jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-01-29 00:00:00

Enhancing Educational Opportunities for all Students Act

Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow a state educational agency to allocate grant funds among local educational agencies based on the number of eligible children (children age 5 to 17 from a family with an income below the poverty level) enrolled in the public schools and the state-accredited private schools within each local agency's geographic jurisdiction.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow payment of home school expenses from Coverdell education savings accounts; (2) remove the dollar limitation on contributions to Coverdell education savings accounts and require such accounts to provide adequate safeguards to prevent contributions from exceeding the amount necessary to provide for the qualified education expenses of the account beneficiary; and (3) allow tax-exempt qualified tuition programs (529 tuition programs) to pay qualified pre-kindergarten, elementary, and secondary education expenses.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-02-02 00:00:00

(Sec. 2) This section amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the types of higher education expenses that may be paid from a qualified tuition program (known as a 529 plan) to include expenses for the purchase of computer or peripheral equipment and computer software. This amendment applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2014.

(Sec. 3) This section repeals, after 2014, the provision of the Internal Revenue Code that requires 529 plan accounts to be aggregated for purposes of calculating the amount of distributions that are includible in taxpayer income.

(Sec. 4) This section amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that a 529 plan beneficiary who receives a refund of higher education expenses after 2014 will not be required to include the amount of such refund in income for tax purposes if such beneficiary recontributes the refunded amount to the 529 plan within 60 days of receiving the refund and the recontribution does not exceed the refunded amount.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-02-04 00:00:00

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income payments received by a student under a comprehensive student work-learning-service program operated by a work college.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-02-05 00:00:00

Proprietary Education Oversight Coordination Improvement Act

Establishes the Proprietary Education Oversight Coordination Committee to:

 coordinate federal oversight of proprietary institutions of higher education (IHEs); coordinate federal activities to protect students from unfair, deceptive, abusive, unethical, fraudulent, or predatory practices, policies, or procedures of proprietary IHEs; encourage information sharing among federal agencies regarding federal investigations, audits, or inquiries of such IHEs; increase coordination and cooperation between federal and state agencies to improve oversight and accountability of proprietary IHEs; and develop best practices and consistency among federal and state agencies in the dissemination of consumer information regarding such IHEs. Requires the Committee to: (1) meet at least once each quarter of each fiscal year; and (2) meet at least once each fiscal year, and otherwise interact regularly, with state attorneys general, state approval agencies, veterans service organizations, and consumer advocates.

Directs the Committee to submit, and make publicly available, an annual report to Congress that includes: (1) recommendations for legislative and administrative actions the Committees deems necessary to improve the enforcement of applicable federal laws, increase the accountability of proprietary IHEs to students and taxpayers, and ensure the promotion of quality education programs; and (2) specified financial and consumer information regarding such IHEs.

Requires the Committee, each academic year, to publish the For-Profit College Warning List for Parents and Students, which is to be comprised of proprietary IHEs:

 that have engaged in illegal activity during the previous academic year as determined by a federal or state court; that have entered into a settlement resulting in a monetary payment; that have had any higher education program withdrawn or suspended; or for which the Committee has sufficient evidence of widespread or systemic unfair, deceptive, abusive, unethical, fraudulent, or predatory practices, policies, or procedures that threaten the academic success, financial security, or general best interest of students.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-02-10 00:00:00

Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act

 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income payments under the federal veterinary medicine loan repayment program or any other state loan repayment or forgiveness program that is intended to provide for increased access to veterinary services in such state.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2015-02-10 00:00:00

Simplifying Access to Student Loan Information Act of 2015

Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require private educational lenders to submit to the Secretary of Education information regarding each private education loan they make.

Requires that such information: (1) be placed in the National Student Loan Data System (System), and (2) allow for the electronic exchange of data between the borrowers of those loans and the System. (The System currently contains information regarding loans made, insured, or guaranteed under the Federal Family Education Loan program and loans made under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan and Federal Perkins Loan programs.)

Requires the private education loan information to include, if determined appropriate by the Secretary:

 the total amount and type of each loan; the interest rate on each loan; information regarding the borrower that the Secretary deems necessary to ensure the electronic exchange of data between the borrower and the System; contact information regarding the lender and servicer of each loan; information concerning the date of any default on the loan and the collection of the loan, including any information concerning the repayment status of any defaulted loan; and the date the borrower completes repayment. Requires private educational lenders to ensure the privacy of borrowers and update the loan information they submit to the System on the same schedule as information is updated under the System.

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary to ensure that: (1) a cosigner of a private education loan for which information is included in the System has access only to that information, and (2) a private educational lender has access to the System only to submit information regarding the lender's loans.

Directs the Secretary to establish a functionality within the System that enables student borrowers of loans made, insured, or guaranteed under title IV to input the information necessary to compare the repayment plans available to them under that title.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-02-12 00:00:00

Career Ready Act of 2015

Amends the school improvement program under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states to include certain career readiness indicators in their determination as to whether students are making adequate yearly progress toward state academic performance standards.

Allows states to include on their annual report cards on student progress toward those standards:

 the number and percentage of their public secondary school students who attain state and local adjusted levels of career and technical education performance, as defined by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006; the number and percentage of their public secondary school students that attain a recognized postsecondary credential, as defined by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; and high school graduation, enrollment, remediation, persistence, and completion rates. Requires local educational agencies awarded a grant for elementary and secondary school counseling programs under part D of title V of the ESEA to use the funds for additional activities that include:

 developing and implementing comprehensive school counseling programs that are aligned with their grant applications; identifying regional workforce trends, in collaboration with entities experienced in identifying such trends, and enabling school counselor programs at the secondary school level to access that data; training counselors to effectively provide labor market information to secondary school students; developing and implementing integrated, job-embedded, and ongoing professional development programs for educators who prepare students for postsecondary opportunities and careers; and developing personalized learning plans for each student that map a defined program of study based on the student's academic and career goals.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-02-25 00:00:00

Supporting Academic Freedom through Regulatory Relief Act

Repeals certain Department of Education (ED) regulations that for purposes of determining whether a school is eligible to participate in programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA): (1) require institutions of higher education (IHEs) and postsecondary vocational institutions (except religious schools) to be legally authorized by the state in which they are situated, (2) delineate what such legal authorization requires of states and schools, (3) impose standards and disclosure requirements on programs that prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation, and (4) define "credit hour."

Prohibits ED from promulgating or enforcing any regulation or rule not in effect on the date of this Act's enactment regarding: (1) the state authorization for IHEs to operate within a state, (2) the definition or application of the term "gainful employment," or (3) a teacher preparation program accountability system. Ends that prohibition when a law is enacted that extends by at least two fiscal years the authorization or duration of one or more programs under the HEA.

Prohibits ED from promulgating or enforcing any regulation or rule that defines "credit hour" for any purpose under the HEA.

Prohibits ED from carrying out, developing, refining, promulgating, publishing, implementing, administering, or enforcing a postsecondary institution ratings system or any other performance system to rate IHEs.

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the HEA to authorize nonprofit IHEs to make payments to third-party entities for services that include student recruitment and are based on the amount of tuition that the IHE generates from student enrollment if the third-party entity: (1) is not affiliated with the IHE, (2) does not provide incentive payments to its employees for their success in enrolling students or securing financial aid for them, (3) is not paid by the IHE solely or separately for student recruitment services, and (4) will not make student recruitment information available to any other person or entity.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-03-10 00:00:00

American Dream Accounts Act

Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to eligible entities so each can establish and administer American Dream Accounts for a group of at least 30 low-income public school students who, at the time the entities apply for a grant, are attending a grade no higher than ninth grade.

Lists as eligible entities: (1) state educational agencies; (2) local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that operate as their own LEA; (3) charter management organizations or charter school authorizers; (4) institutions of higher education (IHEs) or Tribal Colleges or Universities; (5) nonprofit organizations; (6) entities experienced in educational savings or assisting low-income students attain higher education; (7) consortia of two or more of these entities; and (8) consortia of one or more of these entities and a public, charter, or Indian school.

Describes an American Dream Account as a personal online account for low-income students that monitors their progress toward higher education and includes a college savings account.

Requires American Dream Accounts to provide students with opportunities, either online or in person, to: (1) attain financial literacy; (2) learn about preparing for enrollment in an IHE; and (3) identify their skills or interests, including career interests.

Requires grantees, subject to federal privacy laws and regulations, to allow vested stakeholders to have secure Internet access to an American Dream Account, but not the college savings account portion of that Account.

Prohibits grantees from using their grant to provide the initial deposit into the college savings account portion of a student's American Dream Account.

Prohibits the funds in those college savings accounts from being considered in making federal student financial aid determinations.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-03-11 00:00:00

Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act or the SOS Campus Act

Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in the programs under title IV (Student Assistance) to designate an independent advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and response (Advocate) with experience in providing sexual assault victim services.

Directs the Secretary of Education to prescribe regulations for IHEs to follow in appointing Advocates.

Requires each Advocate to: (1) report to an individual outside the body responsible for investigating and adjudicating sexual assault complaints at the IHE, (2) submit to such individual an annual report summarizing how the resources supplied to the Advocate were used, and (3) represent the interests of each student victim even when they conflict with the IHE's interests.

Directs each Advocate to:

 ensure that sexual assault victims at the IHE receive, with their consent, specified information and services; guide sexual assault victims who request assistance through the reporting, counseling, administrative, medical and health, academic accommodations, or legal processes of the IHE or local law enforcement; attend, at the request of a sexual assault victim, any administrative or IHE-based adjudication proceeding related to such assault as an advocate for the victim; maintain the privacy and confidentiality of the victim and any witness to such sexual assault, without notifying the IHE or any other authority of the identity of the victim or of any such witness or the alleged circumstances surrounding the reported sexual assault, unless otherwise required to do so by state law; and conduct a public information campaign to inform the students enrolled at the IHE of the existence of, contact information for, and services provided by the Advocate. Prohibits IHEs from retaliating against: (1) Advocates for representing the interests of a student victims, or (2) student victims for reporting sexual assaults to Advocates.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-03-19 00:00:00

Investing in States to Achieve Tuition Equality for Dreamers Act of 2015 or the IN-STATE for Dreamers Act of 2015

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to allot grants to states to offer Dreamer students in-state tuition and expand their access to in-state financial aid.

Defines a "Dreamer student" as an individual who:

 was under age 16 upon entering this country; has provided a list of each secondary school the individual attended in this country; and has earned a high school diploma or certain similar credentials, or is scheduled to complete the requirements for such a credential before the next academic year begins; has acquired a degree from an institution of higher education (IHE) or has successfully completed at least 2 years of a program for a baccalaureate or higher degree in the United States and has made satisfactory academic progress; is a beneficiary of the Deferrred Action for Childhood Arrivals program; or has served honorably in the uniformed services for at least 4 years. Directs the Secretary to provide for a hardship exception to either or both of the first two of such requirements.

Requires grant applicants to assure the Secretary that they: (1) will not discriminate against Dreamer students in awarding student aid or determining who is eligible for in-state tuition, if the student would otherwise be eligible for in-state financial aid as a state resident; and (2) will maintain, through FY 2025, at least their FY2013 level of support for their public IHEs, as adjusted for inflation.

Allots grants to each state based on its proportion of resident Dreamer students who are enrolled at least half-time in postsecondary education.

Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to collect a specified fee from recipients of F-1 visas, provided to nonimmigrant full-time students.

Eliminates the prohibition on states offering unlawful aliens postsecondary benefits on the basis of their residence in the state that are more generous than those offered citizens or naturals of this country, without regard to their state residence.

Allows individuals who have served honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces to be naturalized without having been lawfully admitted to this country for permanent residence.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2015-03-19 00:00:00

Preservation Research at Institutions Serving Minorities Act of 2015 or the PRISM Act of 2015

Makes Hispanic-serving institutions eligible for technical and financial assistance from the Secretary of the Interior to establish preservation training and degree programs.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-03-26 00:00:00

Innovate America Act

 This bill requires the Department of Education (ED), in coordination with the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), to award grants, on a competitive basis, to state educational agencies to establish or expand the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including computer science (STEM) secondary schools in the United States from approximately 100 to approximately 200.

In coordination with the NSF, ED shall:

 develop a database identifying existing STEM secondary schools, and study how to improve retention rates of students in STEM programs at institutions of higher education. The President must ensure that at least 15% of all federal funds available each fiscal year for undergraduate research opportunities at 2-year and 4-year degree-granting institutions of higher education are used to fund research opportunities for postsecondary students.

The NSF Partnerships for Innovation Program shall administer a Technology Commercialization Awards Pilot Program through which promising technology advances derived from NSF research grants must be eligible for funding.

The National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 is amended to extend the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to cover specifically informatics and computer science.

The Department of Commerce must establish a manufacturing assistance program for small and medium-sized domestic manufacturers to promote the manufacturing of goods in the United States and enable them to be competitive in global markets.

The Under Secretary for International Trade of Commerce shall report to Congress on the global competitiveness of 20 U.S. industries that export the most goods or services and the domestic and foreign regulatory and policy barriers to increasing their exports.

This bill also requires:

 the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to devise a strategy to reduce overall government printing costs over a 10-year period, each federal department and agency to issue guidance on the appropriate use of award and incentive fees in their programs, and return to the Treasury of any funds intended to be awarded as incentive fees to contractors that are not paid owing to contractor inability to meet established criteria in this Act.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-04-14 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

(Sec. 1) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income payments received by a student under a comprehensive student work-learning-service program operated by a work college. Makes this amendment applicable to amounts received in taxable years beginning after the enactment date of this Act.

(Sec. 2) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 30% to 35% the rate of the continuous levy on payments to Medicare providers and suppliers for unpaid taxes. Makes this amendment applicable to payments made after 180 days after the enactment date of this Act.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-04-16 00:00:00

Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2015

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) which apply such grants to their collegiate housing property.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-04-21 00:00:00

Wounded Warrior Workforce Enhancement Act

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to award grants to eligible institutions to: (1) establish a master's degree program in orthotics and prosthetics, or (2) expand upon an existing master's degree program in such area. Requires a grant priority for institutions in partnership with a medical center administered by the VA or a facility administered by the Department of Defense. Provides grant amounts of at least $1 million and up to $1.5 million. Defines as eligible institutions those either accredited by the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education or demonstrating an ability to meet such accreditation requirements if receiving a grant.

Requires the Secretary to award a grant to an institution with orthotic and prosthetic research and education experience to: (1) establish the Center of Excellence in Orthotic and Prosthetic Education; and (2) improve orthotic and prosthetic outcomes for veterans, members of the Armed Forces, and civilians by conducting orthotic and prosthetic-based research.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-04-23 00:00:00

GI Education Benefit Fairness Act of 2015

Expands the definition of "children," for purposes of provisions allowing members or former members of the uniformed services who served on active duty for specified periods beginning on or after September 11, 2001, to transfer their entitlement to educational assistance, to mean an unmarried person who: (1) is placed in the legal custody of a member or former member by court order for at least 12 consecutive months, (2) has not attained the age of 21, (3) has not attained the age of 23 and is enrolled in a full-time course of study at an institution of higher learning, (4) is incapable of self support due to a mental or physical incapacity that occurred while such person was a dependent of the member or former member, (5) is dependent on the member or former member for over one-half of his or her support, (6) resides with the member or former member unless separated due to military service or institutionalization for a disability or incapacitation, and (7) is not a dependent of a member or former member under any other provision defining dependent.