The TRIO Programs: A Primer

Cassandria Dortch
Analyst in Education Policy

This report serves as an introduction to the TRIO programs. The TRIO programs are the primary federal programs providing support services to disadvantaged students to promote achievement in postsecondary education. This report provides a description of the TRIO programs, authorized in Title IV-A-2-1 of the Higher Education Act (HEA), as amended by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA; P.L. 110-315) in 2008. Key program amendments of the HEOA as implemented through final Department of Education (ED) regulations published in 2010 are discussed. The report is intended to support congressional understanding of the programs, summarize recent evaluations and performance reports, and review the Department of Education’s progress in implementing HEOA.

In FY2012, the TRIO programs were funded at $840 million and served almost 800,000 secondary, postsecondary, and adult students. The TRIO programs have been designed to prepare qualified individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds for postsecondary education and encourage their success throughout the educational pipeline from secondary school to undergraduate and graduate education. While the TRIO programs primarily serve low-income, first-generation college students, they also serve students with disabilities, veterans, homeless youth, foster youth, and individuals underrepresented in graduate education. The TRIO programs are also designed to award prior grantees that implement successful projects and propose highquality projects with subsequent grants before awarding applicants without prior TRIO experience.

There are six TRIO programs, each serving a different demographic. The TRIO Upward Bound (UB) Program serves secondary school students, providing relatively intensive preparation services and encouragement to help students pursue education beyond secondary school. the TRIO Talent Search (TS) Program provides less intensive services than UB in support of the completion of high school and enrollment in postsecondary education, and it encourages primarily students and out-of-school youth. The TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) Program primarily serves adults. The TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) Program motivates undergraduate students to complete their undergraduate education. The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement (McNair) Program prepares undergraduate students for graduate school. Finally, the TRIO Staff Development (Training) Program trains TRIO project staff to be more effective.

Several TRIO program provisions were amended through the HEOA. Two key HEOA amendments address issues pertaining to the application review process: scoring and second reviews (appeals). The first amendment defined outcome criteria that require the secretary and each grantee to agree upon objectives/targets for the criteria. The extent to which grantees meet or exceed these objectives determines the number of prior experience (PE) points the grantee may earn as part of its application in the next grant competition. Earning more PE points increases the likelihood of funding. The FY2011 TS and EOC and FY2012 UB grant competitions requested that applicants propose objectives for the statutorily defined outcome criteria. The second amendment established an application review process by which those unsuccessful applicants that can identify a specific technical, administrative, or scoring error may have their applications reviewed a second time (appealed). The FY2012 TRIO UB competition is the first to use the revised application review process.


Date of Report: September 10, 2012
Number of Pages: 34
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Interest Rates on Subsidized Stafford Loans to Undergraduate Students

David P. Smole
Specialist in Education Policy

Subsidized Stafford Loans are one of the types of federal student loans made available through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (DL) program, authorized under Title IV, Part D of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). These loans are only available to students who demonstrate financial need. Since July 1, 2012, Subsidized Stafford Loans are now available exclusively to undergraduate students. The federal government “subsidizes” these loans by relieving the borrower of the requirement to pay the interest that accrues while he or she is in school and during other authorized periods.

Fixed interest rates apply to all Subsidized Stafford Loans made on or after July 1, 2006. During the period from July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2008, Subsidized Stafford Loans to undergraduate students were made with a fixed interest rate of 6.8%. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (CCRAA; P.L. 110-84) set lower interest rates on Subsidized Stafford Loans made to undergraduate students during the period from July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2012. Different, incrementally lower fixed interest rates were set for loans made for each award year (AY) during this period. A fixed interest rate of 3.4% applies to Subsidized Stafford Loans made to undergraduate students during the final award year affected by the CCRAA amendments, July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012 (AY2011-2012).

The interest rate reductions made by the CCRAA did not apply to Subsidized Stafford Loans that would be made on or after July 1, 2012. These loans were scheduled to be made with a fixed interest rate of 6.8%. In the 112th Congress, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21; P.L. 112-141) was enacted which set a fixed interest rate of 3.4% for Subsidized Stafford Loans made during the one-year period from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013 (AY2012-2013). The 3.4% interest rate set by MAP-21 applies only to loans made for AY2012- 2013. Under current law, all Subsidized Stafford Loans made on or after July 1, 2013, will have a fixed interest rate of 6.8%.

In the 112th Congress, there was broad support for extending, through June 30, 2013, the period during which Subsidized Stafford Loans would be made with a 3.4% interest rate. However, the process of identifying and agreeing on offsets to the resulting increase in mandatory spending proved difficult during a period in which the federal government is facing budgetary challenges. Whether to allow the 6.8% interest rate scheduled to apply to loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2013, to take effect or to enact legislation that would establish a different interest rate or interest rate formula is an issue that may be considered during the remainder of the 112th Congress or in the 113th Congress.


Date of Report: August 23, 2012
Number of Pages: 13
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The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA): A Legal Analysis

Jody Feder
Legislative Attorney

Introduced in the 111th Congress and again in the 112th (H.R. 998/S. 555), the Student Non- Discrimination Act (SNDA) would prohibit discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity in public elementary and secondary schools. The stated purpose of the legislation is to ensure that students are free from discriminatory conduct such as harassment, bullying, intimidation, and violence. SNDA appears to be patterned on Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs or activities, although SNDA does differ from Title IX in several important respects.


Date of Report: August 9, 2012
Number of Pages: 9
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Education for Homeless Children and Youth: Background and Legislation in the 112th Congress

Gail McCallion
Specialist in Social Policy

The Education for Homeless Children and Youth program (EHCY) provides formula grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) to help ensure that all homeless children and youth have equal access to the same free and appropriate public education, including public preschool education, that is provided to other children and youth. It is the only federal education program exclusively focused on homeless children and youth. SEAs competitively subgrant funds to local educational agencies (LEAs). Not all LEAs receive EHCY grants. In school year (SY) 2010-2011, 3,651 LEAs, out of a total of 16,290, received awards. Although only 22% percent of LEAs received EHCY grants in SY2010-2011, they enrolled 71% of all homeless students in that year. Education and related services for homeless children and youth are also funded through required set-asides from Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. National data on the amount of funding set aside are not available.

The EHCY program was most recently reauthorized as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, P.L. 107-110). Reauthorization of EHCY is being considered by the 112th Congress as part of the reauthorization of ESEA. EHCY received $65.2 million in funding for FY2012; the Administration has requested level funding for the program in FY2013. In addition to regular appropriations, EHCY received $70 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds in FY2009.

All LEAs are required to report data to the Department of Education on the number of homeless students enrolled in school each year, regardless of whether or not they receive an EHCY grant. In SY2008-2009, 956,914 homeless students were reported enrolled in school; in SY2009-2010, 939,903 homeless students were reported enrolled; and in SY2010-2011, the number of enrolled homeless students reported was 1,065,794. The total number of homeless students enrolled decreased by 2% between SY2008-2009 and SY2009-2010; it increased 13% between SY2009- 2010 and SY2010-2011. During the three-year period between SY2008-2009 and SY2010-2011, it increased by 11%. Four states accounted for 42% of the total number of students enrolled in both LEAs with EHCY subgrants and those without in SY2010-2011. Those states, and their percentages of total homeless student enrollment were, California (21%), New York (9%), Texas (8%), and Florida (5%).

Legislation to reauthorize EHCY as part of the reauthorization of ESEA has been reported by both House and Senate committees. Some of the issues that are under consideration include EHCY program funding; costs of transporting homeless students to their school of origin; implementation of the ESEA Title I-A set-aside for EHCY; whether to permit separate schools for homeless students; clarification of the “best interest” school selection process; how to enhance the ability of LEA homeless liaisons and state coordinators to meet the needs of homeless students; how to improve the identification of, and services provided to, preschool students and unaccompanied youth; how to increase access to education and related services for homeless students; and the impact of potential changes to the definition of homeless in EHCY and other legislation.


Date of Report: August 1, 2012
Number of Pages: 29
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Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: A Primer

Heather B. Gonzalez
Specialist in Science and Technology Policy

Jeffrey J. Kuenzi
Specialist in Education Policy

The term “STEM education” refers to teaching and learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It typically includes educational activities across all grade levels— from pre-school to post-doctorate—in both formal (e.g., classrooms) and informal (e.g., afterschool programs) settings. Federal policymakers have an active and enduring interest in STEM education and the topic is frequently raised in federal science, education, workforce, national security, and immigration policy debates. For example, more than 200 bills containing the term “science education” were introduced between the 100th and 110th congresses.

The United States is widely believed to perform poorly in STEM education. However, the data paint a complicated picture. By some measures, U.S. students appear to be doing quite well. For example, overall graduate enrollments in science and engineering (S&E) grew 35% over the last decade. Further, S&E enrollments for Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, and African American students (all of whom are generally underrepresented in S&E) grew by 65%, 55%, and 50%, respectively. On the other hand, concerns remain about persistent academic achievement gaps between various demographic groups, STEM teacher quality, the rankings of U.S. students on international STEM assessments, foreign student enrollments and increased education attainment in other countries, and the ability of the U.S. STEM education system to meet domestic demand for STEM labor.

Various attempts to assess the federal STEM education effort have produced different estimates of its scope and scale. Analysts have identified between 105 and 252 STEM education programs or activities at 13 to 15 federal agencies. Annual federal appropriations for STEM education are typically in the range of $2.8 billion to $3.4 billion. All published inventories identify the Department of Education, National Science Foundation, and Health and Human Services as key agencies in the federal effort. Over half of federal STEM education funding is intended to serve the needs of postsecondary schools and students; the remainder goes to efforts at the kindergarten-through-Grade 12 level. Much of the funding for post-secondary students is in the form of financial aid.

Federal STEM education policy concerns center on issues that relate to STEM education as a whole—such as governance of the federal effort and broadening participation of underrepresented populations—as well as those that are specific to STEM education at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels. Governance concerns focus on perceived duplication and lack of coordination in the federal effort; broadening participation concerns tend to highlight achievement gaps between various demographic groups. Analysts suggest a variety of policy proposals in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary STEM education. At the K-12 level, these include proposals to address teacher quality, accountability, and standards. At the post-secondary level, proposals center on efforts to remediate and retain students in STEM majors.

This report is intended to serve as a primer for outlining existing STEM education policy issues and programs. It includes assessments of the federal STEM education effort and the condition of STEM education in the United States, as well as an analysis of several of the policy issues central to the contemporary federal conversation about STEM education. Appendix A contains frequently cited data and sources and Appendix B includes a selection of major STEM-related acts.


Date of Report: August 1, 2012
Number of Pages: 38
Order Number: R42624
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