I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2125

To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to create the 

Rite of Passage Community Service Program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 15, 2003

Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. FORD, Mr. PLATTS, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. FROST, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. OLVER, Ms. 

MCCARTHY of Missouri, Ms. LEE, Mr. MCNULTY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

CASE, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. CLAY, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA ́, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. BROWN of 

Ohio, Mr. KUCINICH, and Mr. FARR) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 

to create the Rite of Passage Community Service Program.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rite of Passage Com5 munity Service Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) The teenage years are a pivotal time of life, 

2 when young people are making choices that will af3 fect them for the rest of their lives. 

4 (2) The ways in which young people spend their 

5 time during their teenage years may set them on a 

6 course of active citizenship and engaged learning, or 

7 down a path of risky behavior with the likelihood of 

8 failure. 

9 (3) Research suggests that when young people 

10 see that they are able to improve the lives of others 

11 they feel that they are able to control and improve 

12 their own lives. 

13 (4) If properly trained, organized, and super14 vised, teenagers are a resource that can make a sig15 nificant contribution to their communities. 

16 (5) Opportunities for volunteer service during 

17 the teenage years could become a rite of passage for 

18 future generations. 

19 (6) The National Academy of Sciences Report 

20 on Youth Development concluded that ‘‘the future 

21 well-being of the country depends on raising genera22 tions of skilled, competent, and responsible adults’’. 

23 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to—
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1 (1) create a national network of service pro2 grams for middle school students to serve in their 

3 communities after school and during the summer; 

4 (2) provide students with opportunities to serve 

5 in their communities and participate in other pro6 grams such as workshops in leadership development, 

7 public speaking, conflict resolution, team-building, 

8 and other character-building programs; 

9 (3) provide young people an experience that re10 inforces their connection to the community, enriches 

11 their education, and strengthens their personal and 

12 civic values; and 

13 (4) instill an ethic of service in young people 

14 which will stay with them throughout their lifetimes. 

15 SEC. 3. RITE OF PASSAGE COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 122(a) of the Na17 tional and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

18 12572(a)) is amended—

19 (1) by redesignating paragraph (15) as para20 graph (16); and 

21 (2) by inserting after paragraph (14) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(15) A community-based Rite of Passage after 

24 school and summer service corps program that 

25 would offer young people—
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1 ‘‘(A) the opportunity to perform service in 

2 their communities; 

3 ‘‘(B) the opportunity to participate in ac4 tivities that would provide training in leadership 

5 development, public speaking, conflict resolu6 tion, team building, and other critical skills; 

7 ‘‘(C) service-learning curricula linked to 

8 academic goals; and 

9 ‘‘(D) the opportunity to work with older 

10 AmeriCorps members who can organize service 

11 projects and act as mentors.’’. 

12 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 137 of such Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 12591) is amended—

14 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub15 section (d); and 

16 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES FOR RITE OF PASSAGE PRO19 GRAM.—An individual shall be considered to be a partici20 pant in a Rite of Passage community-based after school 

21 or summer service corps program described in section 

22 122(a)(15) (42 U.S.C. 12591) that is carried out with as23 sistance provided under section 121(a) (42 U.S.C. 12571) 

24 if the individual—
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1 ‘‘(1) satisfies the requirements of paragraphs 

2 (1), (2), and (6) of subsection (a); and 

3 ‘‘(2) is between the ages of 12 and 16, inclu4 sive, at the time the individual begins the term of 

5 service.’’. 

6 (c) TERMS OF SERVICE.—Section 139(b) of such Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 12593(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR RITE OF PASSAGE

10 PROGRAM.—An individual participating in a Rite of 

11 Passage community-based after school or summer 

12 service corps program described in section 

13 122(a)(15) shall agree to participate in the program 

14 for not less than 150 hours during a period of not 

15 less than 2 months and not more than 1 year.’’. 

16 (D) NATIONAL SERVICE EDUCATIONAL AWARD.—

17 (1) SPECIAL RULE FOR RITE OF PASSAGE PRO18 GRAM.—Section 141 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12595) 

19 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR RITE OF PASSAGE PRO21 GRAM.—An individual participating in a Rite of Passage 

22 community-based after school or summer service corps 

23 program described in section 122(a)(15), upon completion 

24 of the required 150 hours of service shall receive an edu25 cation award of $500.’’. 
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1 (2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—Section 146 is 

2 amended—

3 (A) in subsection (a)(2) by striking ‘‘or a 

4 program described in section 122(a)(9);’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘, a program described in section 

6 122(a)(9), or a program described in section 

7 122(a)(15);’’; and 

8 (B) in subsection (d)(2)—

9 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

10 ‘‘or’’; 

11 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

12 ‘‘period.’’ and inserting ‘‘period; or’’; and 

13 (iii) by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(C) participated in a program described 

16 in section 12572(a).’’. 

17 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

18 Not later than March 1 of each of the first 3 years 

19 following the date of enactment of this Act, the Corpora20 tion for National and Community Service shall transmit 

21 to the Congress a report and evaluation of the program 

22 authorized by this Act.

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