[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3479 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3479

To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish a 
       Semester of Service grant program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 11, 2008

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish a 
       Semester of Service grant program, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Semester of Service Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Throughout the United States, there are pressing unmet 
        human, educational, environmental, and public safety needs.
            (2) Americans desire to affirm common responsibilities and 
        shared values, and join together in positive experiences, that 
        transcend race, religion, gender, age, ability, region, income, 
        and education.
            (3) Americans of all ages can improve their communities and 
        become more engaged citizens through service to their 
        communities.
            (4) When children and other youth participate in service 
        activities and see that they are able to improve the lives of 
        others, the youth are better able to control their own lives in 
        a positive way, avoiding risky behaviors, strengthening their 
        community connections, and becoming more engaged in their own 
        education.
            (5) When youth service is tied to learning objectives, that 
        service is shown to decrease alienation and behavior problems, 
        and increase knowledge of community needs, commitment to an 
        ethic of service, and understanding of politics and morality.
            (6) When service is tied to what students are learning in 
        school, the students make gains on achievement tests, complete 
        their homework more often, and increase their attendance and 
        grade point averages.
            (7) Service-learning has been shown to reduce the 
        achievement gap in schools.
            (8) Students who engage in service-learning improve their 
        communication skills, increase their awareness of career 
        possibilities, have a deeper understanding of social and 
        economic issues that face the Nation, and develop more positive 
        workplace attitudes, giving the students skills to be strong 
        leaders.
            (9) Eighty-two percent of students who participated in 
        service-learning programs say their feelings about attending 
        high school became more positive as a result of service-
        learning.
            (10) Seventy-seven percent of students who participated in 
        service-learning programs and 66 percent of at-risk students 
        who did not participate in service-learning programs, say that 
        service-learning had or would have had a big effect on 
        motivating them to work hard.
            (11) According to youth who have dropped out of school, 
        providing service-learning tops the list of ways schools can 
        improve.
            (12) Service-learning gives students the opportunity to 
        apply curricular knowledge and skills while serving the 
        community.
            (13) Research shows that for every dollar spent on a 
        service-learning project, $4 worth of service is provided to 
        the community involved.
            (14) Sixty-five percent of all students find service-
        learning appealing but only 30 percent of schools provide 
        service-learning projects. In those schools, only 16 percent of 
        students are currently aware that service-learning projects are 
        available to them. Eighty-three percent of all students say 
        they would enroll in service-learning projects if their schools 
        had them.
            (15) Research demonstrates that to provide enough time for 
        students to become deeply involved in service and for service 
        projects to have a meaningful impact on student's lives, 
        projects should be of ample duration, typically at least a 
        semester, and include sufficient service hours, typically at 
        least 70 hours.
    (b) Purpose.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to offer youth the chance to spend a semester in 
        service to their communities for academic credit in their 
        junior or senior year of high school;
            (2) to teach civic participation skills to youth and help 
        youth see themselves as resources and leaders for their 
        communities;
            (3) to encourage youth, regardless of income or ability, to 
        engage in community service;
            (4) to provide tangible benefits to the communities in 
        which Semester of Service programs are performed; and
            (5) to enhance the social-emotional and academic 
        development of youth participants.

SEC. 3. SEMESTER OF SERVICE PROGRAMS.

    Title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 
U.S.C. 12511 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subtitles F, G, H, and I as subtitles 
        G, H, I, and J, respectively;
            (2) by redesignating sections 160 through 166 as sections 
        159A through 159G, respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after subtitle E the following:

               ``Subtitle F--Semester of Service Programs

``SEC. 161. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this subtitle:
            ``(1) Eligible agency.--The term `eligible agency' means a 
        local educational agency, or a nonprofit organization working 
        in partnership with a local educational agency.
            ``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means an 
        individual school (including a designee of a school), or a 
        nonprofit organization working in partnership with a school.
            ``(3) Eligible youth.--The term `eligible youth' means a 
        youth who will be enrolled in the junior or senior year of high 
        school during the youth's participation for a semester of 
        service referred to in section 163(f).
            ``(4) Local educational agency.--The term `local 
        educational agency' has the meaning given the term in section 
        9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 7801).
            ``(5) Youth participant.--The term `youth participant' 
        means a youth who is enrolled in the junior or senior year of 
        high school and is a participant in a project carried out under 
        this subtitle.

``SEC. 162. GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE AGENCIES.

    ``(a) Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Chief Executive Officer shall award 
        grants on a competitive basis to eligible agencies to pay for 
        the Federal share of the cost of carrying out community service 
        programs, to support service-learning projects, including the 
        district-level activities described in subsection (d).
            ``(2) Periods of grants.--The Chief Executive Officer shall 
        award the grants for periods of 3 years. The Chief Executive 
        Officer may renew the grants for not more than 2 additional 
        periods of 3 years.
            ``(3) Grant amount.--The Chief Executive Officer shall 
        award such a grant to an eligible agency for a program in an 
        amount not greater than the sum of--
                    ``(A) the product obtained by multiplying $50 and a 
                number equal to the number of eligible youth who will 
                provide service under the program, as specified in the 
                application described in subsection (b); and
                    ``(B) an amount equal to 20 percent of the product 
                determined under subparagraph (A), for school district-
                level activities.
    ``(b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section for a community service program, an eligible agency shall 
submit an application to the Chief Executive Officer at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the Chief Executive 
Officer may require, including information that--
            ``(1) describes the procedures and criteria the eligible 
        agency will use for reviewing applications and awarding 
        subgrants on a competitive basis under section 163 to eligible 
        entities for service-learning projects, including how the 
        eligible agency will--
                    ``(A) ensure the classroom-based instruction 
                component of service-learning projects is aligned with 
                applicable State academic content standards; and
                    ``(B) ensure service-learning project activities 
                are tied to, where available, State service-learning 
                standards;
            ``(2) describes the procedures and criteria the eligible 
        agency will use to evaluate eligible entities' service-learning 
        projects including, at a minimum, a description of the 
        objectives and benchmarks the eligible agency will use to 
        evaluate such projects; and
            ``(3) describes the steps the eligible agency will take to 
        ensure that the service-learning projects funded will implement 
        effective strategies, which steps shall include providing 
        eligible entities with ongoing technical assistance, 
        professional development, and training.
    ``(c) Applicant Review.--
            ``(1) Selection criteria.--The Chief Executive Officer 
        shall evaluate applications for grants under this section based 
        on the quality, innovation, replicability, and sustainability 
        of the programs proposed by the applicants.
            ``(2) Review panels.--The Chief Executive Officer shall 
        employ review panels consisting of experts in the fields of 
        service-learning, youth development, and education, and of 
        youth seeking to be youth participants, in reviewing the 
        applications.
            ``(3) Notification of applicants.--If the Chief Executive 
        Officer rejects an application submitted under this section, 
        the Chief Executive Officer shall promptly notify the applicant 
        of the reasons for the rejection of the application.
            ``(4) Resubmission and reconsideration.--The Chief 
        Executive Officer shall provide an applicant notified of 
        rejection with a reasonable opportunity to revise and resubmit 
        the application. At the request of the applicant, the Chief 
        Executive Officer shall provide technical assistance to the 
        applicant as part of the resubmission process. The Chief 
        Executive Officer shall promptly reconsider an application 
        resubmitted under this paragraph.
            ``(5) Priority.--In making grants under this section, the 
        Chief Executive Officer shall give priority to eligible 
        agencies that propose to give subgrants under this subtitle to 
        eligible entities for schools that receive funds under part A 
        of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.).
    ``(d) Selection of District Recipients.--In awarding grants under 
this section, the Chief Executive Officer shall ensure that programs 
are funded in a variety of geographic areas, including urban and rural 
areas.
    ``(e) School District-Level Activities.--An eligible agency that 
receives a grant under this section may reserve up to the amount 
described in subsection (a)(3)(B) from the grant funds, for school 
district-level activities--
            ``(1) which shall include--
                    ``(A) conducting outreach and dissemination of 
                program-related information to ensure the broadest 
                possible involvement of eligible entities and eligible 
                youth in the program carried out under this subtitle;
                    ``(B) providing technical assistance and 
                professional development and training for personnel, to 
                eligible entities that receive subgrants under section 
                163; and
                    ``(C) conducting an evaluation of the projects 
                carried out by eligible entities within the school 
                district, submitting the results of the evaluation to 
                the Chief Executive Officer, and widely disseminating 
                the results locally; and
            ``(2) which may include--
                    ``(A) hiring staff to administer the program 
                carried out under this subtitle in the school district 
                involved; and
                    ``(B) using the results of the evaluation to 
                compile information on best practices for such 
                projects.
    ``(f) Federal Share.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Federal share attributable to this 
        subtitle of the cost of carrying out a program for which a 
        grant is made under this section may not exceed--
                    ``(A) 90 percent of the total cost of the program 
                for the first year for which the program receives 
                assistance under this subpart;
                    ``(B) 80 percent of the total cost of the program 
                for the second such year;
                    ``(C) 70 percent of the total cost of the program 
                for the third such year; and
                    ``(D) 50 percent of the total cost of the program, 
                for each such year thereafter.
            ``(2) Calculation.--In providing for the remaining share of 
        the cost of carrying out such a program, each recipient of a 
        grant under this subtitle--
                    ``(A) shall provide for such share through a 
                payment in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including 
                facilities, equipment, or services; and
                    ``(B) may provide for such share through State or 
                local sources, both public and private, or Federal 
                sources (other than funds made available under the 
                national service laws).
            ``(3) Waiver.--The Chief Executive Officer may waive the 
        requirements of paragraph (1) in whole or in part with respect 
        to any such program in any fiscal year if the Chief Executive 
        Officer determines that such waiver would be equitable due to a 
        lack of available financial resources at the State or local 
        level.

``SEC. 163. SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.

    ``(a) Subgrants.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible agency that receives a grant 
        under section 162 shall use the grant funds to award subgrants 
        on a competitive basis to eligible entities to pay for the cost 
        of carrying out service-learning projects.
            ``(2) Periods of subgrants.--The eligible agency shall 
        award the subgrants for periods of 3 years. Subject to 
        subsection (c), the eligible agency may renew the subgrants for 
        additional periods of 3 years.
            ``(3) Amounts of subgrants.--The eligible agency shall 
        award such a subgrant to an eligible entity for a project in an 
        amount equal to the product obtained by multiplying $50 and a 
        number equal to the number of eligible youth who will provide 
        service under the project, as specified in the application 
        described in subsection (b).
    ``(b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a subgrant under this 
section for a project, an eligible entity shall submit an application 
to the eligible agency at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the eligible agency may require, including 
information that--
            ``(1) describes the manner in which the entity will--
                    ``(A) recruit and engage eligible youth, including 
                students with disabilities and English language 
                learners, as applicable;
                    ``(B) engage a variety of entities and individuals, 
                such as youth organizations, elected officials, civic 
                groups, nonprofit organizations, media partners, and 
                other entities within the community, including 
                participants in any other project carried out under the 
                national service laws, to work with the entity to 
                provide field opportunities as part of the project;
                    ``(C) recruit service sponsors for field activities 
                carried out through the project, including nonprofit 
                organizations, businesses, youth organizations, 
                institutions of higher education, and entities that 
                carry out national service programs under the national 
                service laws;
                    ``(D)(i) ensure that the youth participants in the 
                project engage in service-learning for a minimum of 70 
                hours over a minimum of 12 weeks; and
                    ``(ii) ensure that at least 24 hours of the minimum 
                70 hours are spent participating in field-based 
                activities;
                    ``(E) ensure that project activities are tied to, 
                where available, State service-learning standards;
                    ``(F) provide a weekly classroom-based instruction 
                component of the project, integrated into the regular 
                curriculum of the school involved and aligned with 
                applicable State academic content standards;
                    ``(G) ensure that youth participants will receive 
                academic credit, for the time spent in the classroom 
                and in the field for the project, equivalent to the 
                academic credit for any class of equivalent length and 
                with an equivalent time commitment;
                    ``(H) involve youth participants in the project in 
                the design and planning of the project;
                    ``(I) promote leadership development and build an 
                ethic of civic responsibility among the youth 
                participants;
                    ``(J) provide training, which may include life 
                skills, financial education, and employment training, 
                in addition to training concerning the specific 
                community service to be provided through the project, 
                for the youth participants;
                    ``(K) provide team-oriented, adult-supervised 
                experiences through the project;
                    ``(L) ensure youth participants engage in 
                reflection and evaluation; and
                    ``(M) provide opportunities for youth participants 
                to demonstrate their successes and teach other youth;
            ``(2) describes how the eligible entity will annually 
        establish benchmarks for academic, social, and behavioral 
        objectives, and annually conduct an evaluation to measure 
        progress toward the benchmarks; and
            ``(3) provides an assurance that the eligible entity will 
        annually make the results of such evaluation available to the 
        eligible agency.
    ``(c) Continued Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive funds under 
this section for a second or subsequent year of a subgrant period, an 
eligible entity shall demonstrate that the entity has met the 
benchmarks for the objectives described in subsection (b)(2).
    ``(d) Permissible Uses of Funds.--The eligible entity may use the 
subgrant funds to pay for--
            ``(1) developing or acquiring service-learning curricula 
        for the project, to be integrated into academic programs, 
        including making accommodations for students with disabilities 
        and English language learners;
            ``(2) establishing objectives and benchmarks, conducting 
        evaluations, and making evaluation results available;
            ``(3) conducting outreach and dissemination of project-
        related information to ensure the broadest possible involvement 
        of eligible youth and community partners in the project;
            ``(4) carrying out basic implementation of the service-
        learning project, including the purchase or rental of materials 
        needed to complete the field or classroom component of the 
        service-learning involved;
            ``(5) carrying out planning activities at the start of each 
        semester in which the project is carried out;
            ``(6) providing supplemental pay to staff who administer 
        the project; and
            ``(7) recognition and awards.
    ``(e) Service.--
            ``(1) Eligible service categories.--The eligible entity may 
        use the subgrant funds to carry out a service-learning project 
        that meets unmet human, educational, environmental, or public 
        safety needs and that includes a classroom-based instruction 
        component aligned with applicable State academic content 
        standards, and project activities tied to, where available, 
        State service-learning standards.
            ``(2) Ineligible service categories.--The eligible entity 
        may not use the subgrant funds for service prohibited under 
        section 132(a).
    ``(f) Participation.--Youth participants may participate in 
service-learning projects under this subtitle for not more than 2 
semesters of service, as defined by the Chief Executive Officer.

``SEC. 164. INDIAN TRIBES AND TERRITORIES.

    ``The Chief Executive Officer shall reserve not more than 3 percent 
of the funds appropriated under section 501(a)(4) for a fiscal year, 
for grants made on a competitive basis to Indian tribes, organizations 
serving Native Hawaiians (as defined in section 625 of the Older 
Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3057k)), the United States Virgin 
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands. The Chief Executive Officer shall issue regulations 
specifying how an entity receiving a grant under this section shall use 
the grant funds to carry out a program under this subtitle.

``SEC. 165. NATIONAL QUALITY AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.

    ``The Chief Executive Officer shall reserve not more than 4 percent 
of the funds appropriated under section 501(a)(4) for a fiscal year and 
use the reserved funds, either directly or through grants and contracts 
to organizations with experience in semester-based service-learning 
programs, to--
            ``(1) provide technical assistance and training to 
        recipients of grants and subgrants under this subtitle;
            ``(2) conduct outreach and dissemination of program-related 
        information to ensure the broadest possible involvement of 
        eligible agencies, eligible entities, organizations, and 
        eligible youth in programs under this subtitle; and
            ``(3) carry out other activities designed to improve the 
        quality of programs under this subtitle.

``SEC. 166. NATIONAL EVALUATION.

    ``(a) Reservation.--The Chief Executive Officer shall reserve not 
more than the greater of $500,000 or 1 percent of the funds 
appropriated under section 501(a)(4) for a fiscal year--
            ``(1) to arrange for an independent evaluation of eligible 
        agency programs carried out under this subtitle, to be 
        conducted in the third year of each grant period in which the 
        programs are implemented; and
            ``(2) to ensure that the results of the evaluation are 
        widely disseminated.
    ``(b) Report.--The Chief Executive Officer shall annually submit to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 
and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of 
Representatives, a report concerning the results of the evaluations 
conducted under subsection (a). Such reports shall also contain 
information on the models and best practices and any other findings or 
recommendations developed by the Chief Executive Officer based on such 
evaluations.

``SEC. 167. CONSTRUCTION.

    ``An individual participating in service in a program described in 
this subtitle shall not be considered to be an employee engaged in 
employment for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 
U.S.C. 201 et seq.).''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND AVAILABILITY.

    Section 501(a) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 
(42 U.S.C. 12681(a)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) Subtitle f.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
        to carry out subtitle F, $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 and 
        such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent fiscal 
        year.''.

SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Redesignation of Subtitles.--
            (1) Section 118(a) of the National and Community Service 
        Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12551(a)) is amended by striking 
        ``subtitle H'' and inserting ``subtitle I''.
            (2) Section 122(a)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12572(a)(2)) 
        is amended by striking ``subtitle I'' and inserting ``subtitle 
        J''.
            (3) Section 193A(f)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12651d(f)(1)) 
        is amended by striking ``subtitles C and I'' and inserting 
        ``subtitles C and J''.
            (4) Section 501(a)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12681(a)(2)) 
        is amended--
                    (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 
                ``Subtitles c, d, and h'' and inserting ``Subtitles c, 
                d, and i'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``subtitles C 
                and H'' and inserting ``subtitles C and I''; and
                    (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``subtitle H'' 
                and inserting ``subtitle I''.
    (b) Redesignation of Sections.--
            (1) Section 155(d)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12615(d)(3)) 
        is amended by striking ``section 162(a)(3)'' and inserting 
        ``section 159C(a)(3)''.
            (2) Section 156(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12616(d)) is 
        amended by striking ``section 162(a)(3)'' and inserting 
        ``section 159C(a)(3)''.
            (3) Section 159(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12619(c)) is 
        amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)(C)(i), by striking ``section 
                162(a)(2)'' and inserting ``section 159C(a)(2)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``section 
                162(a)(2)(A)'' and inserting ``section 159C(a)(2)(A)''.
            (4) Section 159B(b)(1)(B) of such Act (as redesignated by 
        section 3(2)) is amended by striking ``section 162(a)(3)'' and 
        inserting ``section 159C(a)(3)''.
    (c) Redesignation of Appropriation Provisions.--Section 126(a)(1) 
of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
12576(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``section 501(a)(4)'' and inserting 
``section 501(a)(5)''.
    (d) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the National and Community Service Act of 1990 is amended, in the items 
relating to title I of that Act--
            (1) in the item relating to the subtitle header for 
        subtitle I, by striking ``Subtitle I'' and inserting ``Subtitle 
        J'';
            (2) in the item relating to the subtitle header for 
        subtitle H, by striking ``Subtitle H'' and inserting ``Subtitle 
        I'';
            (3) in the item relating to the subtitle header for 
        subtitle G, by striking ``Subtitle G'' and inserting ``Subtitle 
        H'';
            (4) in the item relating to the subtitle header for 
        subtitle F, by striking ``Subtitle F'' and inserting ``Subtitle 
        G'';
            (5) by redesignating the items relating to sections 160 
        through 166 as the items relating to sections 159A through 
        159G, respectively; and
            (6) by inserting after the items relating to subtitle E the 
        following:

               ``Subtitle F--Semester of Service Programs

``Sec. 161. Definitions.
``Sec. 162. Grants to eligible agencies.
``Sec. 163. Subgrants to eligible entities.
``Sec. 164. Indian tribes and territories.
``Sec. 165. National quality and outreach activities.
``Sec. 166. National evaluation.
``Sec. 167. Construction.''.
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