S. 4496 — A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for additional uses of funds for grants to strengthen historically Black colleges and universities, and for other purposes.

This section states congressional findings on the role of the arts in strengthening the economy, healthcare, creativity, and cultural understanding, with 73 percent of participants in a 2021 Americans for the Arts study agreeing that the arts help them understand other cultures. It further finds that Black artists comprise only 1.4 percent of those featured in top U.S. museums, Black individuals hold only 4 percent of staff director positions at such museums and 2.5 percent of arts-entertainment business ownership, at least 18 higher education institutions planned to curtail or eliminate arts departments in 2018, and HBCUs have been underfunded by $12.6 billion relative to predominantly White institutions over the past 30 years.

This section expands the authorized uses of grants to historically Black colleges and universities under section 323 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 by adding five new activities focused on arts, arts education, and cultural programs. The new activities authorize financial assistance to students, establishment of outreach and development offices, comprehensive wraparound services including faculty and peer mentorship and work-based learning, exhibition and preservation of Black art collections, and paid apprenticeship, internship, and fellowship opportunities through partnerships with nonprofit arts institutes. The section also permits institutions to partner with the National Endowment for the Arts to carry out these activities and defines “arts” to mean performance, literary, visual, graphic, plastic, and decorative art forms used for self-expression.