Colleges could seek funding to help students meet basic needs

The Education Department would award competitive grants to colleges to plan and carry out student support programs. Eligible colleges could seek support for students’ food, housing, and other basic needs. Congress would need to provide the money. Colleges seeking grants to carry out plans would need ongoing funding from outside the federal government to continue the work afterward. Those colleges would use a plan approved by the Education Department or developed through a planning grant. They would choose at least two allowed activities; direct help for students would be one option. The bill would authorize Congress to provide $1 billion each fiscal year from 2027 through 2033.

The Education Department would send potentially eligible student aid applicants benefit applications and information about enrolling or keeping benefits. Outreach would cover applicants identified as potentially eligible for covered federally funded benefit programs. Applicants who received benefits during the most recent two years would get information about renewing or keeping them. Screening would use student aid applications and shared agency data without checking school attendance levels, income, work, or community participation requirements. Receiving this information would not mean the applicant qualifies for benefits.

Student aid applicants would be offered a choice to authorize sharing their application and financial aid information with benefit agencies. The sharing option would cover federal and state agencies handling applications for covered federally funded benefits. Parents or spouses would also be offered that choice when necessary. People receiving information through these agreements could use it only as needed to identify potential recipients and help them enroll or keep benefits. They could not disclose it for other purposes, including criminal or civil investigations and prosecutions.

Colleges receiving these grants could not cut their own student grants because a student receives a covered public benefit. The rule would cover both eligibility for college-funded grants and the amount awarded.