Young’s bipartisan bill would reform nation’s ‘broken’ higher ed system

U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) recently introduced bipartisan legislation to incentivize reforms in America’s higher education system. 

“Currently higher education is falling short in serving our most vulnerable students,” said Sen. Young, who on April 8 sponsored the Fund for Innovation and Success in Higher Education (FINISH) Act, S. 1059.

“The FINISH Act helps to reform this broken system by using incentives to adopt innovative solutions with a track record of success,” the senator said.

Sen. Young unveiled S. 1059 with lead cosponsors U.S. Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to support innovative, evidence-based approaches that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of postsecondary education for all students, to allow pay for success initiatives, and to provide additional evaluation authority, among other purposes, according to the congressional record.

“This bill works to ensure our students have the tools to finish a credential or degree pathway – not just start,” he said. “It’s a win-win for our students and educators as well as our economy.” 

If enacted, S. 1059 would amend the Fund for the Improvement of Secondary Education (FIPSE) to allow grant recipients to use a portion of their funds for tiered evidence-based grants to support initiatives that increase access to higher education for high-need students, increase degree attainment, and improve efficiency in the higher education system, according to a summary provided by Sen. Young’s office.

S. 1059 also would encourage higher ed institutions to make all forms of postsecondary instructional content widely available to produce significant cost-savings for students and increased efficiency to institutions of higher education, according to the summary.

Additionally, S. 1059 would permit the U.S. Education Secretary to approve up to five Pay-for-Success pilot initiatives each fiscal year that allow grant recipients to partner with outside organizations to achieve the goals of federally funded higher education grant programs, among other provisions outlined in the senator’s summary. 

S. 1059 already has garnered the support of 122 local, state and national organizations, including the Education Trust, America’s Promise, Results for America, the Knowledge Alliance, and the Institute for Higher Education Policy, among many others.