H.R. 9414 — Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2026

This section states congressional findings on the Federal Pell Grant program's role in postsecondary access, noting that three in five African American and one-half of Latino undergraduates rely on it. It highlights the need to convert the program to fully mandatory status with inflation adjustments and to reverse eligibility restrictions enacted in Public Law 119–21.

This section provides the table of contents for the Act and specifies that references are to provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 unless otherwise stated.

This section increases the total maximum Federal Pell Grant to $10,000 for award year 2026–2027, rising by $1,000 each year to $15,000 for 2031–2032 and subsequent years (adjusted annually for CPI and rounded to the nearest $50). It reduces the minimum grant from 10 percent to 5 percent of the total maximum, converts all Pell Grant funding to mandatory appropriations, expands certain loan discharge protections, and makes conforming changes to the Student Support Services and GEAR UP programs.

This section provides increased Federal Pell Grants to students with a student aid index below zero, exceeding the total maximum grant by the amount the index is negative. It deems the student aid index to be –$1,500 for applicants (or their parents or spouses) who received means-tested Federal benefits in the prior two years.

This section expands eligibility for federal grants, loans, and work assistance under title IV to Dreamer students. A Dreamer student is an individual who is inadmissible or deportable, entered the United States before age 18, and has earned a high school diploma or equivalent, completed at least two years of postsecondary education, obtained a postsecondary credential, or served at least two years in the uniformed services with an honorable discharge; the term also covers individuals eligible for deferred action under the 2012 or 2014 DHS memoranda on childhood arrivals. The Secretary must issue regulations waiving the age-18 requirement in cases of compelling economic hardship.

This section revises the satisfactory academic progress rules for federal student aid under title IV. It requires institutions to adopt policies that apply consistent standards to all students, measure progress at each payment period, allow one payment period of continued eligibility under a financial aid warning status without an appeal, permit financial aid probation after a successful appeal with possible conditions such as a reduced course load, and reset a student’s progress status upon reenrollment while counting prior earned credits but excluding unearned hours from the new determination.

This section updates cross-references to section 401 in five provisions of the Higher Education Act. It revises the reference in section 401A(d)(1)(B)(i) from section 401(b)(2)(B) to section 401(b)(2); revises the references in section 402D(d)(1) from section 401(b)(2)(A) to section 401(b)(1) and from section 401(b)(4) to section 401(b)(5); revises the reference in section 435(a)(5)(A)(i)(I) from section 401(b)(2)(A) to section 401(b)(1); revises the reference in section 894(f)(2)(C)(ii)(I) from section 401(b)(2)(A) to section 401(b)(1); and revises the reference in section 419N(b)(7)(B)(i) from section 401(c)(1) to section 401(d).

This section establishes July 1, 2026, as the effective date for this Act and its amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965, applying to award year 2026–2027 and each subsequent award year. It authorizes the Secretary of Education to take preparatory steps before that date for orderly implementation.