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H.R. 3179House116th Congress (2019-2021)In Committee

POST Act of 2019

Sponsored by Steve CohenRep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Introduced June 10, 2019

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 14, 2026 at 6:02 AM UTC

The POST Act of 2019 changes the Higher Education Act to require for‑profit (proprietary) colleges and universities to get at least 15% of their revenue from sources other than federal funds. It defines what counts as federal money, how schools must calculate their revenue mix, and obligates the Education Department to report these figures to Congress each year. The goal is to protect students and taxpayers by limiting how much federal aid these schools can rely on.

Key Provisions

  • Sets a new “85/15 rule”: a proprietary institution must have at least 15% of its revenue from non‑federal sources to qualify for federal student‑aid programs.
  • Defines “federal funds” broadly, covering grants, loans, subsidies, guarantees, and other assistance, but excludes certain veteran housing stipends.
  • Specifies how schools calculate revenue, counting tuition, fees, on‑campus educational activities, certain job‑training contracts, and scholarships from outside sources, while excluding loans, most Title IV funds, and other federal reimbursements.
  • Requires the Secretary of Education to submit an annual report to Congress showing each for‑profit school's percentage of federal versus non‑federal revenue.
  • Repeals and renumbers existing provisions in Section 487 of the Higher Education Act that previously governed the 85/15 rule, and makes related conforming amendments throughout the law.

Legislative Activity

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HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Education and Workforce Committee

June 10, 2019

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

June 10, 2019

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Education and Workforce Committee

June 10, 2019

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued June 10, 2019

I

116th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3179

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 10, 2019

Mr. Cohen (for himself, Ms. Jackson Lee, and Mr. Cisneros) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

A BILL

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 regarding proprietary institutions of higher education in order to protect students and taxpayers.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Protecting Our Students and Taxpayers Act of 2019 or POST Act of 2019.

2.

85/15 rule

(a)

In general

Section 102(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(b)) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1)—

(A)

in subparagraph (D), by striking and after the semicolon;

(B)

in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and; and

(C)

by adding at the end the following:

(F)

meets the requirements of paragraph (2).

;

(2)

by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and

(3)

by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:

(2)

Revenue sources

(A)

In general

In order to qualify as a proprietary institution of higher education under this subsection, an institution shall derive not less than 15 percent of the institution's revenues from sources other than Federal funds, as calculated in accordance with subparagraphs (B) and (C).

(B)

Federal funds

In this paragraph, the term Federal funds means any Federal financial assistance provided, under this Act or any other Federal law, through a grant, contract, subsidy, loan, guarantee, insurance, or other means to a proprietary institution, including Federal financial assistance that is disbursed or delivered to an institution or on behalf of a student or to a student to be used to attend the institution, except that such term shall not include any monthly housing stipend provided under the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Program under chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code.

(C)

Implementation of non-Federal revenue requirement

In making calculations under subparagraph (A), an institution of higher education shall—

(i)

use the cash basis of accounting;

(ii)

consider as revenue only those funds generated by the institution from—

(I)

tuition, fees, and other institutional charges for students enrolled in programs eligible for assistance under title IV;

(II)

activities conducted by the institution that are necessary for the education and training of the institution's students, if such activities are—

(aa)

conducted on campus or at a facility under the control of the institution;

(bb)

performed under the supervision of a member of the institution's faculty; and

(cc)

required to be performed by all students in a specific educational program at the institution; and

(III)

a contractual arrangement with a Federal agency for the purpose of providing job training to low-income individuals who are in need of such training;

(iii)

presume that any Federal funds that are disbursed or delivered to an institution on behalf of a student or directly to a student will be used to pay the student's tuition, fees, or other institutional charges, regardless of whether the institution credits such funds to the student's account or pays such funds directly to the student, except to the extent that the student's tuition, fees, or other institutional charges are satisfied by—

(I)

grant funds provided by an outside source that—

(aa)

has no affiliation with the institution; and

(bb)

shares no employees with the institution; and

(II)

institutional scholarships described in clause (v);

(iv)

include no loans made by an institution of higher education as revenue to the school, except for payments made by students on such loans;

(v)

include a scholarship provided by the institution—

(I)

only if the scholarship is in the form of monetary aid based upon the academic achievements or financial need of students, disbursed to qualified student recipients during each fiscal year from an established restricted account; and

(II)

only to the extent that funds in that account represent designated funds, or income earned on such funds, from an outside source that—

(aa)

has no affiliation with the institution; and

(bb)

shares no employees with the institution; and

(vi)

exclude from revenues—

(I)

the amount of funds the institution received under part C of title IV, unless the institution used those funds to pay a student's institutional charges;

(II)

the amount of funds the institution received under subpart 4 of part A of title IV;

(III)

the amount of funds provided by the institution as matching funds for any Federal program;

(IV)

the amount of Federal funds provided to the institution to pay institutional charges for a student that were refunded or returned; and

(V)

the amount charged for books, supplies, and equipment, unless the institution includes that amount as tuition, fees, or other institutional charges.

(D)

Report to congress

Not later than July 1, 2020, and by July 1 of each succeeding year, the Secretary shall submit to the authorizing committees a report that contains, for each proprietary institution of higher education that receives assistance under title IV and as provided in the audited financial statements submitted to the Secretary by each institution pursuant to the requirements of section 487(c)—

(i)

the amount and percentage of such institution's revenues received from Federal funds; and

(ii)

the amount and percentage of such institution's revenues received from other sources.

.

(b)

Repeal of existing requirements

Section 487 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (a)—

(A)

by striking paragraph (24);

(B)

by redesignating paragraphs (25) through (29) as paragraphs (24) through (28), respectively;

(C)

in paragraph (24)(A)(ii) (as redesignated by subparagraph (B)), by striking subsection (e) and inserting subsection (d); and

(D)

in paragraph (26) (as redesignated by subparagraph (B)), by striking subsection (h) and inserting subsection (g);

(2)

by striking subsection (d);

(3)

by redesignating subsections (e) through (j) as subsections (d) through (i), respectively;

(4)

in the matter preceding paragraph (1) of subsection (d) (as redesignated by paragraph (3)), by striking (a)(25) and inserting (a)(24);

(5)

in subsection (f)(1) (as redesignated by paragraph (3)), by striking subsection (e)(2) and inserting subsection (d)(2); and

(6)

in subsection (g)(1) (as redesignated by paragraph (3)), by striking subsection (a)(27) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting subsection (a)(26).

(c)

Conforming amendments

The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended—

(1)

in section 152 (20 U.S.C. 1019a)—

(A)

in subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking subsections (a)(27) and (h) of section 487 and inserting subsections (a)(26) and (g) of section 487; and

(B)

in subsection (b)(1)(B)(i)(I), by striking section 487(e) and inserting section 487(d);

(2)

in section 153(c)(3) (20 U.S.C. 1019b(c)(3)), by striking section 487(a)(25) each place the term appears and inserting section 487(a)(24);

(3)

in section 496(c)(3)(A) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)(3)(A)), by striking section 487(f) and inserting section 487(e); and

(4)

in section 498(k)(1) (20 U.S.C. 1099c(k)(1)), by striking section 487(f) and inserting section 487(e).