College Affordability and Creating Chances for Educational Success for Students Act of 2007

Bill: 110-s-1399
Sponsor: Sen. Biden, Joseph R., Jr. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2007-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Agriculture and Food
College costs
Cost effectiveness
Cost of living adjustments
Crime and Law Enforcement
Drug abuse
Drug traffic
Economics and Public Finance
Education of the disadvantaged
Education savings accounts
Educational accountability
Educational statistics
Elementary and secondary education
Federal aid to education
Government Operations and Politics
Government publicity
Governmental investigations
Graduate education
Higher education
Income tax
Indexing (Economic policy)
Scholarships
School districts
School lunch program
Secondary education
Social Welfare
Student aid
Student records
Tax deductions
Tax refunds
Taxation
Tuition tax credits

Summary:
action_date: 2007-05-15
text: 
College Affordability and Creating Chances for Educational Success for Students Act of 2007 - College ACCESS Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the Hope Scholarship Credit and the tuition and related expenses deduction with a refundable College Affordability and Creating Chances for Educational Success for Students (ACCESS) tax credit.
 
Sets the maximum yearly credit at $3,000 and the maximum lifetime credit for undergraduate and graduate education at $12,000 and $6,000, respectively. Requires annual inflation adjustments to such amounts.
 
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize an Early Federal Pell Grant Demonstration Program. 
 
Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to four states to cover administrative expenses incurred in the program. Limits a state to a cohort of up to 10,000 of its eighth grade students who are eligible for a free or reduced price meal under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. Provides for a cohort for each of the academic years 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. Declares that each student who participates in the demonstration project receives a commitment to receive a Pell Grant during their first year of undergraduate study at an institution of higher education, subject to a specified condition.
 
Requires state grantees to choose local educational agencies to participate in the program from among those serving students at least half of whom are eligible for free or reduced price meals.
 
Calculates participating students' Pell Grants by deeming them to have no expected family contribution.
 
Directs the Secretary to arrange for an independent evaluation of the demonstration program's effectiveness in providing needy students with access to, and an incentive to pursue, higher education.
 
Requires state grantees annually to provide program participants with information concerning college costs, Pell Grants, state college savings programs, and other state and federal aid programs.
 
Increases the maximum Pell Grant amount from $5,100 for academic year 2007-2008 by specified levels up to $6,300 for academic year 2011-2012.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2007-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2007-05-15
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6138-6139)
action_date: 2007-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate