Clock Hour Program Student Protection Act

Clock Hour Program Student Protection Act

This bill provides statutory authority for the 150% rule, which allows an educational program that prepares students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation to maintain eligibility for federal student aid funding if the program operates within 150% of the state's minimum hours requirement for licensure. 

The Department of Education (ED) previously enforced the 150% rule through regulations. ED proposed a new regulation to rescind the 150% rule and instead limit the length of these programs to 100% of the state's minimum required hours. This revised regulation was set to take effect on July 1, 2024; however, a court imposed a temporary injunction to halt the regulation from taking effect.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1176 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1176

  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify the clock hour 
 requirements for certain eligible programs under title IV of such Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 10, 2025

   Mr. Smucker (for himself, Mr. Owens, Mr. Meuser, Mr. Thompson of 
 Pennsylvania, and Mr. Van Orden) introduced the following bill; which 
        was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify the clock hour 
 requirements for certain eligible programs under title IV of such Act.

    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 ``Clock Hour Program Student 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. CLOCK HOUR REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN PROGRAMS OF TRAINING.

    (a) In General.--Section 481(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1088(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(5) An otherwise eligible program that provides a program of 
training to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized 
profession in a State, and for which the number of clock hours of 
instruction exceeds the minimum number of clock hours of instruction 
required by such State for training in the recognized profession for 
which the otherwise eligible program prepares students, shall be 
determined to be an eligible program under this subsection if the 
number of clock hours of instruction provided by such otherwise 
eligible program does not exceed the greater of--
            ``(A) 150 percent of the minimum number of clock hours 
        required by such State for training in the recognized 
        profession for which the otherwise eligible program prepares 
        students; or
            ``(B) 150 percent of the minimum number of clock hours 
        required by a Federal agency for such training.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall take 
effect on the date of enactment of this Act, and shall apply with 
respect to award year 2024-2025, and each succeeding award year.
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