20 U.S.C. § 1161y
The Secretary is authorized to carry out an Early Federal Pell Grant Commitment Demonstration Program under which-
From amounts appropriated under subsection (h) for a fiscal year, the Secretary is authorized to award grants to four State educational agencies to enable the State educational agencies to pay the administrative expenses incurred in participating in the demonstration program under this section by carrying out a demonstration project under which eighth grade students described in subsection (b)(1)(B) receive a commitment early in the students' academic careers to receive a Federal Pell Grant.
The Secretary shall award grants under this section in equal amounts to each of the four participating State educational agencies.
Each of the four demonstration projects assisted under this section shall meet the following requirements:
The State educational agency shall make participation in the demonstration project available to two cohorts of students, which shall consist of-
Each cohort of students shall consist of not more than 10,000 eighth grade students who qualify for a free or reduced price school lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.).
The State educational agency shall ensure that student data from local educational agencies serving students who participate in the demonstration project, as well as student data from local educational agencies serving a comparable group of students who do not participate in the demonstration project, are available for evaluation of the demonstration project, and are made available in accordance with the requirements of section 1232g of this title (commonly known as the "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974").
Each student who participates in the demonstration project receives a commitment from the Secretary to receive a Federal Pell Grant during the first academic year that the student is in attendance at an institution of higher education as an undergraduate, provided that the student applies for Federal financial aid (via the FAFSA or EZ FAFSA) for such academic year.
Each State educational agency shall establish an application process to select local educational agencies within the State to participate in the demonstration project in accordance with subsection (d)(2).
Subject to the 10,000 statewide student limitation described in paragraph (1), a local educational agency serving students, not less than 50 percent of whom are eligible for a free or reduced price school lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), shall be eligible to participate in the demonstration project.
Each State educational agency desiring to participate in the demonstration program under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require.
Each application shall include-
In selecting State educational agencies to participate in the demonstration program under this section, the Secretary shall consider-
In selecting local educational agencies to participate in a demonstration project under this section, the State educational agency shall consider-
From amounts appropriated under subsection (h) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not more than $1,000,000 to award a grant or contract to an organization outside the Department for an independent evaluation of the impact of the demonstration program assisted under this section.
The grant or contract shall be awarded on a competitive basis.
The evaluation described in this subsection shall-
The findings of the evaluation shall be reported to the Secretary, who shall widely disseminate the findings to the public.
Each State educational agency receiving a grant under this section shall, in cooperation with the participating local educational agencies within the State and the Secretary, develop a targeted information campaign for the demonstration project assisted under this section.
Each State educational agency receiving a grant under this section shall include in the application submitted under subsection (c) a written plan for the State educational agency proposed targeted information campaign. The plan shall include the following:
A description of the outreach to students and the students' families at the beginning and end of each academic year of the demonstration project, at a minimum.
A description of how the State educational agency plans to provide the outreach described in subparagraph (A) and to provide the information described in subparagraph (C).
The annual provision by the State educational agency to all students and families participating in the demonstration project of information regarding-
The information described in paragraph (2)(C) shall be provided annually to the two successive cohorts of students described in subsection (b)(1)(A) for the duration of the students' participation in the demonstration project.
Each State educational agency receiving a grant under this section shall reserve not more than 15 percent of the grant funds received each fiscal year to carry out the targeted information campaign described in this subsection.
A State educational agency shall use grant funds received under this section only to supplement the funds that would, in the absence of such grant funds, be made available from non-Federal sources for students participating in the demonstration project under this section, and not to supplant such funds.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2009 and each of the five succeeding fiscal years.
20 U.S.C. § 1161y
EDITORIAL NOTES
REFERENCES IN TEXTThe Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(B), (5), is act June 4, 1946, ch. 281, 60 Stat. 230, which is classified generally to chapter 13 (§1751 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1751 of Title 42 and Tables.The Child Nutrition Act of 1966, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(B), (5), is Pub. L. 89-642, Oct. 11, 1966, 80 Stat. 885, which is classified generally to chapter 13A (§1771 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1771 of Title 42 and Tables.The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, referred to in subsec. (d)(1)(B)(iii), (2)(B)(iii), is Pub. L. 89-10, Apr. 11, 1965, 79 Stat. 27. Part A of title I of the Act is classified generally to part A (§6311 et seq.) of subchapter I of chapter 70 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 6301 of this title and Tables.
AMENDMENTS2010-Subsec. (f)(2)(C)(ii)(I). Pub. L. 111-152 substituted "the Federal Pell Grant amount, determined under section 1070a(b)(2)(A) of this title, for which a student may be eligible for each award year" for "the maximum Federal Pell Grant for each award year".2009-Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 111-39 substituted "commonly known as the 'Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974' " for "the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974".
STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2010 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 111-152 effective July 1, 2010, see section 2101(c) of Pub. L. 111-152, set out as a note under section 1070a of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2009 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 111-39 effective as if enacted on the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110-315 (Aug. 14, 2008), see section 3 of Pub. L. 111-39, set out as a note under section 1001 of this title.