zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Success in the Middle Act of 2015

This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to allot 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 secondary 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. Priority is given to LEAs, or partnerships that include LEAs, that serve high proportions of poor children and children attending eligible schools.

"Eligible schools" are those where: (1) a high proportion of middle grade students matriculate to secondary 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.

States may 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.

Funding is provided to ED to:

 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; create a national clearinghouse in best middle grade educational practices and a national database identifying factors that facilitate or impede middle grade student achievement; require certain educational field research designed to enhance the performance of middle grade schools and students; create a research and development center that addresses topics pertinent to the middle grades; and provide grants to entities that partner with states and LEAs to develop, adapt, or replicate effective models for turning around low-performing schools serving students in the middle grades.

Date: 2015-04-29
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Equal Access to Quality Education Act of 2015

This bill requires the Department of Education to award competitive matching grants to partnerships between high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to establish or support: (1) teacher preparation programs, and (2) teacher induction and retention programs.

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

Teacher induction and retention programs must use high-quality mentoring, teacher collaboration, and research-based instructional practices to: (1) support and advance the retention of beginning teachers and principals, and (2) promote effective teaching and leadership skills. Grants may be used for certain other activities designed to improve the quality of education in high-need areas.

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

Date: 2015-04-30
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Community STEM Learning Act of 2015

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Department of Education to award grants to national and regional intermediaries and, through them, subgrants to their community-based affiliates to operate in-school, after school, summer, and weekend programs that focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

A "national intermediary" is a national private nonprofit organization that has: (1) a network comprising community-based affiliates in at least 50 urban communities, (2) expertise in overseeing programs to help middle and secondary school students succeed, and (3) operated in at least 25 states continuously for at least 20 years.

A "regional intermediary" is a private nonprofit community-based organization that has: (1) a network comprising community-based affiliates in a prescribed region, and (2) expertise in extending educational services to middle and secondary school students.

The STEM programs must primarily serve students who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM field careers and include project-based learning opportunities and individualized instruction.

Each subgrantee must collaborate with an institution of higher education in providing such services.

The bill requires grantees to direct at least: (1) 50% of their grant to community-based affiliates that are successfully operating STEM programs so that they can expand them to reach more students traditionally underrepresented in STEM field careers, and (2) 25% of their grant to the development of STEM programs by community-based affiliates not currently operating any.

Date: 2015-04-30
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act of 2015

Amends the General Education Provisions Act to prohibit the Department of Education (ED) 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 ED, 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 ED 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 ED to allocate funds to the Department of the Interior to carry out such activities with regard to schools operated or funded by such Department.

Directs ED 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: 2015-05-12
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Keep Teachers Teaching Act of 2015

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Department of Education (ED) to award competitive, renewable grants to local educational agencies (LEAs), states, and partnerships of LEAs, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education for the development and implementation of innovative teacher retention programs that include: (1) professional development; (2) teacher mentoring; (3) advanced certification or credentialing; (4) research, travel, or fellowship opportunities; and (5) pairing teachers with research or industry professionals.

ED must: (1) identify the most promising teacher retention strategies, and (2) make information about those strategies publicly available and easily accessible to states and LEAs.

Date: 2015-05-14
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Broadening Opportunities Through Education Act

This bill directs the Department of Education to award competitive grants to states that make school attendance compulsory through age 17.

States must 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: 2015-05-15
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Student Support Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education to make matching grants of at least $1 million to states for allocation to local educational agencies (LEAs) so that additional school-based mental health and student service providers may be hired, thereby reducing the student-to-provider ratios in elementary and secondary schools to specified minimum levels recommended by the leading counseling, guidance, and mental health organizations.

These minimum ratios are: (1) 1 school counselor for every 250 students, (2) 1 school psychologist for every 1,000 students, and (3) 1 school social worker for every 250 students.

Grants to states and state allocations to LEAs must be made pursuant to specified formulas that take into account a state's and school district's share of children in poverty.

Date: 2015-05-15
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Enable More Parents to Opt-Out Without Endangering Resources Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states to allow a student to opt out, for any reason stated by the student's parent and without any penalty or other consequence, of yearly academic assessments used as the primary means of determining the performance of the state and of each local educational agency and school in enabling all children to meet the state's academic achievement standards.

Date: 2015-05-15
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Public School Emergency Relief Act

This bill authorizes a program of emergency impact aid payments to states and, through them, to local educational agencies and Indian schools for each quarter of the 2015-2016 school year to respond to any increase in the enrollment of immigrant children from the corresponding quarter of the 2013-2014 school year.

Payments shall be used to provide services and assistance to schools that enroll immigrant students.

Funds may be used for:

 compensating school personnel, identifying and acquiring curricular material and mobile educational units and leasing sites or spaces, basic instructional services for immigrant students, reasonable transportation costs, health and counseling services, education and support services, and other uses allowed under title III (Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Any payment made on behalf of a disabled immigrant student is to be used for special education and related services.

Emergency impact aid funds that are not obligated during the 2015-2016 school year must be returned to the Department of Education.

Date: 2015-06-03
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
School Safety Act of 2015 

Amends the the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to: (1) authorize appropriations for the matching grant program for school security through FY2020, and (2) authorize such grants to be used for emergency notification and response technologies and the acquisition and installation of technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency.

Date: 2015-06-04
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Getting Involved in Researching, Learning, and Studying of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Act or the GIRLS STEM Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a program to: (1) encourage the interest of female students in careers requiring science, mathematics, engineering, or technology (STEM) skills; and (2) prepare female students to pursue credentials needed to pursue a career in a STEM field. The Department of Education may provide grants to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) to enable elementary and secondary schools to implement the program.

Date: 2015-06-12
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow a state to withdraw from the Common Core State Standards developed under the Common Core State Standards Initiative, any other academic standards common to a significant number of states, or assessments tied to such standards.

Date: 2015-06-17
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2015

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit conduct, including bullying and harassment, that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to: (1) limit students' ability to participate in, or benefit from, school programs; or (2) create a hostile or abusive educational environment that adversely affects their education.

LEAs shall also provide: (1) students, parents, and educational professionals with annual notice of the conduct prohibited in their discipline policies; (2) students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct; and (3) the public with annual data on the incidence and frequency of that conduct at the school and LEA level.

The Department of Education must conduct, and report on, an independent biennial evaluation of programs and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools. The National Center for Education Statistics shall collect state data to determine the incidence and frequency of the conduct prohibited by LEA discipline policies.

Date: 2015-06-25
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Educator Tax Relief Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax deduction for the expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers, to: (1) allow an inflation adjustment to the amount of such deduction for taxable years beginning after 2014, (2) allow the deduction of professional development expenses, and (3) make such deduction permanent. The bill applies to taxable years beginning after 2014.

Date: 2015-06-25
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
To Aid Gifted and High-Ability Learners by Empowering the Nation's Teachers Act or the TALENT Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require state assessments of student proficiency to measure individual academic achievement, including above grade level achievement.

States must: (1) assist their local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools in providing additional educational assistance to advanced, gifted, and talented students; and (2) report annually a comparison of the performance of students between different LEAs at each level of achievement, disaggregated by specified student subgroups.

LEAs must identify gifted and talented students and support their learning needs and train educators to implement instructional practices that support their education.

The Institute of Education Sciences must: (1) continue research and development activities regarding the education of gifted and talented students; (2) support a National Research and Dissemination Center on the Gifted and Talented; (3) administer demonstration grants that enhance the ability of educators to support gifted and talented students; and (4) ensure that statistical data regarding the education of gifted and talented children is collected, reported, analyzed, and disseminated.

Date: 2015-07-07
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
School Social Workers Improving Student Success Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Department of Education to award renewable grants to high-need local educational agencies to retain or hire additional school social workers.

Grantees may use the funds to reimburse school social workers for expenses they incur in rendering services.

Grant-funded social workers must target their services to the highest-need students.

Grant funds may not be used to supplant other funds used for hiring and retaining school social workers.

Date: 2015-07-08
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Rebuilding America's Schools Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to qualified zone academy bonds issued to finance public school facilities, to: (1) extend the national limitation amount for such bonds through calendar year 2014 and then increase such amount and make it permanent after calendar year 2014, (2) expand the enumerated purposes of such bonds to include the construction of public school facilities in a qualified zone academy, (3) lower the private business contribution requirement for such bonds from 10% to 5% of the proceeds of the bond issue, and (4) designate such bonds as specified tax credit bonds.

Date: 2015-07-13
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Child Sexual Abuse Awareness and Prevention Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to: (1) authorize the use of grants to local educational agencies for carrying out child sexual abuse awareness and prevention programs and activities, (2) establish periodic evaluation requirements for such  grant programs and activities, and (3) establish principles of effectiveness applicable to these grant programs and activities as well as to those aimed at reducing the impact of domestic violence on schoolchildren.

Date: 2015-07-15
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Education Stability for Foster Youth Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require a state plan for academic content and achievement standards to describe how the state will ensure the educational stability of children in foster care. Specifically, a state plan must include assurances that: (1) a foster child will remain or be enrolled in the child’s school of origin absent a determination that such enrollment is not in the child’s best interest; (2) if such a determination is made, the child will be immediately enrolled in a new school, which must immediately contact the child’s previous school to obtain relevant records; and (3) the state will designate a point of contact for child welfare agencies, who shall also oversee implementation of the state’s responsibilities under the bill.

Relatedly, a local educational agency (LEA) plan must provide assurances that the LEA will develop and implement procedures governing the provision and funding of transportation services necessary to maintain a foster child’s enrollment in the child’s school of origin.

This bill amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to alter the definition of “homeless children and youths” to no longer include children who are awaiting foster care placement.

Date: 2015-07-16
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Department of Education (ED) to award competitive, three-year grants to states or local educational agencies (LEAs) for the establishment, improvement, and expansion of innovative model programs in world language education for elementary and secondary school students. Of the funds made available for this purpose, at least 75% must be used to expand world language learning in the elementary grades. ED may reserve up to 5% of funds made available for one fiscal year to evaluate the efficacy of assisted programs.

In general, the federal share of the cost of such programs shall be 50% for each fiscal year. However, ED may determine the federal share for any LEA that is determined to have inadequate resources to pay the nonfederal share of program costs.

ED must give special consideration to grant applications describing programs that: (1) include intensive summer programs for professional development of world language teachers; (2) promote sequential learning, two-way language learning, and innovative activities; (3) make effective use of technology; and (4) are carried out through a consortium comprised of the grant recipient and an elementary or secondary school.

Date: 2015-07-16
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Tackling Excessive Standardized Testing Act of 2015 or the TEST Act of 2015

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to lower the frequency with which students must take the tests used to determine whether they are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic achievement standards in mathematics and reading or language arts. Under current law, students must take such tests in both subjects in each of grades 3 through 8. The bill maintains testing in grades 3 through 8 but authorizes a public school to limit testing: (1) in mathematics, to even-numbered grades or, if the school is at the 15th percentile or above for mathematics in the state or its students are making appropriate progress toward state mathematics achievement standards, to grades 4 and 8 only; and (2) in reading or language arts, to odd-numbered grades or, if the school is at the 15th percentile or above for reading or language arts or its students are making appropriate progress toward state reading or language arts achievement standards, to grades 3 and 7 only.

Limited English proficient students who are in their first 12 months of enrollment in a public school are excluded from the determination as to whether students are making AYP toward state academic achievement standards.

Date: 2015-07-23
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Homeless and Foster Youth Achievement Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require a state to include additional information in its annual state report card. 

Under current law, a state must include data regarding student achievement on state academic assessments, both in the aggregate and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency, and status as disadvantaged.  For purposes of a state's annual report card, the bill expands those categories to include homeless status and status as a child in foster care. Graduation rates for secondary school students must be reported by the same categories by which student achievement data is reported.

Date: 2015-07-27
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Student Agriculture Protection Act of 2015

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of a student farmer gain from the sale or exchange of personal property, including livestock,  produced by such student farmer. The bill defines "student farmer" as an individual who has not attained age 18 and who is enrolled in a program established by Future Farmers of America or in a 4-H club.

Date: 2015-07-28
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
This bill 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.

Such LEAs or schools must: (1) notify parents and students annually of conduct prohibited in their school discipline policies, which must include policies regarding bullying and harassment; and (2) establish complaint procedures for students and parents to register complaints regarding such conduct.

The bill also expands the Act's definition of violence to include bullying and harassment.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success or the A PLUS Act 

This bill allows each state to receive federal elementary and secondary education funds on a consolidated basis and manage the funds to advance the educational policy of the state. States must submit to the Department of Education a declaration of intent no less than every five years.

Each declaration must be formulated by a combination of specified state officials or by referendum and must list the programs for which consolidated funding is requested. States may use such funds for any educational purpose permitted by state law, but must make certain assurances that they will use fiscal control and fund accounting procedures, abide by federal civil rights laws, advance educational opportunities for the disadvantaged, and use federal funds to supplement rather than supplant state funding.

Each declaration state shall: (1) inform the public about its student achievement assessment system; (2) report annually on student progress toward the state's proficiency standards by specified student groups; and (3) provide for the equitable participation of private school children and teachers in the same manner as provided for under current law.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Fair Access to Education Act of 2015

This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify federal student aid eligibility criteria. Specifically, it limits drug offense convictions that bar a student from participating in federal student aid programs.

Under current law, any drug offense conviction involving sale or possession of a controlled substance triggers suspension of federal student aid eligibility for a student who commits the drug offense while enrolled in postsecondary education and receiving federal student aid. This bill excludes from triggering drug offense convictions any misdemeanor offense for marijuana possession that occurred before, on, or after enactment of this bill.

This bill reestablishes federal student aid eligibility for certain students who are ineligible due to a prior conviction for misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Date: 2015-09-18
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Investing in 21st Century Schools Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to qualified zone academy bonds, to: (1) extend through 2016 the national limitation amount for such bonds, and (2) reduce from 10% to 5% of bond proceeds the required contribution amount for private businesses.

Date: 2015-10-07
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Equity and Excellence in American Education Act of 2015

This bill authorizes the Department of Education (ED) to establish and administer several new grant programs.

ED shall carry out the Equity and Excellence Initiative to provide grants to states to match each state's enhanced investment in meaningful educational opportunities for children who attend targeted schools. A "targeted school" is a public elementary or secondary school at which a specified percentage of students: (1) are eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch; (2) qualify as limited English proficient; or (3) are racial or ethnic minorities, Indian, or migratory. Schools may use these grant funds to implement systems-based reforms and initiatives to enhance student achievement. A state that receives grant funds must meet specified maintenance of effort requirements.

If ED determines that a state has failed to invest sufficient resources to create meaningful educational opportunities for all children attending targeted schools in that state, ED is authorized, through the Educating Every Child Initiative, to make grants directly to local educational agencies for distribution to targeted schools. A state in which targeted schools receive grant funds must meet specified funding obligations with respect to those schools.

ED is also authorized to establish the Equitable and Sustainable Fiscal Policy Program to provide technical assistance grants to support state fiscal reform efforts aimed at ensuring meaningful educational opportunities for all children.

The bill establishes various reporting requirements for ED and for grant recipients. ED must develop accountability metrics to measure grant performance.

Date: 2015-11-16
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
School-Based Asthma Management Program Act

This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to add requirements that states must meet to receive a preference for asthma grants. (Currently, the preference is given to states that meet requirements regarding administration of epinephrine to students having severe allergic reactions.) To receive the preference, states must additionally: (1) provide civil liability protection to trained school personnel who administer asthma-related rescue medication to a student with asthma; and (2) require schools to permit trained school personnel to administer asthma-related rescue medication to students with asthma, maintain a supply of asthma-related rescue medication, and have a comprehensive asthma management program.

Date: 2016-03-02
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Health
Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act

This bill requires a state or local educational agency (LEA) that receives funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to:

 require, for each school employee, a criminal background check that includes a search of specified registries and repositories; prohibit the employment of an individual who refuses to consent to, or who makes a false statement in connection with, a background check or who has been convicted of one of specified crimes; require background checks to be periodically repeated or updated in accordance with state law or LEA policies; provide a school employee with a timely process to appeal the results of a background check; ensure that such policies and procedures are published on state and LEA websites; and allow an LEA to share the results of a school employee's recent background check with another LEA that is considering that individual for employment.

Date: 2016-03-02
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Alerting Local Leaders and Ensuring Responsible Guidelines for Youth Act or the ALLERGY Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require a local educational agency (LEA), as a condition of receiving funds under the ESEA, to establish and implement a policy on allergy bullying that requires schools to:

 educate students, school personnel, and parents about allergy bullying; clearly define what the punishment or response may be for violating rules against allergy bullying; encourage each victim of allergy bullying to report the bullying to school personnel; and comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 in carrying out these requirements. An LEA shall certify annually that it has established and implemented such a policy.

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

Date: 2016-03-03
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Support Our Students Act of 2016 or the S.O.S. Act of 2016

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Department of Education (ED) 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.

To be eligible to receive such a grant or subgrant, a state or LEA must partner with a mental health organization, family advocacy organization, or community nonprofit organization.

Subgrantees shall utilize school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, or community organizations with experience in mental illness and suicide prevention to develop and conduct the training.

The training program must 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.

ED shall develop outcome measures for in-depth evaluation of the effectiveness of the training programs.

Date: 2016-03-07
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

This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to make grants to states for the modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools. The bill 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. States shall reallocate the 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.

In addition, ED shall make grants to LEAs that serve specified disaster areas for the construction, modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools. The bill allocates grant funds among LEAs on the basis of each LEA's share of infrastructure damage inflicted on public school facilities in such areas.

With specified exceptions, only U.S.-produced iron, steel, and manufactured goods shall be used in projects funded under the bill.

Date: 2016-04-29
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Stand Up For Students Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to limit the use of ESEA funds for contributions to teacher retirement or pension systems in excess of the normal cost of benefits for an applicable plan year.

Specifically, the bill prohibits a state from requiring a local educational agency to use ESEA funds to make such excess payments to a teacher retirement or pension system. However, this limitation shall not apply to a system for a given plan year if the system certifies that, with respect to the plan year, the ratio of the value of the system's assets to its accrued liability exceeds 50%.

Date: 2016-06-09
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Serve More Kids Act 

This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to make several changes to the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) child nutrition programs.

USDA must: (1) award equipment assistance grants to states for the school lunch and breakfast programs, (2) provide commodity assistance to states for the School Breakfast Program (SBP), and (3) establish a pilot program for providing a third daily meal under the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).

USDA may waive or modify the verification sample size requirements under the National School Lunch Program for local educational agencies that demonstrate that the requirement would increase the number of eligible children losing access to benefits or have a disproportionate and adverse impact on vulnerable populations such as migrants and homeless youth.

USDA may grant a request to allow children to consume SFSP meals off-site due to specified factors, including extreme weather, violence and other public safety concerns, or efforts to support innovative meal delivery methods to address transportation barriers and low program participation in rural areas.

The bill modifies the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to:

 specify that the food must be nutritious; specify certification periods for breastfeeding women, infants, and postpartum women; require state agencies to submit plans and distribute information related to improving access for members of the Armed Forces; and require USDA to provide additional annual performance bonus payments to state agencies for improving the proportion of breast-fed infants participating in the program. The bill also reauthorizes USDA grants to states for expanding school breakfast programs.

Date: 2016-07-08
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Securing Our Schools Act of 2016

This bill establishes a pilot program under which the Department of Justice may award one-year grants to local education agencies for the purpose of purchasing and installing devices that allow for the immediate notification of appropriate officials in case of emergency.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
School Protection Act of 2016

This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants and enter contracts to train elementary and secondary school nurses to serve as first responders and crisis managers in the event of a biological or chemical attack at a school or an outbreak of pandemic illness among individuals under their care.

The training must prepare school nurses to: (1) protect and preserve life; (2) notify public health authorities to help contain or mitigate the effects of an attack or outbreak; and (3) take other appropriate and feasible actions, such as preserve evidence of an attack.

Date: 2016-07-21
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Health
This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to specify that a provision of the Act may be cited as "Bree's Law." The relevant ESEA provision requires local educational agencies that receive certain funding under the Act to establish programs and activities that improve safety through the recognition and prevention of coercion, violence, or abuse.

Date: 2016-09-20
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Prepare All Kids Act of 2016

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education to establish a Prekindergarten Incentive Fund from which matching grants shall be awarded to states and, through them, subgrants to qualified prekindergarten providers for the establishment, expansion, or enhancement of voluntary, high-quality, full-day prekindergarten programs serving children ages three through five.

State grantees shall set aside specified portions of grant funds: (1) for quality early childhood development programs for children from birth through age three, and (2) to extend the hours of early childhood development programs to create extended day and year programs.

Prekindergarten subgrantees must: (1) maintain a maximum class size of 20 children, with at least 1 prekindergarten teacher per classroom; and (2) ensure that the ratio of children to prekindergarten teachers and teacher aides does not exceed 10 to 1.

Program funds may not be used for assessments of children in prekindergarten or early childhood development programs if: (1) the assessments are used to reward or sanction individual children, teachers, programs, or schools; or (2) a single assessment is used as the primary or sole method for assessing program effectiveness.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Bring Enhanced Liability in Transportation for Students Act

This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) to award grants to states to develop a school bus seat belt demonstration program to purchase type 1 school buses (weighing more than 10,000 pounds) equipped with lap/shoulder seat belts or equip existing type 1 buses with such belts.

 DOT shall withhold 10% of a state's apportionment of certain federal-aid highway funds if the state has not enacted a law that requires the employer to conduct background checks before hiring school bus drivers.

DOT shall also withhold 10% of a state's apportionment of certain federal-aid highway funds if the state has not enacted and is not enforcing a law that imposes specified first offense and second offense civil and criminal penalties for motorists found guilty of illegally passing a stopped school bus.

The bill authorizes DOT to provide grants to states to equip school buses with motion-activated detection systems.

Date: 2016-12-07
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Seat Belts Save Lives Act of 2016

This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to prescribe a rule or amend a federal motor vehicle safety standard to require a schoolbus to be equipped with a three-point safety belt at each seat.

The bill defines "three-point safety belt" to mean an occupant restraint system consisting of an integrated:

 lap belt or similar device intended to restrain movement of the pelvis, and shoulder belt or similar device intended to restrain movement of the chest and shoulder regions.

Date: 2016-12-08
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Transportation and public works
No School Bus Drivers with DUIs Act of 2016

The bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to prohibit any state, state educational agency, or local educational agency receiving ESEA funds from employing an individual as a school bus driver who has been convicted of, or pled guilty to, drunk driving or a driving violation that is a felony under state law.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent those entities from adopting a law, regulation, or policy that provides greater or additional protections prohibiting the employment of a school employee, contractor, or agent.

The Department of Education shall not have the authority to mandate, direct, or control the specific measures adopted by such entities.

Date: 2016-12-30
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Core Opportunity Resources for Equity and Excellence Act of 2015

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: 2015-01-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Safety for Our Schoolchildren Act of 2015

Requires states and local educational agencies (LEAs): (1) to obtain a Federal Bureau of Investigation background check on individuals prior to offering them employment as school employees; and (2) if the check identifies them as sexual predators, to 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: 2015-01-07
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Expanding School Choice Act

Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states to allocate school improvement grant funds among their local educational agencies (LEAs) on the basis of the number of children aged 5 through 17 whose family income lies below the federal poverty level and who are enrolled in the public and state-accredited private schools within each LEA's geographic jurisdiction.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education