Education Opportunity Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to low-income secondary school juniors and seniors for the cost of taking nonremedial courses offered by institutions of higher education which award such students transferable postsecondary credits for such courses.
States the sense of the Senate that funding for this program should not affect funding for the Pell Grant program.
[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>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S10682-10683)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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