jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-11-19 00:00:00

Protecting Our Students and Taxpayers Act of 2015 or the POST Act of 2015

 This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to modify requirements for a proprietary (i.e., for-profit) institution of higher education (IHE) to participate in title IV (Student Assistance) federal student aid programs.

Current law requires a proprietary IHE to derive at least 10% of its revenue from sources other than title IV federal student aid. This legislation requires a proprietary IHE to derive at least 15% of its revenue from sources other than federal funds (i.e., it replaces the so-called 90/10 rule with an 85/15 rule). It defines federal funds to mean title IV federal student aid, as well as education benefits for military personnel and veterans.

Additionally, the bill limits what a proprietary institution may treat as revenue to the school in calculating whether it derives at least 15% of its revenue from sources other than federal funds.

Finally, the bill moves the 85/15 rule from title IV to title I (General Provisions) of the HEA, making compliance a condition of institutional eligibility to participate in title IV federal student aid programs (i.e., failure to comply results in immediate loss of institutional eligibility). Currently, a proprietary IHE must violate the rule for two consecutive years before losing eligibility for title IV programs.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-11-19 00:00:00

Student Loan Relief Act of 2015

This bill authorizes the Department of the Treasury to establish a temporary three-year program to facilitate federal student loan refinancing into the private market, at no cost to the federal government, to ensure payment of lower interest rates on student loans. Private lenders under such refinancing program shall be eligible to receive a federal government guarantee of 95% of loans.

Treasury shall, in consultation with the Department of Education, begin a national awareness campaign to alert student loan borrowers about such refinancing program with a disclosure that a private loan that results from such refinancing is not eligible for income driven repayment or loan forgivingness.

The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an exclusion from gross income for the payment of an employer, either to an employee or a lender, of any indebtedness of an employee under a qualified education refinance loan or any interest relating to such a loan. The term "qualified education refinance loan" means any indebtedness used solely to refinance a qualified education loan with respect to which the lender offers the borrower protection in the event of unemployment or financial hardship.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-11-19 00:00:00

Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act

 This bill amends the Higher Education Opportunity Act to prohibit an institution of higher education (IHE) or postsecondary educational institution from using revenues derived from federal educational assistance funds for recruiting or marketing activities.

Federal educational assistance funds include federal student aid under title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, education benefits for military personnel and veterans, and grants for workforce development programs.

An IHE or postsecondary educational institution must annually certify compliance with this requirement to retain eligibility to participate in title IV federal student aid programs.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-11-19 00:00:00

Veterans Legal Support Act of 2015

This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide support, including financial support, to one or more university law school programs to provide veterans with legal assistance.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-12-02 00:00:00

Restoring Investment in ATB Student Education Act or the RISE Act

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the federal student aid eligibility requirements for students who are not high school graduates.

Currently, a student without a high school diploma or homeschool credential is eligible to receive federal student aid if such student is enrolled in a career pathway program and demonstrates an ability to benefit from an institution's education or training program.

This bill eliminates enrollment in a career pathway program as a federal student aid eligibility requirement. A student without a high school diploma or homeschool credential is eligible to receive federal student aid by demonstrating an ability to benefit from an institution's education or training program.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-12-10 00:00:00

SMART Grant Reauthorization Act of 2015

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to eliminate the program awarding Academic Competitiveness Grants to first- and second-year undergraduates who completed a rigorous high school curriculum and are eligible for Federal Pell Grants.

It reauthorizes and appropriates funds through FY2022 for National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grants (SMART Grants) currently awarded to third, fourth, and fifth-year undergraduates who are eligible for Pell Grants and are pursuing:

 a major in the physical, life, or computer sciences, mathematics, technology, or engineering or a critical foreign language; or equivalent coursework in a qualifying liberal arts program that does not allow students to declare a major in a particular subject matter. The bill limits SMART Grant eligibility to students who are pursuing a major in the physical sciences or are pursuing equivalent coursework in a qualifying liberal arts program that does not allow students to declare a major in a particular subject matter.

It terminates the Department of Education's authority to award SMART Grants at the end of award year 2020-2021.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-12-10 00:00:00

Higher Education Savings Accounts Act of 2015

This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to carry out a pilot program under which tax-exempt savings accounts (to be known as higher education pledge accounts) are established for the benefit of 9th and 10th grade students who are eligible to receive free or reduced price lunches under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.

ED: (1) shall deposit into each account for a selected student an initial amount equal to the amount of the maximum federal Pell Grant for the award year, and (2) may make additional deposits of such amount based on the student's academic progress.

A student may use funds from such account only to pay the cost of attendance at a qualified institution. Any contribution to or distribution from such account shall not be includible in gross income. The amount of any Pell Grant awarded to a student attending a qualified institution shall be reduced by the amount in such student's account.

ED shall: (1) monitor the academic progress of each student for whose benefit an account is maintained; and (2) ensure that each such student receives at least 12 hours of financial counseling on the rules pertaining to deposits, distributions, and the tax treatment of funds in the account and on sources of federal financial assistance for higher education.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-12-10 00:00:00

Protecting Our Students by Terminating Graduate Rates that Add to Debt Act or the POST GRAD Act

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make graduate and professional students eligible to receive subsidized Stafford Loans under the Federal Direct Loan Program beginning on July 1, 2016. (Graduate and professional students have been ineligible to receive subsidized Stafford Loans since July 1, 2012.)
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-12-15 00:00:00

Simple Income-Based Repayment Act

This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to replace several existing federal student loan programs for graduated, extended, income-contingent, and income-based repayment with a single repayment plan that caps annual debt repayments based on the borrower's income. Under the new program, loan payments are made automatically through voluntary wage withholding based on quarterly estimated payments.

The new income-based repayment program shall be available to both new and existing borrowers, excluding borrowers of specified federal loans made on behalf of a dependent student. Existing repayment plans other than standard repayment shall generally be unavailable to new borrowers, although the Department of Education (ED) may make graduated and extended plans available to new borrowers who demonstrate exceptional circumstances.

Under the program, an individual's income-based repayment obligation shall be limited to 10% of the excess of the individual's taxable income over a specified amount. In the case of a joint return of two married individuals who each have an eligible loan, the income-based repayment amount with respect to each spouse shall generally be determined by apportioning half of the total income to each spouse.

ED must provide an online tool to enable borrowers to make direct payments and access information regarding their loans.

In the event of underpayment, a borrower who does not request and receive a reduction must pay to ED an amount equal to the difference between the annual repayment amount and the sum of payments made for that taxable year. In the event of overpayment, ED shall either refund the overpayment amount to the borrower or apply the amount as prepayment to the borrower's loans.

Loan forgiveness is available after 240 qualifying payments are made under the program.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-12-16 00:00:00

Technical Education and Career Help (TEACH) Act 

This bill amends title II (Teacher Quality Enhancement) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize grants under the Teacher Quality Partnership grant program to be used for secondary school career and technical education teacher preparation programs. The grant program provides funds to partnerships of high-need local educational agencies, high-need schools or early education programs, and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to train current and prospective teachers and school leaders.

The bill requires the career and technical education teacher preparation programs to:

 be available to mid-career professionals or recent graduates of an IHE who have expertise in a program area in which there is a career and technical education teacher shortage; allow individuals to obtain initial licensure and the basic skills required for entry into the education profession, with the option of earning a bachelor's or master's degree; and allow teachers who do not have subject matter expertise in a career and technical education field that is in demand in the local or regional economy to receive the technical skills training they need to teach those skills in a classroom setting. It directs the Department of Education to establish performance measures for the career and technical education teacher preparation programs.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-01-11 00:00:00

Student Tax Affordability and Relief Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from an employee's gross income, for income tax purposes, qualified student loan payment assistance provided by an employer. This assistance includes the payment of principal or interest, up to $10,000 in a taxable year, on student loan indebtedness incurred by an employee for higher education expenses.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-01-13 00:00:00

College for All Act

This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to states to eliminate tuition and required fees at public institutions of higher education (IHEs).

It also amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to:

 modify provisions related to interest rates on federal student loans to revise rates applicable to new loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2016; allow student loan borrowers to modify interest rates on outstanding federal student loans to current rates; reauthorize the Federal Work Study program for FY2017-FY2021; eliminate existing base guarantees of Federal Work Study funds to IHEs and require funds to be allocated based solely on the aggregate need of the institution’s students; authorize ED to establish a pilot program to streamline the federal financial assistance application process and reduce the need for students to apply for financial assistance each year; and require ED to use tax information from the second preceding tax year (the “prior, prior year”) to determine a student’s financial aid eligibility.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-01-13 00:00:00

Pathways to an Affordable Education Act

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify provisions related to the Federal Pell Grant program. Among other things, it:

 increases the maximum Pell Grant award for academic year 2017-2018 and adjusts it in subsequent award years to account for inflation, converts the Pell Grant program into a mandatory spending program, increases from 12 to 15 semesters a student's lifetime Pell Grant eligibility period, and restores year-round grants. Additionally, the bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to include, as a qualified scholarship excludible from gross income, any amount received as a Pell Grant.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2016-01-25 00:00:00

Opportunities in Cooperative Education And New Research Partnerships Act or the OCEAN Research Partnerships Act

This bill amends the National Sea Grant College Program Act to revise and reauthorize through FY2021 the National Sea Grant College Program.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must award Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships. Currently, NOAA has discretion in awarding such fellowships. These fellowships support the placement of graduate students in fields related to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources in positions with the executive and legislative branches.

In placing marine policy fellows in the legislative branch, NOAA must give priority to positions in: (1) offices or committees of Congress that have jurisdiction over NOAA; and (2) offices of Members of Congress that have a demonstrated interest in ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes resources.

The bill authorizes through FY2021 grants for university research on: (1) the biology, prevention, and control of aquatic nonnative species; (2) oyster diseases, oyster restoration, and oyster-related human health risks; (3) the biology, prevention, and forecasting of harmful algal blooms; and (4) sustainable aquaculture techniques and technologies. The bill also authorizes through FY2021 grants for: (1) fishery extension activities conducted by sea grant colleges or sea grant institutes to enhance existing core program funding, and (2) priority issues identified in the National Sea Grant Program's strategic plan.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-02-01 00:00:00

Kerry Rose Fire Sprinkler Notification Act

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify fire safety reporting requirements for an institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in federal student aid programs.

Specifically, it requires an IHE that maintains on-campus student housing facilities to notify students about whether a housing facility is equipped with a fire safety system, including an automatic fire sprinkler system in each bedroom.

Additionally, the bill expands the information an IHE must submit in its annual fire safety report to include, with respect to student housing facilities, the number and percentage of beds protected and not protected by an automatic fire sprinkler system in the bedroom.

Finally, the Department of Education must publish the number and percentage, in the aggregate and by state, of:

 student housing facilities with less than 100% of beds protected by an automatic sprinkler system, student housing facilities with less than 50% of beds protected, beds at student housing facilities that are protected, and beds at student housing facilities that are not protected.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-02-01 00:00:00

Early Pell Promise Act

This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Department of Education to carry out a program of grants to state educational agencies under which a student who is in eighth grade and is eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act may be provided a commitment to receive a Federal Pell Grant early in the student's academic career.

Pursuant to such a commitment, the student shall receive a Pell Grant during the first two years of attendance at an institution of higher education (IHE) as an undergraduate if the student:

 files the FAFSA form during the senior year of secondary school and the succeeding year, and enrolls at the IHE not later than three years after receiving a secondary school diploma or after release from the Armed Forces. A student may not receive the early Pell Grant for a succeeding year if the expected family contribution for either year is more than twice the threshold amount for Pell Grant eligibility for that year.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-02-02 00:00:00

Working Student Act of 2015 

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the income protection allowance levels used to calculate a student's expected family contribution and need for financial assistance. (An income protection allowance is an amount for basic living expenses that is protected from being considered income available for postsecondary educational expenses.)

 Specifically, the bill increases, in academic year 2016-2017, income protection allowance levels for students who are dependent, independent without non-spouse dependents (e.g., children), and independent with non-spouse dependents to reduce such students' income available (and increase need for financial assistance) to cover postsecondary educational expenses.

 The Department of Education must, in subsequent years, adjust the income protection allowance levels for inflation.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2016-02-03 00:00:00

Chris Kotch VA Education Access Act

 This bill makes eligible under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program an individual who is: (1) discharged or released from the Armed Forces (under current law, from active duty in the Armed Forces) due to a service-connected disability; or (2) transferred to the temporary disability retirement list.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-02-04 00:00:00

Truth in Tuition Act of 2016

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify eligibility requirements for an institution of higher education (IHE) to participate in federal student aid programs.

Specifically, the bill requires an IHE to provide to an admitted graduate or undergraduate student: (1) a multi-year tuition and fee schedule; or (2) a single-year tuition and fee schedule, and a nonbinding, multi-year estimate of net costs after financial aid is awarded.

An IHE that provides a single-year tuition and fee schedule must include, in its multi-year estimate of net costs, the average difference between previous year estimates and actual net costs.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-02-08 00:00:00

Education for Jobs Act

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make an individual eligible to apply for a loan under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program if that individual: (1) is carrying at least three credit hours or the equivalent coursework for the course of study the individual is pursuing, (2) is enrolled in an educational program leading to a degree or certificate, and (3) was employed on a full-time basis for at least 10 years.

It makes those students eligible for interest subsidies. It requires the repayment period for such a loan to begin the day after six months after the student ceases to meet the loan eligibility requirements.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-02-11 00:00:00

Net Price Calculator Improvement Act

This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish the minimum requirements for the net price calculator that each institution of higher education (IHE) receiving federal funds under title IV (Student Assistance) of the Act must include on its website. (An IHE's "net price" is the average yearly price actually charged to first-time, full-time undergraduate students receiving student aid at the school after deducting such aid.)

It requires the link for the calculator to be clearly labeled and conspicuously posted on an IHE's website.

It requires each calculator's results page to include:

 the net price of attending the IHE; the cost of attending the IHE; the estimated total need- and merit-based grant aid, from federal, state, and institutional sources, that may be available to first-time, full-time undergraduate students enrolled at the IHE; the percentage of such students enrolled at the school who receive any of that grant aid; and a notice that an estimate of an individual's net price is non-binding and subject to change. It requires calculators that estimate a user's eligibility for veterans' education benefits or educational benefits for active duty service members to clearly distinguish those benefits from other grant-aid. Requires calculators that do not make such estimates to provide users with notice of, and a link to information concerning, those benefits.

The bill directs IHEs to populate their calculators with data from not later than two academic years prior to the most recent academic year.

Calculators must: (1) clearly indicate which questions need to be completed for a net price estimate, (2) clearly mark requests for contact information as optional, and (3) prohibit personally identifiable information from being sold or made available to third parties.

It authorizes the Department of Education to develop a universal net price calculator that enables users to answer one set of questions and receive net prices for any IHE that is required to have a net price calculator.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-02-11 00:00:00

Save Teachers of Adults from Paying out of Their Livelihood for Education Resources Act of 2016 or the STAPLER Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to include individuals who provide adult education for at least 250 hours in a taxable year in the definition of  "eligible educator" for purposes of the $250 tax deduction allowed to such educators for their education-related costs.