Findings

Congress finds that— (1)young people under 18 years of age are now our Nation’s most impoverished age group, with 1 of every 5 living in poverty, a higher proportion than in 1968, and the percentage of minority children living in poverty is about twice as high; (2)more than 1 of 4 families is headed by a single parent and the percentage of such families has risen steadily over the past few decades, rising 13 percent since 1990; (3)there is a need to engage youth as active participants in decisionmaking that affects their lives, including in the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of youth development programs at the Federal, State, and community levels; (4)existing outcome driven youth development strategies, pioneered by community-based organizations, hold real promise for promoting positive behaviors and preventing youth problems; (5)formal evaluations of youth development programs have documented significant reductions in drug and alcohol use, school misbehavior, aggressive behavior, violence, truancy, high-risk sexual behavior, and smoking; (6)compared to youth in the United States generally, youth participating in community-based organizations are more than 26 percent more likely to report having received recognition for good grades than youth in the United States generally and nearly 20 percent more likely to rate the likelihood of their going to college as very high; and (7)the availability and use of Federal resources can be an effective incentive to leverage broader community support to enable local programs, activities, and services to provide the full array of developmental core resources, remove barriers to access, promote program effectiveness, and facilitate coordination and collaboration within the community.

Establishment of program

Subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq.) is amended— (1)by redesignating section 407E as section 406E; and (2)by adding at the end the following:

Public service incentives

407A.

Purpose

The purpose of this chapter is to establish a scholarship program to reward low-income students who have, during high school, and who continue, during college, to make significant public service contributions to their communities.

407B.

Scholarships authorized

(a)

Qualifications for scholarships

The Secretary is authorized to award a scholarship to enable a student to pay the cost of attendance at an institution of higher education during the student’s first 4 academic years of undergraduate education, if the student— (1)in order to be eligible for the first year of such scholarship, performed not less than 300 hours of qualifying public service during each of 2 academic years of the student’s secondary school enrollment; (2)in order to be eligible for the second or any subsequent year of such scholarship, performed not less than 300 hours of qualifying public service during the academic year of postsecondary school attendance preceding the academic year for which the student seeks such scholarship; (3)was eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.); (4)is eligible to receive Federal Pell Grants for the year in which the scholarships are awarded, except that a student shall not be required to comply or verify compliance with section 484(a)(5) for purposes of receiving a scholarship under this chapter; and (5)otherwise demonstrates compliance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary under section 407G. (b)

Definition of qualifying public service

For purposes of subsection (a), the term qualifying public service means service that would be eligible for treatment as community service under the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501 et seq.) or under the Federal work-study program under part C.

407C.

Amount of scholarship

(a)

Amount of award

(1)

In general

Except as provided in paragraph (2) and subsection (b), the amount of a scholarship awarded under this chapter for any academic year shall be equal to $5,000. (2)

Adjustment for insufficient appropriations

If, after the Secretary determines the total number of students selected under section 407D for an academic year, funds available to carry out this chapter for the academic year are insufficient to fully fund all awards under this chapter for the academic year, the amount of the scholarship paid to each student under this chapter shall be reduced proportionately. (b)

Assistance not to exceed cost of attendance

A scholarship awarded under this chapter to any student, in combination with the Federal Pell Grant assistance and other student financial assistance available to such student, may not exceed the student’s cost of attendance.

407D.

Selection of scholarship recipients

The Secretary shall designate a panel to select students for the award of scholarships under this chapter. Such panel shall be composed of 9 individuals who are selected by the Secretary and shall be composed of equal numbers of youths, community representatives, and teachers. The Secretary shall ensure that no individual assigned under this section to review any application has any conflict of interest with regard to the application that might impair the impartiality with which the individual conducts the review under this section.

407E.

Applications

Any eligible student desiring to obtain a scholarship under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information or assurances as the Secretary may require. Such application shall— (1)demonstrate that the eligible student is maintaining satisfactory academic progress and is achieving a grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a scale of 4), or its equivalent; (2)include a recommendation from— (A)the supervisor of the community service project of the applicant; and (B)another individual not related to, but familiar with the character of the applicant such as a teacher, coach, or employer; and (3)include an essay by the applicant on the nature of the community service performed by the applicant.

407F.

Program dissemination and promotion

(a)

Development and dissemination

The Secretary shall develop and disseminate to the public information on the availability of, and application process for, scholarships under this chapter. (b)

Promotion

In disseminating information about the scholarship program under this chapter, the Secretary shall— (1)disseminate such information directly or through arrangements with local educational agencies, public and private elementary schools and secondary schools, nonprofit organizations, consumer groups, Federal, State, or local agencies, and the media; and (2)at a minimum, include a description and the purpose of the scholarship program, an explanation of how to obtain an application, and a description of the application process and procedures.

407G.

Regulations

The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this chapter.

407H.

Evaluation

Not earlier than 2 years after the first fiscal year for which funds are made available under this chapter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to Congress an evaluation of the effectiveness of the program under this chapter. Such evaluation shall include— (1)an evaluation of the demand, by grade level and types of community service sites, for the scholarships provided under this chapter; (2)general data on the background of program participants and the types of service performed; and (3)an itemization of the costs of administering the program under this chapter.

407I.

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this chapter $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and such sums as are necessary for each of the 3 succeeding fiscal years.