8/1/2008
Congress Passes Higher Education Act Reauthorization Bill
After months of negotiations, a compromise has been reached on the Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization bills. As you may recall, the Senate reauthorization bill, the Higher Education Amendments of 2007 (S. 1642), passed in July 2007 and the House bill, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2008 (H.R. 4137), passed in February 2008.
Yesterday, the compromise bill, the Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137), passed the House with a vote of 380 to 49 and the Senate with a vote of 83 to 8. The bill will now be presented to the President for signature. The comprehensive HEA bill has not been fully reauthorized since 1998.
Provisions of the bill include:
- Requiring schools to establish a code of conduct.
- Simplification of the financial aid process.
- Authorization of year-round Pell Grants.
- Expansion of the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) program.
- Requiring lenders to provide up-front disclosure of loan rates and terms.
- Increasing college aid for veterans and military families.
OGSLP will provide more detailed information about the bill provisions when the analysis is complete. We encourage you to visit our Legislation Page often to view important updates and access more detailed information. If you have questions, please contact our Policy, Compliance, and Training department at 405.234.4432 or pct@ogslp.org.