If funded, colleges could give emergency grants to enrolled students

The Education Secretary would award grants to colleges so they could provide emergency grants to students. A college must be an institution of higher education. A student must be enrolled there, but enrollment alone would not guarantee a grant. Congress would need to provide funding for grants to be made. Each college would have to apply, and the Secretary would select which colleges receive grants. The bill authorizes Congress to provide funding for fiscal years 2027 through 2032; it does not limit grant awards to those years.

A college receiving a grant would set its student eligibility rules and decide which students receive grants. The rules apply to enrolled students at colleges selected to receive program grants. An eligible emergency may involve financial challenges related to any part of a student's attendance costs, or challenges that could affect the student's ability to continue studying. A student could receive no more than the maximum Federal Pell Grant amount available for that academic year under this program. The grant limit applies cumulatively for each academic year.

Emergency grants under the program would be excluded from specified student aid and benefit calculations. These rules apply to emergency grants awarded to students under this program. The grants would not count as estimated or other financial assistance for specified calculations, or in specified expected family contribution or student aid index calculations for Title IV aid. They would not count when deciding eligibility for other public benefits, or be included in a student's gross income for federal tax purposes.

The Education Secretary could not use arrangements with other federal agencies for work related to this Act or its amendments. It applies to work related to this Act and its amendments, including running programs, awarding grants, providing technical help, enforcing requirements, and overseeing programs. The restriction covers arrangements such as agreements, contracts, shared services, transferred activities or funds, and joint projects. The restriction would cover new arrangements and arrangements already in place on the date of enactment.