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Adds new material at the end of Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1133 et seq.) to create a Federal–State partnership to fully eliminate tuition and required fees.
Replaces paragraphs (5), (6), and (7) of subsection (b) to set explicit maximum Federal Pell Grant amounts for award year 2026–2027 and a formula for subsequent years (annual CPI-based adjustment and rounding), authorizes appropriations for FY2026 and each subsequent fiscal year, and preserves specified prior appropriations treatment; modifies subsection (d)(5)(A) to change the limit from 12 semesters to 7 years and 6 months; revises subsection (f) to allow Pell payments to be used for living and nontuition expenses; strikes subsections (g) and (h) and redesignates (i) and (j) as (g) and (h).
Amends subsection (a)(5) to expand the categories of immigration/status eligibility (including adding 'Dreamer student' as defined in a new subsection (u)) and, for Federal Pell Grant eligibility specifically, to include individuals subject to deferred enforced departure, deferred action under the June 15, 2012 DACA memorandum, or temporary protected status under 8 U.S.C. 1254a; adds a new subsection (u) defining 'Dreamer student' with specific entry-age, schooling, education, deferred-action eligibility, or military service criteria and requires the Secretary to issue regulations providing for hardship waivers of certain requirements.
Adds a new paragraph (3) to subsection (b) providing a special rule that amounts received under a Federal Pell Grant (subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965) are treated as an amount received as a qualified scholarship regardless of whether such amounts were used for qualified tuition and related expenses.
Amends 20 U.S.C. 1067q(b)(1)(A) to replace the prior annual amount with $510,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter; amends 20 U.S.C. 1067q(b)(2)(A) to change the allocation amounts in clauses (i)–(iii) from $100,000,000/$100,000,000/$55,000,000 to $200,000,000/$200,000,000/$110,000,000.
Amends section 402A(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to replace prior authorization language with new FY2026 and multi-year authorizations.
Amends section 404H of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to replace prior authorization language with new FY2026 and multi-year authorizations.
Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced May 21, 2025 by Pramila Jayapal · Last progress May 21, 2025
Expands and reorganizes federal higher education support by increasing grant funding, authorizing new grant programs to eliminate tuition and required fees at certain private historically Black colleges and minority‑serving institutions, raising Pell Grant maximums and broadening Pell eligibility (including for Dreamer/DACA‑style recipients), and boosting authorized funding for TRIO, GEAR UP, HBCU/TCU/MSI programs. Major funding authorizations begin in fiscal year 2026 and Pell changes take effect for award year 2026–2027; many sections add new program authorities or amend Title VII of the Higher Education Act but leave detailed program text or dollar flows to implementing guidance or later appropriations.
