph (1)(B). 4 |
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| 184 | 184 | | ‘‘(h) E |
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| 185 | 185 | | VALUATION ANDREPORTS.— 5 |
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| 186 | 186 | | ‘‘(1) I |
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| 187 | 187 | | N GENERAL.—Each eligible institution re-6 |
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| 188 | 188 | | ceiving a grant under this section shall— 7 |
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| 189 | 189 | | ‘‘(A) conduct an independent evaluation re-8 |
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| 190 | 190 | | garding the effectiveness and rigor of the activi-9 |
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| 191 | 191 | | ties as carried out by such eligible institution 10 |
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| 192 | 192 | | under this section, which shall include— 11 |
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| 193 | 193 | | ‘‘(i) data on course-specific student 12 |
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| 194 | 194 | | enrollment; and 13 |
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| 195 | 195 | | ‘‘(ii) the number of resulting postsec-14 |
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| 196 | 196 | | ondary credits earned by students through 15 |
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| 197 | 197 | | dual or concurrent enrollment programs or 16 |
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| 198 | 198 | | early college high school programs sup-17 |
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| 199 | 199 | | ported under the grant that are trans-18 |
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| 200 | 200 | | ferred to institutions of higher education; 19 |
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| 201 | 201 | | and 20 |
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| 202 | 202 | | ‘‘(B) prepare and submit to the Secretary 21 |
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| 203 | 203 | | a report containing the results of the evaluation 22 |
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| 204 | 204 | | described in subparagraph (A). 23 |
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| 207 | 207 | | •S 1347 IS |
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| 208 | 208 | | ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may es-1 |
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| 209 | 209 | | tablish additional requirements for the program eval-2 |
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| 210 | 210 | | uations required under paragraph (1). 3 |
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| 211 | 211 | | ‘‘(3) R |
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| 212 | 212 | | EPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 4 |
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| 213 | 213 | | date of enactment of the Making Education Afford-5 |
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| 214 | 214 | | able and Accessible Act of 2025, and every 2 years 6 |
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| 215 | 215 | | thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 7 |
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| 216 | 216 | | summarized report that describes the findings of the 8 |
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| 217 | 217 | | evaluations conducted under paragraph (1)(A).’’. 9 |
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| 218 | 218 | | Æ |
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