Protect Veterans' Education and Taxpayer Spending Act of 2019

Protect Veterans' Education and Taxpayer Spending Act of 2019

This bill designates certain educational assistance funds as federal educational assistance for the purpose of determining a for-profit institution's revenue sources.

Under current law, a for-profit institution must receive at least 10% of its revenue from non-federal sources (known as the 90/10 Rule). Certain federal educational assistance funds provided to students who are servicemembers or veterans are not currently counted as federal sources, which enables a for-profit institution to count those funds towards its 10% requirement.

This bill designates such educational assistance funds as federal educational assistance, prohibiting a for-profit institution from counting such funds towards its 10% requirement. In addition, the bill establishes a tiered system of penalties for a school that violates the 90/10 Rule, but it also provides an appeal process that allows a for-profit institution to seek temporary relief from such penalties upon a showing that it meets certain conditions (e.g., offering high-quality academic or job-training programs and placing veterans and servicemembers in jobs after graduation).

The bill also requires disclosure—on the Department of Education's College Navigator website and the Department of Veterans Affairs' GI Bill Comparison Tool website—of any for-profit institution that is not in compliance, as well as the applicable sanction on such institution.

Lastly, any for-profit institution that converts to nonprofit status shall be subject to the 90/10 Rule for the two-year period after the date of conversion.