WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to boost college access and affordability for students and their families, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee today passed two important higher education bills. The legislation includes several key provisions authored by U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) to increase student financial aid and help simplify the application process, and to improve teacher preparation programs so that early childhood educators have the skills and tools to be effective in the classroom.

"These bipartisan initiatives will help put college within reach for more deserving students," said Reed, a senior member of the HELP Committee. "With college tuitions skyrocketing over the last decade, we must take meaningful steps to reduce financial barriers to college access, assist students and their families in paying down their student loans, and help more families prepare to bear the cost of college tuition."

Included in the legislation are several provisions from Reed's Financial Aid Form Simplification and Access (FAFSA) Act (S. 939) to make it easier for more students to qualify for student financial aid and streamline the application process. Every family must fill out the FAFSA form to get federal financial assistance such as grants, loans, and work-study jobs.

With an estimated 12,000 Rhode Island students graduating high school this year, Reed's provision will simplify the financial aid process for low-income students by raising the Automatic-Zero Expected Family Contribution threshold to $30,000 and aligning its eligibility with the standards for other federal means-tested programs (such as school lunch, SSI, Food Stamps). This will ensure that all students from families with incomes of $30,000 or less will receive at least a maximum Pell Grant. Currently, only families making $20,000 or less automatically qualify for such grants. The legislation would also raises the maximum Pell Grant to $5,100 from its present level of $4,310, providing an extra $10 million in federal financial aid to Rhode Island students per year.

Reed's provision will also help simplify the process of applying for financial aid by creating a short, paper Free Application for Federal Student Aid (EZ-FAFSA) for low-income students, phasing out the complex, one-size-fits-all long form of 7 pages and over 80 questions. It will also develop a tailored web-based application form to ensure that all students and their parents answer only the questions needed to determine financial aid eligibility in the state in which they reside. Students who do not have web access will be able to use a free tele-file system for filing by phone.

Reed also authored a key measure to create a pilot program to test an early application system under which students would complete a FAFSA and receive an aid estimate or determination in their junior year of high school.

"Applying for college can be a stressful and daunting task. We should make the process of applying for financial aid as simple and streamlined as possible," said Reed. "This legislation will take some of the guess work out of the process and give more students the opportunity to complete financial applications earlier and receive early assurances of aid eligibility."

The HELP Committee also approved a Reed initiative from the FAFSA Act to increase the Income Protection Allowance (IPA) and reduce the penalty faced by students when they work in order to pay for college. Currently, a dependent student's aid is reduced for every dollar they earn in excess of $3,000. The bill doubles the IPA for dependent students from $3,000 to $6,000 over four years and increases the IPA for independent students, including adult learners, veterans, and those students in foster care, by 50 percent over four years.

Senator Reed said, "We should be rewarding work, not penalizing it. These increases will help working families and students better afford a college education by stemming the perverse income protection limits that punish those students and parents who work one, two, or more jobs to afford college."

The legislation also includes key provisions from Reed's Accessing College through Comprehensive Early Outreach and State Partnerships (ACCESS) Act (S. 938) to help forge a new federal incentive for states to form partnerships with businesses, colleges, and non-profit organizations to provide low-income students with increased need-based grant aid, early information and assurance of aid eligibility (beginning in 7th grade), and early intervention, mentoring, and outreach services. Research has shown that college access programs that combine these elements are successful in making the dream of higher education a reality. Students participating in such programs are more financially and academically prepared, and thus, more likely to enroll in college and persist to degree completion.

The legislation also includes Reed's Librarian Incentive to Boost Recruitment and Retention in Areas of Need (LIBRARIAN) Act (S. 1121) to help recruit students to go into the field of library sciences by canceling Perkins student loans for full-time librarians with a master's degree in library science. Librarians working full-time in low-income areas would qualify for up to 100 percent Perkins student loan forgiveness depending on their number of years of experience.

Reed also authored a provision to expand Perkins loan forgiveness for members of the Armed Forces from 50 to 100 percent.

"Our brave men and women in uniform make huge sacrifices for our nation," stated Reed. "It is the least we can do to provide them with the opportunity to further their education. This legislation will help to recognize the service of our military members and their families and help invest in their future."

Finally, the legislation includes provisions from Reed's Preparing, Recruiting, and Retaining Education Professionals (PRREP) Act to strengthen the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants program to provide prospective and new teachers, including early childhood educators, with effective teaching skills, high-quality, sustained mentoring and support, and enhanced opportunities for professional development.

"Improving teacher quality is the single most important measure we can take to increase student achievement. Highly effective teachers are essential to providing students with a strong, quality education," said Reed, "We must provide federal support to ensure that teachers not only have the credentials to be considered a highly qualified teacher under the No Child Left Behind Act, but also the skills and training to be truly effective in the classroom."

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