zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Public School Repair and Renovation Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to direct the Secretary of Education to allocate funds to states for competitive school repair and renovation grants to local educational agencies (LEAs). Requires each state, in awarding such grants, to: (1) award high-need and rural LEAs, in the aggregate, at least the same proportion of this Act's LEA funds for the state that they received of total LEA school improvement funds for the state under part A of title I of the ESEA; and (2) consider the percentage of poor children LEAs serve, the condition of their public schools, and their fiscal capacity to cover repairs and renovations without such a grant. Directs each state to reserve a portion of their allocation for a state-level database of public school facility inventory, condition, design, and utilization. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the costs of, and public and private expenditures for, repairing, renovating, and constructing public elementary and secondary schools.

Date: 2007-10-18
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Classroom Readiness Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deductions for: (1) certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers; and (2) corporate contributions of computer technology and equipment for educational purposes.

Date: 2007-10-29
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Teacher Tax Deduction Enhancement Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend until 2015 the tax deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school educators (i.e., teachers, instructors, counselors, principals, or aides); (2) increase to $500 the allowable amount of such deduction for full-time educators (working at least 900 hours during the school year); and (3) allow such tax deduction for educators in preschool programs.

Date: 2007-11-01
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Education Professional Development Tax Credit Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow full-time elementary and secondary school teachers a tax credit for professional development and training expenses.

Date: 2007-11-05
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to: (1) award competitive grants to up to 10 states for pilot programs to determine the effectiveness of assessing disabled students who are achieving significantly below grade-level proficiency at their instructional level; and (2) provide quality instruction to such students. Requires each grantee to identify a minimum of five local educational agencies (LEAs) to participate in its pilot program and limit student participation to 0.5% of the students assessed in each participating LEA. Requires such states and LEAs to ensure that each participating student's individualized education program team: (1) administers, after securing parental consent, a scientifically-valid and reliable assessment based on the student's instructional level in reading and/or math; and (2) based on such assessment, develops a series of targeted interventions designed to close identified gaps in the student's instructional and grade-level content knowledge. Prohibits the use of such assessment results in determinations of adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic performance standards.

Date: 2007-11-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Zero Tolerance School Terror Act - Amends the federal criminal code to increase to 20 years the maximum prison term for threats to kill, injure, intimidate, or cause property damage if such threats concern conduct on the grounds of an elementary or secondary school.

Date: 2007-11-13
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Maximizing the Use of Federal Education Funds for Job Creation Act of 2007 - Authorizes states with unemployment rates that equal or exceed 125% of the national unemployment rate to consolidate or transfer, without limitation, any funds made available to them from specified formula grant programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Date: 2007-12-04
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Phylicia's Law - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require local educational agencies applying for funds under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program to require schools sponsoring off-premises overnight field trips to develop, and provide to parents whose children are to be taken on such trips, written safety plans that include: (1) policies on curfews, room checks, and chaperone qualifications; and (2) emergency procedures to be followed when a serious injury or death occurs.

Date: 2007-12-04
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Improving Student Testing Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states to use academic indicators other than statewide standardized assessments in determining whether schools need improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. (Currently, such indicators may not be used to reduce the number of schools requiring such interventions.) Permits states to use growth or hybrid growth and status models in determining whether students are making adequate progress toward state standards. Requires growth models and the growth portion of hybrid models to: (1) use statewide education data systems capable of tracking individual student growth; and (2) assess students annually in grades 3 through 8, and once in grades 9 through 12. Allows states to alter their current assessment systems by: (1) conducting statewide assessments less frequently, but at least once in grades 3 through 5, 6 through 9, and 10 through 12; or (2) using multiple measures of assessments instead of, or in addition to, statewide standardized assessments. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to states to implement certain privacy protection measures for statewide education data systems. Waives the requirement that all students meet state academic proficiency standards by the end of the 2013-2014 school year if, for each of FY2008-FY2015, school improvement funds appropriated do not match those authorized. Makes changes to the state education improvement plan peer review process that involve the composition of peer review panels, the feedback they provide, and the consistency of their decisions from state to state. Requires states to disaggregate high school graduation rates by student subgroups. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states to disaggregate and report student graduation and performance data. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to: (1) states to develop multiple measures of assessment, rather than one standardized test; and (2) states and local educational agencies to improve their capacity to implement alternative accountability and assessment systems and meet school improvement requirements.

Date: 2007-12-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
School Energy Crisis Relief Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a grants program for eligible local educational agencies that have experienced the highest percentage increase (or expenditure increase) in transportation and heating fuel costs among all local educational agencies (LEA's) in a state for a specific time period during the current school year, in comparison to the same time period during the prior school year.Authorizes the use of funds for: (1) the cost of transportation or heating fuel purchased by eligible LEA's; or (2) transportation fuel purchased by entities under contract to provide transportation services to such LEA's.

Date: 2007-12-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Prescribe A Book Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a Pediatric Early Literacy program under which the Secretary of Education awards matching grants to nonprofit organizations for the implementation of three-part models through which: (1) health care providers encourage parents to read aloud to their children and offer them recommendations and strategies for doing so; (2) health care providers give each visiting child between the ages of six months and five-years a new, developmentally appropriate children's book to take home and keep; and (3) volunteers reading to children in health care facility waiting areas show parents the techniques and pleasures of reading aloud to children. Requires that the books provided to children under the program be obtained at a discount.

Date: 2007-12-11
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to transfer funds from other programs to the Impact Aid program (which compensates local educational agencies (LEAs) for the financial burden of federal activities affecting their areas) if such funds are needed to provide full payments under such program to LEAs whose areas are at least 50% federally owned.

Date: 2007-12-12
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to transfer funds from other programs to the Impact Aid program (which compensates local educational agencies (LEAs) for the financial burden of federal activities affecting their areas) to the extent such funds are needed to provide payments to LEAs under such program that equal at least the maximum amount for which they are eligible multiplied by the percentage of their land that is federally owned.

Date: 2007-12-12
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Fair Funding for Schools Act - Amends the Impact Aid program (which compensates local educational agencies (LEAs) for the financial burden of federal activities affecting their areas) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to alter the formula for determining the payments due LEAs for federal ownership of property when appropriations for a fiscal year are insufficient to provide them with full compensation. Alters the formula for determining the payments due LEAs for eligible federally-connected children. Includes not only children in average daily attendance, but also those enrolled pursuant to a state open enrollment policy. Continues an LEA's eligibility for such payments while activities associated with military base closures and realignments or force structure changes or relocations are ongoing. Allows the calculation of such payments using current student counts instead of prior fiscal year data when LEAs experience a specified influx of new students due to federal activities. Alters the formula for determining the construction payments due LEAs that are eligible for other Impact Aid payments. Divides 80% of the construction funds evenly between LEAs impacted by military dependent children and LEAs impacted by children residing on Indian lands, with the remainder reserved for emergency repair and modernization grants to LEAs serving Indian lands or experiencing a specified influx of new students due to federal activities. Alters the formula for determining whether a state's plan for equalizing assistance to its LEAs will except it from the prohibition on state aid to LEAs being affected by Impact Aid payments. Requires new LEAs applying for Impact Aid to have boundaries established by state law and the authority to tax or receive an imputed local tax. Reauthorizes appropriations for the Impact Aid program.

Date: 2007-12-13
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
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. Requires LEA grantees to provide nonfederal matching funds equal to at least 25% of their grant, unless 20% or more of the children they serve come from impoverished families. 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. Authorizes appropriations for the grant program for FY2008-FY2013.

Date: 2007-12-19
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Pell Grants for Kids Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary, subject to advance appropriations, to award competitive grants to states, public chartering agencies, local educational agencies, or tax-exempt organizations to enhance the capacity of public charter schools to serve additional students, particularly those transferring from schools identified as needing restructuring under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 for failing to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) pursuant to state academic performance standards for five consecutive school years. Limits grant use to providing subgrants to public charter schools, covering the administrative expenses of grantees and subgrantees, and enhancing the availability of credit for such schools. Fair Share Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Benefits) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to treat certain foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies performing services under a contract with the U.S. government as U.S. employers for purposes of Social Security and Medicare employment taxes.

Date: 2008-03-14
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Student Enhancement Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax deduction, up to $10,000 per year, for supplemental education expenses. Defines "supplemental education expenses" as expenses not required for the a student's enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary school that are for academic tutoring designed to supplement or enhance the student's education and related books, supplies, and equipment.

Date: 2008-05-08
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Protecting Our Children Online Act of 2008 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require schools and libraries that receive telecommunications services at discounted rates under specified provisions to educate minors about safe online behavior. Requires that education to include information about: (1) interacting with other individuals through social networking websites, chat rooms, electronic mail, bulletin boards, instant messaging, and other means of online communication; and (2) cyberbullying awareness and response.

Date: 2008-05-22
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
NCLB Recess Until Reauthorization Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to suspend, during the 2008-2009 school year, new identifications of schools or local educational agencies as needing: (1) improvement, after they fail to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic performance standards for two consecutive years; (2) corrective action, after they fail to make AYP for an additional two years after being identified as needing improvement; or (3) restructuring, after they fail to make AYP after a year of corrective action. Lifts such suspension on the earlier of the last day of the 2008-2009 school year or the authorization of FY2009 appropriations for title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) of the Act.

Date: 2008-06-11
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Parents Right to Know Improvement Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require local educational agencies (LEAs) to notify the parents of each student at the beginning of each school year that they will provide the parents, upon request, with timely information regarding the professional qualifications of their child's specialized instructional support persons. (This is in addition to the current requirement that LEAs provide parents, upon request, with information regarding the professional qualifications of their child's classroom teachers.) Defines "specialized instructional support persons" as school counselors, social workers, psychologists, or other qualified professionals providing services that are part of a comprehensive program to meet student needs.

Date: 2008-06-18
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Military Childrens School Investment Act - Amends the Impact Aid program (which compensates local educational agencies (LEAs) for the financial burden of federal activities affecting their areas) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to LEAs that: (1) were eligible for Impact Aid in the prior fiscal year due to federally-connected children; and (2) are experiencing an enrollment increase of at least 250 or 10% consisting of certain federally-connected children whose arrival is due to military base closures and realignments or global rebasing, force structure changes or reductions, or actions initiated by the Secretary of Defense. Requires such grants to be used: (1) to construct new schools or expand existing schools to accommodate the influx of students; (2) repair or upgrade academic facilities; or (3) lease, with the Secretary's approval, buildings or portions of buildings from a private entity for additional school space.

Date: 2008-06-18
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Increasing Student Achievement through School Attendance Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to local educational agencies, states, and Indian tribes for the implementation of innovative measures to increase school attendance by preventing student truancy, suspension, and expulsion. Includes among such measures: (1) collaboration between school systems, the legal system, child welfare agencies, and community-based organizations; (2) training school personnel in positive student behavioral interventions and graduated disciplinary practices; and (3) staffing of school suspension and expulsion programs with student support services personnel.

Date: 2008-06-26
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Promoting the Safe Use of the Internet by Students Act of 2008 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow local educational agencies to use state subgrants under the Enhancing Education through Technology program and the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program to develop and implement programs promoting safe internet use by students.

Date: 2008-07-14
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Coordinate to Educate Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award: (1) grants of up to three years to local educational agencies (LEAs) to collaborate with health and social service agencies to develop school-linked coordinated service programs for children and families on or near school sites; and (2) grants of up to two years to LEAs to implement such programs pursuant to interagency service delivery plans that have been approved by the Secretary. Requires program services to be available to all children and families in the service area and, where appropriate, paid for on a sliding scale. Directs the Secretary, in awarding grants, to give special consideration to areas with high proportions of educationally at-risk students and areas that have a large number of single parent or two-parent, working families.

Date: 2008-07-15
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Education Tax Deduction for All Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow parents of children attending an elementary or secondary school a tax deduction equal to: (1) 25% of their state's average public education per pupil expenditure for each qualifying student attending public school; and (2) 100% of such expenditure for each student attending any other school, including a home school. Allows taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize their tax deductions to claim such deduction.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Energy for Schools Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to: (1) state educational agencies (SEAs) in order to award subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to assist public schools with the increased costs of fuel for school buses and energy for public school buildings; and (2) LEAs that do not receive a subgrant from an SEA.

Date: 2008-08-01
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
After School Partnerships Improve Results in Education Act or ASPIRE - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive matching grants to partnerships, composed of a state or local educational agency and at least one college or nonprofit, community, tribal, business, labor, or career technical student organization, for the development of national model after-school interdisciplinary education programs for secondary school students. Directs the Secretary to allot grants to states for matching subgrants to other partnerships, composed of such entities, for the development of after-school interdisciplinary education programs for secondary school students. Gives grant and subgrant priority to programs targeting a high percentage of impoverished, struggling, or rural students and their families. Requires each partnership grantee and subgrantee to include in its program: (1) at least one activity involving mathematics and science education, language arts, writing, and reading, or history, geography, or social studies; and (2) at least one activity involving career technical education, business and entrepreneurial education, health and wellness, the environment and conservation, or arts and music education. Allows program activities to take place after school, before school, or at any other time that the school is not in session. Directs the Secretary to carry out national activities, such as providing technical assistance to grantees and subgrantees, and conducting a national evaluation of such programs.

Date: 2008-09-17
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Kids with Healthy Hearts Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Education to make five grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to conduct demonstration projects to screen children in kindergarten through grade six for high blood pressure. Requires screening programs, subject to parental consent, to screen children every six months during the school year, but to screen children one month after their initial screening if they fall in the 95th percentile or above for students with high blood pressure. Requires grantees to provide parents of children who remain in such range after their second screening with: (1) referrals to health care providers for consultations about high blood pressure; and (2) written information from the Department of Health and Human Services regarding hypertension risks and lifestyle changes related to diet and exercise that can improve overall health. Directs the Secretary to give grant preference to at least one LEA serving a high percentage of Native American, Latino, or African-American students.

Date: 2008-09-24
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
U.S. and the World Education Act - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to require the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education to: (1) assist the Secretary of Education in administering this Act's grant program; and (2) develop an international education research repository and make it available to states and local educational agencies (LEAs). Directs the Secretary, acting through the Deputy Assistant Secretary, to award competitive grants to LEAs, or partnerships between LEAs and private organizations or institutions of higher education that provide their LEA partners with funding, to promote international education in elementary and secondary schools. Requires each grantee to use: (1) one-half of its grant on enhancing international education within core curricula, such as by increasing teacher competency; and (2) the other half on providing supplemental international education services outside of normal instruction hours. Directs the Secretary to conduct a biennial independent evaluation of such international education programs.

Date: 2008-09-25
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to alter certain requirements regarding the inclusion of disabled and limited English proficient (LEP) students in calculations as to whether schools, local educational agencies, and states are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic performance standards. Treats as secondary school graduates any disabled students who: (1) graduate with a regular diploma before their 22nd birthday; or (2) turn 22 without obtaining a regular diploma, but have achieved the goals of their individualized education programs. Raises from three to five years the number of years LEP students may be in this country before having their English language proficiency assessed.

Date: 2008-09-26
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Young Investor Financial Education Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies to establish financial education programs in high schools and train teachers in such course work. Allots funds to states based on their share of the country's 14 through 17 year olds, but requires each state grantee to receive at least one-half of 1% of the allotted funds. Directs the Secretary to create and maintain a central clearinghouse of information on high school financial education programs.

Date: 2008-09-26
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Teaching Fellows for Expanded Learning and After-School Act of 2008 or the T-FELAS Act - Amends title IV (21st Century Schools) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to create an Expanded Learning and After-School Fellows program under which the Secretary of Education shall award competitive three-year grants to partnerships between local educational agencies and community organizations, institutions of higher education, community learning centers or other entities to recruit, select, train, and support exemplary recent college graduates (Fellows) who: (1) establish, expand, or improve expanded learning initiatives, 21st century community learning center programs, or after-school programs in high-need schools; and (2) provide school-day support to teachers in such schools. Requires grantees to: (1) provide intensive, comprehensive, and experiential training that prepares Fellows in methods of youth development and offers them a promising career path in public education and youth development; (2) place Fellows in full-time positions where they serve for at least 30 weeks per year, and for a term sufficient to qualify the Fellow for a national service educational award; and (3) provide matching funds on the basis of a sliding scale that gauges the grantees' ability to raise funds. Favors grant applicants that agree to engage Fellows for two-year terms and arrange for them to earn an undergraduate or master's degree in education while serving. Directs the Secretary to conduct an external evaluation of this program every three years and publicize the best practices of program grantees through the Federal Youth Development Council. Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to make Fellows eligible for national service educational awards.

Date: 2008-09-26
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Early Education Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to at least ten states to establish early education programs providing children with at least a half-day of schooling each week day during the academic year preceding kindergarten. Requires each program to: (1) be carried out by one or more local educational agencies (LEAs), chosen by the state; (2) be available to all children served by the LEA or LEAs carrying out the program; and (3) involve only licensed or certified instructors.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
States Using Collaboration and Coordination to Enhance Standards for Students Act of 2007 or the SUCCESS Act - Amends the National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act to require a biennial national assessment of student achievement in grades four and eight, and grade 12 student preparedness, in reading, mathematics, and science. (Currently, science is not included in such assessments and grade 12 assessments need not be biennial.) Requires the Assessment Board's national academic content and student achievement standards to be competitive with rigorous international standards and set at a level that prepares students for non-remedial higher education, participation in the 21st century workforce, and the Armed Forces. Requires the Board, at a state's request, to assist it in identifying discrepancies between its standards and national standards, and in aligning such standards. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states to establish prekindergarten through grade 16 (PK-16) student preparedness councils made up of public and private stakeholders that: (1) develop and implement measures to ensure that a state's academic content and student academic achievement standards and assessments meet the national benchmarks; and (2) establish a PK-16 longitudinal data system to track student progress toward such benchmarks. Directs the Secretary to award competitive grants to consortia of states for the development of common performance standards and assessments that compare favorably with national and international standards and assessments. Requires the Secretary to make consortia assessments available to all states.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Title I Integrity Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require local educational agencies (LEAs) to use only for direct or indirect instructional services any funds received under the program established to ensure that students make adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic performance standards. Limits to 10% the portion of such funds that LEAs may use for indirect instructional services. Sets forth the types of direct and indirect instructional services for which such funds may be used.

Date: 2007-01-26
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
No Child Left Behind Flexibility and Improvements Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise requirements relating to annual yearly progress (AYP) of students and schools, statewide and local accountability systems, special education, limited English proficiency students, funding levels and academic assessment deferrals, highly qualified teachers, and reading activities. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to modify an AYP timeline. Allows states to use: (1) additional types of statewide models and systems for measuring all students' progress; and (2) alternative assessments, designated by their individualized education program plan teams, for students with disabilities. Gives states an option to include as limited English proficiency students, until they complete secondary school, those formerly in such subgroup who have subsequently acquired English proficiency. Permits use of local assessments in measuring AYP.Increases the levels of ESEA funding which must be reached before states are not allowed certain deferrals of academic assessments. Revises requirements relating to AYP by group and subgroup. Adds options for deeming teachers of multiple academic subjects as highly qualified, and for general social studies certification.Authorizes use of reading activities subgrants for individual or small-group instruction, as well as for class-wide instruction.

Date: 2007-02-13
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Rural Teacher Retention Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a five-year pilot program awarding competitive grants to no more than 10 states to enable them to award salary bonuses to highly qualified teachers or highly qualified special education teachers who teach, or commit to teach, for at least three academic years, in an elementary or secondary school served by the same rural local educational agency (LEA), including one that serves a high number or percentage of children who are Native Hawaiian. Awards such grants on the basis of the needs of a state's rural LEAs for recruiting and retaining such teachers. Requires that, in determining such needs, the Secretary consider: (1) a rural LEA's eligibility for assistance under part B (Rural Education Initiative) of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; (2) a rural LEA's service of low-income, limited English proficient, migrant, Indian, or disabled students; and (3) the state's long-term plans for recruiting and retaining such teachers in its rural LEAs. Requires the Secretary to track and assess the implementation and effectiveness of each project funded under this Act..

Date: 2007-02-14
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Pathways for All Students to Succeed Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to establish a program that will provide grants to state educational agencies (SEAs), and direct grants or subgrants through SEAs to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs), to establish literacy and mathematics skills programs to improve overall reading, writing, and mathematics performance among students in middle school and secondary school. Requires LEAs receiving a literacy or mathematics subgrant to hire literacy or mathematics coaches (at least one such coach for every 20 teachers) to work with classroom teachers to carry out specified related activities. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a program of grants to SEAs and, through them, subgrants to LEAs that: (1) enables a secondary school receiving assistance under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 (ESEA) to hire a sufficient number of academic counselors (at least one for 150 students) to develop personal six-year plans defining career and education goals for each student at the school, including those with limited English proficiency; (2) involves parents in the development and implementation of such plans; and (3) provides academic counselors and staff at the schools receiving grants under this Act the opportunity to coordinate with other programs and services, including those supported by federal funds, to ensure that students have access to the resources and services necessary to fulfill their personal plans. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to SEAs and, through them, subgrants to LEAs to promote school improvement and student achievement, through certain programs and activities, in schools identified as needing improvement due to having failed for two consecutive years to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic performance standards.Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to SEAs to develop or increase the capacity of data systems for assessment and accountability purposes, including collection of graduation rates.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Automated Defibrillation in Adam's Memory Reauthorization Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize appropriations for grants for states, political subdivisions, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations to develop and implement public access defibrillation programs.

Date: 2007-02-27
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Health
Older Worker Opportunity Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers who maintain a tax-qualified pension or retirement plan and who provide health insurance coverage a business-related tax credit for 25% of the first $6,000 of the wages of employees who have attained the age of 62 and who are participating in a formal flexible work program. Defines "formal flexible work program" as a work program: (1) that consists of core and flex time; (2) whose core time does not exceed 20 hours per week, three days per week, or 1,000 hours per year; (3) that allows participation for at least one year; and (4) that does not permit a change or reduction in the health care or pension benefits of the participating employee.

Date: 2007-02-28
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a geography education grant program under title II, Teacher Quality Enhancement. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to a national nonprofit educational organization or consortium, with 75% to be used for subgrants to institutions of higher education associated with state geographic alliances, nonprofit educational organizations, or state or local educational agencies. Requires various grantee and subgrantee activities designed to expand geographic literacy among kindergarten through grade 12 students by improving their teachers' professional development programs offered through institutions of higher education. Includes among such activities state-based conferences to assess geographic literacy and identify improvement strategies.

Date: 2007-03-01
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Troops to Teachers Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 with respect to the Troops-to-Teachers program (which provides armed forces veterans with teacher certification stipends in exchange for three years of service in a high-need local educational agency (LEA) or public charter school). Allows a program participant, if a high-need LEA or public charter school is not located within 50 miles of his or her residence, to teach within an LEA or at a public charter school: (1) experiencing a shortage of highly qualified teachers, especially in science, mathematics, special education, or vocational or technical education; or (2) receiving grant funds because of concentrations of children from low-income families.

Date: 2007-03-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Teaching Fellows for Expanded Learning and After-School Act of 2007 or the T-FELAS Act - Amends title IV (21st Century Schools) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to create an Expanded Learning and After-School Fellows program under which the Secretary of Education shall award competitive three-year grants to partnerships between local educational agencies and community organizations, institutions of higher education, community learning centers or other entities to recruit, select, train, and support exemplary recent college graduates (Fellows) who: (1) establish, expand, or improve expanded learning initiatives, 21st century community learning center programs, or after-school programs in high-need schools; and (2) provide school-day support to teachers in such schools. Requires grantees to: (1) provide intensive, comprehensive, and experiential training that prepares Fellows in methods of youth development and offers them a promising career path in public education and youth development; (2) place Fellows in full-time positions where they serve for at least 30 weeks per year, and for a term sufficient to qualify the Fellow for a national service educational award; and (3) provide matching funds on the basis of a sliding scale that gauges the grantees' ability to raise funds. Favors grant applicants that agree to engage Fellows for two-year terms and arrange for them to earn an undergraduate or master's degree in education while serving. Directs the Secretary to conduct an external evaluation of this program every three years and publicize the best practices of program grantees through the Federal Youth Development Council. Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to make Fellows eligible for national service educational awards.

Date: 2007-03-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Revitalizing New Orleans by Attracting America's Leaders Act of 2007 or the RENEWAAL Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama for their use in providing competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) that serve areas in which a major disaster was declared due to Hurricane Katrina or Rita. Gives priority to LEAs having the highest percentage of schools with teacher-student ratios of at least 25 to 1 or closed due to the hurricanes. Requires each LEA subgrantee to use the funds to: (1) provide annual bonuses to teachers and school leaders for three consecutive school years, with larger bonuses for personnel who teach a subject for which there is a teacher shortage, return after being displaced by the hurricanes, or have a history of boosting student achievement; (2) provide educators with specified relocation and housing payments; (3) partner with nonprofit organizations that recruit and retain outstanding teachers and school leaders who commit to serve in underserved schools; and (4) enhance the abilities of principals and teachers, providing the latter with paid leave to hone their skills. Requires each state grantee to develop a multiple measures of success teacher rating system. Directs the Secretary, subject to the availability of appropriations, to cover the losses and fund the recovery initiatives of postsecondary educational institutions whose campuses were closed or relocated, enrollments have sagged, and revenues continue to decline due to such hurricanes. Requires the Secretary to forgive the loans made to students under parts B (Federal Family Education Loan Program) and D (William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 who begin employment or return as full-time teachers at public or private elementary or secondary schools in areas affected by such hurricanes.

Date: 2007-03-08
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Child Medication Safety Act of 2007 - Requires states, as a condition of receiving funds under any program or activity administered by the Secretary of Education, to develop and implement policies and procedures prohibiting school personnel from requiring a child, as a condition of attending school or receiving services, to obtain a prescription for any specified controlled substances listed under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) or a psychotropic drug. Prohibits the provision of federal education funds to any local educational agency or instrument of government that uses a parent's or guardian's refusal to provide his or her child with a controlled substance or psychotropic drug as the basis of a child abuse, child neglect, education neglect, or medical neglect charge. Directs the Comptroller General to review and report on: (1) variation among state definitions of psychotropic medications in state jurisdiction over public education; (2) prescription rates of medications used in public schools to treat children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other disorders or illnesses; and (3) which of such medications are CSA-listed and which are not, including properties and effects of the latter.

Date: 2007-03-15
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
America's Better Classroom Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for investment in qualified public school modernization bonds, defined to include: (1) bonds for the construction, rehabilitation, or repair of a public school facility or for the acquisition of land for such facility (qualified school construction bonds); (2) bonds to finance certain academic programs below the postsecondary level in empowerment zones or enterprise communities (qualified zone academy bonds); and (3) bonds for the construction, rehabilitation, or repair of certain Indian tribal schools (qualified tribal school modernization bonds). Establishes a national limitation on the issuance of such bonds and provides for the allocation of bond amounts among the states according to a specified formula. Limits the term of such bonds to 15 years and terminates the authority for issuance of such bonds after September 30, 2008 (December 31, 2013, for qualified tribal school modernization bonds).Amends the General Education Provisions Act to apply certain labor standards to public school construction projects financed by this Act.Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to require states to establish employment and training programs relating to the construction or reconstruction of public school facilities.

Date: 2007-03-19
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Raising Achievement through Improving Supplemental Education Act of 2007 or the RAISE Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct local educational agencies (LEAs) to make supplemental educational services (SES) (after-school tutoring programs) available to eligible children attending schools identified as needing improvement because of their having failed, for two consecutive years, to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) pursuant to state academic performance standards. (Currently such services are required only after an additional year of failing to meet such standards.) Makes low-performing children from such schools who are not from low-income families eligible for SES and gives them priority, in the case of insufficient funding, over children who are poor but not low-performing. Requires LEAs to: (1) create a streamlined SES notification, registration, and provider selection process designed to increase the number of eligible children receiving such services and the information available to parents and SES providers; (2) grant approved providers access to school facilities that is equivalent to access provided to other after-school and extracurricular programs; and (3) enter into a written agreement with the parents' chosen provider, within a specified period, requiring such provider to render services within 20 days after the LEA and provider receive the child's contact information. Requires states to: (1) provide advance notice to LEAs of their SES duties; (2) make a downloadable SES application form available to LEAs and parents; (3) evaluate providers in a valid and reliable manner that considers student achievement and parent satisfaction; (4) safeguard against conflicts of interest and underperformance when LEAs provide SES themselves; and (5) prohibit LEAs from reprogramming SES funds when there is inadequate parental notification or unsatisfied demand for services. Prohibits the offering, by providers, of selection incentives to parents and eligible children. Allows states to shift to nonprofit organizations, under a contract or cooperative agreement, performance of the SES responsibilities of LEAs that face conflicts of interest or are unreliable. Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a model program coordinating the provision of SES with 21st century community learning centers.

Date: 2007-03-28
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education