zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1987 to allow the Clerk of the House of Representatives, at the request of a Member of the House, to donate computers and related peripheral tools previously used by the Member to a public elementary or secondary school designated by such Member without regard to whether the donation: (1) is a cost to the government, or (2) has a recoverable value.

Date: 2013-01-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Congress
Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act - Amends the Higher Education Opportunity Act to prohibit postsecondary educational institutions from using revenues derived from federal educational assistance funds for: (1) advertising and promotion; (2) identifying and attracting prospective students; or (3) other activities the Secretary of Education may proscribe, such as paying for the promotion or sponsorship of education or military-related associations.

Excepts from that prohibition activities that are required as a condition of receiving funds under title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, specifically authorized under title IV, or otherwise specified by the Secretary.

Date: 2013-01-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
21st Century Readiness Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to support 21st century readiness initiatives that fuse core academic subject knowledge and higher-order thinking skills (such as critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation) to ensure that students are prepared for postsecondary education and careers, upon graduation from secondary school.

Amends title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) of the ESEA to require the Secretary of Education, as part of the national assessment of title I programs, to examine the extent to which such initiatives improve student readiness for postsecondary education and careers.

Includes 21st century readiness initiatives in comprehensive school reform programs and school dropout prevention and reentry programs under title I.

Amends title II (Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals) of the ESEA to require high-quality professional development programs to incorporate an aligned system of teaching and learning that includes 21st century skills (such as critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation), standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessments.

Requires local educational agencies to use title II subgrants to enable educators to deliver instruction on higher-order thinking skills and use the latest available technology in doing so.

Amends title IV (21st Century Schools) of the ESEA to include 21st century readiness initiatives in 21st Century Community Learning Center activities. (21st Century Community Learning Centers provide students with before and after school programs to improve their academic performance.)

Amends title VI (Flexibility and Accountability) of the ESEA to allow assessment grants to be used by states to develop or improve assessments that use technology to measure core academic subject knowledge and higher-order thinking skills to ensure that students can apply a range of skill competencies alongside core academic subject knowledge, and do so in real-world contexts.

Date: 2013-01-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Center to Advance, Monitor, and Preserve University Security Safety Act of 2013 or the CAMPUS Safety Act of 2013 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to establish and operate, within the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, a National Center for Campus Public Safety.

Tasks the Center with strengthening the safety and security of institutions of higher education (IHEs) by: (1) training IHE public safety personnel and their collaborative partners; (2) fostering relevant research; (3) collecting and disseminating information and best practices regarding campus safety; (4) developing protocols and best practices to prevent, protect against, and respond to dangerous and violent situations that threaten the campus community; and (5) promoting cooperation among public safety and emergency management personnel of IHEs and their collaborative partners, including law enforcement, emergency management, and mental health agencies.

Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to IHEs and other nonprofit organizations for activities that will assist the Center in performing its functions.

Date: 2013-01-23
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Student Loan Employment Benefits Act of 2013 - 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. Limits the amount of such exclusion to $5,000 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 which are paid or incurred within a reasonable time before or after such indebtedness was incurred and are attributable to education furnished during a period in which such employee was a student eligible for federal financial assistance.

Date: 2013-01-23
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2013 - 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: 2013-02-04
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Savings Enhancement for Education in College Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax credit for contributions to qualified tuition plans; and (2) allow an exclusion, up to $600, from the gross income of an employee for employer contributions to a qualified tuition program.

Date: 2013-02-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2013 - 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: 2013-02-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Fast Track to College Act of 2013 - 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: 2013-02-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Protecting Victims on Campus Act of 2013 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise provisions that require each institution of higher education (IHE) participating in a title IV (Student Assistance) program to comply with certain crime reporting requirements.

Requires IHEs to provide students and employees with a list of the titles, in each department of the IHE, of each individual who is a campus security authority to whom they should report specified criminal offenses.

Includes criminal offenses involving minors that are reported to campus security authorities or the local police among the criminal offenses that are to be included in: (1) the annual campus security report provided to current and prospective students and employees, and (2) the timely reports to the campus community on crimes considered to be a threat to the community.

Requires the personally identifiable information of victims to be kept confidential when IHEs are making timely reports to the campus community on crimes considered to be a threat to the community.

Requires IHEs, in carrying out their obligation to make such timely reports, to: (1) designate an individual to serve as campus security authority coordinator, and (2) provide for the training of that coordinator and the campus security authorities.

Directs the Secretary of Education, when imposing civil penalties on IHEs for substantial violations of the crime reporting requirements, to distinguish between IHEs that intentionally violated those requirements and those whose violations are attributable to institutional neglect.

Requires the Secretary to provide each IHE that is to be investigated for violating such reporting requirements with a timeline of the investigation and a preliminary report that includes the reasons for the investigation.

Date: 2013-02-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on July 24, 2014. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education Amendments of 2014 - (Sec. 2) Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise the muscular dystrophy research program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Expands the range of forms of muscular dystrophy included within the program. Requires the research conducted through Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Centers to include cardiac and pulmonary function research. Requires the Director of NIH to ensure the sharing of data between such centers.

Revises the composition of the Muscular Dystrophy Coordinating Committee (MDCC) to include the Social Security Administration and the United States Administration for Community Living.

Requires the MDCC to meet at least two times per year. Requires the MDCC Action Plan to provide for: (1) health economic studies to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of providing independent living resources and support to patients with various forms of muscular dystrophy, (2) studies to determine optimal clinical care interventions for adults with various forms of muscular dystrophy, and (3) the development of clinical interventions to improve the health of adults with various forms of muscular dystrophy.

(Sec. 3) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in carrying out epidemiological activities regarding Duchenne and other forms of muscular dystrophy, to ensure that data are representative of all affected populations and shared in a timely manner.

(Sec. 4) Amends the Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research, and Education Amendments of 2001 to authorize the Secretary to cooperate with professional organizations and the patient community in the development and issuance of care considerations, including acute care considerations, for pediatric and adult muscular dystrophy patients. Authorizes the Secretary, in developing and updating care considerations, to incorporate strategies specifically responding to the findings of the national transitions survey of minority, young adult, and adult communities of muscular dystrophy patients.

Date: 2013-02-08
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Health
Veterans Education Equity Act of 2013 - Revises the formula for the payment by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of tuition and fees for individuals entitled to educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program and pursuing programs of education at public institutions of higher learning to include, as an additional payment formula, the greater of: (1) the actual net costs for in-state tuition after applying the receipt of any tuition waivers, reductions, scholarships, or other assistance; or (2) $17,500 for the academic year beginning on August 1, 2011 (such amount to be increased each subsequent year by the average percentage increase in undergraduate tuition costs).

Date: 2013-02-08
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Student Loan Default Prevention Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education, upon the request of an eligible guaranty agency, to enter into or revise a voluntary, flexible agreement with that agency to provide services to borrowers and potential borrowers of Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) or Direct Loans (DLs).

Treats guaranty agencies as eligible to participate in such agreements if they have extensive and relevant experience and demonstrated effectiveness in providing such services.

Authorizes those guaranty agencies to provide services that include: (1) delinquency prevention and default aversion activities, (2) collecting defaulted loans, (3) monitoring institutions that participate in the DL program, (4) training financial aid officials, and (5) informational outreach to schools and students that supports access to higher education and financial literacy.

Requires the Secretary to pay fees to such agencies that are cost neutral and take into account the savings projected from the provision of such services.

Date: 2013-02-12
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Student Visa Security Improvement Act - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) require DHS employees to review the applications, conduct in-person interviews where appropriate, and conduct on-site reviews of applications and supporting documentation with respect to student and exchange program visa applicants prior to final visa adjudication, with emphasis on determining whether an applicant is inadmissible for terrorist-related activities; (2) require an institution or exchange visitor program participating in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program to ensure that each covered student or exchange visitor is an active program participant, is observed, and is reported to DHS if he or she transfers institutions or academic majors; (3) provide Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) access to appropriate employees of a SEVIS program sponsor under specified circumstances; and (4) require a SEVIS upgrade to add data fields that include verification that students are meeting minimum academic standards.

Date: 2013-02-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Immigration
Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) to include in their annual security report policies encouraging the accurate and prompt reporting of all crimes to campus police and appropriate law enforcement agencies when crime victims elect to, or are unable to, report the crimes.

Requires that report to include: (1) data on the occurrence of certain violent crimes that are motivated by the victim's nationality; and (2) statistics concerning the occurrence of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking incidents reported to campus security authorities or local police.

Requires schools to protect victim confidentiality when reporting criminal threats to the campus community.

Directs IHEs to include in their annual security report a statement of policy regarding their programs to prevent domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and the procedures they follow when such an offense is reported.

Requires an IHE's policy regarding those offenses to include:

 education that promotes awareness of the offenses; possible sanctions or protective measures imposed following disciplinary action; procedures victims should follow after such an offense occurs; institutional disciplinary procedures; information about how the IHE will protect victim confidentiality; the written notification of students and employees concerning on-campus and community services available for victims; and the written notification of victims regarding their options for, and assistance in, changing academic, living, transportation, and working situations, regardless of whether or not they choose to report the crime. Requires students and employees who report having been the victim of such an offense to their IHE, whether it occurred on or off campus, to receive a written notification of their rights and options under the IHE's policy.

Directs the Secretary of Education to seek the counsel of the Attorney General and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding the development, and dissemination to IHEs, of best practices for preventing and responding to incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Date: 2013-02-25
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require: (1) individuals who claim a tax credit for qualified tuition and related expenses under the Hope Scholarship tax credit or the Lifetime Learning tax credit to include their social security numbers on their tax returns, and (2) the educational institutions of such individuals to provide their employer identification numbers.

Date: 2013-02-27
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Universal Prekindergarten and Early Childhood Education Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states to establish full-day prekindergarten programs at public schools.

Requires those programs to: (1) permit parents, regardless of income, to enroll their four-year old children at a school in which their children may be enrolled for kindergarten; (2) run for the length of the regular school year; and (3) be taught by teachers who possess qualifications similar to the qualifications of other teachers at the applicable school.

Prohibits the federal share of a prekindergarten program grant from exceeding 80% of the prekindergarten program's costs.

Date: 2013-02-27
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Making College Affordable Act of 2013 - 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 26, (2) increase the maximum contribution limit in any taxable year from $2,000 to $10,000, and (3) allow an annual inflation adjustment to the increased contribution limit for taxable years beginning in a calendar year after 2013.

Date: 2013-03-07
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Mental Health on Campus Improvement Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award grants to eligible institutions of higher education to improve mental and behavioral health services and outreach on college and university campuses.

Directs the Secretary to give special consideration to programs that: (1) demonstrate the greatest need, (2) propose effective approaches for initiating or expanding campus services, (3) target underserved and at-risk populations, (4) coordinate with a community mental health center or other community mental health resources, (5) identify how the college or university will address psychiatric emergencies, and (6) demonstrate the greatest potential for replication and dissemination.

Allows the Secretary to provide technical assistance to grantees.

Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to convene an interagency, public-private sector working group to plan, establish, and begin coordinating and evaluating a targeted public education campaign that is designed to focus on mental and behavioral health on college campuses.

Requires the Secretary to establish the College Campus Task Force to discuss mental and behavioral health concerns on college and university campuses.

Date: 2013-03-12
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Health
Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income payments under the federal veterinary medicine loan repayment program or any other state loan repayment or forgiveness program that is intended to provide for increased access to veterinary services in such state.

Date: 2013-03-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Creating Access to Residency Education Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make grants to or contracts with eligible partnerships between state or local governments and private entities to support the creation of new medical residency training programs or slots within existing programs in underserved states in which there is a low physician-resident-to-general-population ratio.

Requires any partnership to consist of: (1) a state with fewer than 25 medical residents per 100,000 population or a local government within such a state, and (2) a public or nonprofit teaching hospital or an accredited graduate medical education (GME) training program.

Directs the Administrator in any grant or contract to require matching funds consisting of: (1) a public or private entity contribution of one-third of the cost of the medical residency program or new slots in an existing program, (2) a state or local government contribution of one-third, and (3) a CMS contribution of one-third.

Requires the Administrator in awarding grants and contracts to give preference to eligible partnerships: (1) in which the participating state has 20 or fewer medical residents per 100,000 population or the participating local government is within such a state, (2) in which the state involved has a population over 15 million and less than 10% percent of the nation's residency slots, or (3) which fund new GME programs or slots within existing programs in the field of family medicine, internal medicine and its subspecialties, geriatrics, or pediatrics.

Date: 2013-03-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Health
Equal Access to Quality Education Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive matching grants to partnerships between high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to establish or support: (1) teacher preparation programs, and (2) teacher induction and retention programs.

Requires the teacher preparation programs to: (1) require participants to complete at least one year of residency followed by at least three years of teaching at the LEA's high-need schools, and (2) award participants a teaching credential or degree that meets state requirements for a teaching license or certification upon completion of the program.

Requires the teacher induction and retention programs to use high-quality mentoring, teacher collaboration, and research-based instructional practices to: (1) support and advance the retention of beginning teachers and principals, and (2) promote effective teaching and leadership skills.

Allows the grants to be used for certain other activities designed to improve the quality of education in high-need areas.

Gives grant priority to partnerships that: (1) use a valid and reliable teacher performance assessment and have a plan to recruit teachers from among minority and local candidates and the disabled; or (2) use that assessment and include an IHE that is eligible to participate in the TEACH Grant program, a Tribal College or University, an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution, a Hispanic-serving institution, or a historically Black college and university.

Date: 2013-03-21
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
STEM Education Opportunity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) individual taxpayers a deduction from gross income for STEM (i.e., science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) higher education expenses; and (2) a business-related tax credit for contributions of STEM property (e.g., computer equipment and software, microscopes, and lab equipment), services, and training made to an elementary or secondary school to promote education in the biological sciences, mathematics, earth and physical sciences, computer and information science, engineering, geosciences, and social and behavioral sciences. Defines "STEM higher education expenses" to include any expenses incurred by an individual attending an institution of higher education who is majoring in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.

Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to submit to Congress a report detailing: (1) the efficacy of this Act in increasing higher education enrollment in the fields of mathematics, science, engineering, and technology; and (2) any effect this Act has had on the price of higher education tuition in such fields.

Date: 2013-03-21
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the 3.4% interest rate on Federal Direct Stafford loans to loans first disbursed to undergraduate students between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2015.

Date: 2013-04-09
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Honorable Stephanie Tubbs Jones College Fire Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make competitive demonstration grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs), fraternities, and sororities for up to half the cost of installing approved fire suppression systems in student housing and dormitories owned or controlled by such entities.

Gives grant priority to applicants that demonstrate the greatest financial need.

Reserves the following portions of grant funds made available for each fiscal year: (1) at least 10% for historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and IHEs that are eligible for Institutional Aid under the Higher Education Act of 1965; and (2) at least 10% for social fraternities and sororities.

Provides that any application for assistance under this Act, any negative determination on the part of the Secretary with respect to such application, or any statement of reasons for the determination, shall not be admissible as evidence in any proceeding of any court, agency, board, or other entity (except a proceeding to enforce an agreement entered into between the Secretary and a grantee under this Act).

Date: 2013-04-09
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2013 - 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: 2013-04-09
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Student Loan Interest Deduction Act of 2013 - 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: 2013-04-12
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Student Aid Expansion Act of 2013 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to exempt interest-free private education loans that are provided and administered by a state and eligible for complete forgiveness under conditions determined by that state from rules and regulations applicable to preferred lender arrangements between lenders and institutions of higher education (IHE) or IHE-affiliated organizations. (Preferred lender arrangements must comply with certain requirements designed to protect students' best interests when schools choose preferred lenders and recommend, promote, or endorse their loans.)

Date: 2013-04-12
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Student Loan Relief Act of 2013 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the 3.4% interest rate on Federal Direct Stafford loans to loans first disbursed to undergraduate students between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2015.

Date: 2013-04-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Campus Fire Safety Education Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or consortiums of such institutions for: (1) initiating, expanding, or improving fire safety education programs; and (2) increasing fire safety awareness among enrolled students.

Directs the Secretary to give priority to institutions that plan to use funds to initiate, expand, or improve fire safety education programs that include educational material specifically prepared for students with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities. Sets forth provisions regarding grant periods, limits on awards, and matching and other requirements.

Requires an institution to use grant funds to initiate, expand, or improve a fire safety education program that: (1) reaches all enrolled students; (2) ensures maximum exposure to and increased awareness of, and that effectuates change in behavior regarding, fire safety by students through conducting outreach to students a minimum of twice per academic year and through measures that provide fire safety information to any student upon request; (3) includes minimum instruction regarding fire behavior, fire injury and death, ignition scenarios, fire safety systems and equipment, the importance of means of egress, fire prevention techniques, and actions to be taken if a fire occurs to minimize the potential for death, injury, and property damage; and (4) includes a mechanism for carrying out evaluations of program effectiveness.

Requires the Secretary to publish a report of best practices for initiating, expanding, or improving fire safety education programs.

Date: 2013-04-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of State to carry out, in cooperation with the government of India, the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative comprised of educational, scholarly, and professional exchange programs.

Date: 2013-04-24
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: International affairs
Veterans' STEM Education Program - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay an additional appropriate amount to each individual entitled to post 9/11 educational assistance who is pursuing a program of education with a STEM focus (science, technology, engineering, and math). Makes such amount in addition to any other educational assistance to which the individual is entitled.

Requires information on such additional payments to be included in a currently-required annual VA educational assistance report.

Date: 2013-04-26
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Home School Equity Act for Tax Relief of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2013 the tax deduction for expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers, and (2) expand the definition of "school" for purposes of such tax deduction to include a home school which provides elementary or secondary education if such school is treated as a home school or private school under state law.

Date: 2013-05-07
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Partnerships for Achieving Student Success Act or the PASS Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive, renewable, five-year grants to partnerships between low-income local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools offering graduate programs in school counseling, school social work, school psychology, or psychology to increase the number of program graduates employed by low-income LEAs.

Defines "low-income LEAs" as those that: (1) serve students at least 20% of which are from low-income families; (2) have ratios of school counselors, school social workers, and psychologists to students that fall at least 10% below specified target ratios; and (3) have been identified as needing improvement or corrective action or that include at least one school identified as needing improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Requires the use of the grant funds to:

 provide program graduate students with field training at partnership LEA schools; contribute to program graduates' salaries at such schools for up to three years after they graduate; increase the number of school counselors, school social workers, and psychologists per student in such schools; recruit, hire, and retain culturally or linguistically under-represented graduate students in school counseling, school social work, or school psychology; enhance the capacity of partnership graduate schools to train such professionals; develop course work designed to facilitate such graduates' service to low-income LEAs and at-risk students; and provide tuition credits to such graduate students and student loan forgiveness to program graduates employed as school counselors, school social workers, or psychologists by low-income LEAs for at least five consecutive years. Directs the Secretary to establish a program providing student loan forgiveness to non-participants in this Act's grant program who have been employed for at least five consecutive years as school counselors, school social workers, or psychologists by low-income LEAs.

Requires the Secretary to identify a formula for future use in designating regions as eligible for benefit programs due to their having a shortage of such school personnel.

Date: 2013-05-07
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Stability to Ensure the American Dream for Youth Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the 3.4% interest rate on Direct Stafford loans first disbursed to undergraduate students between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2013, to Direct Stafford loans first disbursed to undergraduate students before July 1, 2017.

Date: 2013-05-08
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013 - (Sec. 2) Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to set the annual interest rate on Direct Stafford loans and Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans issued to undergraduate students at the rate on high-yield 10-year Treasury notes plus 2.05%, but caps that rate at 8.25%.

Sets the annual interest rate on Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans issued to graduate or professional students at the rate on high-yield 10-year Treasury notes plus 3.6%, but caps that rate at 9.5%.

Sets the annual interest rate on Direct PLUS loans at the rate on high-yield 10-year Treasury notes plus 4.6%, but caps that rate at 10.5%.

Limits the applicability of the preceding provisions to loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2013.

Fixes the interest rate on Direct Stafford loans, Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans, and Direct PLUS loans for the period of the loan.

Sets the annual interest rate on Direct Consolidation loans for which an application is received on or after July 1, 2013, at the weighted average of the interest rates on the loans consolidated, rounded to the nearest higher one-eighth of 1%.

(Sec. 3) Provides that the budgetary effects of this Act shall not be entered on specified PAYGO scorecards.

(Sec. 4) Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to conduct a study and report to Congress on the actual cost to the federal government of carrying out the federal student loan programs authorized under title IV of the HEA.

Date: 2013-05-09
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: 2013-05-09
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Proprietary Institution of Higher Education Accountability Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education, in calculating the cohort default rate for a proprietary institution of higher education, to treat its current and former students who have received a specified forbearance or deferment of over six months on direct loans before the end of the second fiscal year after they enter repayment on such loans, as students who have defaulted on such loans before the end of such second fiscal year.

Applies that calculation to forbearances: (1) that have been agreed to by the parties to an insured loan and approved by the insurer, or (2) for borrowers whose educational debt burden equals or exceeds 20% of their income.

Applies that calculation to deferments for borrowers who: (1) are seeking and unable to find full-time employment, or (2) have or will experience an economic hardship.

Date: 2013-05-09
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to limit the unpaid amount of Direct Stafford loans that students may amass before completing their undergraduate education. Varies that limit on the basis of whether a student is a dependent student, independent student, or dependent student whose parents are unable to borrow a Direct PLUS loan.

Limits the amount of Direct Stafford loans that students may borrow in any academic year before the completion of their undergraduate studies. Varies that limit on the basis of whether a student: (1) is a dependent student, independent student, or dependent student whose parents are unable to borrow a Direct PLUS loan; and (2) has or has not successfully completed the first year or first and second years of their undergraduate studies.

Sets the annual interest rate on Direct loans at the bond equivalent rate on 91-day Treasury bills plus a percentage that: (1) represents the total cost of administering the Direct Loan program and borrower benefits, and (2) results in the program being revenue neutral for the applicable 12-month period. Allows the Secretary of Education to use different percentages under that formula for the Direct Stafford Loan, Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, PLUS Loan, and Consolidation Loan programs.

Caps the annual interest rate for Direct Stafford loans at 6.8%, and for Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans and Direct PLUS and Consolidation loans at 8.25%

Directs the Secretary to charge the borrower of a Direct PLUS loan an origination fee of up to 3% of the loan principal.

Limits the applicability of the preceding provisions to loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2013.

Authorizes the Secretary to refinance federal PLUS and Stafford loans to permit borrowers to obtain an interest rate determined pursuant to this Act's provisions.

Allows the Secretary to charge borrowers an administrative fee for refinancing such loans that does not exceed 0.5% of the loan principal.

Date: 2013-05-09
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to convene an Advisory Committee on Improving Postsecondary Education Data that: (1) is comprised of 15 members who represent economically, racially, and geographically diverse populations; and (2) includes higher education stakeholders, state officials, business representatives, college and career counselors at secondary schools, and experts in higher education policy, consumer choice, privacy, labor markets, and data policy, collection, and use.

Requires the Committee to study:

 the types of information the federal government should collect and report on institutions of higher education (IHEs) to assist students and families in their search for an IHE, including information related to postsecondary education costs, financial assistance, student outcomes, and postgraduation earnings; how that information should be collected and reported, including how to disaggregate student outcome information by student subgroups; and ways in which the federal government could make that information more readily available to students and their families in an easily accessible and understandable format, and to states, local governments, secondary schools, IHEs, and private-sector entities. Requires the Committee, in conducting the study, to: (1) review relevant research concerning the types of information students and parents seek in searching for an IHE; (2) consider the utility of the information currently reported and whether additional information would be beneficial or confusing; and (3) consult with parents, students, and a broad range of parties interested in higher education.

Directs the Committee to submit an interim and final report on the study to Congress and the Secretary. Requires the Committee, after consulting with the Commissioner of Education Statistics, to include in its final report recommendations for legislative, regulatory, and administrative actions to improve the information the federal government collects and reports on IHEs.

Date: 2013-05-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act of 2013 - Amends the Higher Educaton Act of 1965 to eliminate the expected family contribution used in determining Pell Grant eligibility in the case of a student applicant whose parent or guardian died as a result of performing service as a police officer, firefighter, or other public safety officer.

Date: 2013-05-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to provide the Secretary of Education, from the combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System, with the amount the Secretary determines to be reasonably necessary to award Direct Stafford Loans during the award year beginning July 1, 2013, to all eligible students attending participating institutions of higher education selected by the Secretary.

Prohibits appropriated funds from being used for Direct Stafford Loans made during that period.

Sets the interest rate on Direct Stafford Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2013, and before July 1, 2014, at the primary credit rate charged by the Federal Reserve banks on July 1, 2013.

Date: 2013-05-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to verify that individuals who are applying for Direct Consolidation loans on the following bases are in fact:

 currently eligible for income contingent repayment or income-based repayment of a loan that has been submitted to a guaranty agency for default aversion or is already in default; employed in a public service job and thereby eligible to participate in the public service loan forgiveness program; or a member of a regular or reserve component of the Armed Forces and thereby eligible to benefit from the no accrual of interest for active duty service members program.

Date: 2013-05-15
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: 2013-05-15
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Truth in Tuition Act of 2013 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) to provide each student admitted to 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 determines to be appropriate.

Date: 2013-05-16
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education