June 12, 2025
Ms. Ross (for herself, Mrs. McBath, and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
To improve data collection related to student parents pursuing higher education, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Understanding Student Parent Outcomes Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Data on student parents pursuing higher education
(a) IPEDS data elements
The Commissioner of Education Statistics shall carry out the following:
(1)
(A)
To ensure consistency of the data collected pursuant to paragraph (B), establish a common definition of the term parenting student that covers any student who identifies as a parent or caregiver of a dependent child, in consultation with groups that include—
(i)
students who are parents or caregivers of dependent children;
(ii)
experts in data collection related to such students;
(iii)
support staff at institutions of higher education for such students;
(iv)
financial aid administrators at institutions of higher education; and
(v)
research staff at institutions of higher education.
(B)
(i)
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, develop data elements related to parenting students (as such term is defined pursuant to subparagraph (A)) attending institutions of higher education for the surveys conducted as a part of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) or any other Federal postsecondary institution data collection effort, to collect data related to such parenting students that shall be disaggregated in accordance with clause (ii), and which includes data elements on—
(I)
the number of parenting students;
(II)
the enrollment, retention, and completion rates of parenting students;
(III)
the average individual net price charged to parenting students by institutions of higher education (as determined based on the calculation of the individual net price of an institution of higher education for a student under section 132(h)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a(h)(2)));
(IV)
the marital status of such students (reported in aggregate by marital status categories);
(V)
the number of such students who are employed for all or part of the academic year while enrolled;
(VI)
the median income of such students, and the number of such students in each income category (determined in accordance with section 132(i)(6) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015a(i)(6)));
(VII)
the number of such students who are enrolled in an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree program, or a certificate program;
(VIII)
the number of such students who are enrolled full-time, part-time, or less than part-time;
(IX)
the number of such students who are Federal Pell grant recipients;
(X)
the number of such students who use campus-based childcare services;
(XI)
the number and age of dependent children of such students;
(XII)
the disability status of dependent children of such students; and
(XIII)
the transfer status of such students (without regard to whether such students were admitted as a transfer student or not).
(ii)
Any data collected using the data elements developed pursuant to clause (i) shall be disaggregated—
(I)
by students who identify as a parent of a dependent child; and
(II)
by students who identify as a caregiver of a dependent child.
(2)
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, include the experts described in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) in the technical and scientific peer-review groups and scientific program advisory committees authorized under section 114(g) of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9514(g)) to advise, on a continuous basis, the Commissioner on best practices related to data collection on parenting students (as such term is defined pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)).
(3)
Beginning with academic year 2026–2027 and annually thereafter—
(A)
collect information on the data elements described in paragraph (1)(B) with respect to, at a minimum, the institutions of higher education required to complete, pursuant to section 487(a)(17) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(17)), the surveys described in paragraph (1)(B); and
(B)
disaggregate the information collected—
(i)
by race and ethnicity; and
(ii)
by gender.
(b) Technical assistance
The Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Education Statistics, shall provide technical assistance to States and institutions of higher education related to developing and carrying out State and institutional data collection mechanisms for data on the parental status of students collected in accordance with subsection (a), including—
(1)
how to leverage existing systems, surveys, and other data collection mechanisms to collect and report such data, and examples and best practices related to data collection and privacy;
(2)
integration and reporting of such data with State information systems, including statewide longitudinal data systems;
(3)
how to account for data elements that change over time; and
(4)
recommendations of best practices to institutions of higher education related to communicating with students about data use and privacy, including how data will be used to help students who are parents or caregivers of dependent children.
Sec. 3. Study on improving student parent outcomes
(a) Study
The Secretary of Education shall conduct a study of a demographically and geographically representative sample of institutions of higher education (as determined by the Secretary) on best practices of institutions of higher education that improve outcomes for students attending institutions of higher education who are parents or caregivers of dependent children. Such study shall include qualitative and quantitative research on—
(1)
the enrollment, persistence, and retention of students attending institutions of higher education who are parents or caregivers of dependent children, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, income, and the type of program in which such students are enrolled (such as an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree program, or a certificate program);
(2)
the effects of the availability of campus-based childcare services on such outcomes of students who are parents or caregivers of dependent children, including a comparison of students whose children are served by the campus-based childcare services with students whose children are not served by campus-based childcare services;
(3)
enrollment trends of students who are parents or caregivers of dependent children to attend certain institutions or types of institutions, and whether such trends and preferences are based on the availability of institutional support services for such students, such as campus-based childcare, student parent centers, and grants under the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program under subpart 7 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070e);
(4)
the percentage of children served by campus-based childcare services who are the children of students, compared to the percentage of such children who are children of faculty, staff, and other community members, disaggregated by—
(A)
race, ethnicity, gender, employment or student status (including faculty, staff, community member, and student status), and family income of the parent of such children; and
(B)
only with respect to students who are parents of such children, the type of program in which the student is enrolled (such as an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree program, or a certificate program); and
(5)
the strategies used by institutions of higher education for integration of on-campus services for students who are parents or caregivers of dependent children with other State and institution-provided services, such as the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the program of block grants for States for temporary assistance for needy families established under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), workforce programs including adult education and literacy activities (as defined in section 203 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3272)), and Head Start and Early Head Start programs carried out under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.).
(b) Report and dissemination of findings
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall report the findings of the study conducted under subsection (a) to Congress, and make such findings publicly available. Such findings shall include information on the best practices identified by the Secretary to be most effective at improving outcomes for students attending institutions of higher education who are parents or caregivers of dependent children.
Sec. 4. Definitions
In this Act:
(1) Institution of higher education
The term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002).
(2) State
The term State has the meaning given the term in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003).