II
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3995
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.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Education Opportunity
Act
.
Findings
Congress finds the following:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Education opportunity grants for eligible low-income secondary school students
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:
Education Opportunity Grants for Eligible Low-Income Secondary School Students
Education opportunity grants
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.
Definitions
In this section:
Eligible course
The term eligible course means a course—
that is offered by an institution of higher education eligible to participate in a program under this title;
for which the institution of higher education awards postsecondary academic credit that is transferrable;
that is held at the institution of higher education, held at a secondary school, or offered in whole or in part through telecommunications; and
that is not remedial in nature.
Eligible low-income secondary school student
The term eligible low-income secondary school student means a student who—
is enrolled in a secondary school;
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
is a junior or senior in secondary school and is making satisfactory progress toward on-time graduation from secondary school.
Amount
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.
Cost of tuition
The cost of tuition for an eligible course shall be the lesser of—
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
$1,200.
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.
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.
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.
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.
.
Sense of the Senate
It is the sense of the Senate that—
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
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.