PROTECT Students Act of 2019
Latest action · Mar 26, 2019 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 26, 2019
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Preventing Risky Operations from Threatening the Education and Career Trajectories of Students Act of 2019 or the PROTECT Students Act of 2019
This bill provides additional oversight of postsecondary education programs, including for-profit institutions of higher education (IHEs), and addresses protections for students and student loan borrowers from fraudulent or predatory practices.
The bill sets forth a variety of provisions concerning oversight of for-profit IHEs. Specifically, the bill decreases the cap on the amount of revenue for-profit IHEs may receive from federal sources, including funds from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. In addition, it establishes (1) a process for reviewing for-profit IHEs that convert to nonprofit or public status, and (2) a For-Profit Education Oversight Coordination Committee.
The bill also sets forth provisions to address predatory practices in higher education. For instance, the bill requires career education programs to prepare students for gainful employment. In addition, it requires the Office of Federal Student Aid to have a unit that enforces compliance with laws governing student financial assistance programs. The office must also maintain a system that tracks reports of suspicious activity of IHEs or student loan servicers, including anonymous complaints. Lastly, the bill allows borrowers of student loans to seek loan forgiveness if IHEs mislead the students or engage in other misconduct.
Finally, the bill prohibits IHEs that receive federal funding from limiting students' legal actions, providing incentive compensation, and using educational assistance funds for recruiting and marketing activities.
Cosponsors 27
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 26, 2019 to Jul 9, 2019, with 2 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Mar 28, 2019 | |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Apr 2, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Kamala D. Harris | Apr 2, 2019 | |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Apr 8, 2019 | |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Apr 9, 2019 | |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Apr 11, 2019 | |
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Apr 29, 2019 | |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Apr 29, 2019 | |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Apr 30, 2019 | |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Apr 30, 2019 | |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | May 1, 2019 | |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | May 6, 2019 | |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | May 6, 2019 | |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | May 7, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Tammy Duckworth | May 9, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | May 13, 2019 | |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | May 13, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | May 20, 2019 | |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | May 23, 2019 | |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Jun 5, 2019 | |
| D-MN | Tina Smith | Jun 10, 2019 | |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Jun 11, 2019 | |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Jun 26, 2019 | |
| D-DE | Thomas R. Carper | Jul 8, 2019 | |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Jul 9, 2019 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 26, 2019Introduced in Senate
- Mar 26, 2019Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Related bills 4
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 608 | Court Legal Access and Student Support (CLASS) Act of 2019 | Related bill | Feb 28, 2019 |
| HR 3369 | DAVIE Act | Related bill | Jun 19, 2019 |
| HR 3512 | PROTECT Students Act of 2019 | Identical bill | Jul 30, 2019 |
| HR 4977 | Higher Education Funds Integrity Act | Related bill | Nov 1, 2019 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.
- Accounting and auditing
- Administrative remedies
- Civil actions and liability
- Congressional oversight
- Consumer affairs
- Debt collection
- Department of Education
- Education
- Education programs funding
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Fraud offenses and financial crimes
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Higher education
- Licensing and registrations
- Marketing and advertising
- Student aid and college costs
- Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
- Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs
- Wages and earnings
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 26, 2019Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.
