Education Competitiveness Act of 2006

Bill: 109-s-3902
Sponsor: Sen. Baucus, Max [D-MT]
Introduced: 2006-09-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance
Accreditation (Education)
Annuities
Arts
Arts, Culture, Religion
Bonds
Books
Building construction
Business education
Charitable contributions
Child development
College costs
Colleges
Commerce
Compensatory education
Computer software
Computers
Construction costs
Cost of living adjustments
Crime and Law Enforcement
Crime prevention
Curricula
Data banks
Distance education
Drug abuse
Drug abuse prevention
Economics and Public Finance
Education of the disadvantaged
Education savings accounts
Educational accountability
Educational planning
Elementary and secondary education
Elementary education
Employee benefit plans
Engineering
Engineers
Families
Federal aid to education
Federal aid to research
Finance and Financial Sector
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Government trust funds
Graduate education
Higher education
Housing and Community Development
Income tax
Indexing (Economic policy)
Indian education
Individual retirement accounts
Industry-university relations
Infrastructure
Interest
International Affairs
International education
Internet
Juvenile delinquency
Labor and Employment
Language and languages
Local taxation
Mathematics
Mentoring
Minorities
Native Americans
Nonprofit organizations
Preschool education
Property tax
Rating of teachers
Recruiting of employees
Research grants
Rural education
Scholarships
School buildings
School districts
Science, Technology, Communications
Scientific education
Scientific instruments and apparatus
Scientists
Secondary education
Small business
Social Welfare
State taxation
Student loan funds
Student records
Tax deductions
Tax exclusion
Tax refunds
Tax-deferred compensation plans
Taxation
Teacher education
Teacher salaries
Teacher supply and demand
Teaching materials
Technical education
Textbooks
Tuition tax credits
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2006-09-14
text: 
Education Competitiveness Act of 2006 - Directs the Secretary of Education to establish scholarship programs for students pursuing degrees in: (1) early childhood education; (2) science, technology, engineering, or mathematics; or (3) critical foreign languages. Requires scholarship recipients, for four years, to teach in their field of study or or work in employment that improves education.
 
Directs the Secretary to award competitive grants to nonprofit educational agencies to work with local educational agencies (LEAs) to expand or develop Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) programs in their schools.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states for: (1) programs encouraging elementary and secondary school teachers to serve in rural or underserved areas; (2) voluntary universal prekindergarten programs focusing on child development; (3) coordination of prekindergarten through grade 16 (PK-16) programs and establishment of integrated data systems tracking student progress; (4) internships and summer programs for middle and secondary school students; (5) student mentoring, afterschool , and enrichment programs; and (6) summer science and engineering institutes for secondary school students. Requires states to take specified actions to raise early childhood education teachers' qualifications.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to award: (1) matching grants to LEAs to establish and operate specialty science and mathematics secondary schools; (2) scholarships to students pursuing a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics degree who agree to work in their field of study for four years; and (3) research grants to scientists who are under age 40. Increases the Pell grant.
 
Increases and extends funding for Indian education programs, including Native American language immersion programs.
 
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary to award grants to partnerships between: (1) institutions of higher education and local workforce investment boards for job training in high-growth industries or occupations; and (2) such institutions and facilitators of small business development for small business training. Authorizes grants to states and LEAs for distance learning.
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish education tax incentives which include: (1) a refundable higher education tax credit; (2) the application of retirement plan distributions to longer student loan repayment periods; (3) larger deductions for teachers' classroom expenses, student loan interest, and charitable contributions to schools; (4) a larger employee exclusion for employer provided educational assistance; (5) Young Savers Accounts; (6) the extension of the Qualified Academy Zone Bond program and participation by tribally controlled colleges and universities; and (7) an additional standard deduction for real property taxes.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-09-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2006-09-14
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9638-9639)
action_date: 2006-09-14
text: Introduced in Senate