[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1338 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1338
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of
Education to issue guidance and recommendations for institutions of
higher education on removing criminal and juvenile justice questions
from their application for admissions process.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 7, 2019
Mr. Schatz (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Booker, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.
Markey, Ms. Warren, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Cortez
Masto, Mr. Murphy, Ms. Harris, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Brown, Ms.
Klobuchar, Ms. Baldwin, and Mr. Sanders) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of
Education to issue guidance and recommendations for institutions of
higher education on removing criminal and juvenile justice questions
from their application for admissions process.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Beyond the Box for Higher Education
Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) An estimated 70,000,000 Americans have some type of
arrest or conviction record that would appear in a criminal
background check.
(2) Each year, more than 600,000 people return to society
from State or Federal prison.
(3) Nearly 11,000,000 Americans are admitted to city and
county jails each year, with an average daily population of
more than 700,000 people.
(4) An estimated 2,100,000 youth under the age of 18 are
arrested every year in the United States.
(5) 1,700,000 juvenile delinquency cases are disposed of in
juvenile courts annually.
(6) Juvenile records are not always confidential; many
States disclose information about youth involvement with the
juvenile justice system or do not have procedures to seal or
expunge juvenile records.
(7) The compounding effects of collateral consequences due
to criminal justice involvement hinder the ability of
individuals to reenter society successfully.
(8) People of color and low-income people are
disproportionately impacted by the collateral consequences of
criminal justice involvement.
(9) Incarceration leads to decreased earnings,
unemployment, and poverty.
(10) Upon reentry, lower educational attainment, a lack of
work skills or history, and the stigma of a criminal record can
hinder a formerly incarcerated person's ability to return to
their communities successfully.
(11) One way to improve reentry outcomes is to increase
educational opportunities for people with a criminal or
juvenile justice history.
(12) By reducing rearrests and reconvictions, and by
increasing educational attainment, formerly incarcerated
individuals are better situated to find stable employment,
contributing to their communities.
SEC. 3. BEYOND THE BOX FOR HIGHER EDUCATION.
Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 124. BEYOND THE BOX FOR HIGHER EDUCATION.
``(a) Training and Technical Assistance.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the Office
of Policy, Planning, and Innovation of the Office of
Postsecondary Education of the Department and with consultation
from the Department of Justice and relevant community
stakeholders, shall issue guidance and recommendations for
institutions of higher education to remove criminal and
juvenile justice questions from their application for
admissions process.
``(2) Guidance and recommendations.--The guidance and
recommendations issued under paragraph (1) shall include the
following:
``(A) If an institution of higher education
collects criminal or juvenile justice information on
applicants for admission, it is recommended that the
institution determine whether this information is
necessary to make an informed admission decision and
whether it would be appropriate to remove these
questions from the application.
``(B) If an institution of higher education
determines that it is appropriate to remove criminal or
juvenile justice questions from the institution's
application for admissions process, it is recommended
that the institution comply with the following:
``(i) If criminal or juvenile justice
questions are necessary for the other aspects
of the institution's interactions with
applicants, identify those specific
interactions in which it is appropriate to ask
such questions.
``(ii) In non-admissions interactions,
inquire about criminal or juvenile justice
history transparently and clearly inform
applicants as early as possible how to respond
to the inquiry.
``(iii) In non-admissions inquiries about
criminal or juvenile justice history, ensure
the questions are specific and narrowly
focused, and make it clear that answering the
questions may not negatively impact applicants'
chances of enrollment.
``(iv) In non-admissions inquiries about
criminal or juvenile justice history, give
applicants the opportunity to explain criminal
or juvenile justice involvement and
preparedness for postsecondary study.
``(v) Provide staff of the institution who
have access to a prospective or current
student's criminal or juvenile justice history,
the necessary and proper training on the
effective use of criminal or juvenile justice
history data, including the problems associated
with this information, the types of supporting
documents that may need to be obtained, and the
appropriate privacy protections that must be
put in place.
``(C) If an institution of higher education
determines that it is necessary to inquire about the
criminal or juvenile justice history of applicants for
admission, it is recommended that the institution
comply with the following:
``(i) Delay the request for, or
consideration of, such information until after
an admission decision has been made to avoid a
chilling effect on applicants whose criminal or
juvenile justice involvement may ultimately be
determined irrelevant by the institution.
``(ii) Provide notice and justification for
applicants within 30 days if, upon receiving
information regarding applicants' criminal or
juvenile justice involvement, the admission to
the institution is denied or rescinded based
solely on the applicant's criminal or juvenile
justice involvement.
``(iii) Inquire about criminal or juvenile
justice history transparently and clearly
inform applicants as early as possible in the
application process how to respond to the
inquiry.
``(iv) Ensure the questions are specific
and narrowly focused.
``(v) Give applicants the opportunity to
explain criminal or juvenile justice
involvement and preparedness for postsecondary
study.
``(vi) Provide admissions personnel,
registrars, and any other relevant staff of the
institution, as well as any other staff that
should have access to a prospective or current
student's criminal or juvenile justice history,
the necessary and proper training on the
effective use of criminal or juvenile justice
history data, including the biases or
limitations associated with this information,
the types of supporting documents that may need
to be obtained, and the appropriate privacy
protections that must be put in place.
``(3) Training and technical assistance.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary, acting through
the Office of Postsecondary Education of the
Department, shall use funds available to the Department
to provide institutions of higher education with
training and technical assistance on developing
policies and procedures aligned with the
recommendations described in paragraph (2).
``(B) Training.--The training described in
subparagraph (A) shall include--
``(i) training for admissions and financial
aid personnel and enrollment management staff
of an institution of higher education to
understand and evaluate an applicant if--
``(I) the institution makes a
determination under paragraph (2)(A) to
continue asking criminal or juvenile
justice history questions in the
admissions process; or
``(II) the institution makes a
determination under paragraph (2)(A) to
remove criminal or juvenile justice
history questions in the admissions
process, but continues to make criminal
or juvenile justice history inquiries
in non-admissions settings;
``(ii) training to ensure that if an
institution does not ask criminal or juvenile
justice history questions, that proxy questions
or factors are not used in lieu of criminal or
juvenile justice history information;
``(iii) training for financial aid
personnel and any other staff of an institution
of higher education involved with campus
employment to provide guidance related to work
study programs or on campus employment
available to formerly incarcerated or juvenile
adjudicated individuals;
``(iv) training for registrars, academic
counselors, student housing staff, student life
staff, and any other staff of an institution of
higher education who would have access to a
student's criminal or juvenile justice
information when the student is an enrolled
student; and
``(v) training for career counselors to
ensure that students with involvement in the
criminal or juvenile justice system are
provided with targeted career guidance, made
aware of potential barriers to employment or
licensure, and provided assistance to respond
to these barriers.
``(b) Resource Center.--The Secretary shall develop a resource
center that will serve as the repository for--
``(1) best practices as institutions of higher education
develop and implement practices aligned with the
recommendations described in subsection (a)(2) to ensure the
successful educational outcomes of students with criminal or
juvenile justice histories; and
``(2) supplemental research on criminal and juvenile
justice-involved individuals and postsecondary education.''.
SEC. 4. FINANCIAL AID.
Section 483(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1090(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(13) Restriction on question of conviction for possession
or sale of illegal drugs.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, the Secretary shall not include on any form developed
under this section, a question about the conviction of an
applicant for the possession or sale of illegal drugs.''.
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