119-hr3994

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3994 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3994

 To improve data collection related to student parents pursuing higher 
 education, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 12, 2025

 Ms. Ross (for herself, Mrs. McBath, and Mr. Bacon) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
 Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To improve data collection related to student parents pursuing higher 
 education, 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 the ``Understanding Student Parent 
Outcomes Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DATA ON STUDENT PARENTS PURSUING HIGHER EDUCATION.

    (a) IPEDS Data Elements.--The Commissioner of Education Statistics 
shall carry out the following:

    (1)
        (A) To ensure consistency of the data collected pursuant 
 to paragraph
        (B) , establish a common definition of the term 
 ``parenting student'' that covers any student who identifies as 
 a parent or caregiver of a dependent child, in consultation 
 with groups that include--
            (i) students who are parents or caregivers of 
 dependent children;
            (ii) experts in data collection related to such 
 students;
            (iii) support staff at institutions of higher 
 education for such students;
            (iv) financial aid administrators at institutions 
 of higher education; and
            (v) research staff at institutions of higher 
 education.
        (B)
            (i) Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
 enactment of this Act, develop data elements related to 
 parenting students (as such term is defined pursuant to 
 subparagraph
        (A) ) attending institutions of higher education 
 for the surveys conducted as a part of the Integrated 
 Postsecondary Education Data System

    (IPEDS) or any other 
 Federal postsecondary institution data collection effort, to 
 collect data related to such parenting students that shall be 
 disaggregated in accordance with clause
            (ii) , and which 
 includes data elements on--
            (I) the number of parenting students;
            (II) the enrollment, retention, and completion 
 rates of parenting students;
            (III) the average individual net price charged to 
 parenting students by institutions of higher education 
 (as determined based on the calculation of the 
 individual net price of an institution of higher 
 education for a student under 

section 132

    (h)

    (2) of the 
 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a

    (h)

    (2) ));
            (IV) the marital status of such students (reported 
 in aggregate by marital status categories);
            (V) the number of such students who are employed 
 for all or part of the academic year while enrolled;
            (VI) the median income of such students, and the 
 number of such students in each income category 
 (determined in accordance with 

section 132
            (i) (6) of the 
 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a
            (i) (6) ));
            (VII) the number of such students who are enrolled 
 in an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree 
 program, or a certificate program;
            (VIII) the number of such students who are enrolled 
 full-time, part-time, or less than part-time;
            (IX) the number of such students who are Federal 
 Pell grant recipients;
            (X) the number of such students who use campus-
 based childcare services;
            (XI) the number and age of dependent children of 
 such students;
            (XII) the disability status of dependent children 
 of such students; and
            (XIII) the transfer status of such students 
 (without regard to whether such students were admitted 
 as a transfer student or not).
            (ii) Any data collected using the data elements developed 
 pursuant to clause
            (i) shall be disaggregated--
            (I) by students who identify as a parent of a 
 dependent child; and
            (II) by students who identify as a caregiver of a 
 dependent child.

    (2) Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
 this Act, include the experts described in paragraph

    (1)
        (A)
            (ii) in the technical and scientific peer-review groups and 
 scientific program advisory committees authorized under 

section 114

    (g) of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 
 9514

    (g) ) to advise, on a continuous basis, the Commissioner on 
 best practices related to data collection on parenting students 
 (as such term is defined pursuant to paragraph

    (1)
        (A) ).

    (3) Beginning with academic year 2026-2027 and annually 
 thereafter--
        (A) collect information on the data elements 
 described in paragraph

    (1)
        (B) with respect to, at a 
 minimum, the institutions of higher education required 
 to complete, pursuant to 

section 487

    (a)

    (17) of the 
 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094

    (a)

    (17) ), 
 the surveys described in paragraph

    (1)
        (B) ; and
        (B) disaggregate the information collected--
            (i) by race and ethnicity; and
            (ii) by gender.

    (b) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary of Education, in 
consultation with the Commissioner of Education Statistics, shall 
provide technical assistance to States and institutions of higher 
education related to developing and carrying out State and 
institutional data collection mechanisms for data on the parental 
status of students collected in accordance with subsection

    (a) , 
including--

    (1) how to leverage existing systems, surveys, and other 
 data collection mechanisms to collect and report such data, and 
 examples and best practices related to data collection and 
 privacy;

    (2) integration and reporting of such data with State 
 information systems, including statewide longitudinal data 
 systems;

    (3) how to account for data elements that change over time; 
 and

    (4) recommendations of best practices to institutions of 
 higher education related to communicating with students about 
 data use and privacy, including how data will be used to help 
 students who are parents or caregivers of dependent children.

SEC. 3. STUDY ON IMPROVING STUDENT PARENT OUTCOMES.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of Education shall conduct a study of a 
demographically and geographically representative sample of 
institutions of higher education (as determined by the Secretary) on 
best practices of institutions of higher education that improve 
outcomes for students attending institutions of higher education who 
are parents or caregivers of dependent children. Such study shall 
include qualitative and quantitative research on--

    (1) the enrollment, persistence, and retention of students 
 attending institutions of higher education who are parents or 
 caregivers of dependent children, disaggregated by race, 
 ethnicity, gender, income, and the type of program in which 
 such students are enrolled (such as an associate, 
 baccalaureate, or graduate degree program, or a certificate 
 program);

    (2) the effects of the availability of campus-based 
 childcare services on such outcomes of students who are parents 
 or caregivers of dependent children, including a comparison of 
 students whose children are served by the campus-based 
 childcare services with students whose children are not served 
 by campus-based childcare services;

    (3) enrollment trends of students who are parents or 
 caregivers of dependent children to attend certain institutions 
 or types of institutions, and whether such trends and 
 preferences are based on the availability of institutional 
 support services for such students, such as campus-based 
 childcare, student parent centers, and grants under the Child 
 Care Access Means Parents in School Program under subpart 7 of 
 part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
 U.S.C. 1070e);

    (4) the percentage of children served by campus-based 
 childcare services who are the children of students, compared 
 to the percentage of such children who are children of faculty, 
 staff, and other community members, disaggregated by--
        (A) race, ethnicity, gender, employment or student 
 status (including faculty, staff, community member, and 
 student status), and family income of the parent of 
 such children; and
        (B) only with respect to students who are parents 
 of such children, the type of program in which the 
 student is enrolled (such as an associate, 
 baccalaureate, or graduate degree program, or a 
 certificate program); and

    (5) the strategies used by institutions of higher education 
 for integration of on-campus services for students who are 
 parents or caregivers of dependent children with other State 
 and institution-provided services, such as the supplemental 
 nutrition assistance program established under the Food and 
 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the program of 
 block grants for States for temporary assistance for needy 
 families established under part A of title IV of the Social 
 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the special supplemental 
 nutrition program for women, infants, and children under the 
 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), workforce 
 programs including adult education and literacy activities (as 
 defined in 

section 203 of the Workforce Innovation and 
 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3272)), and Head Start and Early 
 Head Start programs carried out under the Head Start Act (42 
 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.).

    (b) Report and Dissemination of 

=== Findings ===
-Not later than 2 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education 
shall report the findings of the study conducted under subsection

    (a) to Congress, and make such findings publicly available. Such findings 
shall include information on the best practices identified by the 
Secretary to be most effective at improving outcomes for students 
attending institutions of higher education who are parents or 
caregivers of dependent children.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Institution of higher education.--The term 
 ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
 term 

section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
 1002).

    (2) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given the 
 term in 

section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
 U.S.C. 1003).
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