Parent and Student Savings Account PLUS Act

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Tax Incentives for Education Title II: Revenue Title III: Measures to Encourage Results in Teaching Title IV: Equal Educational Opportunity Title V: Education Funding Title VI: Sense of Congress Title VII: Reading Excellence Subtitle A: Reading Grants Subtitle B: Amendments to Even Start Family Literacy Programs Title VIII: Dropout Prevention and State Responsibilities Subtitle A: Dropout Prevention Subtitle B: State Responsibilities Title IX: Miscellaneous Provisions Parent and Student Savings Account PLUS Act - Title I: Tax Incentives for Education - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), with respect to education individual retirement accounts (IRAs), to: (1) permit distributions for qualified elementary and secondary education expenses, including home schooling expenses; and (2) increase the annual contribution limit from $500 to $2,000. Waives the beneficiary age limitation (18) for contributions on behalf of special needs beneficiaries. Permits corporations to contribute to education IRAs. Denies allowance of any other deduction or credit for any qualified education expenses taken into account in determining exclusion from gross income of education IRA distributions. (Sec. 102) Amends the General Education Provisions Act to prohibit the use of funds provided to the Department of Education, or to an applicable program under any Act, to develop, plan, implement, or administer any federally sponsored national test in reading, mathematics, or any other subject that is not specifically and explicitly provided for in authorizing legislation enacted into Federal law. Excepts from such prohibition: (1) specified requirements of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-78) relating to voluntary national tests and assessments; and (2) the Third International Mathematics and Science Study or other international comparative assessments developed under the National Education Statistics Act of 1994, and administered to only a representative sample of pupils in the United States and in foreign nations. (Sec. 103) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to allow State educational agencies to use funds under ESEA title VI (Innovation Education Program Strategies) to make student improvement incentive awards to outstanding public schools. Permits the statewide assessment (required to determine such outstanding schools) to involve exit exams. (Sec. 104) Amends IRC to exclude from a beneficiary's gross income any distributions from qualified State tuition programs, except to the extent that they exceed qualified higher education expenses. Expands the definition of such expenses. (Sec. 105) Extends, through December 31, 2002, the exclusion from gross income of employer-provided educational assistance. Expands the definition of such assistance to include graduate education leading to a law, business, medical, or other advanced academic or professional degree. (Sec. 106) Increases from $5 million to $10 million the arbitrage rebate exception for State and local bonds used to finance public schools. (Sec. 107) Excludes from gross income any National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program amounts received for teaching, research, or other services by the student required to receive such scholarship. (Sec. 108) Provides for treatment of qualified public educational facility bonds as exempt facility bonds. Title II: Revenue - Amends the IRC to provide, with respect to certain deferred compensation determinations, that an amount (except severance pay) shall not be treated as paid until it is actually received by the employee. (Sec. 202) Reduces the excess foreign tax credit carryback period to one preceding taxable year. Extends such credit's carryforward period from five to seven succeeding taxable years. Title III: Measures to Encourage Results in Teaching - Measures to Encourage Results in Teaching Act of 1998 - Amends ESEA title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program) to establish a new part D (State Incentives for Teacher Testing and Merit Pay). Directs the Secretary of Education to make an award from specified funds to each State that: (1) administers a test to each elementary school and secondary school teacher in the State, with respect to the subjects taught by the teacher, every three to five years; and (2) has an elementary school and secondary school teacher compensation system based on merit. (Sec. 301) Allows States to use Federal education funds for teacher testing and merit pay programs. Title IV: Equal Educational Opportunity - Amends ESEA to include under targeted uses of local educational agency (LEA) innovative education assistance funds education reform projects that provide same gender schools and classrooms, as long as comparable educational opportunities are offered for students of both sexes. Title V: Education Funding - Requires the Secretary of Education to award the total amount of certain applicable education funding directly to the States. Allows States to opt to receive such funds in one of three ways: (1) a State block grant option, by State allotment; (2) a local block grant option, by local allotment, with the Secretary sending such funds directly to LEAs; or (3) a Federal statute option, in accordance with specified Federal law. (Sec. 501) Allows State or LEA use of such funds for innovative assistance programs. Requires the direct award of all the funds (except those used for specified multiyear awards) that are appropriated for the Department of Education for the fiscal year for programs or activities under specified provisions of: (1) the Goals 2000: Educate America Act; (2) the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994; and (3) the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Provides for continuation of certain multiyear awards made prior to enactment of this Act. Sets forth formulas for determination of direct award amounts, based on relative numbers of: (1) such students in the State; and (2) LEAs eligible for funds under ESEA title I (Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards) part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by LEAs). Sets deadlines for each LEA to conduct a census to determine, and report to the Secretary, the number of kindergarten through grade 12 students in the school district it serves for the academic year. Sets penalties for false information. (Sec. 502) Requires direct awards of funds under ESEA title I part A. Allows States one of the three options of State block grant, local block grant, or Federal statute funding procedures. (Sec. 503) Requires direct awards of certain funds for bilingual education. Allows States one of the three options of State block grant, local block grant, or Federal statute funding procedures. (Sec. 504) Requires each LEA that receives funds under this title to provide for the participation of children enrolled in private and home schools. (Sec. 505) Directs the Secretary to develop standard forms for: (1) applications for assistance under this title; and (2) reports on activities assisted under this title. Requires each entity receiving assistance under this title to: (1) involve parents and members of the public in planning the use of funds; and (2) disseminate public reports regarding use and effects of such funds. Title VI: Sense of Congress - Expresses the sense of Congress that the Department of Education, States, and LEAs should work together to ensure that not less than 95 percent of all funds appropriated to carry out elementary and secondary education programs administered by the Department of Education is spent for children in their classrooms. Title VII: Reading Excellence - Reading Excellence Act - Subtitle A: Reading Grants - Amends ESEA title II to establish a new part D (Reading Grants). (Sec. 701) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to State-established reading and literacy partnerships to make subgrants for local reading improvement and tutorial assistance programs. Provides for peer review panel evaluation of grant applications. Sets forth requirements for partnership membership, contractual agreements, pre-existing partnerships, multi-state partnerships, and performance reports. Requires partnerships that receive such grants to make competitive three-year local reading improvement subgrants to LEAs with one or more schools: (1) that are identified for school improvement; and (2) that have a contractual association with community-based organizations of proven effectiveness with respect to reading readiness, reading instruction for children in kindergarten through third grade, and early childhood literacy. Allows subgrantees to train, on a fee-for-service basis, personnel from schools or LEAs that are not subgrant recipients, in the instructional practices based on reliable, replicable research on reading used by the recipient. Requires partnerships that receive such grants to make competitive tutorial assistance subgrants to LEAs with at least one school: (1) located in an empowerment zone or an enterprise community; or (2) identified for school improvement. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a national assessment of programs under this Act; (2) receive recommendations from the peer review panel in developing the criteria for the assessment; and (3) submit the findings of the assessment to such panel. Requires the National Institute for Literacy to disseminate information on reliable, replicable research on reading and on subgrantee projects that have proven effective. Requires each reading and literacy partnership to: (1) evaluate and report to the Secretary and the peer review panel on subgrantees' success; and (2) provide for program participation by children enrolled in private schools. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Amendments to Even Start Family Literacy Programs - Amends ESEA to direct the Secretary to award, from certain reserved funds, competitive grants to States for the planning and implementation of statewide family literacy initiatives, including specified services. Requires a State to form a consortium of State-level programs under ESEA, the Head Start Act, the Adult Education Act, and all other related, State-funded programs. Requires the consortium, as a prerequisite to receiving a grant, to: (1) create a plan to use a portion of the State's resources to strengthen and expand family literacy services; and (2) coordinate its activities with those of the reading and literacy partnership for the State. (Sec. 723) Provides for technical assistance for the evaluation of subgrant recipient local programs. (Sec. 724) Requires States receiving such grants to develop indicators of program quality. (Sec. 725) Directs the Secretary to research, through grant or contract, successful family literacy services to improve the quality of existing programs and to develop models for new programs. Revises provisions for the dissemination of information. Title VIII: Dropout Prevention and State Responsibilities - National Dropout Prevention Act of 1998 - Subtitle A: Dropout Prevention - Amends ESEA title V part C (School Dropout Assistance Act) to establish a coordinated national strategy and a national school dropout prevention initiative. (Sec. 801) Declares it a national priority, for the five-year period after enactment of this Act, to lower the school dropout rate, and increase school completion, for middle school and secondary school students. Requires all Federal agencies that carry out pertinent activities to make school dropout prevention a top funding priority. Directs the Secretary of Education to collect systematic data on the participation of different racial and ethnic groups (including migrant and limited English proficient students) in all Federal programs. Requires the Director of the Office of Dropout Prevention and Program Completion (established by this Act) to provide for: (1) a national school dropout prevention strategy, through an interagency plan to assess coordination, use of resources, and availability of funding under Federal law that can be used to address school dropout prevention, or middle school or secondary school reentry; (2) a national clearinghouse on effective school dropout prevention, intervention and reentry programs; and (3) a national program that recognizes schools that have made extraordinary progress in lowering school dropout rates. Directs the Secretary to make allotments to States for dropout prevention. Authorizes State educational agencies (SEAs) to use such allotment funds to award grants to public middle schools or secondary schools with dropout rates in the highest one-third of all school dropout rates in the State, to enable them to pay only the startup and implementation costs of school dropout prevention programs. Specifies among eligible activities: (1) professional development; (2) curricular materials; (3) release time for professional staff; (4) planning and research; (5) remedial education; (6) reduction in pupil- to-teacher ratios; (7) meeting State student achievement standards; and (8) counseling at-risk students. Expresses the intent of Congress that the activities started or implemented with these dropout prevention grant allotment funds shall be continued with funding provided under ESEA title I part A (Helping Disadvantaged Students Meet High Standards). Limits the number, amount, and duration of such grants. Provides for: (1) strategies and allowable models; (2) selection of schools; (3) dissemination activities; (4) progress incentives; (5) school dropout rate calculation; (6) reporting and accountability; and (7) a prohibition on tracking. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 812) Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish an Office of Dropout Prevention and Program Completion, whose Director shall report directly to the Secretary and carry out specified duties. Subtitle B: State Responsibilities - Amends ESEA to require SEAs to comply with specified requirements with respect to school dropouts, including: (1) uniform data collection and reporting; (2) attendance-neutral funding policies; and (3) development of uniform long-term suspension and expulsion policies for serious infractions. Title IX: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on multilingualism in the United States. (Sec. 902) Safer Schools Act of 1998 - Amends the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 to provide that a weapon that has been determined to have been brought to a school by a student shall be admissible as evidence in any internal school disciplinary proceeding related to expulsion.