Education
Education is a priority for families in the Ninth District. Congressman Cohen is honored to represent the district's many schools, enrichment centers, and institutions of higher education. Education has been one of the focal points of his career, and he believe everyone should have access to a quality education.
For nearly 20 years, Congressman Cohen worked tirelessly as a Tennessee State Senator to initiate and pass the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship program to fund college scholarships, after-school programs, and pre-K education for Tennessee's students. Since the inception of the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship program in 2004, over $8 billion has gone to Tennessee students continuing their education at the college level.
Today, Congressman Cohen is proud to continue working to improve education in the U.S. House of Representatives. Throughout his career in Congress, Congressman Cohen has introduced legislation aimed at improving educational access and standards for students of all ages.
Congressman Cohen introduced the Restorative Justice in Schools Act, which would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to allow local educational agencies to use funds to train school personnel to use restorative justice as a means of conflict resolution. Restorative justice is a method that aims to resolve conflicts between students in a manner that focuses on the victim and the offender of a wrong-doing. Unlike traditional punishment, this can prevent the use of penalties such as incarceration that are often times, too harsh, too expensive, and counter-productive, leading to repeat offenses. The bill passed as an amendment in the House on July 8, 2015, and and President Obama signed it into law on December 10, 2015.
He also introduced the Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Act. The bill would ensure privately issued student loans will once again be treated like other consumer debt and be dischargeable in bankruptcy. Due to changes made to bankruptcy laws 10 years ago, student loans made by private, for-profit lenders are currently very difficult to discharge in bankruptcy.
Congressman Cohen has also introduced the Protecting Our Students and Taxpayers (POST) Act . This bill would stop for-profit colleges from aggressively targeting veterans and active-duty service members by eliminating the powerful financial incentives that lead them to do so.