“A bill to provide for the long-term improvement of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to eligible historically Black colleges and universities for long-term campus facility improvements. It requires applications that describe projects, health and safety risks, facility ages, and maintenance plans; directs priority for institutions with the greatest need, limited fundraising capacity, high Pell Grant enrollment, declining state support, or prior efforts to secure other funding; requires geographic distribution of awards; and permits the Secretary to provide technical assistance or consider prior participation in the HBCU capital financing program.
This section establishes permitted uses of grants under the Act for eligible entities, including constructing or renovating campus facilities for laboratories, research, housing, transportation, and infrastructure; acquiring research equipment in fields such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology; purchasing vehicle fleets; and strengthening campus safety, broadband, and long-term planning. It prohibits funds for routine maintenance, athletic facilities, certain national security-risk communications equipment, or activities funded under part B of title III of the Higher Education Act unless approved by the Secretary, and requires grants to supplement rather than supplant other public funds.
This section requires eligible entities carrying out projects funded by grants under this Act to seek contracts from small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans (including service-disabled veterans) and from qualified HUBZone small business concerns.
This section authorizes eligible entities receiving grants to reserve up to 5 percent of the grant amount for developing a facilities master plan, protecting health and mitigating noise during construction or modernization, and covering administrative personnel and other costs. It requires submission of a comprehensive facilities master plan within 180 days that assesses current campus conditions, health and safety factors including air quality and contaminants, enrollment impacts, and dedicated funding levels for construction and maintenance, developed after consultation with stakeholders such as staff, students, first responders, and community members.
This section requires the Secretary of Education to repay the outstanding principal, interest, fees, and costs on each disbursement from a covered closed loan agreement under the Historically Black College and University Capital Financing Program, plus any usual and customary reimbursements. Covered agreements are those executed before December 27, 2020, with undisbursed amounts as of that date.
This section requires the Secretary of Education to submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees not later than two years after enactment, and annually thereafter, assessing the types, square footage, total costs (disaggregated by planning, design, construction, site purchase, and improvements), geographic distribution, and student demographics (by race, ethnicity, and Pell Grant eligibility) of projects funded under the Act, along with an evaluation of a sample of grant recipients and compliance with section 3(c). It also requires the Comptroller General to submit a report within two years to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees on the appropriations needed to continue the grant program, including the total cost of deferred maintenance across eligible entities and other funding sources, with results used to inform subsequent fiscal year appropriations, and a second report within four years to the appropriate congressional committees on implementation challenges and recommendations to improve accessibility for eligible entities with fiscal challenges.
This section defines terms for the Act, including "eligible entity" as a part B institution under the Higher Education Act of 1965 or an institution or program listed under section 326(e)(1) of that Act, "Secretary" as the Secretary of Education, and "State" with the meaning given in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965.