zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
GI Bill Processing Improvement Act of 2015

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to alter the information technology system of the Veterans Benefits Administration to ensure that: (1) all claims for post-9/11 educational assistance are electronically adjudicated, to the maximum extent possible; and (2) rule-based processing is used to decide such claims with little human intervention.

Changes from July 1, 2015, to July 1, 2016, the effective date of the requirement that the Secretary disapprove, for purposes of the All-Volunteer Force and the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance programs, courses of education provided by a public educational institution of higher education that charges veterans living in the state higher tuition and fees than it charges in-state residents, regardless of the veterans' state of residence.

Allows individuals to elect to convert their educational assistance to the post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program if, as of August 1, 2009, they meet specified conditions with respect to their entitlements and elections under the all-volunteer force educational assistance program or certain other educational programs for professional military, selected reserve, or reserve component members. Conditions such post-9/11 program eligibility on the individual meeting the requirements for the post-9/11 program as of the date of election.

 Sets forth transitional rules with respect to the transfer or revocation of entitlements from a previous assistance program after an election to convert to the post-9/11 program. Requires certain assistance to remain available to individuals under their previous program if it is not available under the post-9/11 program.

Authorizes the Secretary, if an individual submits an election that the Secretary determines is against the interests of the individual, to make an alternative election on the individual's behalf. Allows such individual, during a specified period, to modify or revoke the Secretary's alternative selection.

 Requires individuals and educational institutions participating in the post-Vietnam era and post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance programs, in addition to those participating in the VA's other educational assistance programs, to report to the Secretary such enrollment and any updates on interruption or termination of the education (thereby making the enrollment reporting requirements for the post-Vietnam and post-9/11 programs consistent with other veterans' educational programs).

Defines "educational institution" to permit the inclusion of groups, districts, or consortiums of separately accredited educational institutions in the same state that are organized in a manner facilitating the centralized reporting of enrollments.

Directs the Secretary to make available to educational institutions, through an Internet website, information on the amount of educational assistance to which their students are entitled under the all-volunteer force, post-Vietnam era, post-9/11, and survivors' and dependents' educational assistance programs.

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
GI Bill Education Quality Enhancement Act of 2015

Deems specified education programs to be approved for veterans' education benefit purposes if a state approving agency determines that they qualify. Authorizes a state approving agency, or the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) acting in the role of a state approving agency, to approve other accredited programs for such purposes.

Continues to allow state approving agencies to establish additional criteria (other than those set forth in current law) for the approval of nonaccredited courses, but requires VA to determine that such criteria are necessary and treat public, private, and proprietary for-profit educational institutions equitably.

Prohibits VA from including flight training fees in the in-state tuition and fees at public institutions of higher education (IHEs) that are covered by post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance. Requires post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance for flight training programs at public IHEs to be determined in the same manner as such assistance for education programs pursued at non-public or foreign IHEs is determined.

Directs VA to conduct an annual compliance survey of educational institutions and training establishments offering courses approved for veterans' education benefits if at least 20 individuals who are eligible for such benefits are enrolled in any such course. (Currently, an annual compliance survey of each institution offering such courses must be conducted if at least 300 beneficiaries are enrolled or if any such course does not lead to a standard college degree.) Authorizes VA to waive the annual survey for institutions or establishments that have a record of compliance. Requires VA to conduct a biennial survey of each educational institution and training establishment that offers courses approved for veterans' education benefits.

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Student Loan Interest Deduction Act of 2015

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the maximum tax deduction for interest paid on any qualified education loan to $5,000 ($10,000 for married couples filing a joint tax return), and (2) repeal the limitation on such deduction based upon modified adjusted gross income.

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on February 20, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

This bill makes changes to the rules for qualified tuition programs (known as 529 plans).

(Sec. 2) The Internal Revenue Code is amended to allow payments from 529 plans for the purchase of computer or peripheral equipment, computer software, or Internet access and related services to be used primarily by a 529 plan beneficiary while enrolled in an eligible educational institution.

(Sec. 3) The requirement that distributions from a 529 plan be aggregated for purposes of determining the amount includible in a taxpayer's income is eliminated.

(Sec. 4) Students who receive a refund from an eligible educational institution can recontribute such refund to a 529 plan without tax consequences if the recontribution is made not later than 60 days after the date of such refund and does not exceed the refunded amount.

Date: 2015-01-26
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow payment of home school expenses from Coverdell education savings accounts; (2) remove the dollar limitation on contributions to Coverdell education savings accounts and require such accounts to provide adequate safeguards to prevent contributions from exceeding the amount necessary to provide for the qualified education expenses of the account beneficiary; and (3) allow tax-exempt qualified tuition programs (529 tuition programs) to pay qualified pre-kindergarten, elementary, and secondary education expenses.

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Enhancing Educational Opportunities for all Students Act

Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow a state educational agency to allocate grant funds among local educational agencies based on the number of eligible children (children age 5 to 17 from a family with an income below the poverty level) enrolled in the public schools and the state-accredited private schools within each local agency's geographic jurisdiction.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow payment of home school expenses from Coverdell education savings accounts; (2) remove the dollar limitation on contributions to Coverdell education savings accounts and require such accounts to provide adequate safeguards to prevent contributions from exceeding the amount necessary to provide for the qualified education expenses of the account beneficiary; and (3) allow tax-exempt qualified tuition programs (529 tuition programs) to pay qualified pre-kindergarten, elementary, and secondary education expenses.

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Veteran Excellence Through Education Act of 2015

Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants, during FY2016-FY2021, to minority-serving institutions to establish verified delivery systems that address the social and academic problems facing enrolled veterans.

Includes among authorized grant activities: (1) educational services, including courses in English as a second language, financial literacy workshops and courses, and health and wellness programs; (2) increased access to workforce services; (3) support services such as housing, transportation, and child care; and (4) establishing a veteran support team.

Requires an institution, in order to receive such a grant, to submit to the Secretary a program plan and strategy to meet the needs of enrolled veterans.

Date: 2015-01-28
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Education Survey Act of 2015

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enter into a contract with a non-government entity to conduct a survey of a statistically valid sample of individuals who have used or are using their entitlement to veterans educational assistance to pursue a program of education or training.

Requires: (1) the survey to be submitted to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees not later than one month before the collection of data begins, and (2) the entity to conduct the survey electronically or by other appropriate means and to complete the survey and submit the results to the Secretary not later than 180 days after entering into the contract.

Requires the survey to be designed to collect specified types of information about each individual surveyed, including: (1) demographic information, including the highest level of education completed, military occupational specialties while serving in the Armed Forces, National Guard, or Reserves, and whether the individual has a service-connected disability; (2) the individual's opinion regarding participation in the transition assistance program and the effectiveness of the program; (3) the nature of the individual's experience with the VA's education benefits processing system; and (4) the individual's employment status and whether such status differs from the individual's status prior to enrolling in the program of education or training.

Directs the Secretary to report to the Committees on the results of the survey, including an unedited version of the results submitted, and any recommendations.

Date: 2015-02-02
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Student Loan Refinancing Act

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow a borrower of a loan under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program to modify the interest rate on such a loan so that its interest rate is equal to the interest rate it would bear if first disbursed at the time of modification.

Fixes that interest rate for the life of the loan, unless the borrower elects to modify it again.

Date: 2015-02-02
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Helping Families Save for Education Act

 Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to Coverdell education savings accounts, to: (1) increase the age limit for beneficiaries of such accounts after which contributions may not be made from age 18 to age 22, and (2) increase the maximum contribution limit in any taxable year from $2,000 to $10,000.

Date: 2015-02-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
GI Bill STEM Extension Act of 2015

Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay up to nine months of additional Post-9/11 Educational Assistance to a veteran who has used all of the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance to which he or she was entitled and who: (1) is enrolled in a postsecondary education program that requires more than the standard 128 semester (or 192 quarter) credit hours for completion in a specified science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field; or (2) has earned a postsecondary degree in one of those fields and is enrolled in a teaching certification program.

Date: 2015-02-05
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
FAFSA Fairness Act of 2015

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to disclose, on the form notifying students of their expected family contribution, the special circumstances under which students may qualify as independent for purposes of the determination regarding their need and eligibility for title IV assistance.

Allows students who may qualify as independent on the basis of those special circumstances to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid as independent students for purposes of the initial determination of their title IV assistance by a financial aid administrator at an institution of higher education to which they are applying.

Requires the financial aid administrators to: (1) provide those students with an initial determination regarding their title IV assistance in the same manner as, and by no later than the date that, they provide other independent students with that determination; and (2) use, in making a final determination regarding that assistance, the discretion provided to them under title IV to verify whether such students meet the special circumstances to qualify as independent students.

Date: 2015-02-11
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Professional Readiness Education Preparation Act or the STEM PREP Act of 2015

This bill amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to replace the TECH prep grant program with a STEM prep grant program for career and technical education programs focused on training students to enter the STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) fields.

A grant-receiving consortium may include a nonprofit institution of higher education offering a one-year certificate program or a one-year apprenticeship program.

The duration of a STEM program, currently 4- to 6-years, may extend from a 3-year to a 6-year length.

Special consideration shall be given to consortium applications showcasing curricula that lead to greater critical thinking and problem solving skills by incorporating fine arts into the STEM prep program.

A matching grant requirement is established for program eligibility.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Fast Track to College Act of 2015

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 secondary school students to earn credit simultaneously toward a secondary 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: 2015-02-12
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Pell Grant Funding Act

Directs the Secretary of Education to use any excess revenue generated by the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program during a fiscal year to carry out the Federal Pell Grant program in the next fiscal year.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Supporting Academic Freedom through Regulatory Relief Act

Repeals certain Department of Education (ED) regulations that for purposes of determining whether a school is eligible to participate in programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA): (1) require institutions of higher education (IHEs) and postsecondary vocational institutions (except religious schools) to be legally authorized by the state in which they are situated, (2) delineate what such legal authorization requires of states and schools, (3) impose standards and disclosure requirements on programs that prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation, and (4) define "credit hour."

Prohibits ED from promulgating or enforcing any regulation or rule not in effect on the date of this Act's enactment regarding: (1) the state authorization for IHEs to operate within a state, (2) the definition or application of the term "gainful employment," or (3) a teacher preparation program accountability system. Ends that prohibition when a law is enacted that extends by at least two fiscal years the authorization or duration of one or more programs under the HEA.

Prohibits ED from promulgating or enforcing any regulation or rule that defines "credit hour" for any purpose under the HEA.

Prohibits ED from carrying out, developing, refining, promulgating, publishing, implementing, administering, or enforcing a postsecondary institution ratings system or any other performance system to rate IHEs.

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the HEA to authorize nonprofit IHEs to make payments to third-party entities for services that include student recruitment and are based on the amount of tuition that the IHE generates from student enrollment if the third-party entity: (1) is not affiliated with the IHE, (2) does not provide incentive payments to its employees for their success in enrolling students or securing financial aid for them, (3) is not paid by the IHE solely or separately for student recruitment services, and (4) will not make student recruitment information available to any other person or entity.

Date: 2015-02-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Access to Education and Training Act

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow the Secretary of Education to award a student two Pell Grants during a single award year if the student is enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate program at an institution of higher education on at least a half-time basis for the equivalent of more than one academic year or more than two semesters during the Pell Grant award year.

Permits the total amount of Pell Grants awarded to such a student for the award year to exceed the maximum basic grant level specified in the appropriate appropriations Act for that award year.

Date: 2015-02-25
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Eliminating the Hidden Student Loan Tax Act

Expresses the sense of Congress that no origination fees should be charged on any future loans under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program. (Origination fees are the fees lenders charge for processing new loan applications.)

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal the Secretary of Education's authority to charge an origination fee on a Direct Loan first disbursed, or, in the case of a Direct Consolidation Loan, for which an application is received, on or after July 1, 2015.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Higher Education Reform and Opportunity Act of 2015

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make the following entities, programs, and courses eligible for funding under title IV if they are accredited by an authorized accreditation authority in a state that has an alternative accreditation agreement with the Secretary of Education:

 institutions that provide postsecondary courses; postsecondary apprenticeship programs; and postsecondary education courses or programs provided by institutions of postsecondary education, nonprofit organizations, or for-profit organizations or businesses. Lists the items to be included in a state's alternative accreditation agreement with the Secretary, including the standards those entities, programs, and courses must meet to receive and maintain their accreditation.

Requires that agreement to include the state's assurance that only entities, programs, and courses that provide credits toward a postsecondary certification, credential, or degree (as defined by the state in the agreement) will be accredited.

Establishes the formula for determining the administrative cost allowance for: (1) the entities, programs, and courses that are accredited through the alternative accreditation system and that administer the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant programs in accordance with the agreement; and (2) states that will administer those programs for such entities, programs, and courses in accordance with the agreement.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Student Loan Borrowers' Bill of Rights Act of 2015

Removes educational loans from the list of debts that are non-dischargeable in bankruptcy.

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to reinstate the six-year statute of limitations on the recovery by:

 institutions of higher education (IHEs) of refund amounts owed by students on grants made, or work assistance awarded, under title IV; guaranty agencies of amounts owed on loans made under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program; IHEs that have program participation agreements with the Secretary of Education of amounts owed under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program or Federal Perkins Loans program; and the federal government of amounts owed by students on grants made under title IV or amounts owed by borrowers on loans made under title IV that have been assigned to the Secretary. Prohibits the collection of amounts individuals owe the Department of Education under title IV of the HEA through: (1) offsets of social security, railroad retirement, or black lung benefits; (2) offsets of tax refunds; or (3) wage garnishment.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude discharged student loan debt from an individual's gross income.

Excludes from gross income distributions from qualified tuition plans that are use to pay the interest or principal on student loans.

Amends the HEA to make borrowers of PLUS loans made on behalf of dependent students under:

 the Direct Loan program eligible for income-contingent repayment plans, including plans based on the President's Pay As You Earn repayment initiative; the Direct Loan or FFEL programs eligible for income-based repayment plans that enable borrowers who have a partial financial hardship to make lower monthly payments; and the Direct Loan or FFEL programs eligible for loan forgiveness for service in areas of national need. Specifies the regulation to be used in determining whether individuals have an adverse credit history that disqualifies them from borrowing a Direct Plus loan (provided to graduate or professional students or the parents of dependent students).

Prohibits evidence of an individual's default on a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under title IV of the HEA from being used in a federal or state proceeding involving the individual's professional or vocational license.

Prohibits an IHE from blocking students' access to their student records at the IHE due to such students being in default on such loans.

Directs the Secretary to cancel 50% of the balance of the interest and principal due on Direct loans that are not in default for borrowers who are employed in a public service job and make 60 monthly payments on such loans after October 1, 2015.

Date: 2015-03-10
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
American Dream Accounts Act

Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to eligible entities so each can establish and administer American Dream Accounts for a group of at least 30 low-income public school students who, at the time the entities apply for a grant, are attending a grade no higher than ninth grade.

Lists as eligible entities: (1) state educational agencies; (2) local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that operate as their own LEA; (3) charter management organizations or charter school authorizers; (4) institutions of higher education (IHEs) or Tribal Colleges or Universities; (5) nonprofit organizations; (6) entities experienced in educational savings or assisting low-income students attain higher education; (7) consortia of two or more of these entities; and (8) consortia of one or more of these entities and a public, charter, or Indian school.

Describes an American Dream Account as a personal online account for low-income students that monitors their progress toward higher education and includes a college savings account.

Requires American Dream Accounts to provide students with opportunities, either online or in person, to: (1) attain financial literacy; (2) learn about preparing for enrollment in an IHE; and (3) identify their skills or interests, including career interests.

Requires grantees, subject to federal privacy laws and regulations, to allow vested stakeholders to have secure Internet access to an American Dream Account, but not the college savings account portion of that Account.

Prohibits grantees from using their grant to provide the initial deposit into the college savings account portion of a student's American Dream Account.

Prohibits the funds in those college savings accounts from being considered in making federal student financial aid determinations.

Date: 2015-03-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2015

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

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

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

Directs the Secretary to publish a report of best practices for combating harassment at IHEs.

Date: 2015-03-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Perkins Modernization Act of 2015

This bill amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to revise its purposes, which are to develop more fully the academic and career and technical skills of secondary education students and postsecondary students who elect to enroll in career and technical education programs (as under current law), by:

 preparing those students for employment in current or emerging in-demand industry sectors or occupations; aligning the skills, certifications, and credentials of the students with those needed by employers in the labor markets served by educational institutions; and ensuring that the selection of skills, certifications, and credentials acquired by such students is guided by timely labor market information. An "in-demand industry sector or occupation" is:

 an industry sector that has a substantial current or potential impact on the state, regional, or local economy, and that contributes to the growth or stability of other supporting businesses, or the growth of other industry sectors; or an occupation that currently has or is projected to have a number of positions in an industry sector so as to have a significant impact on the state, regional, or local economy.

Date: 2015-03-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Labor and employment
Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act or the SOS Campus Act

Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in any program under title IV (Student Assistance) to designate an independent advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and response (Advocate) with experience in providing sexual assault victim services.

Requires each Advocate to: (1) report to an individual outside the body responsible for investigating and adjudicating sexual assault complaints at the IHE, (2) submit to such individual an annual report summarizing how the resources supplied to the Advocate were used, (3) represent the interests of each student victim without regard to whether they conflict with the IHE's interests, and (4) be appointed in such manner as the Secretary of Education deems appropriate.

Directs each Advocate to:

 ensure that sexual assault victims at the IHE are able to receive, at their election, specified information and services; guide sexual assault victims who request assistance through the reporting, counseling, administrative, medical and health, academic accommodations, or legal processes of the IHE or local law enforcement; attend, at the request of a sexual assault victim, any administrative or IHE-based adjudication proceeding related to such assault as an advocate for the victim; maintain the privacy and confidentiality of the victim and any witness to such sexual assault and to not notify the IHE or any other person of the identity of the victim or of any such witness or the alleged circumstances surrounding the reported sexual assault except as otherwise required by state law or, with respect to the identity of the victim or witness, with the consent of such victim or witness; and conduct a public information campaign to inform the students enrolled at the IHE of the existence of, contact information for, and services provided by the Advocate. Prohibits IHEs from retaliating against: (1) Advocates for representing the interests of a student victims, or (2) student victims for reporting sexual assaults to Advocates.

Date: 2015-03-19
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Investing in States to Achieve Tuition Equality for Dreamers Act of 2015 or the IN STATE Act of 2015

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to allot grants to states to offer Dreamer students in-state tuition and expand their access to in-state financial aid.

Defines a "Dreamer student" as an individual who:

 was under age 16 upon entering this country, has provided a list of each secondary school the individual attended in this country, and has earned a high school diploma or certain similar credentials or is scheduled to complete the requirements for such a credential before the next academic year begins, has acquired a degree from an institution of higher education or has successfully completed at least 2 years of a program for a bachelor's or higher degree in this country, has served honorably in the uniformed services for at least 4 years, or is a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Directs the Secretary to provide for a hardship exception to either or both of the first two of such requirements.

Requires grant applicants to assure the Secretary that they: (1) have made significant progress in establishing a preschool through postsecondary education (P-16) longitudinal data system; and (2) will not discriminate against Dreamer students in awarding student aid or determining who is eligible for in-state tuition, if the student would otherwise be eligible for in-state financial aid as a state resident.

Allots grants to each state based on its proportion of resident Dreamer students who are enrolled at least half-time in postsecondary education.

Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to collect a specified fee from recipients of F-1 visas, provided to nonimmigrant full-time students.

Eliminates the prohibition on states offering unlawful aliens postsecondary benefits on the basis of their residence in the state that are more generous than those offered citizens or naturals of this country, without regard to their state residence.

Allows individuals who have served honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces to be naturalized without having been lawfully admitted to this country for permanent residence.

Date: 2015-03-19
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 30, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Preservation Research at Institutions Serving Minorities Act or the PRISM Act

(Sec. 2) This bill makes Hispanic-serving institutions and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions of higher education eligible for technical and financial assistance from the Department of the Interior to establish preservation training and degree programs.

Date: 2015-03-23
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Higher Education and Employment Transparency Act

Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to make publicly available on the College Navigator website the employment information that schools who are participating in that Act's title IV (Student Assistance) programs are required to provide to prospective and enrolled students.

Requires those schools to supplement that employment information by indicating whether or not the jobs their graduates obtain are paid jobs or require any postsecondary education.

Requires those schools to include on their websites, and the Secretary to include on the College Navigator website, a link to the appropriate section of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website that provides information from the Occupational Employment Statistics program and the Occupational Outlook Handbook of the BLS.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Students Helping Young Students Act of 2015

Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) that receive grants for federal work-study programs to use a portion of such funding to compensate students employed in the educational after-school, before-school, or out-of-school community service activities of public elementary or secondary schools.

Requires the IHEs operating such work-study programs to give priority to public elementary or secondary schools serving low-income communities.

Allows the federal share of the compensation provided to work-study students performing such community service to exceed 75%.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Veterans Education Tax Security Act of 2015 or the VETS Act of 2015

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of a veteran with a service-connected disability rated as total, or from the gross income of a parent or cosigner of a deceased veteran, income imputed from the discharge of student loan amounts under the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2015 Amends the federal bankruptcy code to limit the non-dischargeability, except in cases of undue hardship, of educational loans to those made, insured, or guaranteed by a governmental unit, or made under any program funded by a governmental unit or any program for which substantially all of the funds are provided by a nonprofit institution (thus allowing the discharge of private educational loan indebtedness without the need to show an undue hardship).

Date: 2015-03-26
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
No Federal Funds Without the American Flag Act

Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit an institution of higher education that is located in the United States from participating in title IV's student assistance programs if it bans the display of the American flag on its campus.

Date: 2015-03-26
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Student Loan Repayment Assistance Act of 2015

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee amounts paid by an employer under a student loan payment assistance program. Requires participating employees to pay at least $50 per month on their student loans (in addition to the amount excluded from their gross income under such program). Limits the amount of such exclusion to $6,000 in a taxable year.

Requires an employer student loan payment assistance program to be a separate written plan of an employer to provide employees with student loan payment assistance. Defines "student loan payment assistance" as the payment of principal or interest on any indebtedness incurred by an employee solely to pay qualified higher education expenses that are paid or incurred within a reasonable time before or after such indebtedness was incurred and that are attributable to education furnished during a period in which such employee was a student eligible for federal financial assistance.

Allows an employee to take an income tax deduction in an amount equal to the employee's student loan payments that are matched by excludible employer contributions under a student loan payment assistance program. Limits the amount of such deduction to $6,000 in a taxable year and $50,000 over a lifetime.

Date: 2015-03-26
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2015

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) which apply such grants to their collegiate housing property.

Date: 2015-03-26
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
FAFSA for All Act

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to include on the same website that is used to provide students with the electronic version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) questions to determine, for title IV eligibility purposes, whether:

 a dependent student is a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States or is here for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a citizen or permanent resident; and the parents of a dependent student have a valid social security number. Requires that website to also include:

 detailed guidance on how dependent students who satisfy those immigration requirements but whose parents do not have a valid social security number may obtain student assistance under title IV, and an online tool that allows those students to upload the documents they need to receive such assistance.

Date: 2015-04-16
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2015 

 This bill amends the National Sea Grant College Program Act to reauthorize through FY2021 the National Sea Grant College Program.

The bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to award Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships. Currently, NOAA may give fellowships. Those fellowships support graduate students in fields related to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources in positions with the executive and legislative branches.

 NOAA must give priority placement of those fellows placed in the legislative branch in: (1) offices or committees of Congress that have jurisdiction over NOAA; and (2) offices of Members of Congress that have a demonstrated interest in ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes resources. NOAA must attempt to ensure that placements are equitably distributed among political parties.

NOAA must establish priorities for the use of donations given for the National Sea Grant College Program.

The bill authorizes through FY2020 grants for university research on: (1) the biology, prevention, and control of aquatic nonnative species; (2) oyster diseases, oyster restoration, and oyster-related human health risks; (3) the biology, prevention, and forecasting of harmful algal blooms; and (4) sustainable aquaculture techniques and technologies. The bill also authorizes through FY2020 grants for: (1) fishery extension activities conducted by sea grant colleges or sea grant institutes to enhance existing core program funding, and (2) priority issues identified in the National Sea Grant College Program's strategic plan.

Date: 2015-04-21
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Hispanic Opportunity Program in Education and Science Act

Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation to establish a program awarding competitive grants to Hispanic-serving institutions to: (1) enhance the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education (STEM) at those institutions; and (2) increase the retention and graduation rates of students of such institutions who pursue associate's or baccalaureate degrees in STEM.

Date: 2015-04-21
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Empowering Parents to Invest in Choice Act of 2015

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the payment of qualified elementary and secondary education expenses from a tax-exempt qualified tuition program (known as a 529 plan). (Currently, such plans only pay qualified higher education expenses.) Included as qualified elementary and secondary education expenses are expenses for tuition, fees, academic tutoring, special needs services, books, supplies, and computer technology or equipment.

The bill also increases from $2,000 to $15,000 the limit on the amount that may be contributed to a tax-exempt Coverdell education savings account. The new contribution limit is adjusted for inflation in each taxable year beginning after 2015.

Date: 2015-04-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Pell Grant Protection Act

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to appropriate for each fiscal year beginning with FY2016 the funding necessary to provide each eligible student with the maximum Pell Grant amount, minus the student's expected family contribution. (Currently, funds for the Pell Grant program come from a combination of mandatory and discretionary spending. This bill converts the Pell Grant program into a mandatory spending program.)

Date: 2015-04-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Pell Grant Cost of Tuition Adjustment Act

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to set the maximum Pell Grant at a specified amount, increased for inflation each year, plus any additional amount specified in the last enacted appropriation Act.

Date: 2015-04-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Year-Round Pell Grant Restoration Act

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education to award an additional Pell Grant to a student who has received a Pell Grant for an award year and is enrolled in a program of study for payment periods during the same award year that are not covered by the Pell Grant. The total amount of the Pell Grants awarded to such a student for the award year may exceed the total maximum Pell Grant.

Date: 2015-04-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
College Options for DREAMers Act

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow Dreamer students to receive federal financial aid for higher education.

A "Dreamer student" is an individual who was under age 16 upon entering this country, has provided a list of secondary schools the individual attended in this country, and, in this country:

 has earned a high school diploma or the equivalent, is scheduled to complete the requirements for a high school diploma or equivalent before the next academic year begins, has acquired a degree from an institution of higher education, has successfully completed at least two years of a program for a baccalaureate or higher degree, is a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or has served honorably in the uniformed services for at least four years. The Department of Education must provide for a hardship exception to the age and secondary school list requirements.

States are allowed to offer unlawful aliens postsecondary benefits on the basis of their residence in the state (e.g., in-state tuition).

Date: 2015-04-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Investing for Tomorrow's Schools Act of 2015

 Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into cooperative agreements with states to establish state and multistate infrastructure banks that make loans to local educational agencies, public libraries, and charter schools or their developers to construct or renovate public elementary or secondary schools and public libraries. Requires loans also to community learning centers to connect and improve broadband services, and to educational service agencies for building or repairing elementary schools, secondary schools, or other school facilities that provide free public education.

Grants congressional consent to states for interstate compacts to establish multistate infrastructure banks.

Directs the Secretary to make grants to such banks to provide initial capital for such loans.

Requires states to contribute from nonfederal sources at least 25% of the amount of each federal capitalization grant made to the state and contributed to the bank.

Lists types of projects eligible for such bank loans.

Requires borrowers to use, to the maximum extent practicable, green construction or renovation practices that are consistent with: (1) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating standards, (2) Energy Star standards, (3) Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria, (4) Green Building Initiative environmental design and rating standards (Green Globes), or (5) equivalent standards adopted by the entities that have jurisdiction over them.

Date: 2015-04-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Online Education Verification Act

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require recognized accrediting agencies or associations that evaluate the quality of distance or correspondence education programs to require those programs to have a secure login and passcode for Internet coursework.

Date: 2015-04-23
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education