GRAD Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The GRAD Act amends two Higher Education Act graduate-program grant authorities. It adds eligible part B institutions that offer a qualified master's degree program and are not already listed in section 723, then changes the residual-funding rule from amounts above $9 million to any remaining amount after the existing allocation formula. It makes the parallel change for Predominantly Black Institutions in section 724 by adding eligible PBIs with qualified master's programs and replacing the above-$2.5-million residual rule with any remaining amount after the formula.
Who Benefits and How
HBCUs covered by part B and Predominantly Black Institutions with qualified master's programs benefit because they become eligible for graduate-program funds that previously flowed only to listed categories or only after fixed dollar thresholds. Graduate students at those institutions may benefit through stronger master's programs, faculty support, and academic capacity.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Education bears the grant-administration burden because it must apply the new eligibility categories and residual-funding rules. Previously listed graduate-program grantees could face more competition for remaining funds if additional institutions qualify.
Key Provisions
- Adds part B institutions with qualified master's degree programs to the section 723 graduate-program eligibility list.
- Replaces the section 723 residual-funding threshold above $9 million with any remaining amount after the allocation formula.
- Adds Predominantly Black Institutions with qualified master's degree programs to the section 724 eligibility list.
- Replaces the section 724 residual-funding threshold above $2.5 million with any remaining amount after the allocation formula.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Expands Higher Education Act graduate-program grants so additional part B institutions and Predominantly Black Institutions with qualified master's programs can receive remaining funds after existing allocations.
Key Policy Areas
Education, Civil Rights
Primary Purpose
Expands Higher Education Act graduate-program grants so additional part B institutions and Predominantly Black Institutions with qualified master's programs can receive remaining funds after existing allocations.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Part B institutions
- Predominantly Black Institutions
- Graduate students
- HBCU master's programs
Identified Costs
- Department of Education
- Existing graduate-program grantees
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced in House
Ms. McClellan (for herself, Ms. Adams, Ms. Clarke of New …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Department of Education, Existing graduate-program grantees, Graduate students
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A master's degree program that qualifies an institution for the amended HEA graduate-program grant categories.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology