H.R. 10404 — Providing Distance Education for Foreign Institutions Act

Providing Distance Education for Foreign Institutions Act

This bill makes certain distance education programs offered by foreign institutions of higher education (IHEs) eligible to participate in federal student-aid programs, thereby making students participating in these programs eligible to receive federal student aid.

(The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, waived the statutory prohibition on foreign IHEs offering distance education, which allowed students participating in these programs to receive federal student aid. However, this waiver is set to end on the latest of June 30, 2023; the last day of the payment period that begins on or before June 30, 2023; or the last day of the first payment period following the end of the foreign authority's qualifying emergency.)

Under this bill, a foreign IHE program is eligible to participate in federal student-aid programs if

not more than 12.5% of the program consists of courses offered principally through distance education,
the foreign IHE has been evaluated and determined by an outside oversight entity (e.g., an accrediting agency) to have the capability to effectively deliver distance education programs, and
the students receiving federal student aid are physically present in the country where the foreign IHE is located during the distance education instruction.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10404 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10404

   To amend title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 
program eligibility for distance education programs offered by foreign 
                   institutions of higher education.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 12, 2024

 Mr. Schneider (for himself and Mr. Smucker) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
                               Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 
program eligibility for distance education programs offered by foreign 
                   institutions of higher education.

    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 ``Providing Distance Education for 
Foreign Institutions Act''.

SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS OFFERED BY FOREIGN 
              INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.

    Section 481(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1088(b)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
    ``(4)(A) An otherwise eligible program that is offered by a foreign 
institution and is offered in part through distance education is 
eligible for the purposes of this title if--
            ``(i) not more than 12.5 percent of such program consists 
        of courses offered principally through distance education;
            ``(ii) the foreign institution has been evaluated and 
        determined by an outside oversight entity, such as an 
        accrediting agency or association or government entity, to have 
        the capability to effectively deliver distance education 
        programs; and
            ``(iii) the students receiving aid under this title are 
        physically present in the country where the foreign institution 
        is located during the distance education instruction.
    ``(B) In calculating the percentage of a program offered through 
distance education for purposes of clause (i) of subparagraph (A), any 
course that is part of such a program that requires a student's regular 
in-person attendance for more than 50 percent of the instruction, but 
also includes one or more distance education components as part of the 
course, shall not be considered to be offered principally through 
distance education.''.
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Providing Distance Education for Foreign Institutions Act

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