jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-02-10 00:00:00

Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to eliminate the current reservation of 1% of the school improvement funds for outlying areas and Indian education. Reserves .67% of the school improvement funds for Indian education, but raises that reservation to .75% beginning with the fiscal year the allocations to states equal or surpass FY2015 levels after subtracting .75% of those allocations for Indian education.

Establishes formulae for determining the minimum allotment to American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands of school improvement funds for: (1) basic grants to local educational agencies (LEAs), (2) concentration grants to LEAs, (3) targeted grants to LEAs, and (4) grants under the education finance incentive grant program.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-02-10 00:00:00

Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation Act or the LEARN Act

Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to states to develop or improve a comprehensive plan to improve the literacy of children from birth through grade 12.

Directs the Secretary to award grants to states to implement their comprehensive literacy plans for such children through:

 competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) or early learning programs for specified activities that support early language and literacy development in children from birth through kindergarten entry; competitive subgrants to LEAs that have the highest numbers or percentages of disadvantaged students and students reading or writing below grade level for specified activities to improve the literacy of students in kindergarten through grade 12, including the provision of family literacy services; and additional state activities that include providing technical assistance to subgrantees, coordinating literacy programs and resources throughout the state, disseminating information on promising literacy programs, and enhancing the credentials of literacy instructors. Allots implementation grants to states on the basis of each state's share of disadvantaged students.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) perform a five-year national evaluation of the implementation and effect of the literacy initiatives supported by this Act, and (2) provide technical assistance and information on literacy instruction to educational entities.

Authorizes the Secretary to withhold this Act's funding from states and subgrantees, and states to withhold funding from subgrantees, whose initiatives are not making significant progress in improving student literacy.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-02-25 00:00:00

Fiscal Fairness Act

Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to condition local educational agency (LEA) receipt of school improvement funds on: (1) an average state and local spending per pupil in each school receiving school improvement funds of at least 97% of such spending per pupil across all of the LEA's schools that are not receiving such funds; and (2) an average state and local spending per pupil in each higher poverty school of at least 97% of such spending per pupil across all lower poverty schools, if the LEA is serving all of its schools under part A.

Allows LEAs to meet such requirement across all schools or among schools serving a particular grade span if they compare schools within no more than three grade spans.

Directs the Inspector General of the Department of Education, in the fourth and fifth years after this Act's enactment, to audit 5 states and 10 LEAs to determine their progress in meeting these requirements.

Requires annual LEA report cards to include certain information on state and local spending per pupil in schools.

Requires states to provide the public with annual up-to-date school-by-school listings of per-pupil state and local spending.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-05-01 00:00:00

Caring Start Act of 2015

This bill amends the Head Start Act to require that in providing and allocating resources for training and technical assistance, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) give priority consideration to activities that:

 support the implementation of evidence-based trauma-informed practices, age-appropriate positive behavioral interventions and supports, early childhood mental health consultation, and prevention of suspension and expulsion; and increase coordination between Head Start agencies and other programs that serve very young children. Such assistance must also, to the maximum extent practicable, assist Head Start agencies in adopting evidence-based approaches to best identify and serve children whose experiences have elicited a toxic stress response. (Toxic stress response can result from strong or prolonged adversity without adequate adult support.)

HHS shall fund personnel training in:

 evidence-based trauma-informed practices, as well as early childhood mental health consultation and age-appropriate positive behavioral interventions and supports; and helping children who are victims of trauma or toxic stress.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-05-15 00:00:00

Reducing Barriers to Learning Act of 2015

This bill amends the Department of Education Organization Act to create an Office of Specialized Instructional Support within the Department of Education (ED) to improve specialized instructional support services in schools. "Specialized instructional support services" are assessment, diagnosis, counseling, educational, therapeutic, and other services provided by qualified professionals as part of a comprehensive program to meet student needs.

The bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize ED to award competitive matching grants to states to: (1) establish or expand specialized instructional support services and programs at the state level that are designed to provide technical assistance, coordination, and support to specialized instructional support services and programs addressing barriers to learning within local educational agencies and individual schools; and (2) hire and support specialized instructional support services coordinators to provide such assistance, coordination, and support.

References to pupil services and pupil services personnel are replaced with references to specialized instructional support services and specialized instructional support personnel.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-05-19 00:00:00

Strong Start for America's Children Act of 2015

This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to allot matching grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies, childhood education program providers, or consortia of those entities to implement high-quality prekindergarten programs for children from low-income families.

Grants are allotted to states based on each state's proportion of children who are age four and who are from families with incomes at or below 200% of the poverty level.

"High-quality prekindergarten programs" are those that serve children three or four years of age and meet criteria concerning: class size; learning environments; teacher qualifications, salaries, and professional development; program monitoring; and accessibility to comprehensive health and support services.

Programs supported by a state must conduct criminal history background checks on employees and applicants for employment with unsupervised access to children.

States may apply to use up to 15% of their grant for subgrants to high-quality early childhood education and care programs for infants and toddlers whose family income is at or below 200% of the poverty level.

ED and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall develop a process to: (1) provide Head Start program services to children younger than age four in states or regions that already provide four-year-olds whose family income is at or below 200% of the poverty level with sustained access to high-quality prekindergarten programs, or (2) convert programs to serve infants and toddlers.

ED shall award competitive matching grants to states to increase their capacity to offer high-quality prekindergarten programs. States must provide assurances that they will use their grant to become eligible, within three years of receiving the grant, for this Act's grants for high-quality prekindergarten programs.

The bill amends the Head Start Act to direct HHS to make grants to Early Head Start agencies to partner with center-based or family child care providers, particularly those that receive support under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, to assist them in meeting program performance standards. Such partnerships may serve children through age three.

The bill reauthorizes the programs providing: (1) preschool grants for special education and related services, and (2) early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.

The bill expresses the sense of the House of Representatives concerning the value of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-05-21 00:00:00

Expanded Access to Real Learning for our Young Act or the EARLY Act

This bill authorizes the Department of Education to award competitive grants to states to carry out full-day prekindergarten programs.

The programs must:

 be located at public schools, if practicable, or otherwise carried out by private or other community providers; permit parents, regardless of income, to voluntary enroll their four-year old children in the programs and do so at no cost if their combined income does not exceed 400% of the poverty line; be full-day programs that run the length of the regular school year; maintain a maximum class size of 20 children, with at least 1 prekindergarten teacher per classroom; ensure that the ratio of children to prekindergarten teachers and teacher aides does not exceed 10 to 1; be taught by teachers who are paid a salary comparable to kindergarten through grade 12 teachers at the state's public schools; and meet a minimum level of parental engagement set by the state. Grant priority shall be given to states that carry out the programs at public schools.

The federal share of a grant may not exceed 75% of the prekindergarten program's costs.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-06-09 00:00:00

Reimburse Educators who Pay for Academic Year Supplies Act of 2015 or the REPAY Supplies Act of 2015

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the deduction from gross income (above-the-line deduction) for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers, and (2) allow such deduction to an individual who is a teacher or aide under a Head Start program for at least 700 hours during a school year.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-06-15 00:00:00

21st Century STEM for Girls and Underrepresented Minorities Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Department of Education (ED) to provide grants to local educational agencies  to encourage the ongoing development of programs and curricula for girls and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and prepare those students to pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees and careers in such fields.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-07-29 00:00:00

Teacher Loan Repayment Act of 2015

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the financial aid programs for teachers.

Specifically, it terminates the authority of the Department of Education (ED) to: (1) award new grants under the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant program and (2) enter new loan forgiveness agreements under the under the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program.

The bill authorizes and directs ED to administer a new loan repayment for teachers program. To qualify, a borrower must be a full-time teacher in a low-income school or location and meet other requirements. ED, on behalf of a qualified borrower, makes $250-$400 direct monthly payments on Federal Family Education Loan or Direct Loan program Subsidized, Unsubsidized, and, in certain circumstances, Consolidation Loans.

To remain eligible for loan repayment, a borrower must continue to be employed in the school or location of initial eligibility.

 The total maximum loan repayment amount is $23,400 over six years. A borrower must repay the remaining principal and interest.

An individual who currently participates in the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program may continue participating in such program or enter the new loan repayment for teachers program.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-07-29 00:00:00

Restructuring Underutilized Resources for Advancing Learning Act or the RURAL Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable tax credit of: (1) $1,000 for teachers in schools in rural or high-poverty areas; (2) $2,000 for such teachers who are certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; or (3) $2,000 for eligible school administrators in rural schools.

This bill also amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish the Office of Rural Education Policy to, among other activities: (1) advise the Department of Education (ED) on matters related to the characteristics and needs of rural schools; (2) establish and maintain a clearinghouse for information related to rural schools; and (3) provide technical assistance to support activities related to improving education in rural areas.

ED must prepare, and make publicly available, impact analyses of rules and regulations significantly affecting rural schools.

In addition, the bill: (1) authorizes ED to award competitive grants to eligible partnerships, with dedicated funding for partnerships serving rural schools, to implement and evaluate the results of technology-based learning practices, strategies, tools, or courses; and (2) amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish and authorize through FY2020 a competitive grant program for eligible entities to establish, expand, or improve expanded learning time and after-school programs in rural areas.

The bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require ED to provide outreach and technical assistance for grant programs under that Act.

Rural agencies may submit consolidated plans under ESEA for covered programs.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-09-17 00:00:00

Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act 





This bill amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to require a state to identify, evaluate, and provide special education and related services to children who have visual or hearing disabilities (or both) and also are, or may be, classified in another disability category. A state must ensure that it has enough qualified personnel to serve children who have such disabilities and that a full continuum of alternative placements is available to meet the needs of disabled children for special education and related services.





The individualized education program for each child that is either (or both) visually or hearing impaired must include specified components and must provide the child with instruction that meets the child's unique learning needs. Similarly, the individualized family service plan for an infant or toddler with a hearing disability must include specified components.





A states' closure of a special school serving deaf or blind children shall count as a reduction of its financial support for special education and related services for purposes of the prohibition against reducing state financial support for such services from one fiscal year to the next.





The bill also: (1) authorizes grants for training special education personnel, to be used in preparing individuals to become qualified teachers and early intervention specialists for children with hearing disabilities; and (2) establishes within the Department of Education the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence to better support students with visual disabilities.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-09-17 00:00:00

Early Learning Act of 2015

This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to make annual awards from the Early Education Trust Fund, established in this bill, to state pre-kindergarten agencies according to a formula based on pre-kindergarten enrollment in the state. To be eligible for an award, a state must provide assurances that: (1) the award will be used only to support pre-kindergarten programs, (2) the state will not expend less for pre-kindergarten programs in the award period than it did in the previous year, and (3) each resident in the state who is four years old on October 1 of the award year has the opportunity to enroll in a free pre-kindergarten program.

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a surtax, equal to 1.5% of a taxpayer's adjusted gross income as exceeds $500,000, to support the fund.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-09-24 00:00:00

Universal Prekindergarten and Early Childhood Education Act of 2015

This bill authorizes through FY2021 a competitive grant program for states to establish or expand full-day prekindergarten programs that: (1) permit each three- or four-year old child in the state to be voluntarily enrolled by the child's parent, regardless of income, in the program at the public school in which the child would be enrolled for kindergarten; (2) run the length of the regular school year; and (3) are taught by teachers who possess equivalent or similar qualifications to those of teachers of other grades in the school.

The federal share of such a grant shall not exceed 80% of the costs of carrying out these activities. Grant funds received under the program shall be used to supplement and not supplant other federal early childhood education funds in the state.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-10-27 00:00:00

GEAR UP for Counseling

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase requirements for grant recipients under the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP).

Specifically, it requires state and partnership GEAR UP grantees to also provide academic and mental health counseling services to participating students.

The bill reauthorizes GEAR UP for FY2017-FY2022.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-11-17 00:00:00

Pre-K for USA Act

This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to award high-quality prekindergarten (pre-K) program development grants on a competitive basis to states, local education agencies, or other local government entities.

A grant recipient may use the grant funds to award subgrants to local entities, provided that the entity did not receive pre-K program funding within the same fiscal year.

Grants are nonrenewable and shall be awarded for a period of no more than three years.

Unless granted a financial hardship waiver by ED, a grant recipient shall contribute matching funds equal to at least 20% of the grant amount.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2015-11-19 00:00:00

Head Start Improvement Act of 2015

This bill amends the Head Start Act to replace the existing Head Start program with block grants to states and Indian tribes for prekindergarten (pre-K) education.

Instead of providing direct financial assistance to Head Start agencies, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall allot block grant funds for pre-K education among eligible states and Indian tribes in accordance with their relative proportions of children, age five and younger, from low-income households. Grant recipients shall use the grant funds to: (1) award subgrants to eligible entities that provide pre-K education programs; (2) administer such programs; and (3) provide technical assistance, oversight, monitoring, research, and training.

Under current law, HHS is authorized to designate, monitor, and establish standards for Head Start agencies. The bill instead shifts pre-K program oversight and control to states and Indian tribes, which shall have full flexibility to use grant funds to finance the pre-K programs of their choice. In addition, grant recipients may use grant funds to establish portable voucher systems that allow costs to be paid for attendance at private pre-K education programs.

Under current law, federal financial assistance for a Head Start program is generally limited to 80% of total program costs. The bill maintains this limitation by requiring grant recipients to provide matching funds equal to 20% of the grant amount.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2016-02-12 00:00:00

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

100 Years of Women in Congress Act

(Sec. 3) This bill amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to designate as Jeannette Rankin Women and Minorities in STEM Fields Program Grants the current research and extension grants to increase participation by women and underrepresented minorities from rural areas in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), with priority given to eligible institutions that carry out continuing programs funded by the Department of Agriculture.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-02-26 00:00:00

Families Learning and Understanding English Together Act of 2016

This bill authorizes the Department of Education (ED) to make grants to providers of family literacy services in order to improve the literacy and English skills of limited English proficient individuals who are parents or children in families where each parent is at least age 16 and at least one child is under age 8.

ED shall reserve certain funds to: (1) provide grantees with technical assistance and training, and (2) evaluate and improve the family literacy grant program.

Grantees must meet specified outcome measures.
Topic: Education — Underprivileged
Subject: Education
Date: 2016-02-26 00:00:00

Providing Resources to Improve Dual Language Education Act of 2016 or the PRIDE Act

This bill authorizes the Department of Education (ED) to award up to five grants to partnerships of local educational agencies, early childhood education programs, and technical assistance providers for the implementation of dual language demonstration programs designed to enhance and assess the biliteracy and bilingualism skills of low-income minority and limited English proficient children from preschool through grade five.

ED shall: (1) contract with an entity that has dual language program experience to provide technical assistance and program evaluation, and (2) disseminate information on best practices implemented under model programs.