I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1691 
To require the Secretary of Education to provide assistance to the immediate 
family of elementary or secondary school staff members killed in an 
act of violence while performing school duties. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 12, 2019 
Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. MOORE, and Ms. 
WILD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and 
Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Education to provide assistance 
to the immediate family of elementary or secondary 
school staff members killed in an act of violence while 
performing school duties. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teacher Victims’ Fam-
ily Assistance Act of 2019’’. 
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TITLE I—DEFINITIONS 
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) COST OF ATTENDANCE.—The term ‘‘cost of 
attendance’’ has the meaning given that term in sec-
tion 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1087ll). 
(2) DEPENDENT CHILD.—The term ‘‘dependent 
child’’ means a son or daughter of the victim 
(whether natural or adopted) who is under 25 years 
old. 
(3) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 
school’’ and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the meanings 
given such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7801). 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 102 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 
(5) SURVIVING SPOUSE.—The term ‘‘surviving 
spouse’’ means the spouse of the victim, as deter-
mined under applicable State law, at the time of the 
victim’s death. 
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(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Education. 
(7) VICTIM.—The term ‘‘victim’’ means a 
teacher, administrator, employee, or paid or unpaid 
staff member of an elementary school or secondary 
school who was killed by another person as a result 
of an act of violence while performing duties as such 
teacher, administrator, employee, or staff member, 
without regard to whether such performance takes 
place before, during, or after the school day or on 
or off school grounds. 
SEC. 102. DEATH BENEFIT, FUNERAL ASSISTANCE, AND LIV-
ING ALLOWANCE FOR FAMILIES OF VICTIMS. 
In any case in which the Secretary of Education de-
termines that a teacher, administrator, employee, or paid 
or unpaid staff member meets the definition of victim, the 
Secretary shall— 
(1) pay a death benefit of $325,000 and a sepa-
rate payment of not more than $1,500 to be used 
for funeral expenses, as follows (if the payee indi-
cated is living on the date on which the determina-
tion is made)— 
(A) if there is no dependent child who sur-
vived the victim, to the surviving spouse of the 
victim; 
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(B) if there is at least 1 dependent child 
who survived the victim and a surviving spouse 
of the victim, 50 percent to the surviving de-
pendent child (or children, in equal shares) and 
50 percent to the surviving spouse; 
(C) if there is no surviving spouse of the 
victim, to the surviving dependent child (or chil-
dren, in equal shares); 
(D) if there is no surviving spouse of the 
victim and no surviving dependent child— 
(i) to the surviving individual (or indi-
viduals, in shares per the designation, or, 
otherwise, in equal shares) designated by 
the victim to receive benefits under this 
section in the most recently executed des-
ignation of beneficiary of the victim on file 
at the time of death with the victim’s em-
ployer, agency, organization, or unit; or 
(ii) if there is no individual qualifying 
under clause (i), to the surviving individual 
(or individuals, in equal shares) designated 
by the victim to receive benefits under the 
most recently executed life insurance policy 
of the victim on file at the time of death 
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with the victim’s employer, agency, organi-
zation, or unit; 
(E) if there is no individual qualifying 
under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D), to 
the surviving parent (or parents, in equal 
shares) of the victim; or 
(F) if there is no individual qualifying 
under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E), 
to the surviving individual (or individuals, in 
equal shares) who would qualify under the defi-
nition of the term ‘‘dependent child’’ but for 
age; and 
(2) pay a living allowance of $900 per month— 
(A) to the surviving spouse of the victim, 
until the earlier of the spouse’s death or remar-
riage; or 
(B) if there is no surviving spouse of the 
victim, to the surviving dependent child who 
have not reached the age of 18 (or such chil-
dren, in equal shares) until such children reach 
the age of 18. 
SEC. 103. DEPENDENT UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION AS-
SISTANCE. 
(a) ANNUAL AMOUNT.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which the 
Secretary of Education determines that a teacher, 
administrator, employee, or paid or unpaid staff 
member meets the definition of victim, the Secretary 
shall provide the following educational assistance al-
lowance, for each dependent child of the victim en-
rolled or accepted for enrollment at a program of 
undergraduate instruction at an institution of higher 
education: 
(A) The educational assistance allowance 
on behalf of a dependant child who is pursuing 
a program of education consisting of institu-
tional courses shall be paid at the monthly rate 
of $1,224 for full-time, $967 for three-quarter- 
time, or $710 for half-time pursuit. 
(B) The educational assistance allowance 
on behalf of a dependent child pursuing a pro-
gram of education on less than a half-time basis 
shall be paid at the rate of the lesser of— 
(i) the established charges for tuition 
and fees that the educational institution 
involved requires similarly circumstanced 
nonveterans enrolled in the same program 
to pay; or 
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(ii) $1,224 per month for a full-time 
course. 
(C) The educational assistance allowance 
to be paid on behalf of a dependent child who 
is pursuing a full-time program of education 
which consists of institutional courses and alter-
nate phases of training in a business or indus-
trial establishment with the training in the 
business or industrial establishment being 
strictly supplemental to the institutional por-
tion, shall be computed at the rate of $1,224 
per month. 
(D) A dependent child who is enrolled in 
an educational institution for a ‘‘farm coopera-
tive’’ program consisting of institutional agri-
cultural courses prescheduled to fall within 44 
weeks (using ‘‘week’’ as defined under section 
205 of the Federal-State Extended Unemploy-
ment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 
3304 note)) of any period of 12 consecutive 
months and who pursues such program on— 
(i) a full-time basis (a minimum of 10 
clock hours per week or 440 clock hours in 
such year prescheduled to provide not less 
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than 80 clock hours in any three-month 
period); 
(ii) a three-quarter-time basis (a min-
imum of 7 clock hours per week); or 
(iii) a half-time basis (a minimum of 
5 clock hours per week), shall be eligible to 
receive an educational assistance allowance 
at the appropriate rate provided in sub-
paragraph (B) of this subsection, if such 
dependent child is concurrently engaged in 
agricultural employment which is relevant 
to such institutional agricultural courses as 
determined under standards prescribed by 
the Secretary. In computing the foregoing 
clock hour requirements there shall be in-
cluded the time involved in field trips and 
individual and group instruction sponsored 
and conducted by the educational institu-
tion through a duly authorized instructor 
of such institution in which the person is 
enrolled. 
(E) The monthly educational assistance al-
lowance to be paid on behalf of a dependent 
child pursuing a farm cooperative program 
under this section shall be $636 for full-time, 
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$477 for three-quarter-time, or $319 for half- 
time pursuit. 
(F)(i) Subject to clause (iii), the amount of 
educational assistance payable under this sub-
section for a licensing or certification test de-
scribed below, is the lesser of $2,000 or the fee 
charged for the test. Qualifying licensing or cer-
tification tests shall be determined by the Sec-
retary, which may include— 
(I) such licensing or certification tests 
the successful completion of which dem-
onstrates an individual’s possession of the 
knowledge or skill required to enter into, 
maintain, or advance in employment in a 
predetermined and identified vocation or 
profession, provided such tests and the li-
censing or credentialing organizations or 
entities that offer such tests are approved 
by the Secretary; and 
(II) national tests for admission to in-
stitutions of higher education (such as the 
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Law 
School Admission Test (LSAT), Graduate 
Record Exam (GRE), and Graduate Man-
agement Admission Test (GMAT)) and na-
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tional tests providing an opportunity for 
course credit at institutions of higher edu-
cation (such as the Advanced Placement 
(AP) exam and College-Level Examination 
Program (CLEP)). 
(ii) The number of months of educational 
assistance in the case of any individual for such 
licensing or certification test is equal to the 
number (including any fraction) determined by 
dividing the total amount paid to such indi-
vidual for such test by the full-time monthly in-
stitutional rate of the educational assistance al-
lowance which, except for clause (i), such indi-
vidual would otherwise be paid under chapter 
35 of title 38, United States Code. 
(iii) In no event shall payment of edu-
cational assistance under this subsection for 
such a test exceed the amount of the individ-
ual’s available educational assistance as deter-
mined by the Secretary and in accordance with 
this Act. 
(G)(i) Subject to clause (iii), the amount of 
educational assistance payable under this sec-
tion for a national test for admission or na-
tional test providing an opportunity for course 
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credit at an institution of higher education, is 
the amount of the fee charged for the test. 
(ii) The number of months of educational 
assistance provided in the case of any individual 
for a test described in clause (i) is equal to the 
number (including any fraction) determined by 
dividing the total amount of educational assist-
ance paid such individual for such test by the 
full-time monthly institutional rate of edu-
cational assistance, except for clause (i), such 
individual would otherwise be paid under this 
section. 
(iii) In no event shall payment of edu-
cational assistance under this subsection for a 
test described in clause (i) exceed the amount 
of the individual’s available educational assist-
ance as determined by the Secretary and in ac-
cordance with this Act. 
(2) RELATION TO OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Assist-
ance provided under this subsection shall not be con-
sidered for the purpose of awarding Federal assist-
ance under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), except that in no 
case shall the sum of the total amount of student fi-
nancial assistance awarded to a dependent child 
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under such title and the amount of assistance pro-
vided under this subsection exceed the child’s total 
cost of attendance. 
(3) DURATION OF ASSISTANCE.—A dependent 
child may receive assistance under this subsection 
for not more than a total of 5 years. 
(4) SATISFACTORY PROGRESS.—To be eligible 
to receive assistance under this subsection, the de-
pendent child shall be considered to be making satis-
factory progress, pursuant to section 484(a)(2) of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965, at the institution 
of higher education. 
(5) EFFECT OF PARENTAL DEATH OR REMAR-
RIAGE.—The death or remarriage of the surviving 
spouse of the victim shall not affect a dependent 
child’s eligibility for assistance under this subsection. 
(b) PELL GRANT TREATMENT.—Section 473(b) of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2)(B)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause 
(i); 
(B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of 
clause (i) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(iii) a victim (as defined in section 
101 of the Teacher Victims’ Family Assist-
ance Act of 2019); and’’. 
(c) NOTICE OF TAX TREATMENT.—The Secretary 
shall provide a notice to each individual receiving assist-
ance under this section, including under the amendments 
made under subsection (b), that such assistance is exclud-
able from gross income under section 139H of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986. 
SEC. 104. OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BENEFITS. 
The benefits under section 102 and 103(a) shall have 
the following terms and conditions: 
(1) On October 1 of each fiscal year beginning 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Education shall adjust the level of each 
benefit payable immediately before such October 1, 
to reflect the annual percentage change in the Con-
sumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, pub-
lished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, occurring 
in the 1-year period ending on June 1 immediately 
preceding such October 1. 
(2) The benefits shall be in addition to any 
other benefit that may be due from any other 
source. 
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(3) No benefit paid shall be subject to execution 
or attachment. 
(4) Any benefit (other than living expenses) 
paid with respect to the victim shall be the amount 
payable as of the date of death of such victim. 
TITLE II—TAX PROVISIONS RE-
LATING TO ELEMENTARY OR 
SECONDARY SCHOOL STAFF 
MEMBERS KILLED IN AN ACT 
OF VIOLENCE WHILE PER-
FORMING SCHOOL DUTIES 
SEC. 201. TAX PROVISIONS RELATING TO ELEMENTARY OR 
SECONDARY 
SCHOOL 
STAFF 
MEMBERS 
KILLED IN AN ACT OF VIOLENCE WHILE PER-
FORMING SCHOOL DUTIES. 
(a) TEACHER’S WAGES IN YEAR OF DEATH EX-
CLUDED FROM INCOME.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Part II of subchapter J of 
chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sec-
tion: 
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‘‘SEC. 693. INCOME TAXES OF ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY 
SCHOOL STAFF MEMBERS KILLED IN AN ACT 
OF VIOLENCE WHILE PERFORMING SCHOOL 
DUTIES. 
‘‘In the case of any individual who is a victim (as 
defined by section 101(7) of the Teacher Victims’ Family 
Assistance Act of 2019), any tax imposed by this subtitle 
on any amount received by such individual by reason of 
school employment shall not apply with respect to the tax-
able year in which falls the date of death of the indi-
vidual.’’. 
(2) W–2 REPORTING.—Section 6051(a) of such 
Code is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 
paragraph (16), by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (17) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by insert-
ing after paragraph (17) the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(18) the aggregate amount not subject to tax 
under subtitle A by reason of section 693 (relating 
to income taxes of elementary or secondary school 
staff members killed in an act of violence while per-
forming school duties).’’. 
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for part II of subchapter J of chapter 1 of 
such Code is amended by inserting at the end the 
following new item: 
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‘‘Sec. 693. Income taxes of elementary or secondary school staff members killed 
in an act of violence while performing school duties.’’. 
(b) EXCLUSION OF TEACHER VICTIM FAMILY AS-
SISTANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of 
chapter 1 of such Code (relating to items specifically 
excluded from gross income) is amended by inserting 
after section 139G the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 139H. TEACHER VICTIM FAMILY ASSISTANCE. 
‘‘In the case of an individual, gross income does not 
include any amount received under title I of the Teacher 
Victims’ Family Assistance Act of 2019.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for such part is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 139G the following new 
item: 
‘‘Sec. 139H. Teacher victim family assistance.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 202. TEACHER VICTIMS’ FAMILY FUND. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 9512. TEACHER VICTIMS’ FAMILY TRUST FUND. 
‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab-
lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 
to be known as the ‘Teacher Victims’ Family Trust Fund’ 
(referred to in this section as the ‘Trust Fund’), consisting 
of such amounts as may be appropriated or credited to 
the Trust Fund as provided in this section or section 
9602(b) and any amounts as are or may be appropriated, 
transferred, or credited to such Trust Fund under any 
other provisions of law. 
‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—There is hereby 
appropriated to the Trust Fund an amount equivalent to 
the increase in revenues received in the Treasury by rea-
son of the increase in tax imposed under section 4181 by 
the Teacher Victims’ Family Assistance Act of 2019. 
‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS IN TRUST FUND.— 
Amounts in the Trust Fund shall be available, as provided 
in appropriation Acts, to carry out title I of the Teacher 
Victims’ Family Assistance Act of 2019.’’. 
(b) INCREASE IN EXCISE TAX ON AMMUNITION.— 
Section 4181 of such Code is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Shells, and cartridges.’’, and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘Articles taxable at 13 percent— 
‘‘Shells, and cartridges.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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(1) Subsection (a) of section 3 of the Pittman- 
Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 
669b) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to so much 
of the revenues accruing under section 4181 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as are attributable 
to the increase in tax imposed under section 4181 by 
the Teacher Victims’ Family Assistance Act of 
2019.’’. 
(2) The table of sections for subchapter A of 
chapter 98 of such Code is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘Sec. 9512. Teacher Victims’ Family Trust Fund.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) Except as provided by paragraph (2), the 
amendments made by this section shall take effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(2) The amendment made by subsection (b) 
shall apply to articles sold after the date of the en-
actment of this Act. 
Æ 
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