zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Student Debt Reduction Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to cap annual, income-based, student loan repayments under the Federal Family Education Loan and Direct Loan programs at 10% (currently, 15%) of the amount by which a borrower's and the borrower's spouse's adjusted gross income exceeds 150% of the poverty line. Requires the Secretary of Education to cancel or repay such loans after 20 (currently, 25) years.

Date: 2010-03-11
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Allows a person to transfer to the Thrift Savings Fund account of any qualified member contributions previously made by such person under a qualified tuition program for which such member is the designated beneficiary. Defines "qualified member" to mean any member of the uniformed services serving on active duty or any member of the Ready Reserve in any pay status who: (1) is eligible to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan; and (2) provides any information necessary to identify or establish such member's account and to effect such transfer. Permits such a transfer for the benefit of a qualified member to be made irrespective of whether such member has otherwise elected to participate. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude any such qualified tuition program distribution to a Thrift Savings Fund from the distributee's gross income.

Date: 2010-03-16
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Medical School Construction Grant Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a program to award grants to eligible medical schools for the purpose of constructing, renovating, or improving medical school facilities to increase the supply of physicians. Sets forth the allocation of such awards with first priority given to new medical schools.

Date: 2010-03-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Health
Campus Fire Safety Education Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or consortiums of such institutions for: (1) initiating, expanding, or improving fire safety education programs; and (2) increasing fire safety awareness among enrolled students. Directs the Secretary to give priority to institutions that plan to use funds to initiate, expand, or improve fire safety education programs that include educational material specifically prepared for students with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities. Sets forth provisions regarding grant periods, limits on awards, and matching and other requirements. Requires an institution to use grant funds to initiate, expand, or improve a fire safety education program that: (1) reaches all enrolled students; (2) ensures maximum exposure to and increased awareness of, and that effectuates change in behavior regarding, fire safety by students through conducting outreach to students a minimum of twice per academic year and through measures that provide fire safety information to any student upon request; (3) includes minimum instruction regarding fire behavior, fire injury and death, ignition scenarios, fire safety systems and equipment, and the importance of means of egress; and (4) includes a mechanism for carrying out evaluations of program effectiveness. Requires the Secretary to publish a report of best practices for initiating, expanding, or improving fire safety education programs.

Date: 2010-03-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Transforming Undergraduate STEM Education Act - Amends the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 to make changes to the program requiring the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award competitive grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to expand previously implemented reforms of undergraduate science, mathematics, engineering, or technology (STEM) education. Expands grant uses to allow their use in: (1) implementing, rather that just expanding, research-based reforms in undergraduate STEM education; (2) creating multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary STEM courses or programs; (3) expanding undergraduate STEM research opportunities to include interdisciplinary research and research in industry, at federal labs, and at international research institutions or research sites; (4) implementing or expanding bridge, cohort, tutoring, or mentoring programs that enhance student recruitment or persistence; (5) implementing STEM faculty development programs; (6) supporting the participation of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in instructional or assessment activities at primarily undergraduate IHEs; and (7) researching STEM teaching and learning at the undergraduate level related to the proposed reform effort. Gives priority, among proposals that expand existing reform efforts beyond a single academic unit, to proposals for which a senior institutional administrator serves as the principal investigator.

Date: 2010-03-25
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Fitness for Life Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make competitive, renewable four-year grants to ten institutions of higher education (IHEs) for the expansion of their master's degree in physical education programs. Requires IHEs to use the grant funds to: (1) teach students to incorporate technology and innovative teaching practices into physical education instruction and encourage children to be more physically active outside the classroom; (2) develop program curricula that link practice and theory; (3) partner with local educational agencies (LEAs) that serve schools where their students are to serve as full-time student teachers and most of their instruction is to occur; (4) extend their programs into the communities served by their partner LEAs; (5) actively promote their programs to prospective students; and (6) engage in such other activities the Secretary requires. Directs the Secretary, in developing the grant program, to consult with an IHE that for the past five years has: (1) offered a master's degree in physical education program that emphasizes the incorporation of technology into physical education instruction; and (2) partnered with an LEA that serves schools in which its master's degree candidates serve as student teachers.

Date: 2010-04-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Measuring and Evaluating Trends for Reliability, Integrity, and Continued Success (METRICS) Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states to improve access to, and the sharing and use of, education data to improve student outcomes. Requires state grantees to have or be in the process of implementing integrated statewide education longitudinal data systems, which link individual students' early childhood, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education and workforce data over time. Requires the use of grant funds to: (1) expand the ability of the data systems to link such data and do so across state agencies; (2) improve opportunities to access, analyze, and use data from such systems; and (3) build the capacity of teachers, leaders, parents, students, researchers, and the public to use longitudinal data for effective decision-making. Gives grant priority to states that propose to coordinate their efforts with local educational agencies (LEAs) or other states. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to high-need LEAs to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for using data to improve teaching, learning, and student outcomes. Requires such plan to include strategies to: (1) provide teachers, leaders, parents, students, researchers, and the public with access to student education data in a manner that respects student and teacher privacy; (2) coordinate with state efforts to build integrated statewide longitudinal data systems; (3) regularly analyze and share student education data with school personnel, parents, and students; (4) train teachers and school leaders to use such data effectively; (5) ensure that source data used at the local level is consistent with source data used to report indicators as required by state or federal law; and (6) provide training that addresses the use of data collection software, privacy policies, data integrity issues, report planning, and processes.

Date: 2010-04-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
College Savings Flexibility Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow, between 2010 and 2015, distributions from a qualified tuition program to pay for principal and interest owed on student loans.

Date: 2010-04-15
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2010 - Amends the federal bankruptcy code to remove qualified educational loans as an exception to discharge from bankruptcy.

Date: 2010-04-15
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
College Debt Swap Act of 2010 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow certain borrowers to consolidate their private education loans as Direct Consolidation Loans. Limits such borrowers to those who: (1) are not in default on a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under title IV, except in certain instances of economic hardship; (2) were enrolled, between July 1, 1994, and July 1, 2010, as students eligible for unsubsidized Stafford loans or PLUS loans under the Federal Family Education Loan or Direct Loan programs; (3) borrowed at least one private education loan during such enrollment period; (4) are repaying their private education loan or are in a grace period preceding such repayment; (5) do not have an adverse credit history; and (6) have not previously obtained a Direct Consolidated Loan under title IV. Makes the program applicable only to private education loans disbursed to borrowers between July 1, 1994, and July 1, 2010. Directs the Secretary of Education to inform and educate students and their families about this loan consolidation program. Terminates the authority to make Consolidation loans under such program on June 30, 2012. Authorizes and appropriates additional funds for Pell Grant increases for FY2011-FY2012.

Date: 2010-04-15
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Student Visa Security Improvement Act - Amends the the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) require DHS employees to conduct in-person interviews and conduct on-site reviews of applications and supporting documentation with respect to student and exchange program visa applicants prior to final visa adjudication, with emphasis on determining whether an applicant is inadmissible for terrorist-related activities; (2) require an institution or exchange visitor program participating in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program to ensure that each covered student or exchange visitor is an active program participant, is observed, and is reported to DHS if he or she transfers institutions or academic majors; (3) provide Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) access to appropriate employees of a SEVIS program sponsor under specified circumstances; and (4) require a SEVIS upgrade to add data fields that include verification that students are meeting minimum academic standards.

Date: 2010-05-05
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Immigration
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income payments received by a student under a comprehensive student work-learning-service program operated by a work college.

Date: 2010-05-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Student Enhancement Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax deduction, up to $10,000 per year, for supplemental education expenses. Defines "supplemental education expenses" as expenses not required for the a student's enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary school that are for academic tutoring designed to supplement or enhance the student's education and related books, supplies, and equipment.

Date: 2010-05-11
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act of 2010 - Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act's program of grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for the education of homeless youths to: (1) raise the minimum allotment for each state; (2) elaborate on the functions of each state's Office of the Coordinator for Education of Homeless Children and Youths; (3) elaborate on required state procedures for resolving disputes regarding the educational placement of homeless youth; (4) ensure that homeless youth do not lose credits earned in other schools and are not segregated into separate schools or programs within schools; (5) require states, LEAs, and schools to promote success for homeless youth by holding them to the same achievement standards as other students and removing barriers to their full participation in all classes and school activities; (6) list student-centered factors to be considered before an LEA places a homeless youth in a school; (7) require such schools to immediately enroll homeless youth despite unpaid fees or missed application or enrollment deadlines; (8) protect the privacy of information about a homeless youth's living situation; (9) require LEAs to coordinate services provided to homeless and disabled youth; (10) add to the duties of, and funding available to, LEA liaisons for homeless youth; (11) provide for the enrollment of homeless children in preschool programs; (12) require the Secretary of Education to establish or designate a Federal Office of the Coordinator for Education of Homeless Children and Youths; (13) authorize the Secretary to award grants or enter into contracts for evaluation, dissemination, and technical assistance activities for educational programs for homeless youth; and (14) triple authorized FY2010 appropriations from those authorized for FY2009. Establishes a separately funded Emergency Disaster Grant program which distributes funds to LEAs directly or through states to increase LEAs' capacity to respond to major disasters.

Date: 2010-05-12
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Universal College Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit up to $5,000 annually for the qualified tuition and related expenses of an individual taxpayer, a taxpayer's spouse, or dependents for instruction at an institution of higher education. Allows such credit for four years of undergraduate education expenses and six years of graduate or professional education expenses. Excludes expenses for courses involving sports, games, or hobbies (unless part of a degree program) and expenses unrelated to an academic program (e.g., student activity fees, athletic fees, or insurance expenses).

Date: 2010-05-12
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Bases the amount of monthly stipend paid to veterans pursuing a program of education under the Post-9/11 veterans educational assistance program on the amount of basic allowance for housing (BAH) payable in the ZIP code area in which the individual resides. (Under current law, such amount is based on the amount of BAH payable in the ZIP code area in which the institution of higher education in which the individual is enrolled is located.)

Date: 2010-05-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Post-9/11 GI Bill Improvement Act - Allows a member of the Armed Forces to transfer educational assistance under the post-9/11 educational assistance program to a dependent child at any time before the child attains age 26.

Date: 2010-05-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Perkins Loan Extension Act of 2010 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to delay from October 1, 2012, to October 1, 2013, the date after which institutions of higher education must begin distributing late Perkins Loan collections to the Secretary of Education.

Date: 2010-05-27
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Christopher Bryski Student Loan Protection Act and Christopher's Law - (Sec. 2) Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) that provide student loan counseling to new borrowers and cosigners at the time of any student loan application, origination, or consolidation, or at the time the cosigner assumes responsibility for repayment, to include information on creating a durable power of attorney for financial decisionmaking. Requires private educational lenders to provide borrowers and cosigners of student loans with that information at the time of loan application. Requires lenders of private educational loans for which cosigners are held jointly liable to describe clearly and conspicuously, in writing, the cosigners' obligations regarding such loans, including the effect a borrower's or cosigner's death, disability, or inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity would have on such obligations. Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to publish model forms for the information this Act requires to be provided regarding: (1) the creation of a durable power of attorney; and (2) a cosigner's obligation. (Sec. 3) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require IHEs to provide borrowers of federal educational loans information at their entrance counseling regarding: (1) the effect their death, disability, or inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity would have on their federal and private educational loans; and (2) their state's model form, published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, for creating a durable power of attorney.

Date: 2010-05-28
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Teen Parent Graduation and College Achievement Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to award grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to help pregnant and parenting students stay in school by expanding their access to services. Includes tutoring, pregnancy-related health care, child care, transportation, after-school support, academic counseling, school social work, or family planning among such services. Requires LEA and IHE grantees to: (1) enter into partnerships and share grant funds, when appropriate, with public agencies or community-based organizations to help pregnant or parenting students stay in school; and (2) use no more than 10% of their grant for administrative costs.

Date: 2010-05-28
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
America Realizing the Informational Skills and Initiative of New Graduates Act of 2010 or America RISING Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a program of grants to: (1) eligible small business employers to defray the cost of compensation they pay to recent graduates from institutions of higher education; and (2) such graduates to enable them to defray the cost of undertaking further education for up to 24 months in subjects relating to mathematics, science, engineering, or technology.

Date: 2010-05-28
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Labor and employment
Back to School Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individual taxpayers who are age 55 or older an income-based tax credit for up to $2,000 of qualified tuition and related expenses, plus 25% of such expenses between $2,000 and $4,000. Adjusts the amount of such credit for inflation beginning after 2011.

Date: 2010-06-17
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to require the Secretary of Labor to award competitive grants to states to provide funds to local boards for provision of technical school training subsidies in local areas through one-stop delivery systems to pay tuition costs for the career and technical education of unemployed individuals enrolled or accepted at a technical school. Limits the aggregate amount of subsidies to an individual to $2,000.

Date: 2010-06-24
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Labor and employment
Employee Educational Assistance Act of 2010 - Renders the general terminating date (i.e., December 31, 2010) of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 inapplicable to provisions of that Act that extended the exclusion of employer-provided educational assistance from the gross income of employees (thus making such tax exclusion permanent).

Date: 2010-06-24
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Requires each individual employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a vocational rehabilitation counselor to: (1) have completed a masters degree in vocational rehabilitation counseling before such employment; (2) obtain certification within five years after obtaining such employment; and (3) maintain such certification as a condition of continued employment. Requires each individual employed as a vocational rehabilitation employment coordinator to: (1) have completed a bachelors degree in the relevant field before such employment; (2) obtain certification within five years after obtaining such employment; and (3) maintain such certification as a condition of continued employment. Requires the Director of the VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service to develop a remediation plan for a counselor or coordinator who fails to meet any applicable condition and which the counselor or coordinator must complete in order to continue employment.

Date: 2010-06-29
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
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: 2010-07-01
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Authorizes a faculty member of a military service academy (including the Coast Guard Academy and Merchant Marine Academy) or Department of Defense (DOD) professional school (including the National Defense University) to secure federal copyright protection for a scholarly work prepared as part of that person's official duties, but only for purposes of publication by a scholarly press or journal for which such a copyright is required. Requires the faculty member to transfer such copyright to the owner or publisher of the medium for which the work will be published. Prohibits the acceptance of royalties or other compensation by reason of such copyright protection.

Date: 2010-07-01
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Lifelong Learning Accounts Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish tax-exempt lifelong learning accounts to pay certain educational expenses, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, and information technology devices required for the education of, or courses of instruction of, the account beneficiary; (2) allow individuals between ages 18 and 71 an income-based tax credit for cash contributions to their lifelong learning accounts; (3) exclude from employee gross income employer contributions to a lifelong learning account; and (4) allow employers a tax credit for contributions made to the lifelong learning accounts of their employees and for administrative costs associated with small employer lifelong learning accounts.

Date: 2010-07-13
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Post-9/11 G.I. Bill Dependent Coverage Improvement Act - Amends the veterans' post-9/11 educational assistance program to extend the age of eligibility of dependent children for receipt of transferred educational assistance under the program to such children under the age of 26 (under current law, under the age of 23).

Date: 2010-07-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Revises provisions concerning the post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program to include as active duty service (and therefore qualify for program assistance) full-time service in the National Guard: (1) organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing, or training the National Guard; or (2) when authorized by the President or the Secretary of Defense (DOD) for responding to a national emergency declared by the President and supported by federal funds.

Date: 2010-07-22
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010 - Revises provisions concerning the post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program to, among other things: (1) revise definitions concerning eligibility, and include certain National Guard service as service qualifying for such assistance; (2) revise assistance amounts (including monthly stipends), and types of approved programs of education; (3) allow the pursuit of educational programs at institutions other than institutions of higher learning, including on-job training and apprenticeships, flight training, and correspondence courses; (4) provide an assistance amount for programs of education pursued while on active duty; (5) repeal the limit on the use of such assistance for the payment of only one licensing or certification test; (6) allow an individual entitled to supplemental educational assistance to transfer such entitlement to the post-9/11 program; (7) bar the duplication of benefits under other educational assistance programs; (8) increase the amount of the reporting fee paid by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to an educational institution for providing information concerning an individual's enrollment in a program of education; (9) extend to certain National Guard and reserve personnel members eligibility to receive public-private contributions for additional educational assistance; (10) reauthorize through 2016 the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education; and (11) revise cost-of-living adjustments under the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program. Provides an alternate subsistence allowance amount for veterans entitled to such allowance due to service-connected disabilities.

Date: 2010-07-29
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires the Secretary of Education, beginning in FY2011, to pay to Fort Lewis College in Colorado an amount equal to the charges for tuition for Indian students who are not residents of Colorado and who are enrolled in the College. Limits the amount paid to Fort Lewis College per fiscal year to an amount equal to the charges for tuition for Indian students who were Colorado non-residents and who were enrolled for the academic year 2009-2010. Treats amounts received under this Act as a reimbursement from Colorado to Fort Lewis College for complying with federal law requiring the admission of Indian students at the College free of charge of tuition. Prohibits anything in this Act from being construed as relieving Colorado from reimbursing Fort Lewis College for each academic year: (1) with respect to Indian students who are not Colorado residents and who are enrolled in Fort Lewis College, any amount of the charges for tuition for such enrolled Indian students which exceeds the amount received under this Act; and (2) with respect to Indian students who are Colorado residents and who are enrolled in Fort Lewis College, an amount equal to the charges for tuition for such enrolled Indian students.

Date: 2010-07-29
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Higher Education Affordability Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the Hope and lifetime learning tax credits with a partially refundable $3,000 tax credit for the higher education expenses of a taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or any dependent at an institution of higher education.

Date: 2010-07-30
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Repeals the requirement that the Secretary of Education deny Texas and its local educational agencies funds from the Education Jobs Fund until the state assures the Secretary that: (1) funds used to support elementary and secondary education shall be distributed based on LEAs' relative shares of school improvement funds for the most recent fiscal year for which data are available; (2) such funds will not be used to supplant state formula funding that is distributed like school improvement funds; and (3) state funding for elementary and secondary education, as a percentage of the state's total revenue, will not be reduced through FY2013.

Date: 2010-09-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Developing Innovative Partnerships and Learning Opportunities that Motivate Achievement Act or DIPLOMA Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award renewable five year grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local consortia that include a local educational agency (LEA) and other community partners to: (1) ensure the academic, physical, social, emotional, and civic development of disadvantaged youth; and (2) strengthen their families and communities. Requires each state grantee to develop and implement a state child and youth strategy that assesses children's needs and the assets within the state that can be mobilized, coordinated, and integrated to achieve quantifiable progress toward goals that include ensuring that: (1) children are ready for school; (2) students are engaged and achieving in school; (3) students are physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally healthy; (4) schools and neighborhoods are safe and provide a positive climate for learning; (5) families are supportive and engaged in their children's education; (6) students are ready for postsecondary education and 21st Century careers; and (7) students are contributing to their communities. Directs the consortia to develop and implement a local child and youth strategy that integrates multiple private and public services into a comprehensive, coordinated continuum of services directed toward achieving quantifiable progress toward such goals. Requires the Secretary to award competitive grants directly to local consortia if appropriated funds fall below a specified amount.

Date: 2010-09-28
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Investing in New and Supportive Pathways to Improve and Reward Educators in our Schools Act or INSPIRES Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require each state receiving school improvement funds to: (1) define teacher and principal effectiveness and establish performance ratings; (2) demonstrate that it has developed, in collaboration with teachers and principals, a model teacher and principal evaluation program; (3) demonstrate that each of its local educational agencies (LEAs) has adopted a teacher and principal evaluation program; and (4) demonstrate that each LEA is actively collaborating with teachers and principals in developing and making annual improvements to such program. Requires teacher evaluations to: (1) emphasize student academic growth; (2) include observations of the teacher's classroom performance; (3) rate teachers using at least four performance categories; and (4) provide results that are comparable across all teachers within the LEA. Requires principal evaluations to: (1) emphasize student academic growth; (2) factor in their school's graduation rates; (3) assess the principal's success in recruiting, developing, evaluating, and retaining effective teachers; (4) assess the principal's leadership abilities through observations and other relevant data; (5) rate principals using at least four performance categories; and (6) provide results that are comparable across all principals within the LEA. Requires states and LEAs to report the number and percentage of teachers and principals in each performance category within their respective jurisdictions overall, and at their LEAs and schools that have the highest and lowest poverty rates or the highest and lowest percentages of minority students. Directs the Secretary of Education to: (1) recognize each LEA that has innovative, high-quality, and effective teacher or principal evaluation programs that lead to professional development and improved student performance; and (2) establish a clearinghouse to share the best practices of such programs with educators.

Date: 2010-09-29
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act of 2010 - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to: (1) eliminate the abstinence-only education program; (2) rescind unobligated FY2010 program appropriations; and (3) reprogram such rescinded appropriations for the personal responsibility education program (PREP) for FY2011-FY2014.

Date: 2010-09-29
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Families
Post-9/11 Military Family Fair Education Opportunity Act - Extends to ten years after the date of an individual's last discharge or release from active duty the period in which such individual may transfer to his or her dependents any remaining entitlement to post-9/11 educational assistance benefits available through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Date: 2010-09-29
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2010 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each institution of higher education (IHE) participating in a title IV program (except foreign schools) to include in its annual security report a statement of policy regarding harassment that includes: (1) a prohibition of harassment of students by other students, faculty, and staff; (2) a description of its programs to prevent harassment; (3) a description of the procedures that students should follow if harassment occurs; and (4) a description of the procedures it will follow once an incident of harassment has been reported. Defines "harassment" to include certain conduct undertaken through technological means that limits a student's ability to benefit from the IHE's programs, or creates a hostile or abusive educational environment at the school. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to IHEs to initiate, expand, or improve programs to: (1) prevent the harassment of students; (2) provide counseling or redress services to students who have been harassed or accused of subjecting other students to harassment; and (3) train students, faculty, or staff to prevent harassment or address harassment if it occurs. Directs the Secretary to publish a report of best practices for combating harassment at IHEs.

Date: 2010-11-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvement Act of 2010 - Revises provisions concerning the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program to, among other things: (1) revise definitions concerning eligibility, and include certain National Guard service as service qualifying for such assistance; (2) revise assistance amounts (including monthly stipends), and types of approved programs of education; (3) allow the pursuit of educational programs at institutions other than institutions of higher learning, including on-job training and apprenticeships, flight training, and correspondence courses; (4) provide an assistance amount for programs of education pursued while on active duty; (5) provide an annual effective date for stipend rates; (6) repeal the limit on the use of such assistance for the payment of only one licensing or certification test; (7) allow the use of educational assistance for the payment of national admission tests and tests for determining course credit; (8) bar the duplication of benefits under certain VA educational assistance programs; (9) bar the concurrent receipt of educational assistance benefits transferred to children; (10) allow the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make certain subsistence allowance payments to enrolled veterans when an institution is temporarily closed; (11) increase the amount of the reporting fee paid by the Secretary to an institution for providing information concerning an individual's enrollment in a program of education; (12) limit assistance benefits to individuals who enlisted or reenlisted before October 1, 2012; and (13) revise cost-of-living adjustments under the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program.

Date: 2010-11-18
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
American Opportunity Tax Credit Extension Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the Hope Scholarship tax credit, to: (1) make permanent increases in the amount of such tax credit; (2) allow such credit for the first four years of post-secondary education (currently, first two years); (3) include course materials in the definition of qualified tuition and related expenses for purposes of such credit; (4) increase adjusted gross income levels for purposes of determining eligibility for such credit and the lifetime learning tax credit; and (5) allow such credit as an offset against the alternative minimum tax (AMT).

Date: 2010-11-29
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act or Campus SaVE Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each institution of higher education (IHE) participating in a title IV program (except foreign schools) to include in its annual security report a statement of policy regarding its sexual assault and other intimate partner violence programs and the procedures it follows when such an offense occurs. Requires such procedures to include the provision, in writing, to students or employees that report to the IHE that they have been the victim of such an offense: (1) an explanation of their right to notify proper law enforcement authorities and their option to be assisted by campus authorities in doing so; (2) an explanation of their right to obtain protective orders or enforce protective orders that are already in existence, which the IHE must honor; and (3) contact information for victim services on-campus and in the locality. Requires an IHE's policy regarding sexual assault and other intimate partner violence to include: (1) education that promotes awareness of the offenses; (2) possible sanctions imposed following disciplinary action; (3) procedures victims should follow after such an offense occurs; (4) on-campus disciplinary procedures; and (5) the notification of victims regarding their options for, and assistance in, changing academic, living, transportation, and working situations. Directs the Secretary of Education to seek the Attorney General's counsel regarding the development, and dissemination to IHEs, of best practices for preventing and responding to sex offenses and other intimate partner violence.

Date: 2010-11-30
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the American Opportunity Tax Credit, to provide that any credit amount which is attributable to a federal Pell Grant under the Higher Education Act of 1965 shall be reduced by the  amount of expenses (other than qualified tuition and related expenses) which are taken into account in determining the cost of attendance at an institution of higher education for the academic period for which the credit amount is being determined.  Modifies the definition of "qualified scholarship," for purposes of the tax exclusion for such scholarships, to eliminate the requirement that such scholarships be used for qualified tuition and related expenses and to include a federal Pell Grant as a qualified scholarship.

Date: 2010-12-02
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) payment of home school expenses from Coverdell education savings accounts; and (2) an annual inflation adjustment after 2009 to the contribution limit amount for such accounts.Makes permanent provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 relating to Coverdell education savings accounts, including an increase in the contribution limit amount for such accounts.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow payment of home school expenses from Coverdell education savings accounts.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
National Center for Social Work Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center for Social Work Research as an agency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct, support, and disseminate targeted research on social work methods and outcomes related to problems of significant social concern. Authorizes the Director of the Center to: (1) provide research training and instruction; (2) establish research traineeships and fellowships; (3) provide stipends and allowances; and (4) make grants to nonprofit institutions to provide such training, instruction, traineeships, and fellowships. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an advisory council for the Center.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Social welfare
College Opportunity Tax Credit Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase in 2009 and 2010: (1) the Hope Scholarship tax credit to allow a refundable credit for 100% of qualified tuition and related expenses up to $2,000 and for 50% of such expenses between $2,000 and $6,000; and (2) the lifetime learning tax credit to allow a nonrefundable tax credit for 40% of qualified tuition and related expenses up to $1,000 and for 20% of such expenses between $1,000 and $3,000. Allows the Hope Scholarship tax credit for four years of undergraduate coursework (currently, two years).

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Connecting Education and Emerging Professions Act of 2009 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a Connecting Education and Emerging Professions Demonstration Grant program awarding competitive matching grants to states and local educational agencies (LEAs) that partner with businesses, postsecondary institutions, workforce investment boards, labor organizations, or nonprofit community organizations. Requires such grants to be used to: (1) assess emerging industry pathways and the academic skills needed to succeed in them; (2) design school- and work-based curricula or programs to teach such skills; (3) implement the new curricula or programs in schools where at least 30% of the students are impoverished, that have graduation rates below their state's average, and whose community is experiencing significant or increased unemployment; and (4) evaluate best practices from such curricula or programs and disseminate them to other educational entities. Requires such curricula or programs to: (1) meet challenging state academic content standards; and (2) prepare students for both direct entry into careers with emerging industries in their communities and success in postsecondary education.

Date: 2009-01-08
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify low-income building units that provide housing for a student who previously was a homeless child or youth for the low-income housing tax credit.

Date: 2009-01-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the hope scholarship and lifetime learning tax credits with a higher education opportunity tax credit.Allows a higher education opportunity tax credit for the lesser of: (1) the sum of 100% of qualified tuition and related expenses (including a certain allowance for books) up to $2,000, 50% for such expenses between $2,000 and $4,000, and 25% of such expenses between $4,000 and $8,000; or (2) the excess (if any) of $16,000 over aggregate credits from prior taxable years. Reduces credit amounts for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross incomes over $70,000 ($140,000 in the case of a joint return). Limits such credit to three eligible students per taxpayer in any taxable year. Denies such tax credit to certain part time students and students convicted of a felony drug offense.Repeals the tax deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses.

Date: 2009-01-14
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Taxation
Graduate for a Better Future Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states, educational nonprofit organizations, or partnerships of such entities for their use in providing competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) that have a high school graduation rate of no more than 60% in the aggregate or among at least two subgroups consisting of the poor or major racial or ethnic groups. Requires each LEA subgrantee to use the funds to implement: (1) a college-preparatory curriculum aligned with rigorous secondary school studies; (2) accelerated remedial programs that allow underperforming students to become proficient in mathematics, reading and language arts, and science and thereby graduate in a timely manner; (3) systems to measure student progress in the core subjects and quickly identify students who are dropout risks; (4) a comprehensive college guidance program; (5) a program offering students opportunities for work-based and experiential learning; (6) a program providing students with access to courses in which they may earn college credit; (7) a program providing each student with an academic teacher advisor with whom the student regularly meets; and (8) a program of teacher professional development and institutional leadership that includes diagnostic and formative assessments. Requires nonfederal matching contributions equal to the grant amount. Directs the Secretary to provide for an independent evaluation of, and report to Congress on, the impact this program has on high school graduation rates, college attendance rates, and academic achievement.

Date: 2009-02-11
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education
Medical Economic Deferment for Students Act or the MEDS Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 with respect to the meaning of economic hardship under the Federal Family Education Loan or Perkins Loan and related loan insurance programs. Considers borrowers under such programs to be suffering economic hardship if they are working full-time, have a federal educational debt burden equal to at least 20% of their adjusted gross income, and the difference between their adjusted gross income minus such debt burden is less than 220% of the greater of: (1) the annual earnings of an minimum wage earner; or (2) 150% of the poverty line applicable to their family size.

Date: 2009-03-19
Topic: Education (Higher)
Subject: Education