Sponsors (3)
The bill improves access and financial support per term for students with disabilities by treating approved reduced course loads as full-time for Pell amounts, at the cost of higher Pell spending, added institutional administrative work, and without extending overall Pell semester eligibility.
Students with disabilities approved for a reduced course load receive full-time Pell Grant amounts for that reduced load (or when enrolled in at least 5 credits), increasing grant aid per term.
Institutions must assess and approve reduced course loads, formalizing accommodations and improving access and equity in higher education for students with disabilities.
Students with disabilities face less pressure to carry excessive credits to maintain full-time grant levels, which can improve academic retention and success.
Treating reduced loads as full-time for award amounts increases Pell spending per recipient, which could raise federal costs or crowd out other financial-aid priorities.
Colleges and universities must implement determinations of appropriate reduced loads, creating administrative burden and potential inconsistent application across schools.
The rule does not extend overall semester eligibility for Pell, so some students may still exhaust their eligible semesters despite receiving larger per-term awards.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Treats institution-approved reduced course loads for students with disabilities as full-time for Pell award amounts when enrolled in the reduced load or at least 5 credits, but bars this from extending semester eligibility.
Introduced April 8, 2025 by Joseph Morelle · Last progress April 8, 2025
Treats an institution-approved reduced course load for students with disabilities as full-time enrollment when calculating Pell Grant award amounts, provided the student is enrolled in the approved reduced load or at least 5 credits (or equivalent), whichever is greater. The change does not allow those determinations to be used to extend a student’s semester eligibility limits for Pell Grants.