[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3995 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3995

To provide education opportunity grants to low-income secondary school 
                               students.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2006

 Mr. DeMint (for himself and Mr. Obama) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide education opportunity grants to low-income secondary school 
                               students.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Education Opportunity Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The academic intensity of a student's secondary school 
        curriculum counts more than any other precollegiate factor in 
        providing momentum toward eventual completion of a college 
        degree.
            (2) By failing to provide challenging course work, some 
        secondary schools do not present adequate opportunities for all 
        students to learn. Some groups of students are excluded from 
        such opportunities more than others. For example, students from 
        the lowest socioeconomic status are much more likely than their 
        wealthier peers to attend secondary schools that do not offer 
        any mathematics beyond Algebra 2.
            (3) To close gaps in the preparation for college, and in 
        the eventual attainment of a college degree, the provision of 
        challenging curriculum for all students is necessary.
            (4) Colleges and community colleges have recently begun to 
        provide challenging courses to secondary school students, and 
        distance learning provides additional options if students have 
        access to distance learning technology.
            (5) The cost of enrolling in a college-level course is a 
        barrier to learning opportunities for those students most in 
        need of such opportunities. Providing grants to capable 
        students from low-income families will provide these students 
        with increased access to the challenging coursework that leads 
        to success in college or the workplace.

SEC. 3. EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY GRANTS FOR ELIGIBLE LOW-INCOME SECONDARY 
              SCHOOL STUDENTS.

    (a) Education Opportunity Grants for Eligible Low-Income Secondary 
School Students.--Part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

   ``Subpart 9--Education Opportunity Grants for Eligible Low-Income 
                       Secondary School Students

``SEC. 420L. EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY GRANTS.

    ``(a) Education Opportunity Grants Authorized.--The Secretary is 
authorized to award grants to eligible low-income secondary school 
students to enable the students to pay the cost of taking eligible 
courses while enrolled in secondary school.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Eligible course.--The term `eligible course' means a 
        course--
                    ``(A) that is offered by an institution of higher 
                education eligible to participate in a program under 
                this title;
                    ``(B) for which the institution of higher education 
                awards postsecondary academic credit that is 
                transferrable;
                    ``(C) that is held at the institution of higher 
                education, held at a secondary school, or offered in 
                whole or in part through telecommunications; and
                    ``(D) that is not remedial in nature.
            ``(2) Eligible low-income secondary school student.--The 
        term `eligible low-income secondary school student' means a 
        student who--
                    ``(A) is enrolled in a secondary school;
                    ``(B) has a family income that is less than 185 
                percent of the poverty line (as defined by the Office 
                of Management and Budget, and revised annually in 
                accordance with section 673(2) of the Community 
                Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) applicable 
                to a family of the size involved; and
                    ``(C) is a junior or senior in secondary school and 
                is making satisfactory progress toward on-time 
                graduation from secondary school.
    ``(c) Amount.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award a grant under 
        this section to an eligible low-income secondary school student 
        in an amount equal to the cost of tuition for each eligible 
        course the student takes while the student is enrolled in 
        secondary school, except that the total amount of grant 
        assistance awarded under this section to an eligible low-income 
        secondary school student for any academic year shall not exceed 
        $4,050.
            ``(2) Cost of tuition.--The cost of tuition for an eligible 
        course shall be the lesser of--
                    ``(A) the cost of tuition and any necessary fees or 
                supplies that the institution of higher education 
                charges students of the secondary school that the 
                eligible low-income secondary school student attends 
                for the eligible course; or
                    ``(B) $1,200.
    ``(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to affect any policy or agreement, under which an institution 
of higher education offers discounted tuition, fees, or supply costs to 
secondary school students, that was in existence on the day before that 
date of enactment of the Education Opportunity Act.
    ``(e) Supplement Not Supplant.--Grant funds provided under this 
section shall supplement, not supplant, other non-Federal funds that 
are available to assist an eligible low-income secondary school student 
pay for an eligible course while the student is enrolled in secondary 
school.
    ``(f) Interaction With Federal Pell Grants.--An eligible low-income 
secondary school student's receipt of an award under this section shall 
not in any way affect the student's future eligibility for a Federal 
Pell Grant under section 401 or the amount of such Federal Pell Grant.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 
and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.''.
    (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) any funds appropriated to carry out the grant program 
        under section 420L of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as 
        added by subsection (a)) should be in addition to the funds 
        appropriated for Federal Pell Grants under section 401 of such 
        Act; and
            (2) the funding of the grant program under section 420L of 
        such Act should not in any way affect the amount that is 
        appropriated for Federal Pell Grants.
                                 <all>