EDITORIAL RECLASSIFICATION
TITLE 20, UNITED STATES CODE

BRIEF SUMMARY OF CHANGES

In 2016, part C of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which was set out at 42 U.S.C. 2751 et seq., was transferred to appear at 20 U.S.C. 1087-51 et seq. and comprise part C of subchapter IV of chapter 28 of Title 20. In addition, former parts C to H of subchapter IV of chapter 28 of Title 20, which consisted of parts D to I of title IV of the Act, were redesignated as parts D to I of subchapter IV, thus aligning the part designations of the Code with those of the Act. No statutory text was altered by this transfer, and no section numbers other than the eight sections in Title 42 being transferred to Title 20 were changed.

Former part F-1 of subchapter IV (20 U.S.C. 1098aa et seq.), which consisted of the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003, was consequently redesignated as part G-1. Former part I of subchapter IV (20 U.S.C. 1099e), which was comprised of part J of title IV of the Act and had previously been transferred to part F of subchapter III (20 U.S.C. 1067q), was omitted.

For the online version of the United States Code, the transfers occurred on November 1, 2016, after which the new Code citations were effective. For the printed version of the Code, the transfers are effective with supplement IV of the 2012 edition.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR CHANGE

Part C of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 was originally enacted as part C of title I of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and set out within chapter 34 of Title 42 of the Code, along with the rest of that Act. In 1968, Public Law 90-575 transferred part C of title I of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to become part C of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. However, that part was not transferred in the Code; it remained in its original location in Title 42 despite no longer being a part of the same Act as the other sections in its chapter. As a result, references to the Higher Education Act of 1965 became awkward and confusing because two separate titles of the Code were involved, and the portion appearing in Title 42 was easily overlooked. Furthermore, although parts A and B of title IV of the Act matched the part designations in the Code, the subsequent parts did not. Transferring part C of title IV of the Act from its former location in Title 42 to its proper location in Title 20 brought the structure of the Code into logical correspondence with the structure of the Act and simplified references to the Act.

RESOURCES FOR TRANSITION

(1) Disposition table for provisions transferred or omitted from Title 42

(2) New outline of parts A to I of subchapter IV of chapter 28 of Title 20

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

Questions and comments may be directed to:

     Office of the Law Revision Counsel

     U.S. House of Representatives

     Washington, D.C. 20515

     Email: uscode@mail.house.gov