STUDENT ELIGIBILITY.

SEC. 485. STUDENT ELIGIBILITY.(a) Amendments.—Section 484 (20 U.S.C. 1091) is amended—(1) in subsection (a)—(A) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking “number,” and all that follows through the semicolon and inserting “number;”; and(B) in paragraph (5)—(i) by inserting “or” after “a permanent resident of the United States,”; and(ii) by striking “citizen or permanent resident” and all that follows through the semicolon and inserting “citizen or permanent resident;”;(2) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting “, or under section 428H pursuant to an exercise of discretion under section 479A” after “428C”;(3) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following:“(4) The student shall be determined by the institution of higher education as having the ability to benefit from the education or training offered by the institution of higher education upon satisfactory completion of six credit hours or the 122 STAT. 3288 equivalent coursework that are applicable toward a degree or certificate offered by the institution of higher education.”;(4) by striking subsection (j);(5) by striking subsection (l) and inserting the following:“(l) Courses Offered Through Distance Education.—“(1) Relation to correspondence courses.—“(A) In general.—A student enrolled in a course of instruction at an institution of higher education that is offered principally through distance education and leads to a recognized certificate, or recognized associate, recognized baccalaureate, or recognized graduate degree, conferred by such institution, shall not be considered to be enrolled in correspondence courses.“(B) Exception.—An institution of higher education referred to in subparagraph (A) shall not include an institution or school described in section 3(3)(C) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006.“(2) Reductions of financial aid.—A student’s eligibility to receive grants, loans, or work assistance under this title shall be reduced if a financial aid officer determines under the discretionary authority provided in section 479A that distance education results in a substantially reduced cost of attendance to such student.“(3) Special rule.—For award years beginning prior to July 1, 2008, the Secretary shall not take any compliance, disallowance, penalty, or other action based on a violation of this subsection against a student or an eligible institution when such action arises out of such institution’s prior award of student assistance under this title if the institution demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that its course of instruction would have been in conformance with the requirements of this subsection.”;(6) by striking subsection (q) and inserting the following:“(q) Use of Income Data.—“(1) Matching with irs.—The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Treasury, is authorized to obtain from the Internal Revenue Service such information reported on Federal income tax returns by applicants, or by any other person whose financial information is required to be provided on the Federal student financial aid application, as the Secretary determines is necessary for the purpose of—“(A) prepopulating the Federal student financial aid application described in section 483; or“(B) verifying the information reported on such student financial aid applications.“(2) Consent.—The Secretary may require that applicants for financial assistance under this title provide a consent to the disclosure of the data described in paragraph (1) as a condition of the student receiving assistance under this title. The parents of an applicant, in the case of a dependent student, or the spouse of an applicant, in the case of an applicant who is married but files separately, may also be required to provide consent as a condition of the student receiving assistance under this title.”;(7) in subsection (r)(2)—(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking “or” at the end of clause (ii);122 STAT. 3289(B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); and(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraph:“(B) the student successfully passes two unannounced drug tests conducted by a drug rehabilitation program that complies with such criteria as the Secretary shall prescribe in regulations for purposes of subparagraph (A)(i); or”;(8) by adding at the end the following:“(s) Students With Intellectual Disabilities.—“(1) Definitions.—In this subsection the terms ‘comprehensive transition and postsecondary program for students with intellectual disabilities’ and ‘student with an intellectual disability’ have the meanings given the terms in section 760.“(2) Requirements.—Notwithstanding subsections (a), (c), and (d), in order to receive any grant or work assistance under section 401, subpart 3 of part A, or part C, a student with an intellectual disability shall—“(A) be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a comprehensive transition and postsecondary program for students with intellectual disabilities at an institution of higher education;“(B) be maintaining satisfactory progress in the program as determined by the institution, in accordance with standards established by the institution; and“(C) meet the requirements of paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (6) of subsection (a).“(3) Authority.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law unless such provision is enacted with specific reference to this section, the Secretary is authorized to waive any statutory provision applicable to the student financial assistance programs under section 401, subpart 3 of part A, or part C (other than a provision of part F related to such a program), or any institutional eligibility provisions of this title, as the Secretary determines necessary to ensure that programs enrolling students with intellectual disabilities otherwise determined to be eligible under this subsection may receive such financial assistance.“(4) Regulations.—Notwithstanding regulations applicable to grant or work assistance awards made under section 401, subpart 3 of part A, and part C (other than a regulation under part F related to such an award), including with respect to eligible programs, instructional time, credit status, and enrollment status as described in section 481, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations allowing programs enrolling students with intellectual disabilities otherwise determined to be eligible under this subsection to receive such awards.”; and(9) by adding after subsection (s) (as added by paragraph (7)) the following:“(t) Data Analysis on Access to Federal Student Aid For Certain Populations.—“(1) Development of the system.—Within one year of enactment of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the Secretary shall analyze data from the FAFSA containing information regarding the number, characteristics, and circumstances 122 STAT. 3290 of students denied Federal student aid based on a drug conviction while receiving Federal aid.“(2) Results from analysis.—The results from the analysis of such information shall be made available on a continuous basis via the Department website and the Digest of Education Statistics.“(3) Data updating.—The data analyzed under this subsection shall be updated at the beginning of each award year and at least one additional time during such award year.“(4) Report to congress.—The Secretary shall prepare and submit to the authorizing committees, in each fiscal year, a report describing the results obtained by the establishment and operation of the data system authorized by this subsection.”.(b) Effective Date.—The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect on July 1, 2010, except that the amendments made by paragraphs (3), (4), and (8) of such subsection shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.