H.R. 468

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.