[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2428 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2428

To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish a 
     National Service for Schools Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 18, 2015

  Mr. Bennet) 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 
     National Service for Schools 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 ``Service for Schools Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. SERVICE FOR SCHOOLS.

    Subtitle H of title I of the National and Community Service Act of 
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12653 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

                ``PART VI--NATIONAL SERVICE FOR SCHOOLS

``SEC. 198T. SERVICE OPPORTUNITY REGISTRY.

    ``(a) Definitions.--
            ``(1) Eligible service opportunity.--The term `eligible 
        service opportunity' means a national service opportunity--
                    ``(A) that achieves purposes specified in section 
                2(b), including meeting an unmet human, educational, 
                environmental, or public safety need of the United 
                States, without displacing existing (as of the first 
                date of the opportunity) workers, as determined by the 
                Chief Executive Officer; and
                    ``(B) for which--
                            ``(i) a participant may receive 
                        compensation but, except as provided in clauses 
                        (ii) and (iii), the total compensation, in the 
                        aggregate, shall not exceed the product of--
                                    ``(I) $10.00 per hour; and
                                    ``(II) the number of the qualifying 
                                hours of service involved;
                            ``(ii) a participant may receive total 
                        compensation that exceeds the product described 
                        in clause (i), if the excess is subtracted from 
                        the amount of the participant's corresponding 
                        award under subsection (d); and
                            ``(iii) a participant in a professional 
                        corps program described in section 
                        122(c)(1)(D), who is in engaged in a service 
                        opportunity that meets human, educational, 
                        environmental, or public safety needs in a 
                        high-need community with an inadequate number 
                        of such professionals, as determined by the 
                        Chief Executive Officer, may receive 
                        compensation without regard to clauses (i) and 
                        (ii).
            ``(2) Eligible student.--The term `eligible student' means 
        an individual who--
                    ``(A) completed 2000 qualifying hours of service 
                when the individual was a qualified student, which 
                hours are recorded by a State Commission under 
                subsection (c); and
                    ``(B) is not older than age 35.
            ``(3) Qualified student.--The term `qualified student' 
        means an individual who is not younger than age 12 or older 
        than age 30.
            ``(4) Qualifying hour of service.--The term `qualifying 
        hour of service' means an hour of service performed for an 
        eligible service opportunity and for which the participant did 
        not receive a payment under part C of title IV of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.).
    ``(b) Registry.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Corporation shall establish and 
        carry out directly, in partnership with a nonprofit 
        organization or State Commission or through a grant or subgrant 
        to a nonprofit organization or State Commission, activities 
        concerning a Service Opportunity Registry (referred to in this 
        section as the `Registry'), which shall list eligible service 
        opportunities and the registered organizations offering the 
        opportunities.
            ``(2) Application.--To be eligible to be registered in the 
        Registry, an organization that offers an eligible service 
        opportunity shall submit an application to the Corporation at 
        such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
        the Corporation may require.
            ``(3) Registry information.--On receipt of an application 
        that meets the requirements of paragraph (2) from an 
        organization that the Chief Executive Officer determines offers 
        an eligible service opportunity, the Corporation shall register 
        the organization by listing in the Registry--
                    ``(A) the names and contact information for the 
                organization; and
                    ``(B) a description of the eligible service 
                opportunity.
            ``(4) Web site.--The Corporation shall make the Registry 
        available to the public through a National Service for Schools 
        Web site.
            ``(5) Re-registration.--Not less often than every 2 years, 
        a listed organization that offers an eligible service 
        opportunity shall re-apply for listing in the Registry.
    ``(c) Service.--
            ``(1) Application.--To be eligible to participate in and 
        receive credit for service in service opportunities listed in 
        the Registry, a qualified student shall submit an application 
        to the student's State Commission, at such time, in such 
        manner, and containing the qualified student's name, the 
        qualified student's contact information, and such other 
        information as the Corporation, after consultation with the 
        State Commissions, may require.
            ``(2) Designation.--In order for students in a State to 
        participate in and receive credit for that service, the State 
        Commission shall participate in the program carried out under 
        this part. On receipt of an application that meets the 
        requirements of paragraph (1) from a qualified student, the 
        State Commission shall designate the qualified student as 
        eligible to so participate and receive such credit.
            ``(3) Contact.--A qualified student who wishes to 
        participate in a service opportunity listed in the Registry 
        shall contact and make arrangements with the organization 
        providing the opportunity.
            ``(4) Record of service.--
                    ``(A) Organization.--The organization shall record 
                the qualifying hours of service completed by each 
                qualified student who participates in an eligible 
                service opportunity with the organization.
                    ``(B) State commission.--The organization shall, 
                not less often than annually, notify the appropriate 
                State Commission of the number of qualifying hours of 
                service completed by each qualified student on an 
                eligible service opportunity with the organization 
                since the last notification. The State Commission shall 
                record the qualifying hours of service in a record for 
                the qualified student. The State Commission shall make 
                the record available to the Corporation on request.
            ``(5) Transfer of application and record.--At the request 
        of a qualified student, a State Commission shall transfer to 
        another State Commission the qualified student's application 
        for service under paragraph (1) and record of hours of service 
        under paragraph (4)(B).
            ``(6) Effect of erroneous certifications.--If the State 
        Commission or the Corporation determines that the 
        organization's record of service under paragraph (4) is 
        erroneous due to a willful act of the organization or is 
        incorrect, and the Corporation makes any associated payment 
        from the National Service Trust due to the erroneous or 
        incorrect record of service, the Corporation may assess against 
        the organization a charge for the amount of the payment. In 
        assessing the amount of the charge, the Corporation shall 
        consider the full facts and circumstances surrounding the 
        erroneous or incorrect recording of hours.
    ``(d) Awards.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to appropriations, an eligible 
        student shall receive an award of $10,000 from the National 
        Service for Schools Account, established in section 145A, to be 
        used as described in subsection (f), except that--
                    ``(A) the eligible student may not receive more 
                than 4 of such awards; and
                    ``(B) the eligible student may not receive both an 
                award under this section and a national service 
                educational award for the same hours of service.
            ``(2) Application.--An eligible student seeking such an 
        award shall submit an application to the Corporation at such 
        time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
        Corporation may require.
    ``(e) Credit of Hours of Service for National Service 
Participants.--A participant who is eligible to receive a national 
service educational award from the National Service Trust under section 
146 may opt to use the hours certified under section 146A towards an 
award under subsection (d). The Corporation shall establish a process 
allowing such participants to elect to use their hours certified under 
section 146A towards that award instead of towards a national service 
educational award.
    ``(f) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--Award funds provided under this section 
        shall be available--
                    ``(A) to repay eligible student loans in accordance 
                with section 148(b); and
                    ``(B) to pay all or part of the cost of attendance 
                or other educational expenses at an institution of 
                higher education in accordance with section 148(c).
            ``(2) Application.--For purposes of the application of 
        subsections (b) and (c) of section 148 under paragraph (1), a 
        reference in those subsections--
                    ``(A) to a national service educational award shall 
                be considered to be a reference to an award under this 
                section;
                    ``(B) to an eligible individual shall be considered 
                to be a reference to an eligible student who has met 
                the requirements for an award under this section;
                    ``(C) to the National Service Trust shall be 
                considered to be a reference to the National Service 
                for Schools Account established in section 145A;
                    ``(D) to a position shall be considered to be a 
                reference to activities under this section; and
                    ``(E) to a term of service shall be considered to 
                be a term of service under this section.
    ``(g) National Service for Schools Account.--
            ``(1) Investment.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        invest in full the amounts appropriated under subsection 
        (i)(1)(B) to the National Service for Schools Account in 
        section 145A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 
        only provisions of subtitle D relating to funds in the National 
        Service Trust that apply to amounts in the Account shall be 
        section 145(b) and subsections (b) and (c) of section 148.
            ``(2) Obligations for awards.--Notwithstanding section 149, 
        the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a et seq.), 
        subchapter III of chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code, 
        and any other Federal law, the Corporation shall not record an 
        obligation for an award under this section until such time as 
        the Corporation approves the corresponding application under 
        subsection (d)(2).
    ``(h) Annual Estimates.--Not later than January 31 of each fiscal 
year, the Corporation and the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office shall jointly--
            ``(1) estimate the amount necessary to make award payments 
        under subsection (d) in the next fiscal year; and
            ``(2) submit a report containing the estimate to the 
        Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and 
        the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
    ``(i) Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        for a fiscal year--
                    ``(A) such sums as may be necessary to carry out 
                the Registry under this section; and
                    ``(B) such sums as may be necessary for the 
                National Service for Students Account, to make award 
                payments under subsection (d).
            ``(2) Insufficient appropriations.--If, for any fiscal 
        year, the funds appropriated for award payments under this part 
        are insufficient to make all the awards for which applications 
        are submitted and approved under subsection (d)(2), the 
        Corporation shall promptly transmit a notice of such 
        insufficiency to each House of Congress, and identify in such 
        notice the additional amount that would be required to be 
        appropriated to make all such awards.''.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL SERVICE FOR SCHOOLS ACCOUNT.

    Subtitle D of title I of the National and Community Service Act of 
1990 is amended by inserting after section 145 (42 U.S.C. 12601) the 
following:

``SEC. 145A. NATIONAL SERVICE FOR SCHOOLS ACCOUNT.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the National Service 
Trust a National Service for Schools Account.
    ``(b) Amounts in the Account.--The Account shall consist of--
            ``(1) the amounts appropriated under section 198T(i)(1)(B);
            ``(2) any amounts received by the Corporation as gifts, 
        bequests, devises, or otherwise pursuant to section 196(a)(2), 
        if the terms of such donations direct that the donated amounts 
        be deposited in the Account; and
            ``(3) the interest on, and proceeds from the sale or 
        redemption of, any obligations held by the Account.
    ``(c) Administration.--The Account shall be administered as 
described in section 198T.''.
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