Pell Grants Plus Act

Pell Grants Plus Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a program to award Pell Grants Plus grants to students who: (1) have completed a rigorous secondary school program for State Scholars; (2) are enrolled full-time in their first year of undergraduate education; and (3) are eligible to receive Federal Pell Grants for that year.

Sets such Plus grant award at $1,000. Provides for a continuation award for the second year of undergraduate education if the student maintains compliance with certain eligibility requirements and obtains a grade point average of at least 3.0 for the first year.

Repeals HEA provisions for Academic Achievement Incentive Scholarships.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3894 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3894

          To provide enhanced Pell Grants for State Scholars.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 4, 2004

   Mr. Burns (for himself, Mr. Keller, Mr. Boehner, Mr. McKeon, Mr. 
  Isakson, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Carter, Mr. 
Forbes, Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite of Florida, and Mrs. Northup) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
                           and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
          To provide enhanced Pell Grants for State Scholars.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pell Grants Plus Act''.

SEC. 2. PELL GRANTS PLUS: ACHIEVEMENT GRANTS FOR STATE SCHOLARS 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) Amendment.--Subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting after section 401 (20 
U.S.C. 1070a) the following new section:

``SEC. 401A. PELL GRANTS PLUS: ACHIEVEMENT GRANTS FOR STATE SCHOLARS.

    ``(a) Grants Authorized.--From sums appropriated to carry out 
section 401, the Secretary shall establish a program to award Pell 
Grants Plus to students who--
            ``(1) have successfully completed a rigorous high school 
        program of study established by a State or local educational 
        agency in consultation with a State coalition assisted with 
        funds from the Center for State Scholars;
            ``(2) are enrolled full-time in the first academic year of 
        undergraduate education, and have not been previously enrolled 
        in a program of undergraduate education; and
            ``(3) are eligible to receive Federal Pell Grants for the 
        year in which the grant is awarded.
    ``(b) Amount of Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        amount of the grant awarded under this section shall be $1,000.
            ``(2) Assistance not to exceed cost of attendance.--A grant 
        awarded under this section to any student, in combination with 
        the Federal Pell Grant assistance and other student financial 
        assistance available to such student, may not exceed the 
        student's cost of attendance.
    ``(c) Selection of Recipients.--
            ``(1) Procedures established by regulation.--The Secretary 
        shall establish by regulation procedures for the determination 
        of eligibility of students for the grants awarded under this 
        section. Such procedures shall include measures to ensure that 
        eligibility is determined in a timely and accurate manner 
        consistent with the requirements of section 482 and the 
        submission of the financial aid form required by section 483.
            ``(2) Applications.--Each eligible student desiring an 
        award under this section shall submit at such time and in such 
        manner such information as the Secretary may reasonably 
        require.
            ``(3) Continuation of grant requirements.--In order for a 
        student to continue to be eligible to receive an award under 
        this section for the second year of undergraduate education, 
        the eligible student must--
                    ``(A) maintain eligibility to receive a Federal 
                Pell Grant for that year;
                    ``(B) obtain a grade point average of at least 3.0 
                (or the equivalent as determined under regulations 
                prescribed by the Secretary) for the first year of 
                undergraduate education; and
                    ``(C) be enrolled full-time and fulfill the 
                requirements for satisfactory progress described in 
                section 484(c).
    ``(d) Sunset, Evaluation, and Reports.--
            ``(1) Sunset.--The provisions of this section shall cease 
        to be effective on October 1, 2011, except as the Congress may 
        hereafter provide by law if Congress determines, after analysis 
        of the evaluation and reports provided for in paragraph (2), 
        that extension or expansion of the program is warranted.
            ``(2) Evaluation and reports.--The Secretary shall monitor 
        the progress, retention, and completion rates of the students 
        to whom awards are provided under this section. In doing so, 
        the Secretary shall evaluate the impact of the Pell Grants Plus 
        Program and report, not less than biennially, to the 
        authorizing committees of the House of Representatives and the 
        Senate.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Chapter 3 of subpart 2 of part A of 
title IV (20 U.S.C. 1070a-31 through 1070a-35) is repealed.
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