[House Report 107-232]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 107-232
======================================================================
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1992, INTERNET EQUITY AND EDUCATION
ACT OF 2001
_______
October 9, 2001.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Linder, from the Committee on Rules, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Res. 256]
The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration
House Resolution 256, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be
adopted.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION
The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 1992, the
Internet Equity and Education Act of 2001, under a modified
closed rule. The rule provides one hour of general debate
equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Education and the
Workforce. The rule provides that the amendment recommended by
the Committee on Education and the Workforce now printed in the
bill shall be considered as adopted. The rule waives all points
of order against consideration of the bill.
The rule provides for consideration of an amendment in the
nature of a substitute printed in this report, if offered by
Representative Mink or a designee, which shall be considered as
read and shall be separately debatable for one hour equally
divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent. The
rule waives all points of order against the amendment in the
nature of a substitute.
Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with or
without instructions.
SUMMARY OF AMENDMENT MADE IN ORDER UNDER THE RULE
(Summary derived from information provided by sponsor.)
Mink--Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute. Allows
institutions of higher education that meet a high standard of
financial responsibility by having default rates lower than 10%
to be exempt from the 50% provisions which restrict the number
of courses offered through distance education and the number of
students who may enroll in distance education courses.
TEXT OF AMENDMENT MADE IN ORDER UNDER THE RULE
An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Mink of Hawaii, or a
Designee, Debatable for 60 Minutes
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Internet Equity and Education
Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. EXCEPTION TO 50 PERCENT CORRESPONDENCE COURSE LIMITATIONS.
(a) Definition of Institution of Higher Education for Title
IV Purposes.--Section 102(a) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)) is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(7) Exception to limitation based on course of
study.--Courses offered via telecommunications (as
defined in section 484(l)(4)) shall not be considered
to be correspondence courses for purposes of
subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (3) for any
institution that--
``(A) is participating in either or both of
the loan programs under part B or D of title IV
on the date of enactment of the Internet Equity
and Education Act of 2001;
``(B) has a cohort default rate (as
determined under section 435(m)) for each of
the 3 most recent fiscal years for which data
are available that is less than 10 percent; and
``(C)(i) has notified the Secretary, in a
form and manner prescribed by the Secretary
(including such information as the Secretary
may require to meet the requirements of clause
(ii)), of the election by such institution to
qualify as an institution of higher education
by means of the provisions of this paragraph;
and
``(ii) the Secretary has not, within 90 days
after such notice, and the receipt of any
information required under clause (i), notified
the institution that the election by such
institution would pose a significant risk to
Federal funds and the integrity of programs
under title IV.''.
(b) Definition of Eligible Student.--Section 484(l)(1) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(l)(1)) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(C) Exception to 50 percent limitation.--
Notwithstanding the 50 percent limitation in
subparagraph (A), a student enrolled in a
course of instruction described in such
subparagraph shall not be considered to be
enrolled in correspondence courses if the
student is enrolled in an institution that--
``(i) is participating in either or
both of the loan programs under part B
or D of title IV on the date of
enactment of the Internet Equity and
Education Act of 2001;
``(ii) has a cohort default rate (as
determined under section 435(m)) for
each of the 3 most recent fiscal years
for which data are available that is
less than 10 percent; and
``(iii)(I) has notified the
Secretary, in form and manner
prescribed by the Secretary (including
such information as the Secretary may
require to meet the requirements of
subclause (II)), of the election by
such institution to qualify its
students as eligible students by means
of the provisions of this subparagraph;
and
``(II) the Secretary has not, within
90 days after such notice, and the
receipt of any information required
under subclause (I), notified the
institution that the election by such
institution would pose a significant
risk to Federal funds and the integrity
of programs under title IV.''.
SEC. 3. EVALUATION AND REPORT.
(a) Information from Institutions.--
(1) Institutions covered by requirement.--The
requirements of paragraph (2) apply to any institution
of higher education that--
(A) has notified the Secretary of Education
of an election to qualify for the exception to
limitation based on course of study in section
102(a)(7) of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1002(a)(7)) or the exception to the
50 percent limitation in section 484(l)(1)(C)
of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1091(l)(1)(C));
(B) has notified the Secretary under section
481(a)(3) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1088(a)(3));
or
(C) contracts with outside parties for--
(i) the delivery of distance
education programs;
(ii) the delivery of programs offered
in nontraditional formats; or
(iii) the purpose of securing the
enrollment of students.
(2) Requirements.--Any institution of higher
education to which this paragraph applies shall comply,
on a timely basis, with the Secretary of Education's
reasonable requests for information on changes in--
(A) the amount or method of instruction
offered;
(B) the types of programs or courses offered;
(C) enrollment by type of program or course;
(D) the amount and types of grant, loan, or
work assistance provided under title IV of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 that is received
by students enrolled in programs conducted in
nontraditional formats; and
(E) outcomes for students enrolled in such
courses or programs.
(b) Report by Secretary Required.--The Secretary of Education
shall conduct by grant or contract a study of, and by March 31,
2003, submit to the Congress, a report on--
(1) the effect that the amendments made by this Act
have had on--
(A) the ability of institutions of higher
education to provide distance learning
opportunities to students; and
(B) program integrity;
(2) with respect to distance education or
correspondence education courses at institutions of
higher education to which the information requirements
of subsection (a)(2) apply, changes from year-to-year
in--
(A) the amount or method of instruction
offered and the types of programs or courses
offered;
(B) the number and type of students enrolled
in distance education or correspondence
education courses;
(C) the amount of student aid provided to
such students, in total and as a percentage of
the institution's revenue; and
(D) outcomes for students enrolled in
distance education or correspondence education
courses, including graduation rates, job
placement rates, and loan delinquencies and
defaults;
(3) any reported and verified claim of inducement to
participate in the student financial aid programs and
any violation of the Higher Education Act of 1965,
including any actions taken by the Department of
Education against the violator; and
(4) any further improvements that should be made to
the provisions amended by this Act (and related
provisions), in order to accommodate nontraditional
educational opportunities in the Federal student
assistance programs while ensuring the integrity of
those programs.
SEC. 4. LEARNING ANYTIME ANYWHERE PARTNERSHIPS.
Section 420J of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1070f-6) is amended by adding at the end the following new
sentence: ``If for any fiscal year funds are not appropriated
pursuant to this section, funds available under part B of title
VII, relating to the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary
Education, may be made available for continuation grants for
any grant recipient under this subpart.''.
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) No Delay in Effective Date.--Section 482(c) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1089(c)) shall not apply to
the amendments made by this Act.
(b) Implementing Regulations.--Section 492 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098a) shall not apply to the
amendments made by section 2 of this Act.