Education

Supporting Children with Disabilities During COVID–19 Act

United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2020

Supporting Children with Disabilities During COVID-19 Act This bill provides FY2021 supplemental appropriations for grants to assist states in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities and for specified early childhood education programs for children with disabilities. Additionally, the bill specifies reporting requirements related to the use of these funds. It also requires the Department of Education to publish on its website, and the Department of Health and Human Services to release, certain expenditure reports related to these funds. The amounts provided by the bill are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) and the Senate PAYGO rule.

Impact Aid Coronavirus Relief Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2020

Impact Aid Coronavirus Relief Act This bill revises the Impact Aid Program application process for FY2022. It also revises FY2021 allocations under the Migrant Education Program. First, the bill requires local educational agencies (LEAs) participating in the Impact Aid Program to use the student count or federal property valuation data from their FY2021 program applications, as applicable, for their FY2022 program applications. The program provides funding to LEAs that have lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal property or to those that have experienced increased expenditures due to enrollment of federally connected children (e.g., children living on Indian lands or military bases). In addition, the bill directs the Department of Education to use school year 2018-2019 data or school year 2019-2020 data, whichever is greater, for making FY2021 allocations to states under the Migrant Education Program. States use these program funds to identify eligible migratory children and provide them with education and support services.

PRICE Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2020

Price Reform In Cattle Economics Act or the PRICE Act This bill revises provisions related to meat and poultry processing facilities, including by directing the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to provide competitive grants to land-grant colleges and universities to conduct and publish research on the feasibility of establishing new and expanding existing meat and poultry processing facilities.

Community-Based Response Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2020

Community-Based Response Act This bill establishes a program to assist communities with implementing alternative emergency response models in vulnerable populations to resolve crisis situations that may not require a law enforcement response or situations where a law enforcement response may increase the risk of harm. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in consultation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice, must award grants to eligible partnerships to establish or expand these models. The partnerships must consist of a unit of local or tribal government that is independent of law enforcement agencies and a nonprofit, community-based organization or consortium of such organizations. The partnerships may also include other entities, such as nonprofit or public institutions of higher education and behavioral health organizations. A partnership may use grant funds for a variety of purposes, such as triaging 9–1–1 calls to refer certain emergencies to entities other than law enforcement. In awarding these grants, HHS must prioritize partnerships that include community-based organizations that have a record of effectively serving, and are led by members of, vulnerable populations.

Student Empowerment and Financial Literacy Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2020

Student Empowerment and Financial Literacy Act This bill directs the Department of Education to award competitive grants to eligible entities to promote financial literacy in elementary and secondary schools. An eligible entity is an entity with demonstrated expertise in the development of strategies that are designed to improve understanding of personal finance topics (e.g., bank and credit union accounts, student loans, debt management, and saving) among elementary and secondary school students.

Pandemic Assistance for Student Veterans Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2020

Pandemic Assistance for Student Veterans Act of 2020 This bill addresses the administration of educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in relation to the COVID-19 emergency, Specifically, the VA must provide educational assistance, including housing stipends and allowances, to individuals who are negatively affected by the COVID-19 emergency. The bill ensures that entitlement to educational assistance will not be charged or counted against the aggregate period in situations where an individual was unable to complete a course or program due to the COVID-19 emergency. The VA must treat an individual's withdrawal from a program of education due to COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and December 21, 2021, as a mitigating circumstance and not charge the individual's educational assistance entitlement. The bill modifies the time limitation for use of Montgomery Bill benefits or vocational rehabilitation benefits during the pandemic so the window of eligibility does not expire during the COVID-19 emergency. Additionally, the bill adjusts the administration of certain benefits for veterans participating in an apprenticeship or other on-job training during the period between March 1, 2020, and December 21, 2021, including by proportionately reducing the 120-hour monthly training requirement to reflect an individual's period of unemployment without a reduction in training assistance. The bill expands educational assistance to include programs or courses of education at training establishments (e.g., establishment providing apprentice or other on-job training) during the COVID-19 emergency.

Keeping Schools Safe Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2020

Keeping Schools Safe Act This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to award competitive grants to eligible entities (i.e., local educational agencies, educational service agencies, and the Bureau of Indian Education) to improve the indoor air quality in elementary and secondary schools in response to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency. In addition, ED must consult with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other relevant agencies and national organizations to develop technical guidance for eligible entities to address the safety and health of students and staff. ED must, within 21 days, provide eligible entities with this technical guidance. A grant recipient must use funds to improve or monitor the indoor air quality, ventilation, or circulation in schools using the technical guidance provided by ED.

Community-Based Response Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2020

Community-Based Response Act This bill establishes a program to assist communities with implementing alternative emergency response models in vulnerable populations to resolve crisis situations that may not require a law enforcement response or situations where a law enforcement response may increase the risk of harm. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in consultation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice, must award grants to eligible partnerships to establish or expand these models. The partnerships must consist of a unit of local or tribal government that is independent of law enforcement agencies and a nonprofit, community-based organization or consortium of such organizations. The partnerships may also include other entities, such as nonprofit or public institutions of higher education and behavioral health organizations. A partnership may use grant funds for a variety of purposes, such as triaging 9–1–1 calls to refer certain emergencies to entities other than law enforcement. In awarding these grants, HHS must prioritize partnerships that include community-based organizations that have a record of effectively serving, and are led by members of, vulnerable populations.

Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2020

Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Labor to promulgate an occupational safety or health standard on prevention of exposure to excessive heat. Excessive heat includes outdoor or indoor exposure to heat at levels that exceed the capacities of the body to maintain normal body functions and may cause heat-related injury, illness, or fatality. In addition, the bill establishes requirements concerning (1) training and education to prevent and respond to heat illness, and (2) whistle-blower protections.

Protect Parent Organized Direction of Students Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2020

Protect Parent Organized Direction of Students Act This bill prohibits states and localities that regulate the free formation of educational pods from receiving federal emergency education funding for COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) relief. An educational pod refers to a small group of three or more students at the elementary or secondary school level who are from more than one family and learn together in person outside of the school. In addition, the bill temporarily expands the tax deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers to include certain home educators.

Delivering Immediate Relief to America’s Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2020

Delivering Immediate Relief to America's Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act This bill establishes measures and funding to provide economic relief and support for individuals, families, and businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). These measures include (1) implementing certain liability protections, (2) extending pandemic unemployment compensation, and (3) authorizing second draw loans under the Paycheck Protection Program.

Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2020

Protecting our Students in Schools Act of 2020 This bill prohibits the use of corporal punishment in schools that receive federal funding. It also establishes enforcement provisions, including a private right of action for a student who has been subjected to corporal punishment, and creates a grant program for state educational agencies to implement positive behavioral interventions and supports to address student behavior and reduce exclusionary and aversive discipline practices.

STRONG Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2020

Supporting Teachers with Residency Opportunities and New Grants Act of 2020 or the STRONG Act of 2020 This bill reauthorizes through FY2023 the Teacher Quality Partnership program and otherwise revises the program to allow certain undergraduate students with an academic major related to teaching to enter into teaching residency programs. (Currently, only recent graduates and certain mid-career professionals may participate in these programs.) It also allows undergraduate students who enter into such a program to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

A resolution supporting Lights On Afterschool, a national celebration of afterschool programs held on October 22, 2020

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2020

This resolution expresses support for Lights On Afterschool, a national celebration of after-school programs held on October 22, 2020.

Maternal Health Pandemic Response Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2020

Maternal Health Pandemic Response Act of 2020 This bill addresses maternal health during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency by supporting data collection, development of COVID-19 therapeutics and workplace protections, and other activities. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services must issue guidance for states and local health departments on collecting data on pregnancy and postpartum status in conjunction with COVID-19 tests. In addition, the bill provides funds for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand particular maternal health surveillance programs. The CDC and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must also publish pregnancy and postpartum data related to COVID-19, and the CDC and the Indian Health Service must consult with tribes about collecting this data for tribal populations. Additionally, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration must collect information about the effects of COVID-19 therapeutics on pregnant and postpartum individuals. The NIH must also ensure that at least one vaccine will be suitable for that population and must support related research. In addition, the Department of Labor must implement an emergency temporary standard to protect employees from workplace exposures to the virus that causes COVID-19 that specifically addresses pregnant and postpartum individuals. Certain regulatory requirements shall not apply in developing this standard. The CDC must also carry out an education campaign about pregnancy and COVID-19 and must establish a task force that addresses maternity care during the COVID-19 emergency. Furthermore, the Government Accountability Office must report on maternal health and public health emergency preparedness.

To extend the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to treat certain programs of education converted to distance learning by reason of emergencies and health-related situations in the same manner as programs of education pursued at educational institutions.

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2020

This bill extends the authority of the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide educational assistance through December 21, 2021, for programs of education that have been converted to distance learning due to an emergency or health-related situation. Such assistance includes monthly housing stipends or subsistence allowances.

Expressing support for the recognition of September 28, 2020, to October 2, 2020, as Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Week.

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2020

This resolution recognizes the achievements and goals of institutions of higher education that are designated as Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions on Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Week and encourages eligible institutions to obtain the designation.

Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy Act

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2020

Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy Act This bill establishes the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy in the United States and sets forth its powers, duties, and membership. Among other activities, the commission must study the impacts and ongoing effects of the Indian Boarding School Policy (a federal policy under which American Indian and Alaska Native children were forcibly removed from their family homes and placed in boarding schools) and make recommendations to discontinue the removal of American Indian and Alaska Native children from their families and tribal communities by state social service departments, foster care agencies, and adoption agencies.

Strengthening Youth Apprenticeships Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2020

Strengthening Youth Apprenticeships Act of 2020 This bill requires (1) the Office of Apprenticeship within the Department of Labor to enter into an agreement with the Department of Education to promote the integration and alignment of apprenticeship programs with secondary, postsecondary, and adult education; and (2) Labor to award grants to eligible entities to create or expand youth apprenticeship programs.

Coronavirus College Access and Completion Emergency Relief Act

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2020

Coronavirus College Access and Completion Emergency Relief Act This bill provides additional appropriations to the Department of Education for TRIO programs. (These outreach and student services programs identify and provide services to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.) The bill provides the funding to (1) expand program capacity to serve more low-income, first-generation students, students with disabilities, veterans, unemployed adults, and other qualified individuals; and (2) provide such students with technology support.

Restoring Education Access for Student Veterans Act

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2020

Restoring Education Access for Student Veterans Act This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide certain educational assistance benefits, including housing stipends and allowances, to individuals who are negatively affected by the COVID-19 emergency.

Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy Act

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2020

Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy Act This bill establishes the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy in the United States and sets forth its powers, duties, and membership. Among other activities, the commission must study the impacts and ongoing effects of the Indian Boarding School Policy (a federal policy under which American Indian and Alaska Native children were forcibly removed from their family homes and placed in boarding schools) and make recommendations to discontinue the removal of American Indian and Alaska Native children from their families and tribal communities by state social service departments, foster care agencies, and adoption agencies.

DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009

United States · United States Senate · 25 September 2020

Human Factors Improvements to the Aircraft Certification Act

United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2020

Human Factors Improvements to the Aircraft Certification Act This bill addresses the integration of human factors into the aircraft certification process. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must (1) evaluate tools and methods to support the integration of human factors into the aircraft certification process of flight deck and flight control systems for transport airplanes, and (2) develop a framework to implement such tools and methods with the objective of improving safety. Additionally, the FAA must develop a human factors education program that addresses the effects of modern flight deck systems, including automated systems, on human performance for transport airplanes and the approaches for better integration of human factors in aircraft design and certification. Each transport airplane manufacturer must (1) provide the FAA with information or findings on flight crew training to ensure it adequately includes consideration of human factors; and (2) identify any technical basis, justification, or rationale for such information and findings.

Parent PLUS Loan Fairness and Responsibility Act

United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2020

Parent PLUS Loan Fairness and Responsibility Act This bill allows parent borrowers to transfer their parent PLUS loans to their child under certain circumstances. Among other requirements for a transfer, the child must demonstrate the ability to repay the loan, as determined by the Department of Education.

University of Alaska Fiscal Foundation Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020

University of Alaska Fiscal Foundation Act This bill directs the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to establish a program to identify and convey available federal land in Alaska to the University of Alaska for a land grant to support higher education. No later than two years after enactment of the bill, Alaska and the university may jointly identify no more than 500,000 acres of land for inclusion in the program. Upon the request of Alaska and the university, the BLM shall provide technical assistance in the identification of land. If Alaska and the university submit to the BLM one or more joint letters concurring with the conveyance of all or a portion of the land identified for conveyance, the BLM shall convey the land to the Board of Regents of the university, to be held in trust for the exclusive use and benefit of the university. The BLM shall convey no more than 360,000 acres of land to the university. The BLM shall notify Congress upon conveyance of the land.

Strengthening Apprenticeships for Justice-Impacted Communities Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020

Strengthening Apprenticeships for Justice-Impacted Communities Act This bill supports pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships, specifically regarding the justice-impacted population (i.e., individuals who have been arrested or convicted of a crime, including individuals currently or formerly incarcerated in a prison, jail, or juvenile facility). The Department of Labor may award grants to eligible applicants (i.e., local educational agencies, state registration agencies, and industries or businesses) to, among other things implement novel methods to improve pre-apprenticeship programs or apprenticeship programs available to incarcerated individuals, improve existing pre-apprenticeship programs and apprenticeship programs available to incarcerated individuals, and pilot novel approaches to provide apprenticeship training for justice-connected individuals that matches labor force needs. The bill establishes the Interagency Task Force on Strengthening Employment Opportunities and Outcomes for Justice-Impacted Communities that shall identify, evaluate, and make recommendations regarding (1) best practices relating to apprenticeship training for incarcerated individuals, and (2) ways in which federal agencies can better coordinate to support justice-impacted individuals with success and completion of pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeship programs. Labor shall establish an Office of Correctional Apprenticeships to ensure that all federal correctional institutions provide quality pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeship programs for incarcerated individuals that pay fair and graduated wages; be a nationwide repository for research, policies, and best practices in correctional education and training; and offer training and technical assistance for state prison systems and employers seeking to operate or improve corrections-based pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship programs or pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship programs that support justice-connected individuals.

University of Alaska Fiscal Foundation Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020

University of Alaska Fiscal Foundation Act This bill directs the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to establish a program to identify and convey available federal land in Alaska to the University of Alaska for a land grant to support higher education. No later than two years after enactment of the bill, Alaska and the university may jointly identify no more than 500,000 acres of land for inclusion in the program. Upon the request of Alaska and the university, the BLM shall provide technical assistance in the identification of land. If Alaska and the university submit to the BLM one or more joint letters concurring with the conveyance of all or a portion of the land identified for conveyance, the BLM shall convey the land to the Board of Regents of the university, to be held in trust for the exclusive use and benefit of the university. The BLM shall convey no more than 360,000 acres of land to the university. The BLM shall notify Congress upon conveyance of the land.

Frontline Health Care Worker Student Loan Assistance Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020

Frontline Health Care Worker Student Loan Assistance Act of 2020 This bill establishes a temporary program to provide federal and private student loan forgiveness to certain frontline health care workers. Frontline health care workers are those individuals who have made significant contributions to the medical response (e.g., patient care, medical research, or testing) to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) national emergency.

Student Athlete Level Playing Field Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020

Student Athlete Level Playing Field Act This bill generally prohibits an institution of higher education or a covered athletic organization (e.g., an athletic association, a conference, or an organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics) from restricting the ability of a student athlete to enter into an endorsement or agency contract, with exceptions. It also provides for enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission, preempts state laws relating to endorsement or agency contracts, and establishes the Covered Athletic Organization Commission.

To require the Director of the National Science Foundation to establish a grant program to make grants to eligible entities to develop instructional content on artificial intelligence, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020

This bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF), beginning not later than January 1, 2022, to award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities (e.g. a state research agency, a federal research agency, and an institution of higher education) to research the development of instructional content for teachers of a public elementary school or secondary school in accordance with a comprehensive and structured series of exercises (1) appropriate to each grade level; and (2) designed to convey the principles behind, mechanics of, and societal implications or ethics of the use of artificial intelligence; and (3) provide teaching instructions for teachers at elementary schools or secondary schools on such mechanisms when needed. The NSF shall establish, and appoint individuals to, a review board to select the grant recipients. The bill includes as a mathematics and science teacher, with respect to the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, a teacher at an elementary school or secondary school who instructs from a curriculum that incorporates, to a substantial degree, quantitative data analysis.

Expanding Representation at HHS Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020

Expanding Representation at HHS Act of 2020 This bill requires certain agencies and offices within the Department of Health and Human Services to address diversity in their procurement activities and workforce. The bill specifically covers offices and agencies that are authorized to award grants or other financial assistance, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Each covered entity must establish an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion that is responsible for managing diversity within the entity and with respect to the entity's activities. This new office is not, however, responsible for enforcing civil rights statutes, regulations, or executive orders. In addition, an entity subject to the bill's requirements must modify its evaluation, award, and termination of grants and contracts to ensure, to the maximum extent feasible, the inclusion of minorities; women; and minority-led and women-led grantees, contractors, subgrantees, and subcontractors. Each entity must also undertake actions to increase diversity in its workforce, including by recruiting at institutions of higher education where the majority of the students are members of minority populations.

A resolution designating the week beginning October 18, 2020, as "National Character Counts Week".

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020

This resolution designates the week beginning on October 18, 2020, as National Character Counts Week.

A resolution designating September 2020 as "Campus Fire Safety Month".

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020

This resolution designates September 2020 as Campus Fire Safety Month.

Jobs and Justice Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020

Jobs and Justice Act of 2020 This bill addresses a wide variety of domestic policy matters and focuses on economically distressed communities, opportunities for minorities and the disadvantaged, and civil rights enforcement. Included in the programs and requirements affected are those concerning the following areas: workforce development, including job training and wage standards; economic development, including through assistance to minority businesses; antipoverty measures, including programs to specifically address child poverty and persistent poverty; housing and savings matters, including housing affordability, discrimination, homelessness assistance, tenant protections, public housing funding, home ownership and foreclosure mitigation, and lead-safe housing; savings and consumer finance, including financial literacy and lending discrimination; public contracting; infrastructure development; job training for youth and older Americans; veterans' and military family benefits; health care coverage and access, including Medicare and Medicaid coverage; small business investment and commercial investment in underserved areas, including through tax benefits; elementary and secondary education, including education of girls and minorities and teacher preparation; higher education access, including through community college attendance; science, technology, and information security education; law enforcement officer conduct, resources and administration, juvenile justice, sentencing procedures, hate crimes, correctional facilities, and firearms sales and possession; election administration and voting rights; and environmental, agriculture, and energy matters, including climate change, environmental justice, and energy efficiency and transition to alternative and renewable resources.

Combatting University Research Theft Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020

Combatting University Research Theft Act of 2020 This bill establishes a task force within the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center to develop best practices for institutions of higher education (IHEs) to deter and combat theft of intellectual property by foreign nations or agents. Further, the bill conditions the receipt of certain federal funding for research on an IHE's implementation of security protocols to deter and combat such theft.

A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate one week each year as "Buddy Check Week" for the purpose of outreach and education concerning peer wellness checks for veterans, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to designate one week each year as Buddy Check Week for the purposes of organizing outreach events and educating veterans on how to conduct peer wellness checks. The VA shall ensure that the Veterans Crisis Line has a plan for handling the potential increase in calls that may occur during such week.

Academic Research Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020

Academic Research Protection Act This bill directs certain federal agencies to take specified steps to protect federally funded academic research from foreign threats, establishes the National Commission on Academic Research Protection, and requires information sharing with institutions of higher education related to foreign threats.

Educators are Heroes Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020

Educators are Heroes Act This bill establishes and provides funding for the Educator Fund, from which the Department of the Treasury shall make grants to local educational agencies to provide premium pay to teachers and other staff for each hour of in-person work at a public elementary or secondary school during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency.

Recognizing and celebrating the 70th anniversary of Impact Aid on September 30, 2020.

United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020

This resolution recognizes and celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Impact Aid Program. The program provides funding to local educational agencies that have lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal property or to those that have experienced increased expenditures due to enrollment of federally connected children (e.g., children living on Indian lands or military bases).

Supporting the designation of the week of September 21 through September 25, 2020, as "Community School Coordinators Appreciation Week".

United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020

This resolution supports the designation of Community School Coordinators Appreciation Week.

Helping Parents During COVID Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020

Helping Parents During COVID Act of 2020 This bill allows a tax credit through 2021 for the education costs of a dependent child who is an elementary or secondary student (including kindergarten), if the school district in which the child resides was closed during any part of the taxable year due to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). The bill also allows a $1,200 refundable tax credit for family education assistance.

A resolution designating the week of September 21 through September 25, 2020, as "Community School Coordinators Appreciation Week".

United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020

This resolution designates the week of September 21-September 25, 2020, as Community School Coordinators Appreciation Week.

Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020

Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2020 This bill makes it a violation of federal law for a recipient of federal funds who operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities to permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls. The bill specifies that sex shall be recognized based solely on a person's reproductive biology and genetics at birth.

A resolution calling on the President of the United States to take executive action to broadly cancel Federal student loan debt.

United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020

This resolution calls on the President to take executive action to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt for borrowers. Further, it encourages the President to (1) ensure that borrowers have no tax liability from the debt cancellation, (2) ensure that the debt cancellation helps close racial wealth gaps, and (3) pause student loan payments and interest accumulation on federal student loans for the duration of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.

MATE Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020

Medication Access and Training Expansion Act of 2020 or the MATE Act of 2020 This bill requires prescribers of controlled substances, as a condition of obtaining or renewing their registration with the Drug Enforcement Administration, to complete specified education or training on the prevention, treatment, and management of opioid-use and other substance-use disorders. This education and training shall also satisfy the training requirements currently needed to obtain waivers to prescribe certain medication-assisted treatments for opioid-use disorders in settings other than opioid treatment programs.

Make PPE in America Act

United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2020

Make PPE in America Act This bill requires procurement contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) to be long-term and for domestically manufactured PPE. Specifically, contracts entered into by the Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Defense, Education, or Veterans Affairs for the procurement of PPE must be for a duration of at least three years, including a base period and all option periods, to incentivize investment in the production of PPE, and materials and components of PPE, in the United States. The bill provides exceptions (1) where a nonavailability determination has been made, (2) where a sufficient quantity of a satisfactory quality cannot be procured as and when needed at U.S. market prices, and (3) where the department certifies every 120 days that it is necessary to procure PPE under alternate procedures to respond to the immediate needs of a public health emergency. Such departments may transfer to the Strategic National Stockpile any excess PPE acquired under a contract.

Apprenticeships to College Act

United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2020

A pprenticeships to College Act This bill requires the Department of Labor to enter into an interagency agreement with the Department of Education to promote and support integration and alignment of programs under the national apprenticeship system with secondary, 2- and 4-year postsecondary, and adult education.

Farm and Agricultural Worker Safety Education Act

United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2020

Farm and Agricultural Worker Safety Education Act This bill expands the Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to authorize USDA to provide grants for the dissemination to farm, agricultural workers, and others in the agricultural supply chain of information and training concerning best practices, relevant health and safety guidance, guidelines, requirements, or information related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the bill provides additional prioritization flexibility through FY2025 for USDA to combat substance use disorder in rural America.

Coronavirus E-BD Act of 2020

United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2020

Coronavirus Emergency Borrower Defense Act of 2020 or the Coronavirus E-BD Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to discharge, within 30 days, the federal student loan debt of three categories of borrowers. Specifically, ED must discharge the federal student loan debt of a borrower (1) who is covered by ED findings against an institution of higher education (IHE) for job placement rate misrepresentation; (2) for whom a state attorney general has asserted a right to borrower defense discharge; or (3) who was subject to a misrepresentation made by the IHE related to guaranteed employment or transferability of credits, and who has asserted such misrepresentation in a borrower defense application. ED must reimburse a borrower for amounts paid toward the federal student loan. The bill also requires ED to (1) notify borrowers of loan relief and eligibility for financial aid, and (2) report loan discharge to consumer reporting agencies. Finally, ED must initiate a proceeding to require the IHE whose act or omission resulted in loan discharge to repay ED for such amounts.