jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-11-16 00:00:00

Equity and Excellence in American Education Act of 2015

This bill authorizes the Department of Education (ED) to establish and administer several new grant programs.

ED shall carry out the Equity and Excellence Initiative to provide grants to states to match each state's enhanced investment in meaningful educational opportunities for children who attend targeted schools. A "targeted school" is a public elementary or secondary school at which a specified percentage of students: (1) are eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch; (2) qualify as limited English proficient; or (3) are racial or ethnic minorities, Indian, or migratory. Schools may use these grant funds to implement systems-based reforms and initiatives to enhance student achievement. A state that receives grant funds must meet specified maintenance of effort requirements.

If ED determines that a state has failed to invest sufficient resources to create meaningful educational opportunities for all children attending targeted schools in that state, ED is authorized, through the Educating Every Child Initiative, to make grants directly to local educational agencies for distribution to targeted schools. A state in which targeted schools receive grant funds must meet specified funding obligations with respect to those schools.

ED is also authorized to establish the Equitable and Sustainable Fiscal Policy Program to provide technical assistance grants to support state fiscal reform efforts aimed at ensuring meaningful educational opportunities for all children.

The bill establishes various reporting requirements for ED and for grant recipients. ED must develop accountability metrics to measure grant performance.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-03-02 00:00:00

School-Based Asthma Management Program Act

This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to add requirements that states must meet to receive a preference for asthma grants. (Currently, the preference is given to states that meet requirements regarding administration of epinephrine to students having severe allergic reactions.) To receive the preference, states must additionally: (1) provide civil liability protection to trained school personnel who administer asthma-related rescue medication to a student with asthma; and (2) require schools to permit trained school personnel to administer asthma-related rescue medication to students with asthma, maintain a supply of asthma-related rescue medication, and have a comprehensive asthma management program.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-03-02 00:00:00

Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act

This bill requires a state or local educational agency (LEA) that receives funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to:

 require, for each school employee, a criminal background check that includes a search of specified registries and repositories; prohibit the employment of an individual who refuses to consent to, or who makes a false statement in connection with, a background check or who has been convicted of one of specified crimes; require background checks to be periodically repeated or updated in accordance with state law or LEA policies; provide a school employee with a timely process to appeal the results of a background check; ensure that such policies and procedures are published on state and LEA websites; and allow an LEA to share the results of a school employee's recent background check with another LEA that is considering that individual for employment.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-03-03 00:00:00

Alerting Local Leaders and Ensuring Responsible Guidelines for Youth Act or the ALLERGY Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require a local educational agency (LEA), as a condition of receiving funds under the ESEA, to establish and implement a policy on allergy bullying that requires schools to:

 educate students, school personnel, and parents about allergy bullying; clearly define what the punishment or response may be for violating rules against allergy bullying; encourage each victim of allergy bullying to report the bullying to school personnel; and comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 in carrying out these requirements. An LEA shall certify annually that it has established and implemented such a policy.

"Allergy bullying" is an unwanted, aggressive behavior by a student toward another student who has an allergy, including: (1) a real or perceived imbalance of power due to the student's allergy; and (2) actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, making physical or verbal attacks, and purposefully excluding the student from a group.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-03-07 00:00:00

Support Our Students Act of 2016 or the S.O.S. Act of 2016

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to support or develop programs that will train teachers, school personnel, and specialized instructional support personnel regarding mental health conditions in children.

To be eligible to receive such a grant or subgrant, a state or LEA must partner with a mental health organization, family advocacy organization, or community nonprofit organization.

Subgrantees shall utilize school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, or community organizations with experience in mental illness and suicide prevention to develop and conduct the training.

The training program must include an annual in-service training component that enables teachers, school personnel, and specialized instructional support personnel to: (1) better understand mental health conditions and the early warning signs in children and adolescents; (2) effectively communicate their mental health concerns with families and consider family perspectives; (3) identify classroom strategies for working effectively with troubled children; and (4) understand school-specific information, including links to mental health services and supports in the school and community.

ED shall develop outcome measures for in-depth evaluation of the effectiveness of the training programs.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-04-29 00:00:00

School Modernization and Revitalization Through Jobs Act, the SMART Jobs Act, or the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act

This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to make grants to states for the modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools. The bill allocates grant funds among states on the basis of the relative portion of school improvement funds provided to local educational agencies (LEAs) in each state under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. States shall reallocate the grant funds to LEAs on the basis of each LEA's share of school improvement funds received by LEAs in the state for the previous fiscal year.

In addition, ED shall make grants to LEAs that serve specified disaster areas for the construction, modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools. The bill allocates grant funds among LEAs on the basis of each LEA's share of infrastructure damage inflicted on public school facilities in such areas.

With specified exceptions, only U.S.-produced iron, steel, and manufactured goods shall be used in projects funded under the bill.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-06-09 00:00:00

Stand Up For Students Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to limit the use of ESEA funds for contributions to teacher retirement or pension systems in excess of the normal cost of benefits for an applicable plan year.

Specifically, the bill prohibits a state from requiring a local educational agency to use ESEA funds to make such excess payments to a teacher retirement or pension system. However, this limitation shall not apply to a system for a given plan year if the system certifies that, with respect to the plan year, the ratio of the value of the system's assets to its accrued liability exceeds 50%.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2016-07-08 00:00:00

Serve More Kids Act 

This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to make several changes to the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) child nutrition programs.

USDA must: (1) award equipment assistance grants to states for the school lunch and breakfast programs, (2) provide commodity assistance to states for the School Breakfast Program (SBP), and (3) establish a pilot program for providing a third daily meal under the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).

USDA may waive or modify the verification sample size requirements under the National School Lunch Program for local educational agencies that demonstrate that the requirement would increase the number of eligible children losing access to benefits or have a disproportionate and adverse impact on vulnerable populations such as migrants and homeless youth.

USDA may grant a request to allow children to consume SFSP meals off-site due to specified factors, including extreme weather, violence and other public safety concerns, or efforts to support innovative meal delivery methods to address transportation barriers and low program participation in rural areas.

The bill modifies the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to:

 specify that the food must be nutritious; specify certification periods for breastfeeding women, infants, and postpartum women; require state agencies to submit plans and distribute information related to improving access for members of the Armed Forces; and require USDA to provide additional annual performance bonus payments to state agencies for improving the proportion of breast-fed infants participating in the program. The bill also reauthorizes USDA grants to states for expanding school breakfast programs.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-07-14 00:00:00

Securing Our Schools Act of 2016

This bill establishes a pilot program under which the Department of Justice may award one-year grants to local education agencies for the purpose of purchasing and installing devices that allow for the immediate notification of appropriate officials in case of emergency.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-07-21 00:00:00

School Protection Act of 2016

This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants and enter contracts to train elementary and secondary school nurses to serve as first responders and crisis managers in the event of a biological or chemical attack at a school or an outbreak of pandemic illness among individuals under their care.

The training must prepare school nurses to: (1) protect and preserve life; (2) notify public health authorities to help contain or mitigate the effects of an attack or outbreak; and (3) take other appropriate and feasible actions, such as preserve evidence of an attack.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-09-20 00:00:00

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to specify that a provision of the Act may be cited as "Bree's Law." The relevant ESEA provision requires local educational agencies that receive certain funding under the Act to establish programs and activities that improve safety through the recognition and prevention of coercion, violence, or abuse.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-09-28 00:00:00

Prepare All Kids Act of 2016

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education to establish a Prekindergarten Incentive Fund from which matching grants shall be awarded to states and, through them, subgrants to qualified prekindergarten providers for the establishment, expansion, or enhancement of voluntary, high-quality, full-day prekindergarten programs serving children ages three through five.

State grantees shall set aside specified portions of grant funds: (1) for quality early childhood development programs for children from birth through age three, and (2) to extend the hours of early childhood development programs to create extended day and year programs.

Prekindergarten subgrantees must: (1) maintain a maximum class size of 20 children, with at least 1 prekindergarten teacher per classroom; and (2) ensure that the ratio of children to prekindergarten teachers and teacher aides does not exceed 10 to 1.

Program funds may not be used for assessments of children in prekindergarten or early childhood development programs if: (1) the assessments are used to reward or sanction individual children, teachers, programs, or schools; or (2) a single assessment is used as the primary or sole method for assessing program effectiveness.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2016-12-07 00:00:00

Bring Enhanced Liability in Transportation for Students Act

This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) to award grants to states to develop a school bus seat belt demonstration program to purchase type 1 school buses (weighing more than 10,000 pounds) equipped with lap/shoulder seat belts or equip existing type 1 buses with such belts.

 DOT shall withhold 10% of a state's apportionment of certain federal-aid highway funds if the state has not enacted a law that requires the employer to conduct background checks before hiring school bus drivers.

DOT shall also withhold 10% of a state's apportionment of certain federal-aid highway funds if the state has not enacted and is not enforcing a law that imposes specified first offense and second offense civil and criminal penalties for motorists found guilty of illegally passing a stopped school bus.

The bill authorizes DOT to provide grants to states to equip school buses with motion-activated detection systems.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2016-12-08 00:00:00

Seat Belts Save Lives Act of 2016

This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to prescribe a rule or amend a federal motor vehicle safety standard to require a schoolbus to be equipped with a three-point safety belt at each seat.

The bill defines "three-point safety belt" to mean an occupant restraint system consisting of an integrated:

 lap belt or similar device intended to restrain movement of the pelvis, and shoulder belt or similar device intended to restrain movement of the chest and shoulder regions.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-12-30 00:00:00

No School Bus Drivers with DUIs Act of 2016

The bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to prohibit any state, state educational agency, or local educational agency receiving ESEA funds from employing an individual as a school bus driver who has been convicted of, or pled guilty to, drunk driving or a driving violation that is a felony under state law.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent those entities from adopting a law, regulation, or policy that provides greater or additional protections prohibiting the employment of a school employee, contractor, or agent.

The Department of Education shall not have the authority to mandate, direct, or control the specific measures adopted by such entities.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-01-06 00:00:00

Core Opportunity Resources for Equity and Excellence Act of 2015

Amends the school improvement program under part A of title I of the the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require states to adopt student achievement standards that lead to college and career readiness by high school graduation.

Requires each state school improvement plan to ensure that the state's public school system enables students to meet those standards by providing them with fair and equitable access to the core resources for learning.

Includes among the core resources for learning:

 high-quality instructional teams; rigorous academic standards and curricula that lead to college and career readiness by high school graduation; equitable and instructionally appropriate class sizes; up-to-date instructional materials, technology, and supplies; effective school library programs; school facilities and technology, including physically and environmentally sound school buildings and well-equipped instructional spaces; specialized instruction support teams providing assessment, diagnosis, counseling, educational, therapeutic, and other necessary services as part of a comprehensive program to meet student needs; and effective programs to engage families and the community in education. Prohibits states that fail to make progress toward eliminating inequities in access to the core resources for learning for two or more consecutive years from receiving funds under any competitive grant program authorized by the ESEA.

Requires the annual report cards publicly disseminated by states and their local educational agencies (LEAs) to include information on the performance of LEAs and schools in providing students with fair and equitable access to the core resources for learning.

Requires states to identify any of their LEAs as needing improvement if they: (1) fail for two consecutive years to make adequate yearly progress toward state academic content and achievement standards, or (2) have received a waiver of the ESEA's statutory or regulatory requirements from the Secretary of Education.

Requires states to: (1) identify any inequities in access to the core resources of learning in schools served by an LEA that has been identified as needing improvement, and (2) work with the LEA to address those inequities.

Prohibits the Secretary from waiving this Act's requirements for accountability in providing students with access to the core resources for learning.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-01-07 00:00:00

Safety for Our Schoolchildren Act of 2015

Requires states and local educational agencies (LEAs): (1) to obtain a Federal Bureau of Investigation background check on individuals prior to offering them employment as school employees; and (2) if the check identifies them as sexual predators, to report their application to local law enforcement.

Prohibits states or LEAs from hiring individuals as: (1) school employees if they have been convicted of a crime of violence or other felony; or (2) school bus drivers if they have been convicted of, or pled guilty to, drunk driving or a serious moving violation.

Withholds funds available to states for planning and administration and to LEAs as subgrants under part A of title II (Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, if they violate such prohibitions or fail to take such actions.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-01-07 00:00:00

Expanding School Choice Act

Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states to allocate school improvement grant funds among their local educational agencies (LEAs) on the basis of the number of children aged 5 through 17 whose family income lies below the federal poverty level and who are enrolled in the public and state-accredited private schools within each LEA's geographic jurisdiction.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-01-07 00:00:00

Local Control of Education Act 

Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to prohibit the federal government from directly or indirectly mandating, directing, controlling, incentivizing, or conditioning federal support on a state's, local educational agency's (LEA's), or school's adoption of:

 the Common Core State Standards, any other academic standards common to a number of states, or any statewide or nationally recognized content standards; or any assessment, instructional content, or curriculum aligned to, or based on, specific academic standards. Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to make those prohibitions applicable to grants awarded under the Race to the Top program for innovations and reforms in elementary and secondary education.

Prohibits the Secretary of Education from conditioning the provision of a statutory or regulatory waiver under the ESEA on a state, LEA, Indian tribe, or school adopting any specific instructional content, academic standard, assessment, curriculum, or program of instruction. Makes that prohibition applicable to future and previously issued waivers.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-01-07 00:00:00

Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2015

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow all taxpayers, including taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions, a tax deduction for expenses relating to the home schooling of their children at the elementary or secondary school level.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-01-07 00:00:00

21st Century Charter School Act

Amends the Charter School program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Makes public and private nonprofit entities eligible for program grants. (Currently, state educational entities are eligible for such grants.)

Allows grantees to award subgrants to charter school developers or nonprofit charter support organizations and award them multiple grants to support multiple campuses of a public charter school.

Sets forth additional factors that are to work in favor of grant applicants, including that their state gives public charter schools funding commensurate with that provided to other public schools, has no cap on such schools, and gives the schools a high degree of autonomy.

Authorizes the use of subgrants to plan and implement, or expand existing, public charter schools.

Authorizes grantees to use a portion of the grant funds reserved for administrative expenses to improve public charter school authorizing policies and practices in their area.

Expands the portion of funds grantees may use in establishing revolving loan funds for loans to subgrantees for planning and operating a public charter school.

Requires each public charter school participating in the program to have an independent governing board that enters into a performance-based agreement with an authorized public chartering agency that describes: (1) how student performance will be measured pursuant to the state assessments required of other schools, and (2) the criteria for renewal or revocation of their charter. Prohibits such schools from giving admissions preference to any student on the basis of prior academic achievement.

Establishes two new grant programs awarding grants to: (1) public charter schools, public and private nonprofit entities, charter school developers, and nonprofit charter support organizations to disseminate charter school innovations to other schools and states; and (2) public and private nonprofit entities to demonstrate innovative credit enhancement initiatives that assist public charter schools in covering the cost of acquiring, constructing, and renovating facilities.