jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2014-03-27 00:00:00

Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each institution of higher education (IHE) participating in a title IV program (except a foreign school) to include in its annual security report a statement of policy regarding harassment that includes: (1) a prohibition of harassment of students by other students, faculty, and staff; (2) a description of its programs to prevent harassment; (3) a description of the procedures that students should follow if harassment occurs; and (4) a description of the procedures it will follow once an incident of harassment has been reported.

Defines "harassment" to include certain conduct undertaken through technological means that limits a student's ability to benefit from the IHE's programs, or creates a hostile or abusive educational environment at the school.

Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to IHEs to initiate, expand, or improve programs to: (1) prevent the harassment of students; (2) provide counseling or redress services to students who have been harassed or accused of subjecting other students to harassment; and (3) train students, faculty, or staff to prevent harassment or address harassment if it occurs.

Directs the Secretary to publish a report of best practices for combating harassment at IHEs.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2014-04-01 00:00:00

Pell Grant Protection Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to set the maximum Federal Pell Grant for which a student may be eligible for an award year at a specified amount, increased for inflation each year, plus any additional amount specified in the last enacted appropriation Act applicable to that award year.

Appropriates for FY2015 and each succeeding fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to provide, in combination with any amounts separately appropriated for the additional Pell Grant amount, each eligible student with the maximum Pell Grant amount, minus the student's expected family contribution. (This converts the Pell Grant program into a mandatory spending program.)

Directs the Secretary of Education to award an additional Pell Grant to an eligible student who: (1) has received a Pell Grant for an award year, and (2) is enrolled in a program of study for one or more additional payment periods during the same award year that are not otherwise covered by the Pell Grant.

Permits the total amount of the Pell Grants awarded to such student for the award year to exceed the total maximum Pell Grant for such award year.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2014-04-03 00:00:00

Proprietary Education Oversight Coordination Improvement Act - Establishes the Proprietary Education Oversight Coordination Committee to:

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

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

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

 that have engaged in illegal activity during the previous academic year as determined by a federal or state court; that have entered into a settlement resulting in a monetary payment; that have had any higher education program withdrawn or suspended; or for which the Committee has sufficient evidence of widespread or systemic unfair, deceptive, abusive, unethical, fraudulent, or predatory practices, policies, or procedures that threaten the academic success, financial security, or general best interest of students.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2014-05-01 00:00:00

Net Price Calculator Improvement Act - 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.)

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

Requires each calculator's results page to include:

 the individual net price of attending the IHE (the individual net price is calculated like the net price but takes into account the cost of attendance for, and aid available to, the individual student to the extent practicable); 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 the individual student; 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. 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.

Directs IHEs to populate their calculators with data from not earlier than two academic years prior to the most recent academic year.

Requires the calculators to: (1) clearly indicate which questions need to be completed for a net price estimate, (2) clearly mark requests for contact information as optional, (3) prohibit personally identifiable information from being sold or made available to third parties, and (4) clearly state that any information a user provides is confidential and that the calculator does not store responses or require personal identifying information.

Authorizes the Secretary 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: Education
Date: 2014-05-13 00:00:00

Historically Black Colleges and Universities Innovation Fund Act of 2014 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive one-year planning grants and five-year implementation grants to historically black colleges or universities to plan, develop, and implement educational innovations.

Allows an historically black college or university to apply for such grants by itself or in a consortium with one or more other institutions of higher education, private nonprofit organizations, or local educational agencies (LEAs).

Requires implementation grant recipients to use the grant to further develop, pilot, field-test, implement, document, validate, and, as applicable, scale up and replicate educational innovations, including those designed to:

 improve student achievement, such as through activities designed to increase the number or percentage of students who successfully complete developmental or remedial coursework and successfully pursue postsecondary studies; improve and expand institutional recruitment, postsecondary school awareness, and postsecondary school preparation efforts targeting students from low-income families, such as through activities undertaken in partnership with LEAs and nonprofit organizations; increase the number or percentage of students who enroll in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, graduate with STEM degrees, and pursue advanced STEM studies; increase the number or percentage of students who graduate from postsecondary school on time; implement evidence-based improvements to courses to improve student outcomes and reduce students' costs; enhance the quality of teacher preparation programs at historically black colleges or universities; and expand the effective use of technology in higher education. Makes the five-year duration of each implementation grant conditional after the third year of such grant on the Secretary determining that the grantee is achieving satisfactory progress in carrying out its educational innovations.

Limits the federal share to not more than 85% of the total cost of carrying out a project funded by an implementation grant.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2014-05-14 00:00:00

Simplifying Financial Aid for Students Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to provide for the use of data from the second preceding tax year when and to the extent necessary to carry out the simplification of applications used in estimating and determining financial aid eligibility. Requires such simplification to include data sharing between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Education, pursuant to taxpayer consent.

 Increases (from $23,000 to $30,000) the limit on the adjusted gross income that parents, in the case of dependent students, and students and their spouses, in the case of independent students with dependents other than a spouse, may make if those students are to be considered as having zero expected family contribution in the determination of their need for financial aid.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2014-05-15 00:00:00

Supporting College Success Through Dual Enrollment Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make matching grants to states to promote moderate- to low-income student participation in dual-enrollment programs.

Defines a "dual enrollment program" as a program through which a secondary school student takes courses offered through an institution of higher education (IHE) while enrolled in secondary school for which the student earns both secondary and postsecondary school credit.

Allots the grant funds to states based on each participating state's share of residents: (1) aged 5 through 17 who are living below the poverty line, and (2) aged 15 through 44 who are living below the poverty line.

Requires grant applicants to assure the Secretary that every local educational agency (LEA) in the state will form a partnership with one or more two-year or four-year degree granting IHEs to coordinate dual enrollment programs under which the IHE: (1) is responsible for administering the dual enrollment program, with the LEA's cooperation; and (2) determines the curriculum, standards, and instructors to be used in the dual enrollment program.

Requires states to use the grants to:

 cover the costs for moderate- to low-income secondary student participation in dual enrollment programs, provide counseling and support services for students and families regarding dual enrollment programs, create credit-bearing or noncredit-bearing courses to ensure that low-income and first generation college students have the skills to succeed in postsecondary education, encourage students and schools in small communities to participate in dual-enrollment programs, or engage in other activities that are approved by the Secretary and promote moderate- to low-income student participation in dual-enrollment programs. Requires states to focus such activities on dual enrollment programs offered through secondary schools that:

 are in high poverty areas, serve a large number or percentage of students from populations underrepresented in higher education, have a high dropout rate, have a low percentage of graduates who enter postsecondary education, are in an area of the state with low postsecondary education aspiration and attainment rates, or are small schools whose academic offerings are limited by scale. Directs the Secretary to ensure that a student's participation in dual enrollment programs has no negative effect on their eligibility for financial aid under the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2014-05-21 00:00:00

Creating Higher Education Affordability Necessary to Compete Economically Act or the Middle Class CHANCE Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the maximum Federal Pell Grant for award year 2014-2015 and adjust it each subsequent award year to account for changes in the Consumer Price Index.

Directs the Secretary of Education to award an additional Pell Grant to an eligible student who: (1) has received a Pell Grant for an award year, and (2) is enrolled in a program of study for one or more additional payment periods during the same award year that are not otherwise covered by the Pell Grant.

Limits the total amount of the Pell Grants awarded to such student for the award year to 150% of the maximum Pell Grant for such award year.

Raises, from 12 semesters to 15 semesters, the period during which a student may receive Federal Pell Grants.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2014-06-04 00:00:00

Employer Participation in Refinancing Act - 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.  Defines "qualified education refinance loan" as 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: 2014-06-10 00:00:00

Know Before You Owe Federal Student Loan Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) to provide pre-loan counseling at or prior to the first disbursement of a new loan to a student borrower under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program. (Currently, such counseling is limited to students who are first-time borrowers of such loans.)

Adds to the information to be provided to students as part of such counseling:

 an estimate of their projected loan debt-to-income ratio upon graduation and their estimated total student loan debt, calculated for their particular program of study; a statement that they should borrow the minimum amount necessary to cover expenses; information about the default risk of having a projected loan debt-to-income ratio greater than 12%; options for reducing borrowing through scholarships, reduced expenses, work-study, or other work opportunities; and an explanation of the importance of graduating on time and of how adding an additional year of study impacts total indebtedness. Requires each IHE, prior to certifying a Federal Direct Loan for disbursement to a student borrower, to ensure that the student manually enters, either in writing or through electronic means, the exact dollar amount of such loan that the student desires to borrow.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2014-06-10 00:00:00

Christopher Bryski Student Loan Protection Act or Christopher's Law - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require lenders of private education loans to:

 describe clearly and conspicuously, in writing, the cosigners' obligations regarding such loans, including the effect a borrower's or cosigner's death, disability, or inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity would have on such obligations; require the borrower to designate an individual to have the legal authority to act on behalf of the borrower in the event of the borrower's death, disability, or inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity; and ensure that the borrower, and any cosigner, receives comprehensive information on the loan's terms and conditions and the borrower's responsibilities with respect to such loan. Directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to publish a model form for describing a cosigner's obligations regarding private education loans.

Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to require institutions of higher education to provide borrowers of federal education loans information at their entrance counseling on:

 the effect their death, disability, or inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity would have on their federal and private education loans; any repayment, refinance, deferment, forbearance, or forgiveness opportunities available to the borrower, or cosigner, in the event of either individual's death, disability, or inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity; and the effect their death, disability, or inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity would have on their obligations and any cosigner's obligations with respect to the loan. Requires students applying for federal education loans to designate an individual who is to have the legal authority to act on their behalf with respect to such a loan in the event of their death, disability, or inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2014-06-19 00:00:00

Correctly Recognizing Educational Achievements To Empower Graduates Act or the CREATE Graduates Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states and, through them, subgrants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or systems of higher education to:

 identify current or former students who have earned at least 60 postsecondary credit hours (or the state-required minimum for earning an associate's degree) at the IHE or at an IHE within the system but have not been issued a postsecondary degree by such IHE or an associate's or bachelor's degree elsewhere; perform a degree audit on each of those students to identify those who are eligible to obtain an associate's degree and those who are eligible to obtain such a degree upon the completion of 12 or fewer postsecondary credit hours (or the equivalent); provide outreach and award an associate's degree to each of those students identified as eligible to obtain an associate's degree unless the student declines the degree; and provide outreach to those students identified as eligible to obtain such a degree upon the completion of 12 or fewer postsecondary credit hours, including guidance on the steps they can take to attain such a degree. Allows states to use up to: (1) 15% of their grant for administrative purposes, including the purchase of the technology to carry out grant requirements; and (2) 5% of their grant to create articulation agreements between 2-year and 4-year IHEs to facilitate the transfer of students between such schools.
Topic: Education — Higher
Subject: Education
Date: 2014-06-24 00:00:00

College Access Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive planning grants and competitive implementation grants to states to plan and implement comprehensive state plans to: (1) enhance the affordability of postsecondary education; and (2) increase the number and percentage of students attaining a postsecondary credential, particularly first generation and low-income college students.

Requires each comprehensive state plan to require the implementation of:

 specified measures to increase the transparency and accessibility of the information provided to students and their families about the costs and outcomes of attaining a postsecondary credential in the state, including the adoption by each institution of higher education (IHE) of a net price calculator linked to the IHE's website that provides individualized information and meets certain other requirements; and measures to maintain or increase fiscal support for postsecondary education that include increasing need-based grant aid for postsecondary education and restricting tuition increases at public IHEs to a rate that lies below the inflation rate. Requires each comprehensive state plan to require one or more of the following reforms that are not already in place in the state:

 removing barriers to innovation in postsecondary education by developing innovative education delivery models, promoting the use of technology, and creating or expanding the use of open educational resources; improving the students' transition to and from postsecondary institutions and increasing their graduation rate by increasing their participation in accelerated learning models, reforming postsecondary remediation, improving the credit transfer policies and articulation agreements between or among IHEs, and incentivizing IHEs to increase the number and percentage of Federal Pell Grant recipients who attain a postsecondary credential. Requires applicants for a planning grant and applicants for an implementation grant that have not received a planning grant to establish performance indicators, annual targets, and goals to track their performance in:

 implementing the reforms that are required by their plans, increasing the graduation rate of first generation and low-income college students and the number and percentage of students from community colleges and postsecondary vocational schools who transfer to a four-year IHE and attain a baccalaureate degree, and reducing the net price of attaining a postsecondary credential. Terminates an implementation grant after two years if the Secretary determines that the state is making insufficient progress in implementing its comprehensive state plan and meeting its annual targets.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) evaluate the implementation and impact of this Act's requirements, and (2) disseminate research on best practices for achieving this Act's objectives.