zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Fast Track to College Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award matching six-year grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) that partner with institutions of higher education (IHEs) to establish or support dual enrollment programs, such as early college high schools, that allow high school students to earn credit simultaneously toward a high school diploma and a postsecondary degree or certificate. Gives grant priority to applicants: (1) that propose to establish or support a dual enrollment program for a student body at least 40% of which is impoverished; and (2) from states that provide assistance to dual enrollment programs, such as assistance defraying the costs of higher education. Requires applicants to make assurances that: (1) students will not be required to pay tuition or fees for postsecondary courses; and (2) those courses will be taught by faculty that meet their partner IHE's normal standards. Authorizes the Secretary to award matching five-year grants to states to: (1) plan and implement statewide strategies to make dual enrollment programs more accessible to students who are underrepresented in postsecondary education; (2) provide technical assistance to dual enrollment programs; and (3) engage in outreach, assessment, and teacher training activities designed to strengthen such programs. Directs the Secretary to: (1) contract for an independent evaluation of this Act's programs; and (2) provide technical assistance to LEAs and their partners, and disseminate information concerning best practices in dual enrollment programs.

Date: 2009-03-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Communities Committed to College Tax Credit Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 50% of any contribution to a tax-exempt scholarship funding trust established to provide scholarships for individuals with demonstrated financial need to attend institutions of higher education.

Date: 2009-03-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Medical Economic Deferment for Students (MEDS) Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 with respect to the meaning of economic hardship under the Federal Family Education Loan or Perkins Loan and related loan insurance programs. Considers borrowers under such programs to be suffering economic hardship if they are working full-time, have a federal educational debt burden equal to at least 20% of their adjusted gross income, and the difference between their adjusted gross income minus such debt burden is less than 220% of the greater of: (1) the annual earnings of an minimum wage earner; or (2) 150% of the poverty line applicable to their family size.

Date: 2009-03-19
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act or the A PLUS Act - Allows each state to submit to the Secretary of Education a declaration of intent, applicable for up to five years, permitting it to receive federal funds on a consolidated basis that would otherwise be directed toward specific programs furthering the stated purpose of title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Requires each declaration to be formulated by a combination of specified State Authorizing Officials or by referendum, and list the programs for which consolidated funding is requested. Allows states to use such funds for any educational purpose permitted by state law, but requires them to make certain assurances that they will use fiscal control and fund accounting procedures, abide by federal civil rights laws, and advance educational opportunities for the disadvantaged. Allows states to amend their declarations. Requires each declaration state to: (1) inform the public of its student achievement assessment system and report annually on student progress toward the state's proficiency standards, disaggregating performance data by specified student groups; and (2) keep aggregate spending on elementary and secondary education at no less than 90% of such spending for the school year coinciding with this Act's enactment. Limits administrative expenses. Requires consolidated funds to be distributed in a manner that allows for the equitable participation of private schools.

Date: 2009-03-25
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
National Health Service Corps Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise the definition of "primary health services" for purposes of the National Health Service Corps to include optometry health services. Includes optometrists within: (1) the fellowship program for the delivery of primary health services in health professional shortage areas; (2) the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program; and (3) the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Health
Family Education Freedom Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit of up to $5,000 (adjusted for inflation after 2009) per student per year for the cost of attendance at any educational institution (including any private, parochial, religious, or home school) organized to provide elementary or secondary education, or both.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Hope Plus Scholarship Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include qualified elementary and secondary education expenses and contributions and gifts to schools within the definition of the term "qualified tuition and related expenses" for purposes of the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Make College Affordable Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers, their spouses, dependents, and grandchildren a tax deduction from gross income for certain higher education expenses and for interest on certain student loans. Includes as higher education expenses undergraduate tuition and fees and reasonable living expenses while attending an institution of higher education.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Helping Families Afford Tuition Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits with an income-based tax credit for 50% of qualified tuition and related expenses, up to $10,000, for attendance at an institution of higher education. Repeals the tax deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Community College Technology Access Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to community colleges for the maintenance, administration, and improvement of computer labs to enhance student and public access to information technology training. Allows grantees to use grant funds to expand or build a computer lab facility if they ask and receive the Secretary's authorization to do so. Requires grantees to keep their computer labs open to the public for specified minimum periods and to offer the public free computer-related training while open.

Date: 2009-04-23
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Secondary School Innovation Fund Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to establish a Secondary School Innovation Fund program awarding competitive matching grants to partnerships, which must include at least one state or local educational agency, for the implementation of innovative strategies to improve the achievement of at-risk students in secondary schools. Permits partnerships to award subgrants to schools for the implementation of such strategies. Lists innovative strategies, one or more of which grantees or subgrantees must implement, that include: (1) creating multiple education pathways that offer students a range of educational options aligned with their needs and interests and preparing them for postsecondary education and the workforce; (2) giving students access to early college high school or other dual enrollment learning opportunities; (3) using secondary school early warning indicators and intervention systems attuned to the needs of at-risk students; (4) creating expanded learning time opportunities; (5) improving student transitions from middle school to high school or from high school to postsecondary education and the workforce; (6) increasing the autonomy and flexibility of secondary schools; (7) improving rural education through educational technology; (8) improving learning opportunities for students in the middle grades; (9) improving teaching and increasing academic rigor at the secondary school level; and (10) improving community and parental involvement in students' education. Requires the Secretary to disseminate, and provide technical assistance regarding, best practices in improving secondary school student achievement.

Date: 2009-05-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Priorities in Education Spending Act - Repeals specified provisions of the: (1) Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; (2) Early Learning Opportunities Act; (3) Higher Education Act of 1965; (4) Higher Education Amendments of 1998; (5) Education of the Deaf Act of 1986; (6) Higher Education Opportunity Act; (7) Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980; (8) Higher Education Amendments of 1992; (9) Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968; (10) Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006; (11) Special Olympics Sport and Empowerment Act of 2004; (12) Head Start Act; (13) Workforce Investment Act; (14) National Environmental Education Act; and (15) America COMPETES Act. Prohibits the Secretary of Education from obligating any funds to implement a literacy program for prisoners under the National Literacy Act of 1991.

Date: 2009-05-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Educators Achieving Reciprocity Now (E.A.R.N.) Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require each state receiving school improvement funds under part A of title I of such Act to consider a teacher to be highly qualified with respect to an academic subject if the teacher: (1) is or was considered highly qualified in such academic subject in at least one other state; and (2) has been teaching for at least five years in a public or private school.

Date: 2009-05-12
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Rural Career and Technical Education Expansion Act of 2009 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to assume or cancel a loan made under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) or the Direct Loan programs to an individual who: (1) has been employed as a teacher at a rural secondary school for five consecutive complete program years; (2) is not in default on the loan they seek forgiveness; and (3) whose qualifying employment is teaching career and technical education coursework on a full-time basis, including at least one course or credit that is integrated coursework.

Date: 2009-05-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
America's Teachers Tax Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the tax deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers and extend such deduction through 2010.

Date: 2009-05-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
College Tuition Tax Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2010 the tax deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses.

Date: 2009-05-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Veterans Education Tuition Support Act of 2009 or the VETS Act of 2009 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to refund to students the tuition and fees paid for education they will not receive due to their withdrawal from school to serve in the Armed Forces. Waives the application of any requirement that students return title IV funds upon withdrawing from school to students whose withdrawal is necessitated by service in the Armed Forces. Provides loan forgiveness under the Federal Family Education Loan, Direct Loan, and Perkins Loan programs to students whose withdrawal from school is necessitated by service in the Armed Forces.

Date: 2009-05-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Veterans Educational Equity Act - Provides that, in the case of an individual entitled to veterans' educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance program and who is enrolled at an institution of higher education in a state in which the public institutions charge only fees in lieu of tuition, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) shall allow the individual to use all or a portion of the amount payable under the educational assistance program to pay the tuition or fees for that program of education.

Date: 2009-05-19
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income discharges of student loan indebtedness based on repayments which are income contingent or income based.

Date: 2009-05-19
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Help Kids Save for College Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee amounts, up to $1,000, paid by an employer to a qualified college savings assistance plan for a designated beneficiary.

Date: 2009-05-19
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Help Student Soldiers Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to waive the application of the requirement that students return title IV funds which were unearned due to their withdrawal from school to students whose withdrawal is necessitated by service in the Armed Forces. Provides loan forgiveness under the Federal Family Education Loan, Direct Loan, and Perkins Loan programs to students for that portion of loan assistance which is unearned due to their withdrawal from school for service in the Armed Forces and which is not returned to such programs by their schools.

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Pathways to College Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive five-year grants to local educational agencies that serve mostly high-need high schools for programs to increase the number of students from low-income families who attend college. Defines "high-need high schools" as those where at least one-half of the students are from low-income families. Requires grantees to use such funds to: (1) train teachers and counselors to provide students with advice concerning postsecondary education; (2) implement a comprehensive college guidance program for all students which exposes them to postsecondary information and planning assistance before the end of their first semester of high school; (3) ensure that their schools develop comprehensive, school-wide plans of action to strengthen their college-going culture; (4) create or maintain a postsecondary access center in each school that provides information on colleges and universities, career opportunities, and financial aid options; and (5) provide a setting in which professionals working in college access programs can meet with students. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to grantees in calculating and analyzing their college-going rates and adopting best practices for elevating such rates. Requires grantees periodically to evaluate the success of their grant activities and use the evaluations to refine such activities and their performance measures. Directs the Secretary to conduct an independent evaluation of the grant program which includes an assessment of the program's affect on high school graduation and college-going rates.

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
High Quality Teaching Act of 2009 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive five-year grants to up to 250 local educational agencies (LEAs) to recruit, support, and retain highly qualified and effective teachers through participation in the Targeted High Need Initiative program of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Gives priority to LEAs that have: (1) the highest number of disadvantaged students; (2) the highest number of schools identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring; and (3) the lowest number of teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Requires LEAs to use such grants to: (1) partner with institutions of higher education or other appropriate entities in conducting grant activities; (2) provide teachers participating in the Targeted High Need Initiative program with training, mentoring, and technological resources; (3) cover the assessment fee for teachers who apply for certification by such Board and agree to teach at the participating school for at least three years after their certification; (4) provide specified monetary awards to teachers and their sponsoring schools after completion of the Targeted High Need Initiative program; and (5) conduct an independent evaluation of such program's affect on teaching quality and student performance.

Date: 2009-06-08
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Adult Education and Economic Growth Act of 2009 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1988 to revise requirements for statewide and local workforce investment systems to include adult education activities. Revises member composition of: (1) state workforce investment boards to include state representatives responsible for implementing adult education, literacy, and workplace skills programs under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA); and (2) youth councils established by local workforce investment boards to include representatives of adult education. Revises requirements for five-year state and local worker investment plans. Authorizes the use of funds for: (1) statewide and local youth activities to provide opportunities for career pathways for eligible youth as well as dual enrollment opportunities; and (2) training services for local adult and dislocated workers to include integration of adult education and training. Requires the Secretary to carry out specified employment and training demonstration and pilot projects. Amends the AEFLA to include among adult education and literacy services programs activities to assist adults with limited English proficiency through postsecondary education and training to improve their English and mathematical skills and to acquire an understanding of the American system of government and responsibilities of citizenship. Revises requirements for the allocation and reservation of AEFLA funds. Revises state distribution requirements with respect to grants and contracts to eligible providers of activities for adult education and literacy and corrections education of institutionalized individuals. Expands an eligible agency's use of funds for corrections education and education for other institutionalized individuals to include academic programs for: (1) integrated education and training; (2) career pathways; (3) dual enrollment; and (4) preparation for postsecondary education and training. Replaces the National Institute for Literacy with the National Institute for Adult Education, Literacy, and Workplace Skills (Institute). Requires national leadership activities to include activties to improve workplace skills programs nationwide. Requires the Secretary of Education to allocate grants to states for integrated English literacy and civics education programs. Requires the Secretary to award grants to assist states in developing a 21st century delivery system for adult education, literacy, and workplace skills services as well as adults in developing technology literacy. Requires the Institute to establish the National Adult Learning and Technology Resource Center. Requires the Secretary of Education to direct the Commissioner for Education Research of the National Center for Education Research to establish a national research and development center for adult education, literacy, and workplace skills. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer educational assistance program credit for 50% of the qualified educational assistance expenses (up to $5,250) paid per taxable year on behalf of an employee.

Date: 2009-07-16
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Labor and employment
Establishing Grants for College Access and Completion Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive five-year grants to certain nonprofit organizations for the provision of mentoring, support, outreach, and other services that encourage disadvantaged students to attend institutions of higher education. Prohibits a grant from covering more than 85% of the cost of the services the grant supports. Requires nonprofit applicants to have met certain requirements, including that they have provided scholarship and support programs to students in more than one state, and have a business plan in place to expand into other states.

Date: 2009-07-20
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Removing Impediments to Students Education Act of 2009 or the RISE Act of 2009 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal a provision which makes persons convicted of drug offenses ineligible to receive federal student financial assistance for specified periods. Requires institutions of higher education to notify students who lost eligibility for such assistance due to a drug conviction and had not regained it prior to this Act's enactment that they are now eligible for such assistance.

Date: 2009-07-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Veterans Education Enhancement and Fairness Act of 2009 - Provides for a monthly housing stipend under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program for individuals pursuing education programs offered through distance learning. Includes in the definition of "active duty" for purposes of Program eligibility for members of the Army National Guard or Air National Guard full-time duty, including duty in support of any homeland security operation, natural disaster related operation, counter-narcotic operation, or border security operation, and duty in the Active Guard Reserve.

Date: 2009-07-31
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Extends to June 30, 2014, the period during which the following work-study activities qualify for an additional veterans' educational assistance allowance: (1) outreach services furnished by employees of a state approving agency; (2) provision of hospital and domiciliary care in a state home; and (3) activity relating to the administration of a national cemetery or state veterans' cemetery.

Date: 2009-07-31
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Biofuel Engineering Training Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy to award a grant to an appropriate standard-setting or other entity to: (1) develop appropriate standards for the accreditation of undergraduate and graduate biofuel engineering programs at institutions of higher education (IHEs); and (2) study the needs of the biofuel industry for engineering support. Requires the Secretary to award competitive grants to IHEs to establish Centers of Excellence for Biofuels Research and Training that: (1) integrate biofuels research, training, and instruction; (2) coordinate the broad range of disciplines relevant to biofuels engineering; and (3) work with companies that are commercializing biofuels technology, and local communities spurring economic development and job creation in the biofuels sector. Directs the Secretary to award portable graduate fellowships to students pursuing doctorates in biofuels engineering. Requires the fellowships, which are for up to three years of study, to provide recipients with an annual living stipend, and cover graduate tuition and incidental expenses. Requires federal agencies, including national laboratories, to make research facilities available to accredited biofuel engineering programs.

Date: 2009-07-31
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
National Guard Education Equality Act - Includes as qualifying service for veterans educational assistance purposes (Post-9/11 Educational Assistance): (1) certain active duty service in the reserve components (including service such as part of an airport security mission or counterdrug activity); and (2) discharge from active duty service in the reserve components because of a service connected disability.

Date: 2009-09-10
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Education Assistance to Realign New Eligibilities for Dependents (EARNED) Act of 2009 - Allows any former member of the Armed Forces who has 20 years of active-duty service as of any date between September 30, 2011, and ending July 31, 2009, including at least 90 days of such service after September 10, 2001, and is honorably discharged to transfer to their dependents any remaining entitlement to educational assistance under the post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program.

Date: 2009-09-15
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program for veterans to increase the reporting fee payable to educational institutions that enroll veterans receiving assistance.

Date: 2009-09-16
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Constitution and Citizenship Day Act of 2009 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a Constitution Day Grant Program awarding competitive grants to local educational agencies and charter schools to commemorate, and enhance educational programs that teach students about, the U.S. Constitution and their state constitution. Requires such program to occur annually on Constitution Day, September 17, or the following Monday if that day falls on a weekend, and give students the ability to register to vote.

Date: 2009-09-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Deposit Restricted Qualified Tuition Programs Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prescribe requirements for deposit restricted qualified tuition programs which are exempt from federal income tax. Defines such a program as one in which: (1) the cash provided to it by a contributor may be invested only in deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); (2) the contributor may become a participant in the program by depositing funds into an account at a depository institution participating in the program; and (3) the program may include multiple depository institutions. Deems a deposit restricted qualified tuition program to be an identified banking product for purposes of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Denies treatment as a security under the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Investment Company Act of 1940 of: (1) the investment of cash in deposits at an insured depository institution through a deposit restricted qualified tuition program; (2) any certificate of deposit or other instrument evidencing any such deposit; or (3) any participation by a contributor to a deposit restricted qualified tuition program. Declares that in no event shall a deposit restricted qualified tuition program be deemed to be an issuer of a security or an investment company.

Date: 2009-09-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Food Marketing in Schools Assessment Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to study and report to the Congress on the marketing of food and beverages in elementary and secondary schools. Requires such study to assess the nutritional quality of such foods, the media through which they are marketed to children in such schools, and mechanisms that regulate such marketing. Directs the Secretary to collaborate in the conduct of such study with the Division of Adolescent and School Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Date: 2009-09-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Allows, and regulates the amount of, housing assistance payable to certain post-9/11 veterans (and, in some instances, those veterans' spouses, children, or both) who are pursuing distance learning.

Date: 2009-09-29
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Armed Forces Education Parity Act - Makes enlisted members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard eligible to participate in the higher education programs offered by the Community College of the Air Force. (Currently, only enlisted members of the Air Force and other enlisted members of the Armed Forces who are serving as Air Force training school instructors are eligible to participate in such programs.)

Date: 2009-10-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Teacher Tax Relief Act of 2009 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the tax deduction for the expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers to: (1) increase the maximum dollar amount of such deduction to $500; (2) allow the deduction of professional development expenses; and (3) make such deduction permanent.

Date: 2009-10-08
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Universal Prekindergarten and Early Childhood Education Act of 2009 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive funds for 21st Century Community Learning Center activities to use them also for educational activities for children four years of age or younger, if the LEA agrees to phase in, where possible, a prekindergarten program taught by teachers with qualifications equivalent or similar to those teaching other grades in the school involved.

Date: 2009-10-08
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Veterans Training Act - Deems a program of education as an approved program for purposes of the post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program if the program is offered by an institution offering: (1) postsecondary instruction that leads to an associate or higher degree and the institution is an approved institution of higher learning; or (2) instruction that does not lead to an associate or higher degree and the institution is an approved educational institution.

Date: 2009-10-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Post 9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act - Amends the Troops-to-Teachers program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (which provides veterans with teacher certification stipends in exchange for three years of service in a high-need local educational agency [LEA] or public charter school). Expands program eligibility to cover certain individuals: (1) who, on or after September 11, 2001, serve at least 90 continuous days on active duty in the Armed Forces before being honorably released from such service; or (2) who, on or after January 8, 2002, are separated or released from active duty after at least four (currently, six) years of continuous active duty immediately preceding such separation or release, and agree to serve in the Armed Forces Reserves for at least three years. Makes any LEA that is receiving school improvement funds eligible to host Troops-to-Teachers program participants. Directs the Secretary of Education to establish an Advisory Board, composed of federal, state, and veteran service organization representatives, to collect, study, and disseminate feedback from the program and report to Congress on how the program is operating and might be improved. Reserves specified funding to carry out the Troops-to-Teachers program through FY2014.

Date: 2009-10-27
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Extends eligibility for the transfer of educational assistance entitlement under the Post-9/11 educational assistance program to those former members of the Armed Forces who: (1) retired on or after September 10, 2001, and on or before July 31, 2009; or (2) medically retired or separated on or after September 10, 2001, due to a disability determined to be service-connected. Provides special rules for individuals entitled to Post-9/11 educational assistance as well as to basic educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program due to service on or before September 10, 2011. Establishes the authorized monthly housing stipend amount for individuals who receive Post-9/11 educational assistance and pursue an approved program of education offered in whole or in part through distance learning.

Date: 2009-11-07
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Foreign Language Education Partnership Program Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to replace the program providing incentive payments to public elementary schools for foreign language instruction with a partnership program in foreign languages that provides matching incentive payments to partnerships composed of state or local educational agencies and institutions of higher education. Requires such partnerships to establish, improve, or expand model programs of foreign language learning from kindergarten through grade 12 that increase the number of high school graduates who attain advanced proficiency in at least one foreign language. Requires each model program to have a dimension allowing the student to gain an understanding of the historic, geographic, cultural, economic, and other contextual factors of countries whose people speak the language studied. Conditions a partnership's continued funding for two additional five-year periods, after an initial four-year funding period, on its demonstrating its program's effectiveness based on nationally recognized standardized foreign language assessments. Directs the Secretary of Education to collect and analyze data on such programs annually and disseminate aggregated program data nationally, as well as information on successful programs and practices.

Date: 2009-11-07
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend by one year, from July 2010 to July 2011, the Secretary of Education's authority to purchase or enter into forward commitments to purchase: (1) Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) from lenders, upon the determination that there is an inadequate availability of loan capital to meet the demand for such loans; and (2) rehabilitated loans that eligible lenders purchased under the FFEL default reduction program. Extends by one year, from June 30, 2010 to June 30, 2011, the authority of institutions of higher education (IHEs), with the Secretary's approval, to participate in the FFEL lender-of-last-resort program for borrowers otherwise unable to obtain such loans (thereby requiring guaranty agencies serving as lenders-of-last-resort to make FFELs to student and parent borrowers of such IHEs, until such date, regardless of their ability to otherwise obtain such loans).

Date: 2009-11-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Graduation for All Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive matching grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to improve student academic achievement, graduation rates, and postsecondary readiness in high schools whose graduation rates are at or below 65% and in underperforming middle schools that send more than one-half of their students to such high schools. Requires grantees to provide each school with: (1) an Early Warning System that helps the school identify and implement tiered academic, social, and behavioral student interventions, including differentiated instruction; (2) one of four Models of Success tailored to its analysis of the school's needs; and (3) certain other supportive services. Lists the Models of Success as: (1) a transformational model, that provides on-site professional development and career-ladder opportunities for teachers; (2) a turnaround model, that replaces ineffective principals and teachers and reassigns teachers that are not teaching in their area of expertise; (3) a restart model, that closes the school and reopens it with new leadership, staff, and instructional programs; and (4) a close-down model, that closes the school and re-enrolls students in higher-achieving schools. Directs the Secretary to contract with an outside evaluator to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of this program and disseminate best practices in improving student achievement. Fast Track to College Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary to award matching grants to LEAs and schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that partner with institutions of higher education (IHEs) to establish, or support existing, early college high schools or dual enrollment programs that allow high school students to earn postsecondary credits without paying postsecondary tuition or fees. Gives grant priority to applicants that are receiving a grant under this Act's first grant program and will serve areas experiencing severe economic distress. Directs the Secretary to arrange for an independent evaluation of this grant program, and provide LEAs with information and technical assistance concerning best practices in early college high schools and dual enrollment programs. Requires the Secretary to: (1) enter into contracts with the Center for Education of the National Academies to conduct and review existing research on middle grades education; (2) create a national clearinghouse for research in best practices in middle grades, and a middle grades database that identifies factors that facilitate or impede student achievement; (3) require the the Institute of Education Sciences to develop a strand of field-initiated research aimed at enhancing the performance of disadvantaged middle school students; (4) create a research and development center dedicated to middle grades education; and (5) award grants to IHEs and other organizations that partner with states and LEAs to turn around low-performing middle grades.

Date: 2009-11-19
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Deposit Restricted Qualified Tuition Programs Act of 2010 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prescribe requirements for deposit restricted qualified tuition programs which are exempt from federal income tax. Defines such a program as one in which: (1) the cash provided to it by a contributor may be invested only in deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); (2) the contributor may become a participant in the program by depositing funds through the program into an account at a depository institution participating in the program; and (3) the program may include multiple depository institutions. Deems a deposit restricted qualified tuition program to be an identified banking product for purposes of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Denies treatment as a security under the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Investment Company Act of 1940 of: (1) the investment of cash in deposits at an insured depository institution through a deposit restricted qualified tuition program; (2) any certificate of deposit or other instrument evidencing any such deposit; or (3) any participation by a contributor to a deposit restricted qualified tuition program. Declares that in no event shall a deposit restricted qualified tuition program, the state entity designated by statute to oversee such program, or the administrator appointed to operate it on behalf of the state or a participating depository institution, be deemed to be an issuer of a security or an investment company. Declares that the budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled `Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

Date: 2009-12-02
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses.

Date: 2009-12-02
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Community College Emergency Stabilization Fund Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to provide temporary emergency funding to states for use in awarding competitive grants to community colleges to assist them in maintaining, or hiring additional, staff. Allots such funding to states pursuant to a formula that takes into account each state's share of increased unemployment over the past 12 months and the extent to which its unemployment rate exceeds the national average. Directs the Secretary to award competitive grants to career and technical colleges to assist them in maintaining, or hiring additional, staff. Requires the states and the Secretary, when determining the amount of a grant to be awarded to a community college or career and technical college pursuant to this Act, to consider: (1) its student enrollment; (2) the increase in its enrollment over the preceding academic year; and (3) the most recent monthly unemployment rate in its locality. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct an evaluation this Act's grant programs and report its results to Congress.

Date: 2009-12-03
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Ensuring All Students Year-round (EASY) Access to Meals and Snacks Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to reimburse private nonprofit and local government service institutions (other than public schools) under the school lunch program for up to one meal and one snack per child each day during after-school hours, weekends, and school holidays during the regular school calendar. (Currently, such institutions are reimbursed for meals and snacks served to children over the summer months or to children who are on vacation under a continuous school calendar.)

Date: 2009-12-10
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends federal provisions concerning the provision of educational assistance for veterans and members of the reserves to allow an individual eligible for such assistance to be paid on an accelerated basis if: (1) the individual is enrolled in an approved program of education; (2) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) or of the military department concerned (in case of a reserve member) has not paid the established charges to the institution of higher learning within seven days after the academic quarter, semester, or term begins; and (3) failure to pay the established charges is through no fault of the individual. Requires: (1) the institution to certify the amount of established charges; (2) payment of the accelerated amount within 14 days after receipt of such certification; and (3) individuals to be charged against their educational assistance entitlement for any accelerated payments received.

Date: 2009-12-10
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Post-9/11 GI Educational Fairness Act of 2009 -Amends the veterans' post-9/11 educational assistance program to remove the requirement that a program of education must be offered by an institution of higher learning in ordered to be approved. States that the purpose of this Act is to allow activities such as apprenticeship or other on-job training, entrepreneurship training, correspondence training, and flight training. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to approve for such program the pursuit of flight training if: (1) such training is generally accepted as necessary for the attainment of a vocational objective in aviation; (2) the individual possesses a valid private pilot certificate and meets medical requirements necessary for a commercial pilot certificate; and (3) the flight school course meets Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards.

Date: 2009-12-15
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Fellowship Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Fellowship Program to award local government and federal government fellowships to qualified students from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Defines a "qualified student" as a student who is a U.S. citizen, domiciled in that Commonwealth, and enrolled in a degree or certificate program at an institution of higher education. Allows a fellow to receive either a specified stipend or academic credit toward graduation for participating in an internship.

Date: 2009-12-16
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
National Youth Sports Program Revitalization Act of 2010 - Amends the Community Services Block Grant Act to authorize appropriations for FY2011-FY2021 for national or regional instructional programs for low-income youth.

Date: 2010-01-20
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Housing and community development
Northern Mariana Islands College Access Act of 2010 - Directs the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands to use federal funds authorized by this Act to award grants to public four-year institutions of higher education (IHEs) located in the states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or Guam to cover the difference between the in-state and out-of-state tuition and fees for students who have: (1) been domiciled in the Northern Mariana Islands for at least the 12 months preceding their enrollment in the IHE; and (2) received on or after January 1, 2008, a secondary school diploma or its equivalent while domiciled there. Requires the Comptroller General to monitor the progam's effectiveness in expanding educational opportunities for such students.

Date: 2010-01-27
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Truth in Tuition Act of 2010 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) to provide each admitted student considering an undergraduate or graduate program: (1) a multi-year tuition and fee schedule; or (2) a single-year tuition and fee schedule, and a nonbinding, multi-year estimate of net costs after all financial aid is awarded. Requires IHEs that choose the second option to include with each multi-year estimate the average deviation, in percentage terms, between previous year estimates and actual net costs for their students. Directs the Secretary of Education to waive the application of these requirements to IHEs for which the requirements are not practicable due to events that cause them severe economic distress, a dramatic reduction in state or federal aid, or any other circumstance the Secretary deems valid.

Date: 2010-01-27
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Student Loan Interest Full Deductibility Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the current dollar limitations on the tax deduction of interest on education loans.

Date: 2010-02-02
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Amends part A of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to increase the maximum federal allotment to Puerto Rico, which is expressed as a percentage of the federal funds allotted to states, to improve the education of limited English proficient children and immigrant youth.

Date: 2010-02-23
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Energy Education Loan Forgiveness Act of 2010 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to provide student loan forgiveness under the Federal Family Education Loan, Direct Loan, and Perkins Loans programs to individuals who have been employed for at least one year after this Act's enactment as full-time skilled energy workers in advanced energy industries. Limits the maximum amount of such loan forgiveness to $2,000 after the first year of a skilled energy worker's employment, with incremental increases after each of the following four years, reaching $5,000 of the loan obligation of the borrower outstanding after the completion of the fifth year. Includes as advanced energy industries those involved in: (1) alternative energy; (2) nuclear energy; (3) energy efficient construction, retrofitting, and design; (4) sustainable energy technologies; (5) water and energy conservation; (6) recycling and waste reduction; (7) advanced agriculture; (8) carbon sequestration and storage; (9) natural gas drilling; and (10) clean coal production.

Date: 2010-03-03
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education