Providing Distance Education for Foreign Institutions Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 6282 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 6282 To amend title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide program eligibility for distance education programs offered by foreign institutions of higher education. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 21, 2025 Mr. Smucker (for himself and Mr. Schneider) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide program eligibility for distance education programs offered by foreign institutions of higher education. 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 ``Providing Distance Education for Foreign Institutions Act''. SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS OFFERED BY FOREIGN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. (a) In General.--Section 481(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088(b)) is amended-- (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and (2) by inserting after paragraph (3), the following: ``(4)(A) An otherwise eligible program that is offered by a foreign institution and is offered in part through distance education is eligible for the purposes of this title if-- ``(i) not more than 12.5 percent of such program consists of courses offered principally through distance education; ``(ii) the foreign institution has been evaluated and determined by an outside oversight entity, such as an accrediting agency or association or government entity, to have the capability to effectively deliver distance education programs; and ``(iii) the students receiving aid under this title are physically present in