zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Hunger Free Schools Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make performance awards to states that demonstrate outstanding performance or show substantial improvement in directly certifying as eligible for free meals under the school lunch and breakfast programs any children whose families are eligible for supplemental nutrition assistance under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. (Direct certification eliminates the need for such families to submit applications for participation in the school lunch and breakfast programs.) Requires each state that directly certifies less than 95% of their children who are eligible for direct certification to implement: (1) a corrective action plan for the current school year; and (2) a direct certification improvement plan, approved by the Secretary, for the following school year. Requires direct certification of children who are members of a household that includes a child: (1) who is eligible for and receiving assistance under title XIX (Medicaid) or title XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program [CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP]) of the Social Security Act; and (2) whose income does not exceed 133% of the federal poverty level. Directs the Secretary to award grants to states to assist them in implementing such certification program. Allows local educational agencies (LEAs) to directly certify children whose household is eligible for a supplemental subsistence allowance for low-income members of the Armed Forces with dependents. Permits schools and LEAs to receive special assistance payments for free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs that are based not on applications for such meals, but on: (1) estimates, made from recent socioeconomic data, of the number of children eligible for such meals; or (2) if the school or LEA is from a high poverty area, the direct certification of a specified minimum percentage of their students as eligible for free meals due to their eligibility for certain other public assistance. Requires such schools and LEAs to provide free meals to all their students under the school lunch and breakfast programs and cover, from nonfederal sources, the costs of serving such meals that exceed the assistance received under such programs.

Date: 2009-06-24
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Prescribe A Book Act - Creates a Pediatric Early Literacy program under which the Secretary of Education awards matching grants to nonprofit organizations for the implementation of three-part models through which: (1) health care providers encourage parents to read aloud to their children and offer them recommendations and strategies for doing so; (2) health care providers give each visiting child between the ages of six months and five-years a new, developmentally appropriate children's book to take home and keep; and (3) volunteers reading to children in health care facility waiting areas show parents the techniques and pleasures of reading aloud to children. Requires that the books provided to children under the program be obtained at a discount.

Date: 2009-06-24
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Incentives to Educate American Children Act of 2009 or the I Teach Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a tax credit of $1,000 for: (1) teachers in public elementary or secondary schools or public kindergartens in rural areas or areas with high poverty; and (2) teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Grants a credit of $2,000 for a teacher meeting both criteria.

Date: 2009-06-25
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Success in the Middle Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to states, based on their proportion of poor children aged 5 to 17, to: (1) implement state middle grades needs analyses and, on the basis of such analyses, improvement plans that describe what students must master to complete successfully the middle grades and succeed in academically rigorous high school coursework; and (2) award competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) or partnerships of LEAs and institutions of higher education, educational service agencies, or educational nonprofit organizations to implement a comprehensive middle school improvement plan for each eligible school. Favors LEAs, or partnerships that include LEAs, that serve high proportions of poor children and children attending eligible schools. Defines "eligible schools" as those where: (1) a high proportion of middle grade students matriculate to high schools with graduation rates below 65%; (2) more than 25% of the students who finish grade six, or the school's earliest middle grade level, exhibit key risk factors for failure; and (3) a majority of middle grade students are not rated proficient on required state assessments in mathematics, reading, or language arts. Permits states to make subgrants to LEAs and partnerships that did not receive a competitive subgrant to assist them in applying for competitive subgrants and developing comprehensive middle school improvement plans. Provides the Secretary with funding to: (1) contract for studies that identify promising practices for, and review existing research to identify factors that might lead to, the improvement of middle grades education; (2) create a national clearinghouse in best middle grade educational practices and a national database identifying factors that facilitate or impede middle grade student achievement; (3) require certain educational field research designed to enhance the performance of middle grade schools and students; (4) create a research and development center that addresses topics pertinent to the middle grades; and (5) provide grants to entities that partner with states and LEAs to develop, adapt, or replicate effective models for turning around low-performing middle grades.

Date: 2009-06-25
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Keeping Parents and Communities Engaged Act or the Keeping PACE Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to award grants to states for competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive school improvement funds under part A of title I of the Act to enable such LEAs to assist public elementary and secondary schools to hire and maintain Parent and Community Outreach Coordinators responsible for improving family and community involvement in such schools. Gives subgrant priority to LEAs targeting schools with the highest proportions of needy students or students failing to meet state academic performance standards. Requires each assisted school to appoint a committee of school officials, parents, and community members to screen Coordinator applicants and evaluate Coordinator performance. Directs state grantees to award competitive subgrants to partnerships between community-based organizations and public schools to connect integrated services and comprehensive supports to students and families to enhance student performance. Gives priority to applicants targeting schools with the highest proportions of needy students or students failing to meet state academic performance standards. Requires state grantees to award competitive matching subgrants to consortiums composed of a school, LEA, mayor, and at least one other community partner to redesign schools as centers of communities that encourage family and community participation in students' education and provide community education. Authorizes the Secretary to contract with a nonprofit organization experienced in providing integrated student supports to: (1) provide technical assistance and training to this Act's grantees and subgrantees; and (2) establish a national information clearinghouse on effective parent, family, and community engagement practices and programs.

Date: 2009-07-08
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to expand eligibility for free school lunches to children who are from areas with greater than fair market rent, if their family income does not exceed 185% of the poverty level. (Currently, children are eligible for free school lunches if their family income does not exceed 130% of the poverty level.)

Date: 2009-07-22
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to prohibit schools and service institutions that participate in the School Lunch program or the School Breakfast program, under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, from serving food that contains trans fats. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) give such schools and service institutions five years to phase-out trans-fatty foods; (2) establish a process for granting hardship waivers to schools or service institutions that face difficulties in meeting such deadline due to contractual obligations or significant financial hardship; and (3) prepare guidance to assist schools and service institutions in transitioning from trans-fatty to healthy oils.

Date: 2009-07-22
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Enhancing Flexibility for Effective Schools Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to alter requirements for adequate yearly progress (AYP) assessments of student groups by: (1) lowering, from 95% to 90%, the minimum percentage of students in each group in a school that must take such assessments; (2) allowing the fractional counting of students who are in more than one group, for each such group; (3) allowing states to treat as proficient or advanced specified scores on alternate assessments for disabled students and those not proficient in English; and (4) allowing states to use alternative methods of defining AYP. Revises criteria for local educational agency (LEA) identification of schools needing improvement. Declares that only those meet such criteria that fail AYP standards, for two consecutive school years (as under current law), in the same subject for the same group of students. Revises eligibility criteria for school transfers after a school is identified as needing improvement. Declares that only failing students in the failing group, instead of all students in such a school, may transfer. Allows such schools to provide students with supplemental services rather than transfers during that school year. Requires states to develop procedures allowing LEAs to register complaints concerning approved supplemental service providers or those seeking the state's approval. Considers new middle or secondary school special education teachers to be highly qualified if, in addition to having a bachelor degree and high competence in their subject area, they have obtained a state special education certificate qualifying them to teach in the state.

Date: 2009-08-05
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Safety for Our Schoolchildren Act of 2009 - Requires states and local educational agencies (LEAs) to: (1) obtain an FBI background check on individuals prior to offering them employment as school employees; and (2) if the check identifies them as sexual predators, report their application to local law enforcement. Prohibits states or LEAs from hiring individuals as: (1) school employees if they have been convicted of a crime of violence or other felony; or (2) school bus drivers if they have been convicted of, or pled guilty to, drunk driving or a serious moving violation. Withholds funds available to states for planning and administration and to LEAs as subgrants under part A of title II (Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, if they violate such prohibitions or fail to take such actions.

Date: 2009-08-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Healthy Food for Healthy Schools Act of 2009 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) provide states, school food authorities, local educational agencies, and local processing entities with model product specifications and practices for foods offered in the school lunch and breakfast programs so that such foods reflect the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans; (2) analyze, and report to Congress on, the quantity and quality of nutritional information available to school food authorities about food service products and commodities; and (3) purchase, to the maximum extent possible, the widest variety of healthful foods for the school lunch and breakfast programs that reflect the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Date: 2009-09-08
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Safe Food for Schools Act of 2009 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) develop guidelines for determining when it is appropriate to institute an administrative hold on suspect commodities and products being used in school meal programs; (2) work with states to increase their timeliness in notifying schools of food recalls; (3) improve the timeliness and completeness of direct communication with schools about holds and recalls; (4) establish a timeframe for improving commodity hold and recall procedures so that they address the role of processors and distributors, thereby facilitating the provision of more timely and complete information to schools; (5) revise procedures to provide states with more specific instructions for schools about how to dispose of recalled commodities and products and obtain timely reimbursement; and (6) institute a systematic quality check procedure to ensure that holds on commodities and products used by schools are carried out effectively. Directs the Secretary, within one year of this Act's enactment, to revise the procedures of the Food Safety and Inspection Service to ensure that schools are included in recall effectiveness checks.

Date: 2009-09-22
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Graduation Promise Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for differentiated high school improvement systems targeting support to schools with low student achievement and graduation rates after such schools fail for two consecutive years to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) pursuant to state academic performance standards. Allots grant funds to states pursuant to a formula that favors states with low graduation rates and a high percentage of students attending low-income LEAs. Requires state grantees to establish comprehensive school performance indicators and minimum annual improvement benchmarks for use, in addition to current AYP measures, in analyzing school performance and determining the improvement category into which a school is placed. Directs LEA subgrantees to: (1) categorize each of their schools that fail to make AYP for two consecutive years as needing targeted intervention, whole school reforms, or replacement; (2) convene a local school improvement team for each of such schools that will use performance indicators, AYP measures, and other relevant data to conduct a school needs assessment and develop a multiyear school improvement plan tailored to the school's need categorization; and (3) support the successful implementation of such plans and district-wide high school improvement strategies. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to LEAs, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education to develop and implement, or replicate, effective secondary school models for struggling students and dropouts.

Date: 2009-09-23
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Student Attendance Success Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to states and, through them, competitive, renewable, three-year grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for programmatic initiatives aimed at improving academic achievement by keeping students in school. Requires subgrant applicants to demonstrate that their schools have a history of significant truancy in grades five through nine. Requires subgrantees to use their subgrant, to the extent practicable, to partner with a community-based organization to create such programmatic initiatives. Directs the Secretary to award a grant to an nonprofit organization to establish and operate a National Resource Center on Positive Youth Development and School Success to serve as a font of information, training, and research aimed at thwarting students' risky behavior and enhancing their academic performance. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to define truancy, for purposes of this Act and the requirement that states collect truancy data under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program, as the unexcused absence: (1) for three consecutive school days of a child required to attend elementary school; and (2) for three or more class periods on each of three consecutive school days of a child required to attend middle or secondary school.

Date: 2009-09-24
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Student-to-School Nurse Ratio Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make demonstration grants to states in which the student-to-school nurse ratio in public secondary schools, elementary schools, and kindergarten is 750 or more students to every school nurse to reduce such ratio.

Date: 2009-11-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Health
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to schools that are receiving school improvement funds under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and are located in areas that have a high prevalence of asthma so they can: (1) develop and implement an asthma management plan; and (2) purchase the asthma inhalers, spacers, and other supplies necessary for the relief and treatment of affected students. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to local health or education departments to carry out such activities if they are the entities that would routinely carry out such activities in an area. Requires grantees to: (1) find innovative ways to encourage rapid bidirectional communication between schools and students' physicians and students' adherence to asthma treatment; and (2) ensure that they have on staff a nurse or individual who is trained to administer emergency asthma care.

Date: 2009-11-30
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Concussion Treatment and Care Tools Act of 2009 or the ConTACT Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) establish concussion management guidelines that address the prevention, identification, treatment, and management of concussions in school-aged children, including standards for student athletes to return to play after a concussion; and (2) convene a conference of medical, athletic, and educational stakeholders to establish such guidelines. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to states for: (1) adopting, disseminating, and ensuring the implementation by schools of the guidelines; and (2) funding implementation by schools of computerized preseason baseline and post-injury neuropsychological testing for student athletes. Directs the Secretary to require states to utilize, to the extent practicable, applicable expertise and services offered by local chapters of national brain injury organizations.

Date: 2009-12-04
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Health
Rehabilitation of Historic Schools Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow rehabilitation expenditures for a qualified public educational facility (defined as a school facility which is part of a public elementary or secondary school and is owned by a private, for-profit corporation pursuant to a public-private partnership agreement) to qualify for the rehabilitation tax credit.

Date: 2010-01-29
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to reimburse summer food service programs for children in service institutions and food programs for children in afterschool care for free meals or snacks served to children in areas where at least 40% (currently, 50%) of the children meet the income eligibility criteria for free or reduced price meals under the school lunch and breakfast programs. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to award competitive grants to service institutions to increase participation at congregate feeding sites in summer food service programs for children through innovative approaches to limited rural transportation.

Date: 2010-02-25
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Improving 21st Century Community Learning Centers Act of 2010 - Amends the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program under title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include the provision of service learning and nutrition education and, in place of recreation programs, physical fitness and wellness programs, among the activities for which community learning centers will receive funding. Raises from 3% to 5% the percentage of program funds a state may use for monitoring, evaluating, and providing training and technical assistance to community learning center grantees. Makes community learning center grants renewable for a period of between three and five years.

Date: 2010-03-03
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Healthy Living Starts Early Act of 2010 - Amends the child and adult care food program of the the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to: (1) require subsidized food served to children in child care centers and day care homes to meet the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans and certain authoritative scientific recommendations; (2) prohibit such food from being used as a punishment or reward; (3) allow nondairy substitutes to be served to children who cannot consume milk, provided the substitutes are nutritionally equivalent to milk and meet certain nutritional standards; (4) require the use of foods, to the extent practicable, that are in abundance nationally or in the food service area, or are donated by the Secretary of Agriculture; (5) require the Secretary to encourage participants to provide children with daily opportunities for age-appropriate moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity and limit children's use of electronic media; and (6) require the Secretary to provide technical assistance and guidance to participants in complying with these requirements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) coordinate with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to encourage states to include nutrition and wellness within their licensing standards for such facilities; and (2) conduct recurring, nationally representative assessments of facility nutrition and wellness programs. Requires the Secretary to reconvene a working group to examine, and report to Congress regarding, the feasibility of reducing the paperwork burden on states and program participants. Requires institutions participating in the program to enter into a permanent agreement with their state that may be terminated for convenience or cause. Alters program application and review requirements, eliminating the three-year reapplication process and scheduled annual site visits. Allows Tier II day care homes (those not located in low-income areas or operated by low-income providers) to assist in the transmission, with parental consent, of household income information to their sponsoring organizations. Sets forth an administrative costs reimbursement formula for day care home sponsoring organizations.

Date: 2010-03-16
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Healthy Local Policies for Schools Act of 2010 or HELP Schools Act of 2010 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to replace the nutrition promotion program with a program that requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to ensure that their local wellness policies: (1) include goals for nutrition and physical education, physical activity, on-campus food marketing and advertising, and other school-based activities that promote nutrition and wellness throughout the extended school day; (2) include plans for implementing, and measuring the implementation of, such policies; (3) require reimbursable school meals to meet certain nutritional guidelines; and (4) require the nutritional guidelines for nonreimbursable foods and beverages sold in schools to be in compliance with standards established by the Secretary of Agriculture. Requires each LEA, within two years of this Act's enactment and every three years thereafter, to complete and disseminate an assessment of their local wellness policy. Directs each LEA to designate a standing Local Wellness Policy Committee made up of education, health, and nutrition stakeholders to foster the integration of a local wellness policy that meets this Act's requirements with other health-related activities in the LEA's schools and community. Requires the Secretary to: (1) provide technical assistance and outreach to key state and local stakeholders to promote effective local wellness policies; and (2) prepare a report, in conjunction with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on the implementation, strength, and effectiveness of local wellness policies.

Date: 2010-03-16
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Healthy Food in Schools Act of 2010 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to replace the farm-to-cafeteria program with a program providing schools, state and local agencies, Indian tribes, agricultural producers, and nonprofits with competitive matching grants and technical assistance to improve access to local foods by schools participating in the school lunch or breakfast programs. Gives priority to projects that: (1) benefit local small- and medium-sized farms; (2) serve a high proportion of children who are eligible for free or reduced price lunches; and (3) incorporate experiential nutrition education by involving school children in farm and garden-based agricultural education activities. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) promote the use of salad or fruit and vegetable bars in schools participating in the school lunch program; (2) provide training and technical assistance to states and schools on the best manner for doing so; and (3) provide grants to states for a one-time payment to schools for the cost of setting up and operating salad or fruit and vegetable bars. Directs the Secretary to identify and remove barriers to the equitable purchase of fruits and vegetables within the Secretary's procurement and distribution systems. Authorizes the Secretary to use administrative funds under the Act's fresh fruit and vegetable program to provide program participants with technical assistance and national and regional training conferences that emphasize best practices. Directs the Secretary to promulgate a final rule, by October 20, 2011, updating the nutrition standards and meal requirements for school meal programs so they are consistent with the findings of a specified review conducted by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Requires the Secretary to allocate funds to states, in proportion to each state's administrative expense allocation under the school lunch and breakfast programs, so they can award competitive grants to school food authorities for the equipment needed to prepare, process, and store food for the school lunch program.

Date: 2010-03-18
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Weekends Without Hunger Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to implement a five-year pilot program providing commodities to nonprofits for the provision of nutritious food to at-risk school children on weekends and during extended school holidays during the school year. (At-risk school children are those who participate in the school lunch program and reside in an area served by a school in which at least 50% of the students receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs.) Includes elementary and secondary schools, school food authorities, and emergency feeding agencies as eligible nonprofit recipients of such commodities. Requires commodity recipients to satisfy safe food storage, handling, and delivery standards established by the Secretary.

Date: 2010-04-29
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Healthy Schools Partnerships Act of 2010 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a demonstration project awarding grants to school food authorities that collaborate with academic experts, nonprofit organizations, registered dietitians or other nutrition professionals, community partners, and local schools to test and evaluate innovative models to improve nutrition education, student decisionmaking, and healthy school environments. Gives grant priority to school food authorities that demonstrate: (1) a severe need to improve the school environment; (2) a commitment by community partners to make in-kind or cash contributions; and (3) the ability to measure results.

Date: 2010-05-11
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Child Nutrition Enhancement Act of 2010 - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to replace the team nutrition network program with the wellness and nutrition network (TWNN) program: a nationwide, multidisciplinary program that promotes healthy eating and physical activity by children and is funded and overseen at the federal level, administered at the state level, and implemented at the local level. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and carry out a comprehensive, integrated national strategy that coordinates federal, state, and local efforts to promote and support healthy eating, physical activity, and positive behavioral changes. Requires the Secretary to provide grants to states to: (1) establish a comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated wellness and nutrition network in their state; and (2) allocate funding to local educational agencies (LEAs) and other institutions providing services under the child nutrition programs to support child nutrition promotion and education. Requires LEAs and other institutions to use such funds to: (1) implement, assess, or strengthen a local wellness policy established under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act; (2) improve the nutritional quality of meals and snacks served through the child nutrition programs; (3) increase children's acceptance of nutritious meals and snacks; (4) implement federal, state, or other health guidelines; (5) provide children with regular physical activity; or (6) work with public and private organizations to promote and support healthy eating and physical activity.

Date: 2010-05-27
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to: (1) award grants to encourage the establishment and operation of Teachers Institutes; and (2) provide technical assistance, all or some of which may be provided through the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, to assist local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) in establishing and operating Teachers Institutes. Sets forth selection criteria, including consideration of the extent to which the proposed Institute will serve schools that have a significant low-income population. Defines a Teachers Institute as a partnership or joint venture between one or more IHEs and one or more LEAs serving one or more schools with significant low-income populations that is established to improve the quality of teaching and learning through collaborative seminars.

Date: 2010-06-16
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Sandy Feldman Kindergarten Plus Act of 2010 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states to provide Kindergarten Plus (K+) programs of voluntary full days of kindergarten during the summer before and the summer after their traditional kindergarten school year. Directs the Secretary to ensure, to the extent possible, that each grant is of sufficient size to enable the state to provide K+ to all eligible students served by the local educational agencies (LEAs) within the state with the highest concentrations of eligible students. Makes children eligible to participate in such programs if they are: (1) five-years old or will be eligible to attend kindergarten at the beginning of the next school year; (2) from a family with an income at or below 185% of the poverty line; and (3) not already served by a high-quality program in the summer before or the summer after the child enters kindergarten. Requires states, in awarding subgrants, to give priority to LEAs that: (1) serve the greatest number or percentage of eligible students; and (2) propose to reduce class size and student-to-teacher ratios in K+ significantly below the average ratios in regular kindergarten classes served by the LEA. Provides for direct grants to LEAs whose states do not apply for grants. Sets forth K+ teacher and personnel quality standards.

Date: 2010-06-30
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
No Child Left Behind Reform Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to allow states to include measures of individual or cohort growth over time in determining whether students are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic performance standards. Eliminates the consideration of student attendance rates. Allows schools to be given credit for performing well on measures other than test scores when calculating student achievement. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive: (1) grants to state educational agencies to develop or increase the capacity of data systems for accountability purposes; and (2) subgrants to increase the capacity of local educational agencies to upgrade, create, or manage information databases for the purpose of measuring AYP. Revises the definition of highly qualified teacher to authorize states to: (1) use a generalist exam for middle school teachers; and (2) issue certificates that qualify teachers to teach a number of subjects in social studies or in science.

Date: 2010-06-30
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Promoting Health as Youth Skills In Classrooms And Life Act - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish an Office of Safe and Healthy Students in the Department of Education to assume the responsibilities of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools and expand such responsibilities to broader health and physical education issues. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states to establish standards for health education and physical education, and measure student progress toward such standards, beginning not later than school year 2012-2013, at least one time during: (1) grades 3 through 5; (2) grades 6 through 9; and (3) grades 10 through 12. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to, and enter into contracts with, local educational agencies (LEAs), community-based organizations, and nonprofit organizations to initiate, expand, and improve health education programs for students in kindergarten through grade 12, especially in rural areas. Authorizes appropriations for FY2012 for the Carol M. White Physical Education Program, which provides matching grants to LEAs and community-based organizations to initiate, expand, and improve physical education programs (including after-school programs) for students in kindergarten through grade 12.

Date: 2010-08-02
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Achievement Through Prevention Act - Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to allow states, local educational agencies, and schools to use school improvement funds to implement schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports and early intervening services and coordinate them with similar activities carried out under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (Early intervening services are a set of coordinated services for students in kindergarten through grade 12 who are not currently identified as needing special education or related services, but who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education environment.) Amends part D of title I of the ESEA to require states that receive funds for the education of neglected or delinquent children or youth to use positive behavioral interventions and supports and early intervening services to improve such students' academic performance and reduce their need for discipline.

Date: 2010-08-05
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2010 - Amends the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to require: (1) states to use grants for safe and drug-free schools to collect and report information on the incidence of bullying and harassment; and (2) local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools to use subgrants to prevent and respond to incidents of bullying and harassment. Requires such LEAs or schools to: (1) notify parents and students annually of conduct prohibited in their school discipline policies, that now must include bullying and harassment; and (2) establish grievance procedures for students and parents to register complaints regarding such conduct.

Date: 2010-08-05
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Flexibility and Innovation in Education Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states, with the Secretary of Education's approval, to use academic indicators, in addition to annual student academic assessments, to determine which schools and local educational agencies need improvement, corrective action, or restructuring due to their failure to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic performance standards. (Currently, the use of such indicators may not result in a reduction in the number of schools identified as needing improvement, corrective action, or restructuring.) Requires the academic assessments to represent at least 50% of the factors used in measuring AYP. Allows states to: (1) measure AYP in terms of adequate yearly growth, thereby requiring students to meet academic growth rather than proficiency standards; (2) use assessments that are in addition to the required academic assessments; and (3) conduct their academic assessments once during grades 3 through 5, grades 6 through 8, and grades 9 through 12. Requires each state that measures AYP in terms of student academic growth to have a statewide privacy-protected data system capable of tracking individual students' growth. Authorizes the Secretary to provide grants to states to take specified measures to protect the privacy of information in their statewide education data systems. Revises state educational improvement plan peer review provisions to: (1) require each peer review panel to include representatives of specified education stakeholders; (2) ensure the consistency of peer review decisions from state to state; and (3) provide states with feedback, and the public with information, regarding such decisions. Requires states to disaggregate graduation rate data on their annual report cards by student subgroups.

Date: 2010-09-13
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Improving Student Testing Act of 2010 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states to use a formula grant for the development and administration of the student academic achievement assessments, used in determining whether local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward student proficiency, to design and implement additional high-quality and innovative assessments. Replaces the program providing competitive grants to states for enhanced assessment instruments with a program awarding competitive grants to states and LEAs to design and implement high-quality and innovative assessments that measure higher-order thinking skills, align with academic content and achievement standards, and create multiple measures that: (1) serve federal and state accountability purposes; (2) improve classroom instruction; and (3) provide timely and meaningful feedback to students, teachers, principals, and parents. Includes as innovative assessments that may be funded under both programs: (1) performance assessments, measuring students' ability to apply knowledge and skills; (2) technology-based assessments, using technology to develop, administer, and score the assessment; (3) through-course assessments, testing students throughout the school year and resulting in a summative score for the year; (4) adaptive assessments, administering questions to students based on their previous answers; (5) formative assessments, integrated into classroom instruction; (6) interim assessments, given at regular and specified intervals throughout the school year; and (7) alternative assessments for students with disabilities and English language learners. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to cover the costs of the International Trade Administration's trade promotion activities by imposing fees on the businesses that benefit from such activities.

Date: 2010-09-13
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Investing in Innovation for Education Act of 2010 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) and nonprofit organizations to support the school reform efforts of public schools and LEAs. Requires each grant applicant to demonstrate that it has partnered with at least one private organization that will provide matching funds. Requires each grant to be used to address at least one of the following areas of school reform: (1) improving the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders and promoting their equitable distribution; (2) strengthening the use of data to improve education; (3) providing high-quality instruction that is based on rigorous standards and measuring students' proficiency using high-quality assessments that are aligned to those standards; (4) turning around the lowest-performing schools; and (5) any other area of school reform the Secretary chooses. Directs the Secretary to establish performance measures for tracking each grantee's progress in improving the academic performance of public elementary and secondary school students, and specified subgroups of those students. Requires grantees to use grant funds to develop or expand strategies to improve high-need students' showing on those performance measures.

Date: 2010-09-29
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Diverse Teachers Recruitment Act of 2010 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive matching grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) or nonprofits, educational service agencies, institutions of higher education, or states that enter into partnerships with such LEAs for: (1) recruiting individuals from underrepresented groups as public elementary and secondary school teachers; and (2) providing training and retention incentives to public elementary and secondary school teachers, preferably teachers from underrepresented groups. Prohibits grants to applicants that do not serve schools that have difficulty recruiting, training, and retaining individuals from underrepresented groups as teachers. Gives priority to LEAs that serve the most high-need schools and those that serve schools with high concentrations of poor, minority, disabled, or limited English proficient students. Requires the Secretary to evaluate the success of the grantees and compile a database of best practices for recruiting, training, and retaining individuals from underrepresented groups as public elementary and secondary school teachers.

Date: 2010-09-29
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Teacher Education Assistance Creating Hope for Our Future Act of 2011 or TEACH for Our Future Act of 2011 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand the loan forgiveness available to public elementary and secondary school teachers under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Direct Loan (DL) programs. Makes inapplicable to public school teachers the requirements limiting loan forgiveness to: (1) new borrowers on or after October 1, 1998; and (2) highly qualified teachers in certain schools that serve a high proportion of disadvantaged students. Maintains the requirement that such teachers teach full-time for five consecutive complete school years before becoming eligible for loan forgiveness. Raises to $25,000 the amount of the FFEL or DL outstanding that may be forgiven after a public school teacher's fifth complete school year of teaching. Maintains current loan forgiveness eligibility requirements for private elementary and secondary school teachers.

Date: 2011-01-05
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
National STEM Education Tax Incentive for Teachers Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain full-time elementary and secondary school teachers of math, science, engineering, or technology courses a refundable tax credit for 10% of their undergraduate tuition up to $1,000 in any taxable year. Increases such credit amount to $1,500 for teachers in schools serving disadvantaged children.

Date: 2011-01-05
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Exempts funds made available or transferred to the Department of Defense (DOJ) by other federal agencies to support the National Guard Youth Challenge Program from the matching-funds requirement of such Program.

Date: 2011-01-05
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Restorative Justice in Schools Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow local educational agencies to use title II subgrants to train school personnel in restorative justice and conflict resolution.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Physical Education to Create a Healthier Nation Act - Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states and local educational agencies that receive school improvement funds under such part to ensure that their schools provide: (1) 150 minutes of physical education per week for elementary school students; (2) 225 minutes of physical education per week for middle and secondary school students; and (3) disabled students with such physical education as is determined appropriate under their individualized education programs.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education