Mel’s Law, the official text

119 HR 468 IH: Mel’s Law
U.S. House of Representatives
2025-01-15
text/xml
EN
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I 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 468 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 15, 2025 Ms. Velázquez (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. 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as Mel’s Law .
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.