zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Teachers at the Table Act - Amends title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish the Volunteer Teacher Advisory Committee to monitor the effects of such title in classrooms, with its focus solely on children and families.

Requires the Committee to be composed of a diverse group of public school classroom teachers who are past or present Teachers of the Year and have experience or training in data collection, analysis, and reporting.

Date: 2013-07-19
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Access to Complete Education Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to promote and strengthen as an integral part of the curriculum one or more of the subjects of music and arts, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, history, geography, and physical education and health.

Gives priority to LEAs that have the greatest numbers or percentages of children from families below the poverty line.

Requires grantees to coordinate, to the extent practicable, their programs to promote or strengthen education in such subjects with opportunities provided by public or private cultural entities, including museums, education associations, libraries, and theaters.

Date: 2013-07-31
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Financial Literacy for Students Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education of 1965 (ESEA) to authorize the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to states to: (1) integrate financial literacy education into each of their public elementary and secondary schools that are eligible for school improvement funds under title I of the ESEA, and (2) train their secondary school financial literacy or entrepreneurship teachers to teach financial literacy in core academic subjects.

Prohibits states from using over 20% of their grant funds to train those teachers, develop curricula, and evaluate the impact of financial literacy or personal finance education.

Date: 2013-08-01
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Transition-to-Success Mentoring Act - Amends title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to reauthorize appropriations under part H (School Dropout Prevention).

Establishes a transition-to-success mentoring program under part H of the ESEA requiring the Secretary of Education to award grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) or partnerships between LEAs and community-based nonprofit organizations to establish, expand, or provide technical support to school-based mentoring programs to assist at-risk students in transitioning from middle to high school.

Requires grantees to assign to each at-risk student in his or her middle school a success coach who:

 creates a plan of success for the student; enters into an agreement with the student's parents regarding their role in implementing such plan; meets with the student at least once a month to assess and assist the student's progress; meets at least once a month with the student and the student's parents, teachers, or counselors to evaluate the student's progress and revise or establish new goals for the next academic year; and serves as the student's advocate between the student's parents and teachers. Authorizes the use of grant funds to: (1) train success coaches, (2) cover the cost of any materials they use under the mentoring program, and (3) hire staff to perform or support program objectives.

Date: 2013-08-01
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Helping Military Children Succeed in Schools Act - Amends the school improvement program under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states to include in their annual state report cards, by the 2015-2016 school year, information on: (1) the number of their military-connected students, and (2) how those students performed in comparison to all their other students on the assessments of student progress toward state academic achievement standards.

Date: 2013-08-01
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students Act of 2013 - Amends title IV (21st Century Schools) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to states to: (1) develop, improve, and implement state reporting and information systems that measure conditions for learning, based on surveys of school students and staff; and (2) award competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) or nonprofit organizations that use such measurement systems to make comprehensive improvements to school-level conditions for learning.

Identifies conditions conducive to learning as those that: (1) promote physical activity, education, fitness, and nutrition; (2) promote mental health; (3) prevent violence, harassment, and substance abuse among students; and (4) promote safe and supportive schools and communities.

Conditions a state's grant eligibility on the state: (1) having a statewide physical education requirement that is consistent with widely recognized standards; and (2) requiring its LEAs to establish policies that prevent and prohibit harassment in schools, to notify students, parents, and educational professionals of prohibited conduct each year, and to provide students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct.

Directs the Secretary to evaluate the programs this Act funds and provide technical assistance to program applicants, grantees, and subgrantees.

Date: 2013-09-18
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Teen Dating Violence Education Act of 2013 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the inclusion of information regarding the legal rights available to teenage victims of dating violence in the education programs created with grants to combat the impact on students of domestic violence.

Date: 2013-10-16
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Reimburse Educators who Pay for Academic Year Supplies Act of 2013 or the REPAY Supplies Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the deduction from gross income (above-the-line deduction) for the classroom-related expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers.

Date: 2013-10-23
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
One Size Does Not Fit All in Education Act - Prohibits the Department of Education from using funds to: (1) develop, implement, or evaluate any set of multistate academic content standards or any assessments aligned with such standards; or (2) award any grant, contract, or cooperative agreement that requires or authorizes those activities.

Prohibits the Secretary of Education from requiring states to adopt such standards or assessments as: (1) an eligibility requirement in an application for federal funds, or (2) a condition for receiving a waiver of statutory or regulatory requirements under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Date: 2013-10-24
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Early Childhood Education Professional Improvement Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to states to:

 provide scholarships that enable preschool teachers employed in an early childhood education program to pursue a bachelor's degree in early childhood education or a closely related field; support preschool teachers employed in an early childhood education program to attain a credential, licensure, or endorsement that demonstrates competence in early childhood education if their bachelor's degree is not in that or a closely related field; increase the compensation of teachers who are making progress toward a degree in early childhood education or who have attained that degree; and provide ongoing professional development opportunities to preschool teachers and teacher assistants employed in an early childhood education program. Requires each state that desires a grant to include a description of its comprehensive early childhood professional development system in its application.

Requires grant recipients to maintain their fiscal effort for the activities supported by the grant funds for a fiscal year at levels equal to or greater than their fiscal effort for such activities during the preceding fiscal year.

Date: 2013-10-28
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Investing in Innovation for Education Act of 2013 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to local educational agencies (LEAs), educational service agencies, and nonprofit organizations that partner with an LEA or consortium of schools to support school innovations.

Requires at least 25% of the grant funds to be awarded for projects in rural areas.

Requires each grant applicant to demonstrate that it has partnered with at least one private entity that will provide matching funds. Allows the Secretary to waive the matching funds requirement upon a showing of exceptional circumstances.

Requires each grant to be used to address at least one of the following areas of school innovation:

 improving the effectiveness and distribution of teachers or principals, strengthening the use of data to improve teaching and learning, providing high-quality instruction that is based on rigorous standards and measuring students' proficiency using high-quality assessments that are aligned to those standards, turning around the lowest-performing schools, supporting the effective use of technology to improve teaching or principals and learning, and any other area of school innovation the Secretary chooses. Directs the Secretary to establish performance measures for tracking each grantee's progress in: (1) improving the academic performance of public elementary and secondary school students, and specified subgroups of those students; and (2) implementing its project in rural schools, as applicable. Requires grantees to use grant funds to develop or expand strategies to improve high-need students' showing on those performance measures.

Date: 2013-10-30
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Teacher Tax Deduction Enhancement Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend until 2020 the tax deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school educators (i.e., teachers, instructors, counselors, principals, or aides); (2) increase to $500 the allowable amount of such deduction for full-time educators (working at least 900 hours during the school year); and (3) allow such tax deduction for educators in preschool programs.

Date: 2013-11-14
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act of 2013 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to condition each state's receipt of ESEA funds, beginning in FY2015, on the state having in effect and enforcing a law or regulation that meets the minimum requirements for the prevention and treatment of concussions set forth in this Act.

Requires each local educational agency in the state to develop and implement a standard plan for concussion safety and management for its public schools that includes: (1) the education of students, parents, and school personnel about concussions through specified activities; (2) specified supports for each student recovering from a concussion; and (3) specified best practices designed to ensure the uniformity of safety standards, treatment, and management.

Requires each public school to post on school grounds and make publicly available on the school website specified information on concussions.

Provides that if any public school personnel suspects that a student has sustained a concussion during a school-sponsored activity: (1) the student is to be immediately removed from participation in that activity and prohibited from participating in school-sponsored athletic activities until the student submits a written release from a health care professional; and (2) that individual is to report all available information regarding the student's injury to a concussion management team that will then confirm and report to the student's parents the date, time, and type of the injury suffered by the student and any actions taken to treat the student.

Requires each concussion management team to include a health care professional, the student's parents, other relevant school personnel, and an individual assigned by the public school to oversee and manage the students' recovery.

Requires the school's concussion management team to consult with and make recommendations to relevant school personnel and the student to ensure that the student is receiving the appropriate academic supports, including: (1) periods of cognitive rest over the course of the school day, (2) modified academic assignments, (3) gradual reintroduction to cognitive demands, and (4) other appropriate academic accommodations or adjustments.

Date: 2013-11-19
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Support Our Students Act of 2013 or the S.O.S. Act of 2013 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to support or develop programs that will train teachers, school personnel, and specialized instructional support personnel regarding mental health conditions in children.

Includes as grant and subgrant recipients, states and LEAs that partner with a mental health organization, family advocacy organization, or community nonprofit organization.

Requires subgrantees to utilize school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, or community organizations with experience in mental illness and suicide prevention in developing and conducting the training.

Requires the training program to include an annual in-service training component that enables teachers, school personnel, and specialized instructional support personnel to: (1) better understand mental health conditions and the early warning signs in children and adolescents; (2) effectively communicate their mental health concerns with families and consider family perspectives; (3) identify classroom strategies for working effectively with troubled children; and (4) understand school specific information, including links to mental health services and supports in the school and community.

Directs the Secretary to develop outcome measures that the Secretary is to use to conduct an in-depth evaluation of the effectiveness of the training programs.

Date: 2013-11-19
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Alerting Local Leaders and Ensuring Responsible Guidelines for Youth Act or the ALLERGY Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to condition each local educational agency's (LEA's) receipt of funds under the ESEA on the LEA establishing and implementing a policy on allergy bullying that requires its schools to:

 educate students, school personnel, and parents about allergy bullying and about such bullying being against school rules; clearly define what the punishment or response may be for violating the rule against allergy bullying, which may include a therapeutic response, where appropriate; encourage each victim of allergy bullying to report such bullying to school personnel; and remain in compliance with the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 in carrying out these requirements. Requires the LEAs to submit an annual written certification to their state that they have established and implemented such policy.

Defines "allergy bullying" as unwanted, aggressive behavior by a student toward another student with an allergy, including: (1) a real or perceived imbalance of power due to such other student's allergy; and (2) actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, making physical or verbal attacks, and excluding such other student from a group on purpose.

Date: 2013-12-05
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Schools of the Future Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive three- to five-year grants to eligible partnerships to implement and evaluate the results of technology-based learning practices, strategies, tools, or courses at rural schools.

Defines "eligible partnerships" as those composed of a school partner, a digital learning partner, and an evaluation partner.

Describes a "school partner" as a: (1) local educational agency, (2) charter school network that does not include virtual schools, (3) consortium of public elementary or secondary schools, (4) regional educational service provider, or (5) consortium of such entities.

Describes a "digital learning partner" as an institution of higher education, a nonprofit organization, or an organization with school development or turnaround experience.

Includes among the grant-funded technology-based learning practices, strategies, tools, or courses, those that: (1) personalize the learning experience, (2) aid and inform instruction, (3) meet the needs of students with specific educational needs, (4) help students develop 21st century skills, and (5) give students access to courses that would otherwise be unavailable to them.

Requires each partnership's evaluation partner, after the third year of the grant, to evaluate the effect of the technology-based learning practices, strategies, tools, or courses on student achievement and its school partner's costs and savings.

Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, to: (1) evaluate the implementation and impact of the activities supported by this Act's grants, (2) identify best practices, and (3) disseminate research on best practices in school leadership.

Date: 2013-12-10
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
416d65726963612043616e20436f6465 Act of 2013 or the America Can Code Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress regarding the importance of instruction in coding and computer programming to students' academic and vocational success, innovations in cyberspace, and our national security and economic competitiveness.

Amends the America COMPETES Act to include computer programming language that is critical to the national security and economic competitiveness of our country as a "critical foreign language," the study of which is included in the teacher education programs and Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate programs funded under that Act.

Amends the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 2006 to provide for: (1) state plans to include coding and computer programming instruction within the career and technical programs of study for which states receive assistance under that Act, and (2) the inclusion of coding and computer programming instruction within the federally-assisted tech prep programs that prepare participants in a career field by providing them with at least two years of secondary education followed by at least two years of postsecondary education or participation in an apprenticeship program.

Directs the Secretary of Education to convene a task force to explore: (1) mechanisms for the development of draft curricula for elementary and secondary computer programming and coding education; (2) a mechanism to collect and share best elementary and secondary school computer programming and coding practices among educators; and (3) a national strategy to ensure competitiveness in emerging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, such as computer programming and coding. Requires the task force to establish an information portal that directs users to coordinated and systematic information on promoting coding and computer programming in elementary and secondary schools.

Date: 2013-12-12
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Broadening Opportunities Through Education Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states that make school attendance compulsory through age 17.

Requires states to use their grant to improve their secondary school programs, such as by:

 establishing or expanding work-based programs that integrate academic and career-based skills; implementing an early warning system that helps high schools and their feeder middle schools identify and assist struggling students; establishing grade and school transition programs and supports; personalizing the school experience and increasing student engagement through service-learning and experiential, work-based, and other learning opportunities; providing extended-learning opportunities by the school day, week, or year; and increasing student supports through activities such as student advisories, counseling, and one-to-one mentoring.

Date: 2013-12-12
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Expanded Access to Real Learning for our Young Act or the EARLY Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states to carry out full-day prekindergarten programs.

Requires those programs to:

 be located at public schools, if practicable, or otherwise carried out by private or other community providers; permit parents, regardless of income, to voluntary enroll their four-year old children in the programs and do so at no cost if their combined income does not exceed 400% of the poverty line; be full-day programs that run the length of the regular school year; maintain a maximum class size of 20 children, with at least 1 prekindergarten teacher per classroom; ensure that the ratio of children to prekindergarten teachers and teacher aides does not exceed 10 to 1; be taught by teachers who are paid a salary comparable to kindergarten through grade 12 teachers at the state's public schools; and meet a minimum level of parental engagement set by the state. Requires the Secretary to give grant priority to states that carry out such programs at public schools.

Prohibits the federal share of a grant from exceeding 75% of the prekindergarten program's costs.

Date: 2013-12-16
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Supporting Community Schools Act of 2013 - Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to authorize local educational agencies (LEAs) to use school improvement funds to transform schools identified as needing improvement, corrective action, or restructuring into community schools. (Schools are identified as needing improvement, corrective action, or restructuring when they fail to make adequate yearly progress [AYP] toward state academic performance standards.)

Defines a "community school" as a public elementary or secondary school that partners with community-based entities, both public and private, to address students' academic, health, and developmental needs while also serving as a community center that provides or hosts relevant community services.

Requires such schools to be based on research into successful practices in: (1) improving student achievement or growth, (2) closing achievement gaps between groups of students, and (3) increasing student attendance and graduation rates.

Authorizes LEAs to use funds under part D (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk) of title I of the ESEA to fund a community school coordinator who will support their community schools.

Date: 2014-01-14
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
School Choice Education Savings Account Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt qualified tuition programs (529 tuition programs) to pay qualified elementary and secondary education expenses. Defines "qualified elementary and secondary education expenses" to include expenses for: (1) tuition, fees, academic tutoring, special need services, books, and supplies and equipment used by an elementary or secondary school student; (2) room and board, uniforms, transportation, and other supplementary items; and (3) the purchase of any computer technology or equipment or Internet access and related services (excluding computer software designed for sports, games, or hobbies not educational in nature).

Date: 2014-01-29
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Supporting Early Learning Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive, matching Quality Pathways grants to states that demonstrate the greatest progress toward establishing a high-quality system of early learning that includes:

 state early learning standards; preservice and ongoing training for staff; the systematic review, rating, and monitoring of early learning programs for ameliorative purposes; parental involvement; health, disability, and family support services and referrals for participating children; an early learning data system; and a process for evaluating children's school readiness and ensuring their effective transition to the public school system. Requires the grant to be used to further such progress and move more disadvantaged children into higher quality programs. Permits grantees to apply to the Secretary to reserve up to 25% of their grant to expand disadvantaged children's access to the highest quality early learning programs offering full-day, full-year services.

Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive Development grants to states that were not awarded a Pathways grant, but commit to developing a high-quality system of early learning that includes the components listed above.

Directs the Secretary to establish indicators to measure state progress in meeting grant objectives, and states to establish Secretary-approved benchmarks for success that are based on those indicators.

Requires the Secretary to use certain reserved funds to: (1) establish a competitive grant demonstration program for Native American school readiness programs; (2) provide technical assistance to states to help them qualify for, apply for, and maintain this Act's grants; and (3) support the Institute of Education Sciences' research into, and evaluation of, this Act's grant-related activities.

Date: 2014-02-03
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Educational Freedom Act of 2014 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to prohibit any federal officer or employee from directly or indirectly mandating, directing, incentivizing, or controlling, through grants, contracts, or other cooperative agreements, a state's, local educational agency's (LEA's), or school's specific instructional content, academic standards and assessments, curriculum, or program of instruction.

Prohibits any provision of the ESEA from being construed to authorize such an officer or employee to do so.

Prohibits any federal officer or employee from directly or indirectly conditioning, through grants, contracts, or other cooperative agreements, the availability of financial support on a state's, LEA's, or school's adoption of any specific instructional content, academic standards and assessments, curriculum, or program of instruction, even if such conditions are specified under any other Act.

Prohibits any provision of the ESEA from being construed to authorize such an officer or employee to do so.

Includes, within these prohibitions, requirements and incentives to adopt the Common Core State Standards or any other academic standards common to a significant number of states.

Date: 2014-02-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Breath of Fresh Air Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to: (1) purchase nebulizers for use in their schools, and/or (2) train school personnel to use nebulizers.

Requires LEA grant applicants to demonstrate that for each of their schools that are to use the nebulizers: (1) a full-time certified nurse is on staff, (2) trained personnel and other resources necessary for nebulizer use are in place, (3) emergency services personnel are notified of nebulizer locations, (4) nebulizers are integrated into the school's emergency response procedures, and (5) procedures are in place to notify parents of the availability of nebulizers and to inform them how to provide the school with their child's prescription asthma medication and authorization to use a nebulizer to assist their child.

Gives grant priority to LEAs that: (1) serve areas where the prevalence of asthma is at least 10% higher than the national average; (2) do not already have at least one nebulizer in each of their schools; (3) serve schools that typically have a significant number of students, staff, and visitors present during the day; and (4) have not received funds under the Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act.

Date: 2014-02-27
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Student Testing Improvement and Accountability Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to eliminate the requirement that students be tested against state academic content and achievement standards in mathematics and reading or language arts in each of grades three through eight.

Requires, instead, that those tests be administered at least once during: (1) grades 3 through 5, (2) grades 6 through 9, and (3) grades 10 through 12.

Date: 2014-03-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Great Teaching and Leading for Great Schools Act of 2014 - Amends part A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund) of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states to use at least 50% of their part A grant funds that are reserved for state activities for programs and activities to improve principal effectiveness.

Requires states to use those funds to develop and implement:

 a teacher evaluation system that has at least three different performance ratings and is based on student academic outcomes and observations of teacher performance; and a school principal evaluation system that has at least three different performance ratings and is based on student academic outcomes, principal leadership practices, and the recruitment, development, evaluation, and retention of effective teachers. Adds to the permissible uses of such funds the development of teacher and principal licensure systems that provide a single license for entry into the profession for candidates who complete a state-approved teacher or principal preparation program.

Requires local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive a subgrant under part A to use at least 10% of the subgrant for programs and activities to improve principal effectiveness.

Adds to the educator training, retention, and recruiting efforts those subgrants may fund:

 the development of strategies that provide differentiated pay and recognition for teachers and principals based on effectiveness and increased responsibilities; efforts to increase the knowledge and skills of principal managers, principals, assistant principals, coaches and teacher leaders; the implementation of the teacher and principal evaluation systems developed by their state; and the implementation of a formal evaluation system to determine the effectiveness of the programs carried out under such systems. Redefines "professional development" as a comprehensive system of professional learning to increase educator effectiveness in improving student learning and achievement that:

 fosters collective responsibility for improved student performance; is aligned with rigorous state student academic achievement standards and related LEA and school improvement goals; is conducted among educators at the school and facilitated by well-prepared school principals and school-based professional development coaches, mentors, master teachers, or other teacher leaders who have demonstrated success with the given student population; primarily occurs several times per week, or the equivalent of several hours per week, among established teams of teachers, principals, and other instructional staff members that engage in a continuous cycle of improvement; and may be supported by activities such as courses, workshops, institutes, networks, and conferences that are provided by entities outside the school.

Date: 2014-03-14
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Supporting Emotional Learning Act - Amends the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 to require:

 the National Center for Education Research to carry out research regarding the impact of social and emotional education; the Commissioner for Education Research to support research into social and emotional skills and habits; and comprehensive centers to provide training, professional development, and technical assistance regarding the use of scientifically valid teaching methods and assessment tools in imparting social and emotional life learning. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require highly qualified teachers to have preparation in the understanding, use, and development of social and emotional learning programming.

Defines "social and emotional learning" as the processes through which students acquire and effectively apply:

 self-awareness and self-management skills to achieve academic and life success; social-awareness and relationship skills to establish and maintain positive relationships; and responsible decisionmaking skills and behavior in personal, school, and community contexts. Requires Teacher Quality Partnership grants to be used in preparing prospective and new teachers and principals to understand, use, and develop social and emotional learning programming. (Teacher Quality Partnership grants are provided to partnerships between high-need local educational agencies [LEAs], their high-need schools, and institutions of higher education [IHEs].)

Requires centers of excellence to design teacher training programs that promote the understanding, use, and development of social and emotional learning programming. (Centers of excellence are minority-serving IHEs or partnerships between such IHEs and other IHEs that are awarded grants to ensure that current and future teachers are highly qualified.)

Requires Teach to Reach grants to be used to train general education teacher candidates to understand, use, and develop social and emotional learning programming. (Teach to Reach grants are provided to partnerships between IHEs and high-need LEAs to more effectively prepare general education teacher candidates to instruct disabled students in general education classrooms).

Date: 2014-04-29
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Creating Hope and Opportunity for Individuals and Communities through Education Act or the CHOICE Act - Amends the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act to: (1) require the Secretary of Education (Secretary) to use funds appropriated under the Act that are carried over from one fiscal year to the next to provide opportunity scholarships to eligible students who have not yet received them; and (2) include among the eligibility criteria for such a scholarship a requirement that a student in the District of Columbia is enrolled, or will be enrolled for the next school year, in a public or private elementary or secondary school. (Opportunity scholarships are provided to low-income students in the District of Columbia to enable them to attend the District of Columbia private elementary or secondary school of their choice.)

Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to allow states that have established a program allowing the parents of disabled children to use public or private funds to send their children to a private school to use their allocation of special education funds to supplement those funds.

Authorizes grants for the improvement of special education services to be used for the planning, design, and initial implementation, during a period of up to three years, of state programs that allow the parents of a disabled child to make a genuine independent choice of the appropriate public or private school for their child.

Sets forth requirements for those programs, including that they: (1) permit parents to receive state funds to pay some or all of the costs of their disabled child's attendance at the selected school, or (2) permit persons to receive a state tax credit for donations to an entity that provides funds to enable parents to pay some or all of the costs of their disabled child's attendance at that school.

Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to carry out a five-year pilot program to award scholarships to enable military dependent students who live on military installations to attend the public or private elementary or secondary schools their parents choose rather than those assigned to them.

Requires the Secretary of Defense to select at least five military installations to participate in the program and choose those where military students would most benefit from expanded education options.

Directs the Secretary of Defense to use a random process to select scholarship recipients if more students apply for the scholarships than can be accommodated.

Requires the Secretary to return to the Treasury specified amounts made available for Department of Education salaries and expenses.

Date: 2014-05-29
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
School Modernization and Revitalization Through Jobs Act, the SMART Jobs Act, or the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act - Requires the Secretary of Education to make grants to states for the modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools, to make them safe, healthy, high-performing, and technologically up-to-date.

Allocates grant funds among states on the basis of the relative portion of school improvement funds provided to local educational agencies (LEAs) in each state under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Reserves 1% of the grant funds for assistance to outlying areas and Indian schools.

Requires states to reallocate such grant funds to LEAs on the basis of each LEA's share of school improvement funds received by LEAs in the state for the previous fiscal year.

Directs the Secretary to make grants to LEAs that serve areas in which the President, during the preceding 10 fiscal years, has determined that a major disaster exists for the construction, modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools, to make them safe, healthy, high-performing, and technologically up-to-date.

Allocates grant funds among such LEAs on the basis of each LEA's share of infrastructure damage inflicted on public school facilities in such areas.

Requires the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in projects funded under this Act to have been produced in this country, subject to specified exceptions.

Date: 2014-06-10
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Pre-K for USA Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting jointly in accordance with an interagency agreement, to award competitive grants to local educational agencies or local governmental entities to develop, enhance, or expand high-quality preschool programs.

Requires each of those programs to include structural elements that are evidence-based and nationally recognized as important for ensuring program quality, including, at a minimum:

 high staff qualifications, including having a teacher with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education or in any field with a state-approved alternate pathway to teaching preschool children and having teaching assistants with appropriate credentials; high-quality professional development for all staff; at least 1 staff member for every 10 children; a class size that does not exceed 20 children; a full-day program; the full inclusion of disabled children; developmentally appropriate curricula and learning environments, that are aligned with state early learning and development standards, for at least the year preceding kindergarten; individualized accommodations and supports so that all children can participate fully in learning activities; instructional staff salaries that are comparable to the salaries of kindergarten through grade 12 teaching staff; program evaluation to ensure continuous improvement; onsite or accessible comprehensive services for children; and health and safety standards.

Date: 2014-06-25
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Core Opportunity Resources for Equity and Excellence Act of 2014 - Amends the school improvement program under part A of title I of the the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require states to adopt student achievement standards that lead to college and career readiness by high school graduation.

Requires each state school improvement plan to ensure that the state's public school system enables students to meet those standards by providing them with fair and equitable access to the core resources for learning.

Includes among the core resources for learning:

 high-quality instructional teams; rigorous academic standards and curricula that lead to college and career readiness by high school graduation; equitable and instructionally appropriate class sizes; up-to-date instructional materials, technology, and supplies; effective school library programs; school facilities and technology, including physically and environmentally sound school buildings and well-equipped instructional spaces; specialized instruction support teams providing assessment, diagnosis, counseling, educational, therapeutic, and other necessary services as part of a comprehensive program to meet student needs; and effective programs to engage families and the community in education. Prohibits states that fail to make progress toward eliminating inequities in access to the core resources for learning for two or more consecutive years from receiving funds under any competitive grant program authorized by the ESEA.

Requires the annual report cards publicly disseminated by states and their local educational agencies (LEAs) to include information on the performance of LEAs and schools in providing students with fair and equitable access to the core resources for learning.

Requires states to identify any of their LEAs as needing improvement if they: (1) fail for two consecutive years to make adequate yearly progress toward state academic content and achievement standards, or (2) have received a waiver of the ESEA's statutory or regulatory requirements from the Secretary of Education.

Requires states to: (1) identify any inequities in access to the core resources of learning in schools served by an LEA that has been identified as needing improvement, and (2) work with the LEA to address those inequities.

Prohibits the Secretary from waiving this Act's requirements for accountability in providing students with access to the core resources for learning.

Date: 2014-06-26
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act of 2014 - Amends the General Education Provisions Act to prohibit the Secretary of Education from providing education funding to any educational agency or institution that allows school personnel to inflict corporal punishment upon a student as a form of punishment or to modify undesirable behavior.

Requires each state to submit a plan to the Secretary, within 18 months of this Act's enactment and every third year thereafter, that describes how the state eliminates the use of corporal punishment in schools and makes school personnel and parents aware of its policies and procedures for doing so.

Authorizes the Secretary to award three-year grants to states and, through them, competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to assist them in improving school climate and culture by implementing school-wide positive behavior supports.

Requires grant and subgrant funds to be used for professional training, technical assistance, research, and outreach regarding positive behavior supports. Requires LEAs to ensure that private school personnel can participate, on an equitable basis, in activities supported by such funds.

Authorizes the Secretary to allocate funds to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out such activities with regard to schools operated or funded by the Department of the Interior.

 Directs the Secretary to conduct a national assessment to determine compliance with this Act's requirements and identify best practices regarding positive behavior support professional training programs.

 Gives Protection and Advocacy Systems the authority provided under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 to investigate, monitor, and enforce this Act's protections for students.

Date: 2014-06-26
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Advancing Girls in STEM Act of 2014 - Directs the Department of Education to award grants to states to carry out programs that promote the involvement of elementary and secondary female students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.

 Transfers $20 million of unobligated funds made available to the Office of Nuclear Warhead Protection in the National Nuclear Security Administration to the Department of Education to carry out this Act.

Date: 2014-07-22
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Full-Service Community Schools Act of 2014 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to: (1) consortia composed of one or more local educational agencies (LEAs) and one or more community-based, nonprofit, or other public or private entities to assist public elementary or secondary schools to function as full-service community schools; and (2) state collaboratives to support the development of full-service community school programs.

Requires such schools to: (1) participate in community-based efforts to coordinate and integrate educational, developmental, family, health, and other comprehensive services through community-based organizations and public and private partnerships; and (2) provide access to such services to students, families, and the community.

Gives local grant priority to: (1) entities that will serve at least two full-service community schools eligible for a schoolwide program under the Act or that include an LEA serving only small or rural schools; and (2) entities that will be connected to a consortium that is comprised of a broad representation of stakeholders or that demonstrates a history of effectiveness.

Establishes a Full-Service Community Schools Advisory Committee.

Date: 2014-07-23
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education