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To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education, as a condition of participation in programs under title IV of such Act, to establish a policy to award posthumous degrees to certain deceased students, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education receiving federal student aid funds to establish a policy for awarding posthumous degrees. A posthumous degree may be awarded to a deceased student who was enrolled in a degree program, died before completing it, and was in academic standing consistent with graduation requirements at the time of death. The bill also prohibits accreditation agencies from considering the number of posthumous degrees awarded by an institution as part of their accreditation standards. The requirement takes effect one year after the bill is enacted.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
6 cosponsors
Actions (2)
- Jan 15, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. · house
- Jan 15, 2025 Introduced in House
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Text versions (1)
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Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 15, 2025
Ms. Velazquez (for herself, Ms. Malliotakis, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Tonko, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, and Mrs. McIver) 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 require institutions of higher education, as a condition of participation in programs under title IV of such Act, to establish a policy to award posthumous degrees to certain deceased students, and for other purposes.
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 “Mel’s Law”.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO AWARD POSTHUMOUS DEGREES.
(a) Posthumous Degrees.—Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(30) The institution certifies that the institution has established a policy to award posthumous degrees to deceased students who—
“(A) had been enrolled in a degree program at the institution;
“(B) died prior to completing such program; and
“(C) at the time of death, were in academic standing consistent with the requirements for graduation from such program, as determined by the institution.”.
(b) Accreditation Criteria.—Section 496(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (8) as paragraphs (7) through (9), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
“(6) the standards for accreditation of the agency or association do not take into consideration the number of posthumous degrees awarded by the institution to deceased students;”.
(c) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. <all>
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