jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-10-01 00:00:00

Facilitating Outstanding Classrooms Using Size reduction Act (FOCUS Act) - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to award formula grants to states for allocation to their local educational agencies (LEAs) to: (1) reduce class size, particularly in the early elementary grades, by using highly qualified teachers; and (2) create a continuum of small classes from kindergarten through third grade for all their students. Permits LEAs to use such funds to recruit highly qualified teachers, test new teachers, and provide professional development that enables teachers to teach effectively in their content areas. Requires 80% of an LEA's allocation to be based on its proportion of the state's low-income students, with the remainder based on its proportion of the state's enrolled students. Requires LEAs that receive allocations to provide written notice to the parent of each child who is taught for two or more consecutive weeks by a substitute teacher or a teacher who is not highly qualified. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide for an independent evaluation of this Act's effectiveness in reducing class size and improving teaching in small classrooms; and (2) develop and maintain, through the National Center for Education Statistics, a database that accurately calculates class size for every school, school district, and state. Amends the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 to require the National Center for Education Research, in the Institute of Education Sciences, to develop and maintain a web-based National Clearinghouse on Class Size to inform the public regarding class size reduction research, resources, and best practices.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-10-04 00:00:00

Student Breakfast and Education Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states or local educational agencies (LEAs) for the establishment or enhancement of school breakfast programs at, and through the provision of subgrants to, schools where at least 65% of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches under the school lunch program. Authorizes schools to use the school breakfast subgrants to: (1) increase the quantity of local or fresh food available under their programs; (2) provide nutrition education and first-hand knowledge of food systems to students; (3) extend the period during which breakfast is available, including during the school day; (4) increase participation in their breakfast programs, including through the provision of universal free breakfasts; or (5) collaborate with institutions of higher education or other research entities in compiling data and reports on their breakfast programs. Gives priority to subgrant applicant schools at least 75% of whose students are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches and which intend to use the funds to procure local produce, provide universal free breakfasts, or provide breakfast during the school day. Directs state and LEA grantees, at least 180 days before the end of a grant term, to evaluate whether it would be cost-effective for subgrantee schools to provide universal free breakfasts under the school breakfast program.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-10-04 00:00:00

Expanded Education Act - Amends title I of the the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to create a new part I (Expanded Education) program awarding grants to states for the conduct of separate expanded day, week, or year pilot programs. Requires that for each of the expanded day and week programs at least: (1) 20 schools in each small state and 50 schools in each large state participate; (2) 50% of each participating school's student population consist of low-income students; (3) one entire grade in each participating school be involved in the program. Requires each expanded day and week program to: (1) increase student proficiency in reading and language arts, and mathematics; (2) provide education in new areas or directions, so that it is not wholly remedial; and (3) include sufficient recreational, social, or extra-curricular cultural activities. Allows each participating state to conduct expanded year programs through one or a combination of three school-based models: (1) two to be conducted by participating schools, institutions of higher education (IHE), or nonprofit organizations in schools at least 50% of whose students are low-income students, but differing in whether they require the mandatory participation of at least one entire grade or allow the voluntary participation of at least two grades at participating schools; and (2) one requiring the state to establish a voluntary summer learning institute for low-income students at an IHE to be run by the IHE or a nonprofit organization. Requires each expanded year program to: (1) provide education in new areas or directions, or increase student expertise; (2) emphasize non-remedial work; and (3) include sufficient recreational, social, or extra-curricular cultural activities.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-10-17 00:00:00

Fitness Integrated with Teaching Kids Act or the FIT Kids Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require annual state and local educational agency report cards to include specified information on school health and physical education programs. Includes the promotion of healthy, active lifestyles by students within ESEA grant programs that support school counseling, smaller learning communities, community learning centers, and parental involvement in their childrens' education. Revises the professional development program for teachers and principals to include training for physical and health education teachers, and training on improving students' health habits and participation in physical activities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to fund a study by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) that: (1) assesses the affect health and physical education have on students' ability to learn; and (2) makes recommendations for improving, and measuring improvements to, their health and physical education in schools.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-10-17 00:00:00

Student Bill of Rights - Directs the Secretary of Education to make annual determinations as to whether each state's public school system provides all its students with educational resources to succeed academically and in life. Requires such education to enable students to: (1) acquire knowledge and skills necessary for responsible citizenship; (2) meet challenging academic achievement standards; and (3) compete and succeed in a global economy. Requires each system to do so by: (1) providing specified fundamentals of educational opportunity to students at each public elementary and secondary school; (2) providing educational services in school districts that receive funds for disadvantaged students that are at least comparable to educational services provided in school districts not receiving such funds; and (3) complying with any final federal or state court order in any matter concerning the adequacy or equitableness of the system. Requires each state receiving federal financial assistance for elementary and secondary education to submit an accountability plan to the Secretary annually. Requires withholding of specified portions of its federal funding for administrative expenses if a system: (1) fails to meet a yearly interim goal; (2) does not remedy, after two school years, a failure to provide comparable educational services to schools that receive funds for disadvantaged children; or (3) does not comply with a court order. Allows students or parents aggrieved by violations of this Act to bring civil actions for enforcement in federal district courts.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-10-18 00:00:00

Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish the National Park Ranger School Partnerships program authorizing the Secretary of Education to award competitive, three-year grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to enter into partnerships that include the National Park Service (NPS), and may include nonprofit NPS partners, to provide kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) students with educational programs and K-12 teachers with professional development emphasizing science, the environment, natural resources, mathematics, civics, and history. Deems LEAs to be eligible for such a grant only if they: (1) have, are capable of, or will develop certain connections to the NPS; (2) have been identified as needing improvement under title I of the ESEA; and (3) are a high-need LEA. Permits: (1) the NPS to participate in the Mathematics and Science Partnerships program that provides training to teachers of such subjects under title II of the ESEA; and (2) educational service agencies, including federal agencies that serve as educational service providers, to partner with LEAs under such title's Teaching American History Grant Program.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-10-24 00:00:00

Success in the Middle Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Education to make matching grants to states, based on their proportion of poor children aged 5 to 17, to: (1) implement state middle school needs analyses and, on the basis of such analyses, improvement plans that describe what students must master to successfully complete the middle grades and succeed in academically rigorous high school coursework; and (2) award competitive matching subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to implement a comprehensive middle school improvement plan for each eligible school. Favors LEAs with high proportions of poor children and eligible schools. Defines "eligible schools" as those where: (1) a majority of middle grade students matriculate to high schools with graduation rates below 60%; (2) more than 25% of the students who finish grade six, or the school's earliest middle grade level, exhibit key risk factors for failure; and (3) a majority of middle grade students are not rated proficient on required state assessments in mathematics, reading, or language arts. Permits states to make subgrants to LEAs that did not receive a competitive subgrant to assist them in applying for competitive subgrants and developing comprehensive middle school improvement plans. Provides the Secretary with funding to: (1) contract for studies that identify promising practices for, and review existing research to identify factors that might lead to, the improvement of middle school education; (2) create a national clearinghouse in best middle grade educational practices and a national database identifying factors that facilitate or impede middle grade student achievement; (3) require certain educational field research designed to enhance the performance of middle grade schools and students; (4) create a research and development center that addresses topics pertinent to middle grade schools; and (5) provide grants to entities that partner with states and LEAs to develop, adapt, or replicate effective models for turning around low-performing middle grade schools.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-10-26 00:00:00

Veterans Upward Bound Improvement Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit members of the Armed Forces Reserves who served on active duty in support of a contingency operation on or after September 11, 2001, from being deemed ineligible for participation in federal TRIO programs due to age. (TRIO programs prepare disadvantaged students for, and support their pursuit of, postsecondary education.)
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-11-06 00:00:00

Amends title VI (Flexibility and Accountability) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to set forth a new Part C: State Student Achievement Contracts. Allows the Secretary of Education to enter into five-year student achievement contracts with up to 12 states, authorizing them to: (1) waive the statutory or regulatory requirements that accompany any ESEA formula grant program for states; (2) use funds, or allow their local educational agencies (LEAs) to use funds, received under specified ESEA programs for implementing one or more of such programs or programs under part A of title I of the ESEA; and (3) require their LEAs that are not meeting state student proficiency targets to use such funds for corrective intervention activities. Requires contract applicants to demonstrate that their academic standards, assessments, accountability systems, objectives, and data systems meet specified minimum requirements under such contracts. Establishes alternative ESEA program waivers for states participating in the contract program that do not meet such minimum academic standards and assessment requirements but have a plan, approved by the Secretary, for doing so. Requires participating states to report annually on how they have used federal funds under the contract to improve academic achievement, narrow the achievement gap, and improve educational opportunities for the disadvantaged. Provides for the early termination of program participation by states not abiding by the terms of their contracts. Requires an independent five-year evaluation of this program's success in improving student academic achievement.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-11-15 00:00:00

Student Protection Act - Requires that by FY2010 states have in effect laws and policies that require disciplining of any school, state, or local educational agency employee or volunteer who, having reason to believe another employee or volunteer has committed an act of sexual misconduct against a student, fails to report such act in the same manner the state requires the reporting of child abuse and neglect or, in the absence of such a requirement, as quickly as practicable. Requires each state to have a single, statewide commission for receiving and documenting such reports that: (1) establishes policies for investigating and reporting such allegations; and (2) has a toll-free number that can be used to report such allegations. Directs states to report to the Secretary of Education whenever an employee or volunteer is terminated or punished on the basis of an act of sexual misconduct toward a student, including the reason such action was taken and the identification and last known address such individual. Authorizes the Secretary to penalize noncompliant states by reducing their funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 by up to 5%. Directs the Secretary to maintain a national database that contains, at a minimum, the details this Act requires each state to report.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-11-15 00:00:00

Parents' Rights Empowerment and Protection Act (PREP Act) - Requires each preschool and elementary and secondary school that receives federal funds to obtain the affirmative, informed, written consent of a child's parent before requesting information from, or conveying information to, such child on topics relating to sex or sexuality.Requires parents, upon their request, to be given an opportunity to review such information as well as a description of the context of, and need for, its request or conveyance.Subjects individuals and schools to civil liability and fines for violating these consent and disclosure requirements. Makes noncompliant schools ineligible for federal funds for one year following a violation.Amends the General Education Provisions Act to direct administrators of surveys, analyses, or evaluations that require students to reveal certain personal or familial information to obtain the prior consent of adult or emancipated students and prior written consent of minor students' parents.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2007-12-18 00:00:00

Enhancing Teaching Standards and License Portability Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award a competitive grant to a partnership between an organization representing state educational agency administrators and one or more independent professional organizations that have teacher preparation, licensure, and assessment expertise to: (1) enhance kindergarten through grade 12 teaching standards; (2) develop performance-based teaching assessments that are linked to such standards and can be used for licensing; and (3) provide technical assistance and matching subgrants to states to adopt such teaching standards and assessments, align their licensing systems to such standards, and facilitate teacher license portability across the states.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2008-03-13 00:00:00

Kindergarten Plus Act of 2008 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states to provide Kindergarten Plus (K+) programs of voluntary full days of kindergarten during the summer before and the summer after their traditional kindergarten school year. Directs the Secretary to ensure, to the extent possible, that each grant is of sufficient size to enable the state to provide K+ to all eligible students served by the local educational agencies (LEAs) within the state with the highest concentrations of eligible students. Makes children eligible to participate in such programs if they are: (1) five-years old or will be eligible to attend kindergarten at the beginning of the next school year; (2) from a family with an income at or below 185% of the poverty line; and (3) not already served by a high-quality program in the summer before or the summer after the child enters kindergarten. Requires states, in awarding subgrants, to give priority to LEAs that: (1) serve the greatest number or percentage of eligible students; and (2) propose to reduce class size and student-to-teacher ratios in K+ significantly below the average ratios in regular kindergarten classes served by the LEA. Provides for direct grants to LEAs whose states do not apply for grants. Sets forth K+ teacher and personnel quality standards.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2008-05-22 00:00:00

Commercial Truck Fuel Savings Demonstration Act of 2008 - Prohibits any reduction of an apportionment of federal-aid highway funds to a state that allows the operation of certain commercial truck vehicles weighing over 80,000 pounds on Interstate System highways in the state when the weighted average retail price of retail number 2 diesel in the United States is $3.50 or more per gallon. Requires the Comptroller General to study the effects on the overall highway safety in participating states.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Economics and public finance
Date: 2008-07-15 00:00:00

Economic Development Administration Reauthorization Act of 2008 - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out an Excellence in Economic Development Award Program to recognize innovative economic development strategies of national significance. Directs the Secretary to publicly solicit nominations of nonprofit organizations or institutions.Authorizes a recipient of an economic adjustment grant who determines that a revolving loan fund established using such assistance is no longer needed or that the recipient could make better use of the assistance to carry out another project that meets the requirements of the Act to request the Secretary to approve conversion of the assistance by: (1) selling fund assets to a third party; or (2) retaining repayments of principal and interest on loans provided through the fund. Requires such a recipient to use the net proceeds from a sale of assets to pay any portion of the costs of one or more projects that meet Act requirements. Directs the Secretary, before providing investment assistance for a construction project under such Act, to establish the expected period during which the assistance recipient shall make best efforts to achieve economic development objectives. Requires acquired or improved property to be held in trust by the recipient for the benefit of the project, and requires the Secretary to retain a reversionary interest in the property, during that period. Extends the authorization of appropriations for economic development assistance programs. Increases the minimum level of funding for planning and grants for administrative expenses.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2008-07-28 00:00:00

Put School Counselors Where They're Needed Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to implement a demonstration project providing competitive, four-year grants to at least 10 secondary schools that have a four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate of 60% or lower, for the provision of additional school counselors and counselor resources. Expresses the sense of Congress that grantees should provide one additional counselor for every 250 students at risk. Requires the additional school counselors to serve primarily students identified as being at risk of not graduating in four years. Makes grantees that demonstrate progress in improving their graduation rates eligible for subsequent grants.
Topic: Education — Elementary & Secondary
Subject: Education
Date: 2008-07-31 00:00:00

Safety for Our Schoolchildren Act of 2008 - Requires states and local educational agencies (LEAs) to: (1) obtain an FBI background check on individuals prior to offering them employment as school employees; and (2) if the check identifies them as sexual predators, 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: 2008-09-18 00:00:00

Josh Miller Helping Everyone Access Responsive Treatment in Schools Act of 2008, or the Josh Miller HEARTS Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to: (1) purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for use in their schools; and/or (2) provide training to meet the grant requirement that at least five adult employees or volunteers at each school where an AED is to be used successfully complete training in its use and in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Requires LEA grant applicants also to demonstrate that: (1) the AEDs are integrated into the schools' emergency response procedures; and (2) emergency services personnel are notified of their locations. Gives grant priority to schools that: (1) lack an AED; (2) typically have a significant number of students, staff, and visitors present during the day; (3) generally have a longer wait for emergency medical services than other public facilities in the community; and (4) have not received funds under the Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act.