A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to support innovative, evidence-based approaches that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of postsecondary education for all students, to allow pay for success initiatives, to provide additional evaluation authority, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · December 18, 2024
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
The FINISH Act amends federal higher education law to support innovative approaches aimed at improving college access and completion, particularly for disadvantaged students. The bill creates a new grant program that funds colleges, states, and nonprofits to develop, test, and expand evidence-based interventions addressing college completion and career success, with grants structured in three tiers based on the strength of research supporting each initiative. The legislation also allows institutions to use federal grant funds for "pay for success" initiatives where payment is tied to achieving specific student outcomes, while including safeguards to protect student financial aid and services. Additionally, the bill promotes the use of free, openly available educational resources and authorizes the Department of Education to reserve up to one percent of discretionary grant funding annually to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of higher education programs, with results reported to Congress every two years. The bill does not specify total funding levels but requires biennial reports on program outcomes disaggregated by race, income, and other student characteristics.
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