H.R. 266

119th CONGRESS 1st Session

To modify the Federal TRIO programs.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES · January 9, 2025 · Sponsor: Mr. Davidson · Committee: Committee on Education and Workforce

H.R. 266

SEC. 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Educational Opportunity and Success Act of 2025.

SEC. 2. Program authority and authorization of appropriations for Federal TRIO programs

(a) Minimum grants
- Section 402A(b)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 () is amended— 20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(b)(3)
  - by striking 00,000and inserting 20,000; and
  - by striking striking70,000and inserting inserting90,000.
(b) Procedures for awarding grants and contracts
- Section 402A(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 () is amended— 20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(c)
  - in paragraph (2)(A)—
    - in the subparagraph heading, by striking and inserting ;
    - in the first sentence, by striking prior experience of high quality service deliveryand inserting prior success in achieving high quality service delivery; and
    - in the second sentence—
      - (i) by striking prior experience shall notand inserting prior success in achieving high quality service delivery shall not; and
      - (ii) by striking shall not be given prior experience considerationand inserting shall not be given such consideration; and
  - by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the following:
    - (8) Review and notification by the Secretary
      - (A) Guidance
        
        Not less than 90 days before the commencement of each competition for a grant under this chapter, the Secretary shall issue nonregulatory guidance regarding the rights and responsibilities of applicants with respect to the application and evaluation process for programs and projects assisted under this chapter, including applicant access to peer review comments. The guidance shall describe the procedures for the submission, processing, and scoring of applications for grants under this chapter, including the information described in subparagraph (B).
      - (B) Technical components of applications
        
        (i) With respect to any competition for a grant under this chapter, the Secretary may only establish voluntary page limit and formatting requirements for grant applications and may not reject grant applications that do not meet those voluntary requirements. The Secretary may suggest page limits and formatting standards (including with respect to font size, font style, font type, line spacing, paragraph justification, and page margins), but may not use noncompliance with these suggested requirements as a basis to reject or penalize grant applications.
        
        (ii) Identification and treatment of technical budget errors in applications
        
        With respect to any competition for a grant under this chapter, the Secretary may not reject or penalize grant applications on the basis of a typographical or rounding error in a proposed budget until the Secretary has given the applicant an opportunity for correction in accordance with subclause (II).
        
        The Secretary shall provide notice and identification of an error described in subclause (I) by email and phone to the applicant before awarding grants for each competition. During a period of not fewer than 14 days, the Secretary shall allow the applicant to submit a revised application that corrects the identified error.
        
        The Secretary shall treat the revised application in the same manner as a timely submitted application.
        
        If an applicant has received a notice and opportunity for correction of a typographical or rounding error in a proposed budget in accordance with subclause (II) and the applicant fails to correct the error and submit a revised application before the deadline described in that subclause, the Secretary may reject or penalize that grant application.
      - (C) Review
        
        (i) With respect to any competition for a grant under this chapter, an applicant may request a review if the applicant—
        
        has evidence that a specific technical, administrative, or scoring error was made by the Department, an agent of the Department, or a peer reviewer, with respect to the scoring or processing of a submitted application; and
        
        has otherwise met all of the requirements for submission of the application.
        
        (ii) In the case of evidence of error by the Department or an agent of the Department, other than a peer reviewer, the Secretary shall review any evidence submitted by the applicant and provide a timely response to the applicant. If the Secretary determines that an error was made by the Department or an agent of the Department, other than a peer reviewer, the Secretary shall correct the error and accordingly adjust the applicant score.
(c) Outreach
- Section 402A(d)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 () is amended by adding at the end the following: . The Secretary shall also host at least one virtual, interactive training using telecommunications technology to ensure that interested applicants have access to technical assistance. 20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(d)(3)
(d) Documentation of status as a low-Income individual
- Section 402A(e) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 () is amended— 20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(e)
  - in paragraph (1)—
    - in subparagraph (C), by striking after the semicolon;
    - in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
      - documentation that the student has been determined to be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant under section 401; or
      - for grants authorized under section 402B and 402F of this chapter, documentation that a student is attending a school that had a percentage of enrolled students who are identified students (as defined in section 11(a)(1)(F)(i) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ()) that meets or exceeds the threshold described in section 11(a)(1)(F)(viii) of that Act during the school year prior to the first year of the period for which such grant is awarded. 42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)(F)(i)
    - by adding at the end the following:
  - in paragraph (2)—
    - in subparagraph (C), by striking after the semicolon;
    - in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
      - documentation that the student has been determined to be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant under section 401; or
      - for grants authorized under section 402B and 402F of this chapter, documentation that a student is attending a school that had a percentage of enrolled students who are identified students (as defined in section 11(a)(1)(F)(i) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ()) that meets or exceeds the threshold described in section 11(a)(1)(F)(viii) of that Act during the school year prior to the first year of the period for which such grant is awarded. 42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)(F)(i)
    - by adding at the end the following:
(e) Outcome criteria
- Section 402A(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 () is amended— 20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(g)
  - in paragraph (1)—
    - in the paragraph heading, by striking and inserting ;
    - by striking and inserting ; and
    - by striking prior experience ofand inserting prior success in achieving; and
  - in paragraph (3)—
    - in subparagraph (A)—
      - (i) in clause (iv), by striking that will make such students eligible for programs such as the Academic Competitiveness Grants Programand inserting that includes at least 4 years of mathematics, 3 years of science, and 2 years of a foreign language;
      - (ii) by redesignating clauses (v) and (vi) as clauses (vi) and (vii), respectively; and
      - (iii) by inserting after clause (iv), the following:
        
        (v) the completion of financial aid applications, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid described in section 483(a) and college admissions applications;
    - in subparagraph (B)—
      - (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting after ;
      - (ii) in clause (v), by striking that will make such students eligible for programs such as the Academic Competitiveness Grants Programand inserting that includes at least 4 years of mathematics, 3 years of science, and 2 years of a foreign language;
      - (iii) by redesignating clauses (vi) and (vii) as clauses (vii) and (viii), respectively; and
      - (iv) by inserting after clause (v), the following:
        
        (vi) the completion of financial aid applications, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid described in section 483(a) and college admissions applications;
    - by redesignating subparagraphs (C) through (E) as subparagraphs (D) through (F), respectively;
      - For programs authorized under section 402C that are specifically designed for veterans, the extent to which the eligible entity met or exceeded the entity’s objectives for such program regarding—
        
        (i) the delivery of service to a total number of students served by the program, as agreed upon by the entity and the Secretary for the period of the program;
        
        (ii) such students’ academic performance as measured by standardized tests;
        
        (iii) the retention and completion of participants in the program;
        
        (iv) the provision of assistance to students served by the program in completing financial aid applications, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid described in section 483(a) and college admission applications;
        
        (v) the enrollment of such students in an institution of higher education; and
        
        (vi) to the extent practicable, the postsecondary completion of such students;
(f) Authorization of appropriations
- Section 402A(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 () is amended to read as follows: 20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(g)
  - (g) Authorization of appropriations
    - For the purpose of making grants and contracts under this chapter, there are authorized to be appropriated $1,100,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the five succeeding fiscal years. Of the amount appropriated under this chapter, the Secretary may use no more than 1 percent of such amount to obtain additional qualified readers and additional staff to review applications, to increase the level of oversight monitoring, to support impact studies, program assessments, and reviews, and to provide technical assistance to potential applicants and current grantees.
(g) Definitions
- Section 402A(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 () is amended by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following: 20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(h)
  - (4) Low-income individual
    - The term low-income individual means—
      - an individual from a family whose adjustable gross income for the preceding year did not exceed 150 percent of an amount equal to the poverty level determined by using criteria of poverty established by the Bureau of the Census;
      - an individual from a family whose adjustable gross income, as reported on the individual's most recently completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid, did not exceed 150 percent of an amount equal to the poverty level determined by using criteria of poverty established by the Bureau of the Census for that year;
      - an individual who has been determined to be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant under section 401; or
      - for grants authorized under section 402B and 402F of this chapter, a student who is attending a school that had a percentage of enrolled students who are identified students (as defined in section 11(a)(1)(F)(i) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ()) that meets or exceeds the threshold described in section 11(a)(1)(F)(viii) of that Act during the school year prior to the first year of the period for which such grant is awarded. 42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)(F)(i)

SEC. 3. Upward Bound

Section 402C(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 () is amended— 20 U.S.C. 1070a–13(f)
- by striking $60and inserting $90;
- by striking $300and inserting $450;
- by striking $40and inserting $60; and
- by adding at the end the following: . Adults participating in a project that is specifically designed for veterans under this section may be paid stipends not in excess of $100 per month during the year.

SEC. 4. Postbaccalaureate achievement program authority

Section 402E of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 USC 1070a–15) is amended—
- in subsection (b)(2), by striking summer internshipsand inserting internships or faculty-led research experiences;
- in subsection (d)(4), by striking summer research internshipsand inserting research internships or faculty-led research experiences; and
- in subsection (f)(1), by striking ,800and inserting $4,000.

Educational Opportunity and Success Act of 2025 · Introduced in House (2025-01-09) · Congress.wiki

H.R. 266

Table of contents

SEC. 1. Short title

SEC. 2. Program authority and authorization of appropriations for Federal TRIO programs

SEC. 3. Upward Bound

SEC. 4. Postbaccalaureate achievement program authority