Class size Legislation - Federal Government

To provide grants to recruit new teachers, principals, and other school leaders to, and retain and support current and returning teachers, principals, and other school leaders employed in, public elementary and public secondary schools, and to help higher education, in areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, and for other purposes. 3/7/2007--Introduced. Revitalizing New Orleans by Attracting America's Leaders Act of 2007 or the RENEWAAL Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama for their use in providing competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) that serve areas in which a major disaster was declared due to Hurricane Katrina or Rita. Gives priority to LEAs having the highest percentage of schools with teacher-student ratios of at least 25 to 1 or closed due to the hurricanes. Requires each LEA subgrantee to use the funds to: (1) provide annual bonuses to teachers and school [...]

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A bill to assist States in making voluntary high quality full-day prekindergarten programs available and economically affordable for the families of all children for at least 1 year preceding kindergarten. 5/11/2007--Introduced. Prepare All Kids Act of 2007 - Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services 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. Requires prekindergarten providers to target children from families with incomes at or below 200% of the poverty line and provide them with program services free of charge. Directs state grantees to set aside: (1) at least 10% of a grant for quality early childhood development programs for children ages zero [...]

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To reauthorize the Head Start Act, to improve program quality, to expand access, and for other purposes. 12/12/2007--Public Law.    (There are 5 other summaries) (This measure has not been amended since the Conference Report was filed in the House on November 14, 2007. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 - Amends the Head Start Act (the Act) to revise and reauthorize Head Start programs. (Sec. 2) Includes among the aims of Head Start programs children's growth in language, literacy, mathematics, science, social and emotional functioning, creative arts, physical skills, and approaches to learning. (Sec. 3) Includes community-based organizations and financial literacy training within the definitions of Head Start delegate agencies and family literacy services, respectively. Adds definitions of Head Start deficiencies, homeless children, institutions of higher education,[...]

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A bill to set the United States on track to ensure children are ready to learn when they begin kindergarten. 7/19/2007--Introduced. Ready to Learn Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award competitive matching grants to states and, through them, subgrants to schools, child care entities, Head Start programs, or other community-based prekindergarten providers for full day voluntary prekindergarten programs that prepare four-year olds for school. Requires that such programs: (1) first serve children whose family income is no higher than 200% of the poverty level or who are limited English proficient; (2) ensure that, within two years of grant receipt, each classroom is taught by a teacher who has at least a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education or such a degree and specialized training in early childhood development; (3) use curricula that are aligned with state early learning standards;[...]

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A bill to amend title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to reduce class size through the use of highly qualified teachers, and for other purposes. 10/1/2007--Introduced. Facilitating Outstanding Classrooms Using Size reduction Act (FOCUS Act) - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to require the Secretary of Education to award formula grants to states for allocation to their local educational agencies (LEAs) to: (1) reduce class size, particularly in the early elementary grades, by using highly qualified teachers; and (2) create a continuum of small classes from kindergarten through third grade for all their students. Permits LEAs to use such funds to recruit highly qualified teachers, test new teachers, and provide professional development that enables teachers to teach effectively in their content areas. Requires 80% of an LEA's allocation to be based on its proportion of the state's low-income students, with the remainder [...]

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A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve standards for physical education. 10/17/2007--Introduced. Fitness Integrated with Teaching Kids Act or the FIT Kids Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require annual state and local educational agency report cards to include specified information on school health and physical education programs. Includes the promotion of healthy, active lifestyles by students within ESEA grant programs that support school counseling, smaller learning communities, community learning centers, and parental involvement in their childrens' education. Revises the professional development program for teachers and principals to include training for physical and health education teachers, and training on improving students' health habits and participation in physical activities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to fund a study by the National Academy of [...]

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A bill to provide for educational opportunities for all students in State public school systems, and for other purposes. 10/17/2007--Introduced. Student Bill of Rights - Directs the Secretary of Education to make annual determinations as to whether each state's public school system provides all its students with educational resources to succeed academically and in life. Requires such education to enable students to: (1) acquire knowledge and skills necessary for responsible citizenship; (2) meet challenging academic achievement standards; and (3) compete and succeed in a global economy. Requires each system to do so by: (1) providing specified fundamentals of educational opportunity to students at each public elementary and secondary school; (2) providing educational services in school districts that receive funds for disadvantaged students that are at least comparable to educational services provided in school districts not receiving such funds; and (3) complying with [...]

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A bill to provide grants to States to ensure that all students in the middle grades are taught an academically rigorous curriculum with effective supports so that students complete the middle grades prepared for success in high school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State and district policies and programs relating to the academic achievement of students in the middle grades, to develop and implement effective middle school models for struggling students, and for other purposes. 10/24/2007--Introduced. 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 [...]

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To provide for adequate and equitable educational opportunities for students in State public school systems, and for other purposes. 5/17/2007--Introduced. Student Bill of Rights - Directs the Secretary of Education to make annual determinations as to whether each state's public school system provides all its students with educational resources to succeed academically and in life. Requires such education to enable students to: (1) acquire knowledge and skills necessary for responsible citizenship; (2) meet challenging academic achievement standards; and (3) compete and succeed in a global economy. Requires each system to do so through: (1) providing specified fundamentals of educational opportunity to students at each public elementary and secondary school; (2) providing educational services in school districts that receive funds for disadvantaged students that are, taken as a whole, at least comparable to educational services provided in school districts not receiving [...]

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To improve the lives of working families by providing family and medical need assistance, child care assistance, in-school and afterschool assistance, family care assistance, and encouraging the establishment of family-friendly workplaces. 5/17/2007--Introduced. Family and Workplace Balancing Act of 2007, or Balancing Act of 2007 - Family Income to Respond to Significant Transitions Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make five-year grants to a state or local government to pay for the federal share of projects that assist families by providing wage replacement for eligible individuals responding to family caregiving needs, especially those related to the birth or adoption of a child. Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2007 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) and federal civil service law to allow employees covered by FMLA and civil servants to take specified additional leave for: (1) parental involvement in their children's or grandchildren's [...]

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A bill to provide for Kindergarten Plus programs. 3/13/2008--Introduced. 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 [...]

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A bill to provide grants to States to ensure that all students in the middle grades are taught an academically rigorous curriculum with effective supports so that students complete the middle grades prepared for success in high school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State and district policies and programs relating to the academic achievement of students in the middle grades, to develop and implement effective middle school models for struggling students, and for other purposes. 10/24/2007--Introduced. 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 [...]

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A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve standards for physical education. 10/17/2007--Introduced. Fitness Integrated with Teaching Kids Act or the FIT Kids Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require annual state and local educational agency report cards to include specified information on school health and physical education programs. Includes the promotion of healthy, active lifestyles by students within ESEA grant programs that support school counseling, smaller learning communities, community learning centers, and parental involvement in their childrens' education. Revises the professional development program for teachers and principals to include training for physical and health education teachers, and training on improving students' health habits and participation in physical activities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to fund a study by the National Academy of [...]

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