zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Success in the Middle Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Education to make matching grants to states, based on their proportion of poor children aged 5 to 17, to: (1) implement state middle school needs analyses and, on the basis of such analyses, improvement plans that describe what students must master to successfully complete the middle grades and succeed in academically rigorous high school coursework; and (2) award competitive matching subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to implement a comprehensive middle school improvement plan for each eligible school. Favors LEAs with high proportions of poor children and eligible schools. Defines "eligible schools" as those where: (1) a majority of middle grade students matriculate to high schools with graduation rates below 60%; (2) more than 25% of the students who finish grade six, or the school's earliest middle grade level, exhibit key risk factors for failure; and (3) a majority of middle grade students are not rated proficient on required state assessments in mathematics, reading, or language arts. Permits states to make subgrants to LEAs that did not receive a competitive subgrant to assist them in applying for competitive subgrants and developing comprehensive middle school improvement plans. Provides the Secretary with funding to: (1) contract for studies that identify promising practices for, and review existing research to identify factors that might lead to, the improvement of middle school education; (2) create a national clearinghouse in best middle grade educational practices and a national database identifying factors that facilitate or impede middle grade student achievement; (3) require certain educational field research designed to enhance the performance of middle grade schools and students; (4) create a research and development center that addresses topics pertinent to middle grade schools; and (5) provide grants to entities that partner with states and LEAs to develop, adapt, or replicate effective models for turning around low-performing middle grade schools.

Date: 2007-10-24
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Veterans Upward Bound Improvement Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit members of the Armed Forces Reserves who served on active duty in support of a contingency operation on or after September 11, 2001, from being deemed ineligible for participation in federal TRIO programs due to age. (TRIO programs prepare disadvantaged students for, and support their pursuit of, postsecondary education.)

Date: 2007-10-26
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Amends title VI (Flexibility and Accountability) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to set forth a new Part C: State Student Achievement Contracts. Allows the Secretary of Education to enter into five-year student achievement contracts with up to 12 states, authorizing them to: (1) waive the statutory or regulatory requirements that accompany any ESEA formula grant program for states; (2) use funds, or allow their local educational agencies (LEAs) to use funds, received under specified ESEA programs for implementing one or more of such programs or programs under part A of title I of the ESEA; and (3) require their LEAs that are not meeting state student proficiency targets to use such funds for corrective intervention activities. Requires contract applicants to demonstrate that their academic standards, assessments, accountability systems, objectives, and data systems meet specified minimum requirements under such contracts. Establishes alternative ESEA program waivers for states participating in the contract program that do not meet such minimum academic standards and assessment requirements but have a plan, approved by the Secretary, for doing so. Requires participating states to report annually on how they have used federal funds under the contract to improve academic achievement, narrow the achievement gap, and improve educational opportunities for the disadvantaged. Provides for the early termination of program participation by states not abiding by the terms of their contracts. Requires an independent five-year evaluation of this program's success in improving student academic achievement.

Date: 2007-11-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Student Protection Act - Requires that by FY2010 states have in effect laws and policies that require disciplining of any school, state, or local educational agency employee or volunteer who, having reason to believe another employee or volunteer has committed an act of sexual misconduct against a student, fails to report such act in the same manner the state requires the reporting of child abuse and neglect or, in the absence of such a requirement, as quickly as practicable. Requires each state to have a single, statewide commission for receiving and documenting such reports that: (1) establishes policies for investigating and reporting such allegations; and (2) has a toll-free number that can be used to report such allegations. Directs states to report to the Secretary of Education whenever an employee or volunteer is terminated or punished on the basis of an act of sexual misconduct toward a student, including the reason such action was taken and the identification and last known address such individual. Authorizes the Secretary to penalize noncompliant states by reducing their funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 by up to 5%. Directs the Secretary to maintain a national database that contains, at a minimum, the details this Act requires each state to report.

Date: 2007-11-15
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Parents' Rights Empowerment and Protection Act (PREP Act) - Requires each preschool and elementary and secondary school that receives federal funds to obtain the affirmative, informed, written consent of a child's parent before requesting information from, or conveying information to, such child on topics relating to sex or sexuality.Requires parents, upon their request, to be given an opportunity to review such information as well as a description of the context of, and need for, its request or conveyance.Subjects individuals and schools to civil liability and fines for violating these consent and disclosure requirements. Makes noncompliant schools ineligible for federal funds for one year following a violation.Amends the General Education Provisions Act to direct administrators of surveys, analyses, or evaluations that require students to reveal certain personal or familial information to obtain the prior consent of adult or emancipated students and prior written consent of minor students' parents.

Date: 2007-11-15
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Enhancing Teaching Standards and License Portability Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award a competitive grant to a partnership between an organization representing state educational agency administrators and one or more independent professional organizations that have teacher preparation, licensure, and assessment expertise to: (1) enhance kindergarten through grade 12 teaching standards; (2) develop performance-based teaching assessments that are linked to such standards and can be used for licensing; and (3) provide technical assistance and matching subgrants to states to adopt such teaching standards and assessments, align their licensing systems to such standards, and facilitate teacher license portability across the states.

Date: 2007-12-18
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Kindergarten Plus Act of 2008 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states to provide Kindergarten Plus (K+) programs of voluntary full days of kindergarten during the summer before and the summer after their traditional kindergarten school year. Directs the Secretary to ensure, to the extent possible, that each grant is of sufficient size to enable the state to provide K+ to all eligible students served by the local educational agencies (LEAs) within the state with the highest concentrations of eligible students. Makes children eligible to participate in such programs if they are: (1) five-years old or will be eligible to attend kindergarten at the beginning of the next school year; (2) from a family with an income at or below 185% of the poverty line; and (3) not already served by a high-quality program in the summer before or the summer after the child enters kindergarten. Requires states, in awarding subgrants, to give priority to LEAs that: (1) serve the greatest number or percentage of eligible students; and (2) propose to reduce class size and student-to-teacher ratios in K+ significantly below the average ratios in regular kindergarten classes served by the LEA. Provides for direct grants to LEAs whose states do not apply for grants. Sets forth K+ teacher and personnel quality standards.

Date: 2008-03-13
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Commercial Truck Fuel Savings Demonstration Act of 2008 - Prohibits any reduction of an apportionment of federal-aid highway funds to a state that allows the operation of certain commercial truck vehicles weighing over 80,000 pounds on Interstate System highways in the state when the weighted average retail price of retail number 2 diesel in the United States is $3.50 or more per gallon. Requires the Comptroller General to study the effects on the overall highway safety in participating states.

Date: 2008-05-22
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Economic Development Administration Reauthorization Act of 2008 - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out an Excellence in Economic Development Award Program to recognize innovative economic development strategies of national significance. Directs the Secretary to publicly solicit nominations of nonprofit organizations or institutions.Authorizes a recipient of an economic adjustment grant who determines that a revolving loan fund established using such assistance is no longer needed or that the recipient could make better use of the assistance to carry out another project that meets the requirements of the Act to request the Secretary to approve conversion of the assistance by: (1) selling fund assets to a third party; or (2) retaining repayments of principal and interest on loans provided through the fund. Requires such a recipient to use the net proceeds from a sale of assets to pay any portion of the costs of one or more projects that meet Act requirements. Directs the Secretary, before providing investment assistance for a construction project under such Act, to establish the expected period during which the assistance recipient shall make best efforts to achieve economic development objectives. Requires acquired or improved property to be held in trust by the recipient for the benefit of the project, and requires the Secretary to retain a reversionary interest in the property, during that period. Extends the authorization of appropriations for economic development assistance programs. Increases the minimum level of funding for planning and grants for administrative expenses.

Date: 2008-07-15
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Put School Counselors Where They're Needed Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to implement a demonstration project providing competitive, four-year grants to at least 10 secondary schools that have a four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate of 60% or lower, for the provision of additional school counselors and counselor resources. Expresses the sense of Congress that grantees should provide one additional counselor for every 250 students at risk. Requires the additional school counselors to serve primarily students identified as being at risk of not graduating in four years. Makes grantees that demonstrate progress in improving their graduation rates eligible for subsequent grants.

Date: 2008-07-28
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Safety for Our Schoolchildren Act of 2008 - Requires states and local educational agencies (LEAs) to: (1) obtain an FBI background check on individuals prior to offering them employment as school employees; and (2) if the check identifies them as sexual predators, report their application to local law enforcement. Prohibits states or LEAs from hiring individuals as: (1) school employees if they have been convicted of a crime of violence or other felony; or (2) school bus drivers if they have been convicted of, or pled guilty to, drunk driving or a serious moving violation. Withholds funds available to states for planning and administration and to LEAs as subgrants under part A of title II (Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, if they violate such prohibitions or fail to take such actions.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Josh Miller Helping Everyone Access Responsive Treatment in Schools Act of 2008, or the Josh Miller HEARTS 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 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for use in their schools; and/or (2) provide training to meet the grant requirement that at least five adult employees or volunteers at each school where an AED is to be used successfully complete training in its use and in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Requires LEA grant applicants also to demonstrate that: (1) the AEDs are integrated into the schools' emergency response procedures; and (2) emergency services personnel are notified of their locations. Gives grant priority to schools that: (1) lack an AED; (2) typically have a significant number of students, staff, and visitors present during the day; (3) generally have a longer wait for emergency medical services than other public facilities in the community; and (4) have not received funds under the Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act.

Date: 2008-09-18
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Every Student Counts Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require, beginning by the 2011-2012 school year, states, local educational agencies (LEAs), and secondary schools annually to include on the report cards required under title I of the Act: (1) their four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate; (2) their cumulative graduation rate; (3) the number of students graduating in more than four years with a regular secondary school diploma; (4) the number of students who have been removed from the adjusted cohort; (5) the percentage of students from an adjusted cohort who remain in secondary school after four years; and (6) the percentage of secondary school students in each grade, except the graduating grade, prepared to advance to the next grade. Requires such data, except for data on students who remain in secondary school after four years, to be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency, and status as economically disadvantaged. Directs states, LEAs, and secondary schools in states that lack a statewide longitudinal data system with individual student identifiers to make certain annual interim graduation rate calculations; but prohibits the use of such interim calculations after the 2010-2011 school year. Requires the use of aggregate and disaggregated cumulative graduation rates in determining the success of each secondary school and LEA in making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic performance standards under the Act. Requires states, LEAs, and schools that have a cumulative graduation rate below 90% overall or for any of the student subgroups, to make specified yearly progress in improving such rate or be deemed as failing to make AYP.

Date: 2008-09-26
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Eating Disorders Awareness, Prevention, and Education Act of 2009 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the use of innovative assistance funds for programs to: (1) improve identification of students with eating disorders; (2) increase awareness of such disorders among parents and students; and (3) train educators with respect to effective eating disorder prevention and assistance methods. Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a program to broadcast public service announcements to improve public awareness, and to promote the identification and prevention, of eating disorders. Requires the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics to: (1) study the impact eating disorders have on educational advancement and achievement; (2) report on current state and local programs to educate youth on the dangers of eating disorders; and (3) recommend federal, state, and local measures that could be undertaken.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1987 to allow the Clerk of the House of Representatives, at the request of a Member of the House, to donate computers and related peripheral tools previously used by the Member to a public elementary or secondary school designated by such Member without regard to whether the donation: (1) is a cost to the government; or (2) has a recoverable value.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Congress
Universal Prekindergarten Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide grants to a designated state agency for development of universal prekindergaten programs for all children three, four, and five years old in the state. Requires the state to: (1) match federal funds by at least 20%; and (2) submit with its grant application a plan to establish, coordinate, and implement a statewide universal prekindergarten program. Authorizes state agencies to set aside up to 5% of a grant for ongoing professional development activities for teachers and staff of prekindergarten programs that wish to participate.

Date: 2009-01-15
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: 2009-01-15
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Student Internet Safety Act of 2009 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow local educational agencies to use state subgrants under the Enhancing Education through Technology program and the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program to develop and implement programs promoting safe internet use by students. Includes among such programs, those that: (1) educate students about appropriate online behavior; (2) protect students against online predators, cyberbullying, or unwanted exposure to inappropriate material; or (3) promote parental involvement in their children's internet use.

Date: 2009-01-28
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Student Protection Act - Requires that by FY2012 states have in effect laws and policies that require disciplining of any school, state, or local educational agency employee who, having reason to believe another employee has committed an act of sexual misconduct against a student, fails to report such act in the same manner the state requires the reporting of child abuse and neglect or, in the absence of such a requirement, as quickly as practicable. Requires each state to have a single, statewide commission for receiving and documenting such reports that: (1) establishes policies for investigating and reporting such allegations; and (2) has a toll-free number that can be used anonymously to report such allegations. Directs states to report to the Secretary of Education whenever an employee is terminated or punished on the basis of an act of sexual misconduct toward a student, including the reason such action was taken and the identification and last known address such individual. Authorizes the Secretary to penalize noncompliant states by reducing their funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 by up to 5%. Directs the Secretary to maintain a national database that contains, at a minimum, the details this Act requires each state to report.

Date: 2009-01-28
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Rural Education Equality and Improvement Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Education to extend to all rural local educational agencies (LEAs) the same level of increased flexibility that the Secretary extends to any category of rural LEAs regarding their compliance with requirements under part A of title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Date: 2009-02-03
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Parents Right to Know Improvement Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require local educational agencies (LEAs) to notify the parents of each student at the beginning of each school year that they will provide the parents, upon request, with timely information regarding the professional qualifications of their child's specialized pupil services instructors. (This is in addition to the current requirement that LEAs provide parents, upon request, with information regarding the professional qualifications of their child's classroom teachers.) Defines "pupil services instructors" as qualified professionals who provide ongoing, direct instruction to disabled children with individualized education programs.

Date: 2009-02-24
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Prescribe A Book Act - Creates a Pediatric Early Literacy program under which the Secretary of Education awards matching grants to nonprofit organizations for the implementation of three-part models through which: (1) health care providers encourage parents to read aloud to their children and offer them recommendations and strategies for doing so; (2) health care providers give each visiting child between the ages of six months and five-years a new, developmentally appropriate children's book to take home and keep; and (3) volunteers reading to children in health care facility waiting areas show parents the techniques and pleasures of reading aloud to children. Requires that the books provided to children under the program be obtained at a discount.

Date: 2009-03-16
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Bullying and Gang Reduction for Improved Education Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to add bullying and gang prevention to the violence and drug abuse prevention activities currently supported under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program. Provides that, in addition to fostering a safe and drug-free learning environment, such program should facilitate healthy, physically active lifestyles. Makes local park and recreation agencies eligible for funding under the program's mentoring programs for children.

Date: 2009-03-18
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Pledge Language is English Declaration and Government Endorsement Act of 2009 - Prohibits state or local educational agencies from requiring or permitting the Pledge of Allegiance or national anthem to be recited or sung in any language other than English in any elementary or secondary school under their jurisdiction. Withholds federal funds from state or local educational agencies that violate such prohibition, unless the funds are specifically appropriated to such agencies after they have been found to be violating the prohibition. Establishes a private right of action for persons injured by violations of such prohibition.

Date: 2009-03-19
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
High-Quality Education Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to states, or local educational agencies (LEAs) in states that do not receive such grants, to reduce the size of core curriculum classes in public elementary and secondary schools. Requires such grants to be provided only to states or LEAs serving schools whose average core curriculum class size is greater than 18 students in kindergarten through grade 3, 22 students in grades 4 through 8, and 25 students in grades 9 through 12. Requires grant funds to be used for: (1) constructing new classroom space; (2) hiring additional teachers; and (3) purchasing portable structures to replace administrative offices that are converted into classrooms. Permits the Secretary to give grant priority to states or LEAs serving schools: (1) where over 17% of the students between age 4 and 18 are from impoverished families; or (2) whose average core curriculum class size is higher than the average core curriculum class size of schools served by other applicants.

Date: 2009-03-19
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include family therapists among the professionals authorized to provide services under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program and the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling programs. Includes family therapists as pupil services personnel authorized to provide services as part of a comprehensive program to meet student needs.

Date: 2009-03-25
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Children's Hope Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit of up to $100 ($200 for joint returns) for charitable contributions to an education investment organization that disburses 90% of its contributions to provide grants to students for elementary and secondary education expenses, if at least 50% of such disbursements go to students who qualify for free or reduced-cost school lunches. Requires a taxpayer claiming such credit, as a condition of eligibility to receive it, to first claim a state qualified scholarship tax credit.

Date: 2009-04-01
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Teacher Tax Cut Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a tax credit of $3,000 for full-time elementary and secondary school teachers.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Professional Educators Tax Relief Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employees of prekindergarten, elementary, and secondary schools a tax credit of up to $3,000 (adjusted annually for inflation after 2009). Requires such employees to hold positions involving: (1) regular contact with students; and (2) the formulation or implementation of the educational program for the school.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Education Improvement Tax Cut Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a tax credit up to $5,000 per year (adjusted annually for inflation after 2009) for contributions to a school tuition organization which distributes at least 90 percent of its annual gross income for elementary and secondary school scholarships; and (2) a tax credit up to $5,000 per year (adjusted annually for inflation after 2009) for contributions to a school materials organization which distributes at least 90 percent of its annual gross income to elementary and secondary schools for materials and equipment for instruction and for extracurricular activities.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Substitute Teaching Improvement Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive demonstration grants to high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) or partnerships between such LEAs and institutions of higher education or nonprofit education organizations for the establishment of comprehensive training programs to increase the effectiveness of substitute teaching. Requires LEAs to use such grants to: (1) train substitute teachers; (2) train principals and permanent teachers in effectively integrating substitute teachers into school operations; (3) develop a resource kit for substitute teachers; and (4) collect data on substitute teachers and practices for managing substitute teachers in participating districts. Directs the Secretary to commission an independent evaluation of the prevalence of substitute teaching and current state and local efforts to improve its effectiveness.

Date: 2009-04-21
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Prepare All Kids Act of 2009 - Creates a part I (High Quality Prekindergarten Programs) under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Implements such part by requiring the Secretary 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 to establish, expand, or enhance voluntary high quality full-day prekindergarten programs serving children ages three through five. Directs state grantees to set aside: (1) at least 15% of their grant for quality early childhood development programs for children ages zero through three; and (2) at least 10% of their grant to extend the hours of early childhood programs to create extended day and year programs. Requires prekindergarten subgrantees to: (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.

Date: 2009-04-30
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states, when determining whether disabled or limited English proficient student subgroups are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic performance standards, to include in such subgroups students who are no longer identified as disabled or limited English proficient but who were so identified during any of the preceding three school years.

Date: 2009-05-04
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Teacher Tax Credit Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an eligible educator an annual $2,000 tax credit. Defines: (1) "eligible educator" as an individual who is a kindergarten through grade 12 teacher, instructor, counselor, principal, or aide in an eligible elementary or secondary school for at least 900 hours during a school year; and (2) "eligible elementary or secondary school" as a school that is eligible for schoolwide assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Date: 2009-05-04
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to require: (1) states to use grants for safe and drug-free schools to collect and report information on the incidence of bullying and harassment; and (2) local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools to use subgrants to prevent and respond to incidents of bullying and harassment. Requires such LEAs or schools to: (1) notify parents and students annually of conduct prohibited in their school discipline policies, that now must include bullying and harassment; and (2) establish grievance procedures for students and parents to register complaints regarding such conduct. Includes bullying and harassment within the Act's definition of violence.

Date: 2009-05-05
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Fair Funding for Schools Act of 2009 - Amends the Impact Aid program (which compensates local educational agencies (LEAs) for the financial burden of federal activities affecting their areas) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to alter the formula for determining the payments due LEAs for federal ownership of property when appropriations for a fiscal year are insufficient to provide them with full compensation. Alters the formula for determining the payments due LEAs for eligible federally-connected children. Includes not only children in average daily attendance, but also those enrolled pursuant to a state open enrollment policy. Continues an LEA's eligibility for such payments while activities associated with military base closures and realignments or force structure changes or relocations are ongoing. Allows the calculation of such payments using current student counts instead of prior fiscal year data when LEAs experience a specified influx of new students due to federal activities. Requires the Secretary of Education to allow LEAs to count their federally-connected children using the date they register their students for the fiscal year for which their application is filed. Alters the formula for determining the construction payments due LEAs that are eligible for other Impact Aid payments. Divides 80% of the construction funds evenly between LEAs impacted by military dependent children and LEAs impacted by children residing on Indian lands, with the remainder reserved for emergency repair and modernization grants to LEAs serving Indian lands or experiencing a specified influx of new students due to federal activities. Alters the formula for determining whether a state's plan for equalizing assistance to its LEAs will except it from the prohibition on state aid to LEAs being affected by Impact Aid payments. Requires new LEAs applying for Impact Aid to have boundaries established by state law and the authority to tax or receive an imputed local tax. Reauthorizes appropriations for the Impact Aid program.

Date: 2009-05-06
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Rural Education Achievement Program Reauthorization Act - Amends part B (Rural Education Initiative) of title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise the Small, Rural School Achievement program, which gives rural local educational agencies (LEAs) federal formula grants and greater flexibility in the use of state educational funds. Limits eligibility to LEAs whose schools are all designated with a school locale code of Fringe Rural, Distant Rural, or Remote Rural, unless located in an area the state defines as rural. Raises federal grant limits when funds available to implement the program equal or exceed $100 million. Alters LEAs' eligibility for federal funds under the Rural and Low-Income School program by requiring that: (1) at least 40% of the children ages 5 through 17 that LEAs serve be eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act; and (2) all of their schools be designated with a school locale code of Distant Town, Remote Town, Fringe Rural, Distant Rural, or Remote Rural.

Date: 2009-05-14
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Science Accountability Act of 2009 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states to: (1) establish challenging academic content and student achievement standards in science, beginning in the 2010-2011 school year; and (2) measure the achievement of students in grades three through eight against such standards, beginning in the 2011-2012 school year.

Date: 2009-05-20
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
No Child Left Unimmunized Against Influenza Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to carry out a multistate demonstration program designed to test the feasibility of using the nation's elementary and secondary schools as influenza vaccination centers in coordination with school nurses, school health care programs, local health departments, community health care providers, state insurance agencies, and private insurers. Prohibits the Secretary from using such program for children who are eligible under other federally funded programs for payment of the costs of purchasing and administering the influenza vaccine. Requires the Secretary to work with the Secretary of Labor, state insurance agencies, and private insurers to ensure that children who have private insurance have coverage for all reasonable and customary expenses, including the costs of purchasing and administering the vaccine, incurred when influenza vaccine is administered outside of the physician's office in a school or other related setting. Authorizes the Secretary to pay the cost of purchasing and administering the influenza vaccine for children to the extent such cost is not covered through other federally funded programs or through private insurance. Requires the program to be designed to administer vaccines consistent with recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for the annual vaccination of all children aged 5 years through 19 years. Sets forth selection criteria for schools. Makes participation by a school or an individual voluntary. Requires the program to be conducted for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 influenza seasons.

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Health
Positive Behavior for Safe and Effective Schools Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to allow states to allocate school improvement funds under title I of the ESEA for coordinated, early intervention services for all students. Includes among such services, schoolwide positive behavior supports, defined as a systematic approach to embed proven practices for early intervention services in order to achieve important social outcomes and increase student learning, while preventing problem behaviors. Requires improvements in schoolwide learning climates, including schoolwide positive behavior supports, to be a target of: (1) technical assistance provided by states to local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools, and by LEAs to schools identified as needing improvement; (2) schoolwide programs that allow LEAs to consolidate educational funds to upgrade the entire educational program of schools that serve a high proportion of low-income families; (3) professional development funding; (4) funding under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program; and (5) elementary and secondary school counseling programs. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish, within the Department of Education, an Office of Specialized Instructional Support Services to oversee, implement, and ensure adequate evaluation of, the provision of specialized instructional support services in schools by school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other qualified professionals.

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Education Tax Deduction for All Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow parents of children attending an elementary or secondary school a tax deduction equal to: (1) 25% of their state's average public education per pupil expenditure for each qualifying student attending public school; and (2) 100% of such expenditure for each student attending any other school, including a home school. Allows taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize their tax deductions to claim such deduction.

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Taxation
School Meal Enhancement Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement a school-wide paperless free school meal program which allows local educational agencies (LEAs) to select certain schools to provide free meals to all their students without the use of paper applications to determine their eligibility for free or reduced price breakfasts or lunches under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 or the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. Prohibits the participation of schools that do not have a student enrollment of which at least: (1) 65% are estimated to be eligible for free meals under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; or (2) 75% are estimated to be eligible for free or reduced price meals under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. Requires the Secretary to issue guidance that establishes an alternate, paperless method of determining such estimated eligibility rates. Reimburses the school food service authority of each participating LEA pursuant to a formula that factors in such estimated eligibility rates.

Date: 2009-06-03
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Student-to-School Nurse Ratio Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make demonstration grants to states in which the student-to-school nurse ratio in public secondary schools, elementary schools, and kindergarten is 1,000 or more students to every school nurse to reduce such ratio.

Date: 2009-06-04
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Health
Standards to Provide Educational Achievement for Kids Act or the SPEAK Act - Amends the National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act (the Act) to require the Commissioner for Educational Statistics to add science to the mandatory biennial national and state academic achievement assessments of students in grades four, eight, and twelve in reading and mathematics. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states receiving school improvement funds to participate in such science assessments of students in grades four and eight, beginning with the 2010-2011 school year. Amends the Act to task the National Assessment Governing Board with creating or adopting voluntary American education content standards in mathematics and science for kindergarten through grade 12 which reflect the knowledge students need to enter college or the workforce and compete in the global economy. Requires the Secretary of Education to establish the American Standards Incentive fund to award competitive four-year grants to states which agree to: (1) adopt such voluntary mathematics and science standards as the core of their own academic content standards in such subjects; and (2) align their teacher certification and professional development requirements to such standards. Provides additional funds to successful grantees for the enhancement of their student performance data systems. Authorizes the Secretary to extend by two to four years for such grantees the 12-year period at the end of which students must meet or exceed state academic performance standards established under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Date: 2009-06-10
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
Paperless Enrollment for School Meals Act of 2009 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to allow schools and local educational agencies (LEAs) to receive special assistance payments for free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs that are based not on applications for such meals, but on estimates of the number of children eligible for such meals. Requires such estimates to be derived from recent data, such as survey, welfare, or tax data. Permits schools and LEAs from high poverty areas to receive special assistance payments for free or reduced price meals that are not based on applications, if they directly certify a specified minimum percentage of their students as eligible for free meals due to such students' eligibility for certain other public assistance. Reimburses such schools and LEAs pursuant to a formula that factors in the percentage of students directly certified as eligible for free meals. Requires schools and LEAs reimbursed on the basis of estimates or certifications to provide free meals to all their students under the school lunch and breakfast programs and cover, from nonfederal sources, the costs of serving such meals that exceed the assistance received under such programs.

Date: 2009-06-10
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education
State and Local Education Flexibility Act of 2009 - Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise requirements for determining whether states, local educational agencies (LEAs), and schools are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic performance standards. Provides for state and local flexibility, under specified conditions, to: (1) exclude from AYP and academic assessments the performance of certain limited English proficient students; (2) include in favorable AYP graduation rates certain students who require extra time to graduate due to exceptional circumstances or disability; (3) modify academic content and achievement standards in the individual education plans of students with disabilities; (4) develop assessments locally and use multiple assessments; and (5) have alternative qualification requirements for special education teachers and rural teachers. Subjects social studies teachers to ESEA competence requirements. Treats teacher competence in general science or social sciences as competence in those subjects' subdisciplines. Directs the Comptroller General to study the adequacy of ESEA school improvement funds. Allows states, which meet certain requirements, to measure AYP using individual growth models measuring individual student progress from grade to grade. Requires that each school be given a grade based on the percentage of AYP factors it has attained. Gives grade A schools greater flexibility in the use of school improvement funds and states and LEAs greater flexibility in choosing the ESEA intervention they consider appropriate for lower-graded schools that fail to make AYP for two years. Requires schools to provide parents with student progress report cards showing the school's AYP grade. Requires states to include their performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress on schoolwide and statewide progress report cards.

Date: 2009-06-18
Topic: Education (Elementary & Secondary)
Subject: Education