Sponsors (7)
The bill denies Title IV aid to students convicted of certain offenses—reducing competition and modestly cutting taxpayer outlays—but it significantly limits college access and imposes heavier, non‑dischargeable debt and reentry barriers on those convicted.
Students without the specified convictions face reduced competition for limited Title IV funds, potentially improving their chances of receiving Pell grants, loans, or work-study.
Taxpayers may avoid future grant outlays for individuals convicted of assaulting officers or participating in rioting, modestly lowering federal higher-education expenditures.
Students convicted of the listed offenses are barred from Pell and other Title IV grants, loans, and work-study, blocking or delaying college access and disproportionately harming low-income individuals trying to pursue higher education.
When awards are converted to loans, they begin accruing interest from the award date and are ineligible for forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge, materially increasing lifetime debt and repayment costs for affected borrowers.
New repayment requirements and the removal of relief options raise barriers to reentry and rehabilitation for people with criminal convictions, increasing financial instability and the risk of recidivism.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bars Title IV aid for people convicted of assaulting police or rioting, converts related grants to unsubsidized loans with interest and forbids forgiveness.
Stops federal student aid for people convicted of assaulting police officers or convicted of rioting. It makes those people ineligible for Title IV grants, loans, and work-study starting the first award year after the law takes effect, converts grants they already received into unsubsidized Direct Loans that accrue interest from the original award date, and bars those converted loans from forgiveness or discharge. The measure applies to aid received for the program of study during which the offense occurred and requires repayment of grants by converting them to loans with interest and limits on borrower relief options under existing law.
Official title: To make certain individuals ineligible to receive any Federal financial aid under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Introduced March 21, 2025 by August Pfluger · Last progress March 21, 2025