zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students Act of 2014 or the JOBS Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education, for the award years beginning on July 1, 2014, and ending on June 30, 2020, to award job training Federal Pell Grants to students in job training programs.

Makes students eligible for such Grants if they: (1) have not attained a baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate degree; (2) are attending an institution of higher education (IHE) that is eligible to participate in title IV programs; (3) are enrolled in, or accepted for enrollment in, a job training program at that IHE that does not lead to a baccalaureate degree; and (4) meet all the other eligibility requirements for a Federal Pell Grant.

Establishes a maximum amount, but no minimum amount, for such a Grant.

Defines an eligible "job training program" as a career and technical education program at an IHE that:

 provides at least 150 clock hours of instructional time over a period of at least 8 weeks, provides training that meets the needs of the local or regional workforce, provides students who complete the program with a recognized educational credential, and the IHE has determined is sufficient to meet the hiring requirements of multiple employers and allow students to apply for any licenses or certifications that may be required for employment in the field for which the job training is offered.

Date: 2014-02-12
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
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.

Date: 2014-03-27
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
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.

Date: 2014-04-01
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
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.

Date: 2014-04-03
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
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.

Date: 2014-05-01
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
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.

Date: 2014-05-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
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.

Date: 2014-05-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
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.

Date: 2014-05-15
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
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.

Date: 2014-05-21
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
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.

Date: 2014-06-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
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.

Date: 2014-06-10
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
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.

Date: 2014-06-10
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
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.

Date: 2014-06-19
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
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.

Date: 2014-06-24
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Pathways to Prosperity Act of 2014 - Amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act to replace specified minimum measures of student attainment in the core indicators of performance for career and technical education students at the secondary level with a measure of the median earnings of students employed during the second quarter after completing a career and technical education program of study in the state.

Requires the national research center, established under the Act, to engage in evaluation and technical assistance activities that will assist in: (1) collecting information on the industry-recognized credentials awarded to participants in career and technical education programs, and (2) developing the necessary infrastructure to support the state and local reporting of specified related information.

Makes it a responsibility of the state agency involved to establish statewide credit transfer agreements aligned to approved career and technical education programs of study.

Requires each local plan for career and technical education programs to describe how the eligible recipient of assistance will partner with business and industry to: (1) identify opportunities for experiential and work-based learning opportunities either in-person or virtually, (2) ensure the career and technical education programs of study are responsive to community and employment demands and meet other specified criteria, and (3) ensure funding under the Act is spent in a coordinated manner with other local resources.

Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise the purpose of grants for demonstration projects of innovative practices to require the projects to show the most promise of enabling the children served to meet rigorous, state-identified college and career readiness standards that address both certain academic content and certain career and technical education content.

Date: 2014-06-24
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income payments received by a student under a comprehensive work-learning-service program operated by a work college.

Date: 2014-06-25
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Allocating for Children's Education Act or the ACE Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to Coverdale education savings accounts, to: (1) increase from $2,000 to $5,000 the maximum allowable contribution to such accounts in a taxable year, and (2) allow distributions from such accounts for the purchase of athletic equipment at elementary and secondary schools. 

Date: 2014-07-08
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Act of 2014 - Amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to revise the requirements for the plan of a state seeking federal assistance for career and technical education programs. Requires the state plan to describe how the eligible state agency will ensure the quality of any program of study culminating in an industry-recognized certificate, credential, or license.

Requires state agency leadership activities to support career academies which:

 implement a college and career ready curriculum at the secondary education level integrating rigorous academic, technical, and employability contents; include experiential or work-based learning for secondary school students, in collaboration with local and regional employers; include opportunities for secondary school students to earn postsecondary credit while in secondary school; and establish and maintain ongoing partnerships between the local educational agency, business and industry, and institutions of higher education, or postsecondary vocational institutions, including local government. Requires the local plan for career and technical education programs to describe: (1) how the eligible recipient of assistance will assess local needs related to career and technical education as part of the local plan development process, and (2) how this needs assessment will be updated annually, especially on progress toward specific elements leading to high-quality implementation of career and technical education programs of study.

Authorizes the local use of funds for improving such programs to support career academies.

Date: 2014-07-10
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Education Tax Fraud Prevention Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require: (1) individuals who claim a tax credit for qualified tuition and related expenses under the Hope Scholarship or the Lifetime Learning tax credit to include their social security numbers on their tax returns, and (2) the educational institutions of such individuals to provide their employer identification numbers.

Date: 2014-07-30
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to treat part-time teachers as public service employees, for purposes of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan forgiveness program for public service employees, if they: (1) teach at least one course at an institution of higher education, a postsecondary vocational institution, or a Tribal College or University; and (2) do not have another full-time job. (Public service employees must make 120 monthly payments on such loans as public service employees to qualify for Direct Loan forgiveness under the program.)

Date: 2014-07-30
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Career and Technical Education Opportunity Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include as a program that is eligible to participate in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program and the Federal Perkins Loans program an educational program that: (1) provides students with at least 250 clock hours of instruction over a minimum of five weeks, and (2) leads to an industry-recognized credential.

Defines an "industry-recognized credential" as one that:

 is demonstrated to be of high quality by the institution of higher education offering the educational program in its title IV participation agreement with the Secretary of Education; meets the current or projected needs of a local or regional workforce for recruitment, screening, hiring, retention, or advancement purposes; and is, where applicable, endorsed by a nationally recognized trade association or organization representing a significant part of the industry or sector.

Date: 2014-09-11
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Working Student Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the income protection allowance for academic year 2015-2016 to:

 $8,451 for dependent students; $13,135 for independent students without dependents other than a spouse who are single, separated, or married when both spouses are enrolled; and $21,060 for independent students without dependents other than a spouse if only one of the spouses is enrolled. Increases for academic year 2015-2016 the income protection allowances for independent students with dependents other than a spouse. (These allowances vary depending on the number of such dependents.)

Provides for cost-of-living adjustments to such income protection allowances after academic year 2015-2016. (An income protection allowance is the amount excluded from a student's income in determining the student's need for assistance under title IV.)

Date: 2014-09-11
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Repay Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a simplified income-driven repayment program for students who become new borrowers of William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans (DLs) on or after July 1, 2015.

Sets a student's annual repayment obligation under the program at:

 10% of the borrower's discretionary income (gross income that exceeds 150% of the federal poverty level) that is less than $25,000, adjusted for inflation; plus 15% of the borrower's discretionary income that is equal to or greater than $25,000, adjusted for inflation. Directs the Secretary to cancel the outstanding balance on a DL under the repayment program if the borrower:

 for 20 years made monthly payments under the program or was in deferment due to economic hardship and had a DL principal balance at the outset of the repayment period that did not exceed a specified amount; or for 25 years made monthly payments under the program or was in deferment due to economic hardship and had a DL principal balance at the outset of the repayment period that exceeded a specified amount. Requires the Secretary to offer borrowers of DLs made on or after July 1, 2015, the following repayment plans: (1) a fixed repayment plan (currently referred to as a standard repayment plan), or (2) a simplified income-driven repayment plan, but this plan is only available to student borrowers. Authorizes the Secretary to provide an alternative repayment plan to a borrower of a DL made on or after July 1, 2015, if the borrower demonstrates that these repayment options do not accommodate the borrower's exceptional circumstances.

Continues to allow borrowers of DLs to accelerate, without penalty, their repayment of such loans.

Makes public service employees who make 120 monthly payments on their DL under a simplified income-driven repayment plan eligible for the public service employee loan forgiveness program.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income debt the Secretary discharges on a borrower's subsidized Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) due to the borrower's death or disability.

Directs the Secretary to require servicers of FFELs and DLs to: (1) provide borrowers with information regarding their loan repayment options, and (2) offer to enroll borrowers in alternative plans for which they are eligible.

Date: 2014-09-16
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Strengthening Forgiveness for Public Servants Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to cancel 15%, 15%, 20%, 20%, and 30% of the amount a borrower owes after 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 years of public service employment, respectively, on a William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan made after this Act's enactment. (Currently, the balance of a borrower's Direct Loan is cancelled if the borrower is not in default and has made 120 monthly payments on such loan while employed as a public service employee.)

Requires borrowers availing themselves of such loan cancellation to submit an employment certification form that includes self-certification of employment and employer certification of employment dates. Places the borrower's loan in deferment during the period in which the borrower is employed in an eligible public service job if the borrower submits such form to the Secretary.

Cancels the entire amount of interest on such a loan that accrues for any year in which a portion of the loan is cancelled under this Act.

Date: 2014-09-16
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Make Student Grants Truly Tax-Free Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the tax exclusion for scholarships to include amounts received: (1) through a scholarship or fellowship grant program administered by the Secretary of Education that is based on financial need, including a Federal Pell Grant, and (2) as an Iraq and Afghanistan Service grant under the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Date: 2014-09-16
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Military and Veterans Education Protection Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require proprietary institutions of higher education to derive at least 10% of their revenue from sources other than title IV or federal educational assistance programs for military personnel and veterans, or become ineligible for title IV funding and participation in those programs. (Currently, this 90/10 rule requires these schools to derive at least 10% of their revenue from sources other than title IV or become ineligible for title IV funding.)

Date: 2014-09-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Creating Quality Technical Educators Act of 2014 - Amends title II (Teacher Quality Enhancement) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize grants under the Teacher Quality Partnership grant program to be used for secondary school career and technical education teacher preparation programs. (The grant program provides funds to partnerships of high-need local educational agencies [LEAs], high-need schools or early education programs, and institutions of higher education [IHEs] to train current and prospective teachers and school leaders.)

Requires the career and technical education teacher preparation programs to:

 be available to mid-career professionals or recent graduates of an IHE who have expertise in a program area in which there is a career and technical education teacher shortage; allow individuals to obtain initial licensure and the basic skills required for entry into the education profession, with the option of earning a bachelor's or master's degree; and allow teachers who do not have subject matter expertise in a career and technical education field that is in demand in the local or regional economy to receive the technical skills training they need to teach those skills in a classroom setting. Requires each partnership to select program participants based on the career and technical education program needs of any high-need LEAs in the partnership.

Requires each program participant to undergo specified pre-classroom training that is followed by: (1) mentoring from an experienced teacher for at least two years, and (2) continuing professional development coursework over the course of three years.

Requires program participants to: (1) be provided a one-year living stipend or salary while they undergo preservice training, and (2) serve as a full-time career and technical education teacher in a high-need LEA in the partnership for at least three academic years immediately after their successful completion of the pre-classroom training.

Directs the Secretary of Education to establish performance measures for the career and technical education teacher preparation programs.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Enhanced 529 - Setting Aside for a Valuable Education Act or the Enhanced 529 - S.A.V.E. Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax credit for contributions to a qualified tuition program (529 tuition program); and (2) allow an exclusion, up to $600, from the gross income of an employee for employer contributions to a 529 tuition program.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
401(Kids) Education Savings Account Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) eliminate after 2014 the income-based reduction of contributions to Coverdell education savings accounts, (2) increase the annual contribution limit for such accounts, (3) allow the use of such an account to pay home school expenses and the acquisition costs of a first-time homebuyer, and (4) allow tax-free rollovers of amounts in a Coverdell education savings account to a Roth individual retirement account (Roth IRA).

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Social Security Garnishment Modernization Act of 2014 - Exempts an inflation-adjusted $9,000 each year of an individual's benefits under the Social Security Act from being used by the Department of Education to offset the amount the individual owes on a defaulted student loan under title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Protecting Students from Worthless Degrees Act - Makes any institution of higher education (IHE) postsecondary program designed to prepare students for a recognized occupation or profession requiring licensing or other entry pre-conditions ineligible to participate in a federal financial assistance program, unless it meets specified student consumer protection requirements within one year after this Act's enactment.

Requires each program to: (1) fully prepare students to satisfy those entry pre-conditions in the metropolitan statistical areas and states in which the students reside and in any state the program claims a successful program graduate will be prepared to work in the particular occupation or profession involved; and (2) provide timely placement of students in required pre-licensure positions, such as clinical placements, internships, or apprenticeships.

Directs the Secretary of Education to promulgate regulations regarding pre-accredited IHE programs to: (1) impose consumer protection requirements on such programs that are consistent with those this Act imposes on accredited programs, and (2) condition an IHE's participation in any federal financial assistance program on the IHE signing a loan discharge agreement with each of their students who is enrolled in any pre-accredited program.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Students Before Profits Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to require the Secretary of Education to: (1) use corrected data and information to recalculate the cohort default rates for institutions of higher education (IHEs) that have engaged in default manipulation, and (2) use the recalculated cohort default rates to redetermine whether those IHEs are disqualified from participating in title IV programs. (The cohort default rate represents the percentage of a school's borrowers who begin to repay Federal Family Education Loans [FFELs] or William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans [DLs] in a fiscal year but default on those loans before the end of the second fiscal year following the fiscal year they began repaying them.)

Directs the Secretary to establish an Institutional Risk-Sharing Commission to study and make recommendations for the implementation of a new risk-sharing system that holds IHEs that participate in the DL program financially accountable for poor student outcomes.

Authorizes the Secretary to:

 impose a civil penalty on IHEs that engage in certain substantial misrepresentations or other serious HEA violations; impose smaller civil penalties on IHEs that engage in less serious title IV violations; impose employment sanctions and civil penalties against the officer of an IHE who knowingly and willfully, or with gross negligence, violates a title IV provision; limit, suspend, or terminate an IHE's participation in title IV programs for violating a title IV provision or any applicable special arrangement, agreement, or limitation; and take emergency action to withhold funds from an IHE or its students and withdraw the IHE's authority to obligate title IV funds in certain circumstances where immediate action is required to prevent the misuse of federal funds. Provides for the use of the civil penalties to: (1) conduct program reviews and ensure the integrity of IHEs participating or seeking to participate in title IV programs; and (2) finance a Student Relief Fund that is to be used to provide financial relief to any student enrolled in an IHE that fails to comply with the HEA's eligibility requirements or the terms of its title IV program participation agreement or that has been sanctioned pursuant to this Act's penalty provisions.

Date: 2014-12-10
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Stopping Abusive Student Loan Collection Practices in Bankruptcy Act of 2015

Amends federal bankruptcy law to allow an individual whose student loan debt is discharged due to undue hardship to recover the costs of, and a reasonable attorney's fee for, the discharge proceeding if the court finds that the position of the creditor was not substantially justified.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Affordability for Constant and Continual Education to Enhance Student Success Act or the All-Year ACCESS Act

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.

Requires such a student to be enrolled on at least a half-time basis for a period of more than one academic year, or more than the equivalent of two semesters, during a single award year.

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.

Date: 2015-01-09
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy Act of 2015

Amends the federal bankruptcy code to allow the discharge in bankruptcy of an educational loan or an obligation to repay funds received as an educational benefit, scholarship, or stipend. (Currently, those debts are dischargeable only if excepting them from discharge would impose an undue hardship on the debtor and the debtor's dependents.)

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Reducing Barriers for Veterans Education Act of 2015

Makes an individual who is eligible for educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance program eligible for assistance with the fees for applying to institutions of higher education (IHEs).

Sets the amount of such assistance payable to an individual at the lesser of: (1) the total application fees charged to the individual by the IHEs, or (2) $750.

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security