Education

Congressman Neguse has introduced the following bills to invest in America’s students and support our public schools: 

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Full Funding Act: This legislation would reauthorize and make appropriations for the grant program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to assist states and outlying areas in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.

• Affordable College Textbook Act: This legislation would direct the Department of Education to make grants to institutions of higher education or states to support projects that expand the use of open textbooks in order to achieve savings for students while maintaining or improving instruction and student learning outcomes. 

• Reverse Transfer Efficiency Act of 2019: This bill would allow the release of a transfer student's educational records from an institution of postsecondary education where a student earned credit for coursework to an institution of postsecondary education where the student was previously enrolled in order to apply the student's coursework and credits toward completion of a recognized postsecondary credential, such as an associate's degree.

• Secure Rural Schools Program: The Secure Rural Schools program is a primary source of funding for schools, mountain search and rescue, road maintenance, and other services. The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act was first introduced in 2000 to assist counties containing tracts of federally-owned land that are tax-exempt. The program provides payments derived in part through timber receipts and other leasing activities within National Forests back to county governments where those forests are located.

• Competency Based Education: This legislation provides flexibility for competency-based education programs, while at the same time establishing new levels of transparency and accountability. Research shows that more than 60 percent of college students today are working while taking classes, almost 40 percent are older than the age of 25, and nearly 25 percent are raising children while enrolled in school. While many traditional higher education programs are based on time, competency-based education operates differently, and students can advance through their degree as soon as they demonstrate that they have mastered competency.