Teacher Victims’ Family Assistance Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1691 To require the Secretary of Education to provide assistance to the immediate family of elementary or secondary school staff members killed in an act of violence while performing school duties. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 12, 2019 Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. MOORE, and Ms. WILD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To require the Secretary of Education to provide assistance to the immediate family of elementary or secondary school staff members killed in an act of violence while performing school duties. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teacher Victims’ Fam- 4 ily Assistance Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1691.IH H1691 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1691 IH TITLE I—DEFINITIONS 1 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 2 In this title: 3 (1) COST OF ATTENDANCE.—The term ‘‘cost of 4 attendance’’ has the meaning given that term in sec- 5 tion 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 6 U.S.C. 1087ll). 7 (2) DEPENDENT CHILD.—The term ‘‘dependent 8 child’’ means a son or daughter of the victim 9 (whether natural or adopted) who is under 25 years 10 old. 11 (3) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 12 school’’ and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the meanings 13 given such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary 14 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 15 7801). 16 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 17 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 18 meaning given that term in section 102 of the High- 19 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 20 (5) SURVIVING SPOUSE.—The term ‘‘surviving 21 spouse’’ means the spouse of the victim, as deter- 22 mined under applicable State law, at the time of the 23 victim’s death. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1691.IH H1691 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1691 IH (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of Education. 2 (7) VICTIM.—The term ‘‘victim’’ means a 3 teacher, administrator, employee, or paid or unpaid 4 staff member of an elementary school or secondary 5 school who was killed by another person as a result 6 of an act of violence while performing duties as such 7 teacher, administrator, employee, or staff member, 8 without regard to whether such performance takes 9 place before, during, or after the school day or on 10 or off school grounds. 11 SEC. 102. DEATH BENEFIT, FUNERAL ASSISTANCE, AND LIV- 12 ING ALLOWANCE FOR FAMILIES OF VICTIMS. 13 In any case in which the Secretary of Education de- 14 termines that a teacher, administrator, employee, or paid 15 or unpaid staff member meets the definition of victim, the 16 Secretary shall— 17 (1) pay a death benefit of $325,000 and a sepa- 18 rate payment of not more than $1,500 to be used 19 for funeral expenses, as follows (if the payee indi- 20 cated is living on the date on which the determina- 21 tion is made)— 22 (A) if there is no dependent child who sur- 23 vived the victim, to the surviving spouse of the 24 victim; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1691.IH H1691 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1691 IH (B) if there is at least 1 dependent child 1 who survived the victim and a surviving spouse 2 of the victim, 50 percent to the surviving de- 3 pendent child (or children, in equal shares) and 4 50 percent to the surviving spouse; 5 (C) if there is no surviving spouse of the 6 victim, to the surviving dependent child (or chil- 7 dren, in equal shares); 8 (D) if there is no surviving spouse of the 9 victim and no surviving dependent child— 10 (i) to the surviving individual (or indi- 11 viduals, in shares per the designation, or, 12 otherwise, in equal shares) designated by 13 the victim to receive benefits under this 14 section in the most recently executed des- 15 ignation of beneficiary of the victim on file 16 at the time of death with the victim’s em- 17 ployer, agency, organization, or unit; or 18 (ii) if there is no individual qualifying 19 under clause (i), to the surviving individual 20 (or individuals, in equal shares) designated 21 by the victim to receive benefits under the 22 most recently executed life insurance policy 23 of the victim on file at the time of death 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1691.IH H1691 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1691 IH with the victim’s employer, agency, organi- 1 zation, or unit; 2 (E) if there is no individual qualifying 3 under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D), to 4 the surviving parent (or parents, in equal 5 shares) of the victim; or 6 (F) if there is no individual qualifying 7 under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E), 8 to the surviving individual (or individuals, in 9 equal shares) who would qualify under the defi- 10 nition of the term ‘‘dependent child’’ but for 11 age; and 12 (2) pay a living allowance of $900 per month— 13 (A) to the surviving spouse of the victim, 14 until the earlier of the spouse’s death or remar- 15 riage; or 16 (B) if there is no surviving spouse of the 17 victim, to the surviving dependent child who 18 have not reached the age of 18 (or such chil- 19 dren, in equal shares) until such children reach 20 the age of 18. 21 SEC. 103. DEPENDENT UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION AS- 22 SISTANCE. 23 (a) ANNUAL AMOUNT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1691.IH H1691 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1691 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which the 1 Secretary of Education determines that a teacher, 2 administrator, employee, or paid or unpaid staff 3 member meets the definition of victim, the Secretary 4 shall provide the following educational assistance al- 5 lowance, for each dependent child of the victim en- 6 rolled or accepted for enrollment at a program of 7 undergraduate instruction at an institution of higher 8 education: 9 (A) The educational assistance allowance 10 on behalf of a dependant child who is pursuing 11 a program of education consisting of institu- 12 tional courses shall be paid at the monthly rate 13 of $1,224 for full-time, $967 for three-quarter- 14 time, or $710 for half-time pursuit. 15 (B) The educational assistance allowance 16 on behalf of a dependent child pursuing a pro- 17 gram of education on less than a half-time basis 18 shall be paid at the rate of the lesser of— 19 (i) the established charges for tuition 20 and fees that the educational institution 21 involved requires similarly circumstanced 22 nonveterans enrolled in the same program 23 to pay; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1691.IH H1691 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1691 IH (ii) $1,224 per month for a full-time 1 course. 2 (C) The educational assistance allowance 3 to be paid on behalf of a dependent child who 4 is pursuing a full-time program of education 5 which consists of institutional courses and alter- 6 nate phases of training in a business or indus- 7 trial establishment with the training in the 8 business or industrial establishment being 9 strictly supplemental to the institutional por- 10 tion, shall be computed at the rate of $1,224 11 per month. 12 (D) A dependent child who is enrolled in 13 an educational institution for a ‘‘farm coopera- 14 tive’’ program consisting of institutional agri- 15 cultural courses prescheduled to fall within 44 16 weeks (using ‘‘week’’ as defined under section 17 205 of the Federal-State Extended Unemploy- 18 ment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 19 3304 note)) of any period of 12 consecutive 20 months and who pursues such program on— 21 (i) a full-time basis (a minimum of 10 22 clock hours per week or 440 clock hours in 23 such year prescheduled to provide not less 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1691.IH H1691 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1691 IH than 80 clock hours in any three-month 1 period); 2 (ii) a three-quarter-time basis (a min- 3 imum of 7 clock hours per week); or 4 (iii) a half-time basis (a minimum of 5 5 clock hours per week), shall be eligible to 6 receive an educational assistance allowance 7 at the appropriate rate provided in sub- 8 paragraph (B) of this subsection, if such 9 dependent child is concurrently engaged in 10 agricultural employment which is relevant 11 to such institutional agricultural courses as 12 determined under standards prescribed by 13 the Secretary. In computing the foregoing 14 clock hour requirements there shall be in- 15 cluded the time involved in field trips and 16 individual and group instruction sponsored 17 and conducted by the educational institu- 18 tion through a duly authorized instructor 19 of such institution in which the person is 20 enrolled. 21 (E) The monthly educational assistance al- 22 lowance to be paid on behalf of a dependent 23 child pursuing a farm cooperative program 24 under this section shall be $636 for full-time, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1691.IH H1691 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1691 IH $477 for three-quarter-time, or $319 for half- 1 time pursuit. 2 (F)(i) Subject to clause (iii), the amount of 3 educational assistance payable under this sub- 4 section for a licensing or certification test de- 5 scribed below, is the lesser of $2,000 or the fee 6 charged for the test. Qualifying licensing or cer- 7 tification tests shall be determined by the Sec- 8 retary, which may include— 9 (I) such licensing or certification tests 10 the successful completion of which dem- 11 onstrates an individual’s possession of the 12 knowledge or skill required to enter into, 13 maintain, or advance in employment in a 14 predetermined and identified vocation or 15 profession, provided such tests and the li- 16 censing or credentialing organizations or 17 entities that offer such tests are approved 18 by the Secretary; and 19 (II) national tests for admission to in- 20 stitutions of higher education (such as the 21 Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Law 22 School Admission Test (LSAT), Graduate 23 Record Exam (GRE), and Graduate Man- 24 agement Admission Test (GMAT)) and na- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1691.IH H1691 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1691 IH tional tests providing an opportunity for 1 course credit at institutions of higher edu- 2 cation (such as the Advanced Placement 3 (AP) exam and College-Level Examination 4 Program (CLEP)). 5 (ii) The number of months of educational 6 assistance in the case of any individual for such 7 licensing or certification test is equal to the 8 number (including any fraction) determined by 9 dividing the total amount paid to such indi- 10 vidual for such test by the full-time monthly in- 11 stitutional rate of the educational assistance al- 12 lowance which, except for clause (i), such indi- 13 vidual would otherwise be paid under chapter 14 35 of title 38, United States Code. 15 (iii) In no event shall payment of edu- 16 cational assistance under this subsection for 17 such a test exceed the amount of the individ- 18 ual’s available educational assistance as deter- 19 mined by the Secretary and in accordance with 20 this Act. 21 (G)(i) Subject to clause (iii), the amount of 22 educational assistance payable under this sec- 23 tion for a national test for admission or na- 24 tional test providing an opportunity for course 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1691.IH H1691 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 1691 IH credit at an institution of higher education, is 1 the amount of the fee charged for the test. 2 (ii) The number of months of educational 3 assistance provided in the case of any individual 4 for a test described in clause (i) is equal to the 5 number (including any fraction) determined by 6 dividing the total amount of educational assist- 7 ance paid such individual for such test by the 8 full-time monthly institutional rate of edu- 9 cational assistance, except for clause (i), such 10 individual would otherwise be paid under this 11 section. 12 (iii) In no event shall payment of edu- 13 cational assistance under this subsection for a 14 test described in clause (i) exceed the amount 15 of the individual’s available educational assist- 16 ance as determined by the Secretary and in ac- 17 cordance with this Act. 18 (2) RELATION TO OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Assist- 19 ance provided under this subsection shall not be con- 20 sidered for the purpose of awarding Federal assist- 21 ance under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 22 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), except that in no 23 case shall the sum of the total amount of student fi- 24 nancial assistance awarded to a dependent child 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1691.IH H1691 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 1691 IH under such title and the amount of assistance pro- 1 vided under this subsection exceed the child’s total 2 cost of attendance. 3 (3) DURATION OF ASSISTANCE.—A dependent 4 child may receive assistance under this subsection 5 for not more than a total of 5 years. 6 (4) SATISFACTORY PROGRESS.—To be eligible 7 to receive assistance under this subsection, the de- 8 pendent child shall be considered to be making satis- 9 factory progress, pursuant to section 484(a)(2) of 10 the Higher Education Act of 1965, at the institution 11 of higher education. 12 (5) EFFECT OF PARENTAL DEATH OR REMAR- 13 RIAGE.—The death or remarriage of the surviving 14 spouse of the victim shall not affect a dependent 15 child’s eligibility for assistance under this subsection. 16 (b) PELL GRANT TREATMENT.—Section 473(b) of 17 the Higher Education Act of 1965 is amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (2)(B)— 19 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause 20 (i); 21 (B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of 22 clause (i) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 20 [Text truncated for display. 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