H.R. 2271 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the House, sent to the Committee on Education and Workforce, Mar 21, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryStreamlines college ownership changes and conversions
When a college wants to change who owns it or when a for-profit college wants to become public or nonprofit, this bill sets up a formal application process that schools must follow. The bill creates deadlines for the Department of Education to approve or deny these applications, requires colleges to pay administrative fees, and sets up a five-year monitoring period after conversion to make sure the college stays in compliance with tax rules.
How it affects you
This mainly affects for-profit colleges, nonprofit colleges, and public colleges considering ownership changes or conversions. For students and families, the change means there's now a structured review process to evaluate whether these major transitions are sound before they happen, plus ongoing monitoring afterward to protect institutional stability.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Mar 21, 2025)
Change of Ownership and Conversion Improvement Act
This bill revises the application and review process for institutions of higher education (IHEs) to change ownership or for a proprietary (i.e., for-profit) IHE to convert to public or other nonprofit status.
Specifically, the bill (1) establishes a pretransaction review application, and (2) requires an IHE to pay an administrative fee to the Department of Education (ED) for change in ownership or conversion transactions or pretransaction reviews. In the case of a for-profit IHE seeking conversion or a pretransaction review for conversion, ED must remit 50% of the administrative fee to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to determine whether the IHE is exempt from tax and is otherwise in compliance with the applicable requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC).
The bill establishes time frames for ED to approve or deny applications. The bill also includes various reporting requirements.
An IHE that has been approved for conversion by ED must be subject to a five-year monitoring period and must also pay an annual fee for this monitoring. ED must remit 50% of the annual fee to the IRS for monitoring the IHE's compliance with the IRC.
The Government Accountability Office must report on the implementation of this bill's provisions.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 2271
A BILL
Change of Ownership and Conversion Improvement Act
Sponsor: Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT-4) · Introduced Mar 21, 2025 · Education · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Mar 21, 2025: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.”