I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 333

To provide educational assistance to law enforcement personnel and to

increase the number of police officers.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. DORNAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To provide educational assistance to law enforcement

personnel and to increase the number of police officers.

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 ‘‘Police Corps and Law

5 Enforcement Training and Education Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are to—

8 (1) address violent crime by increasing the

9 number of police with advanced education and train10 ing on community patrol;
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1 (2) provide educational assistance to law en2 forcement personnel and to students who possess a

3 sincere interest in public service in the form of law

4 enforcement; and

5 (3) assist State and local law enforcement ef6 forts to enhance the educational status of law en7 forcement personnel both through increasing the

8 educational level of existing officers and by recruit9 ing more highly educated officers.

10 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF THE POLICE CORPS

11 AND LAW ENFORCEMENT EDUCATION.

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

13 Department of Justice, under the general authority of the

14 Attorney General, an Office of the Police Corps and Law

15 Enforcement Education.

16 (b) APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR.—The Office of the

17 Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education shall be

18 headed by a Director (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Di19 rector’’) who shall be appointed by the President, by and

20 with the advice and consent of the Senate.

21 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTOR.—The Director

22 shall be responsible for the administration of the Police

23 Corps program established under this Act and shall have

24 authority to promulgate regulations to implement this Act.
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1 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF LEAD AGENCY AND SUBMISSION

2 OF STATE PLAN.

3 (a) LEAD AGENCY.—A State that desires to partici4 pate in the Police Corps program under this Act shall des5 ignate a lead agency that will be responsible for—

6 (1) submitting to the Director a State plan de7 scribed in subsection (b); and

8 (2) administering the program in the State.

9 (b) STATE PLANS.—A State plan shall—

10 (1) contain assurances that the lead agency

11 shall work in cooperation with the local law enforce12 ment liaisons, representatives of police labor organi13 zations and police management organizations, and

14 other appropriate State and local agencies to develop

15 and implement interagency agreements designed to

16 carry out the program;

17 (2) contain assurances that the State shall ad18 vertise the assistance available under this Act;

19 (3) contain assurances that the State shall

20 screen and select law enforcement personnel for par21 ticipation in the program; and

22 (4) if the State desires to participate in the Po23 lice Corps program under this Act, meet the require24 ments of section 10.

25 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

26 For the purposes of this Act—
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1 (1) the term ‘‘academic year’’ means a tradi2 tional academic year beginning in August or Sep3 tember and ending in the following May or June;

4 (2) the term ‘‘dependent child’’ means a natural

5 or adopted child or stepchild of a law enforcement

6 officer who at the time of the officer’s death—

7 (A) was no more than 21 years old; or

8 (B) if older than 21 years, was in fact de9 pendent on the child’s parents for at least one10 half of the child’s support (excluding edu11 cational expenses), as determined by the Direc12 tor;

13 (3) the term ‘‘educational expenses’’ means ex14 penses that are directly attributable to—

15 (A) a course of education leading to the

16 award of the baccalaureate degree; or

17 (B) a course of graduate study following

18 award of a baccalaureate degree, including the

19 cost of tuition, fees, books, supplies, transpor20 tation, room and board and miscellaneous ex21 penses;

22 (4) the term ‘‘participant’’ means a participant

23 in the Police Corps program selected pursuant to

24 section 7;
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1 (5) the term ‘‘State’’ means a State of the

2 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com3 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Amer4 ican Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the

5 Northern Mariana Islands; and

6 (6) the term ‘‘State Police Corps program’’

7 means a State police corps program approved under

8 section 10.

9 SEC. 6. SCHOLARSHIP ASSISTANCE.

10 (a) SCHOLARSHIP AUTHORIZED.—(1) The Director

11 is authorized to award scholarships to participants who

12 agree to work in a State or local police force in accordance

13 with agreements entered into pursuant to subsection (d).

14 (2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) each

15 scholarship payment made under this section for each aca16 demic year shall not exceed—

17 (i) $10,000; or

18 (ii) the cost of the educational expenses related

19 to attending an institution of higher education.

20 (B) In the case of a participant who is pursuing a

21 course of educational study during substantially an entire

22 calendar year, the amount of scholarship payments made

23 during such year shall not exceed $13,333.
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1 (C) The total amount of scholarship assistance re2 ceived by any one student under this section shall not ex3 ceed $40,000.

4 (3) Recipients of scholarship assistance under this

5 section shall continue to receive such scholarship payments

6 only during such periods as the Director finds that the

7 recipient is maintaining satisfactory progress as deter8 mined by the institution of higher education the recipient

9 is attending.

10 (4)(A) The Director shall make scholarship payments

11 under this section directly to the institution of higher edu12 cation that the student is attending.

13 (B) Each institution of higher education receiving a

14 payment on behalf of a participant pursuant to subpara15 graph (A) shall remit to such student any funds in excess

16 of the costs of tuition, fees, and room and board payable

17 to the institution.

18 (b) REIMBURSEMENT AUTHORIZED.—(1) The Direc19 tor is authorized to make payments to a participant to

20 reimburse such participant for the costs of educational ex21 penses if such student agrees to work in a State or local

22 police force in accordance with the agreement entered into

23 pursuant to subsection (d).

24 (2)(A) Each payment made pursuant to paragraph

25 (1) for each academic year of study shall not exceed—
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1 (i) $10,000; or

2 (ii) the cost of educational expenses related to

3 attending an institution of higher education.

4 (B) In the case of a participant who is pursuing a

5 course of educational study during substantially an entire

6 calendar year, the amount of scholarship payments made

7 during such year shall not exceed $13,333.

8 (C) The total amount of payments made pursuant to

9 subparagraph (A) to any one student shall not exceed

10 $40,000.

11 (c) USE OF SCHOLARSHIP.—Scholarships awarded

12 under this subsection shall only be used to attend a 4-

13 year institution of higher education, except that—

14 (1) scholarships may be used for graduate and

15 professional study; and

16 (2) where a participant has enrolled in the pro17 gram upon or after transfer to a 4-year institution

18 of higher education, the Director may reimburse the

19 participant for the participant’s prior educational

20 expenses.

21 (d) AGREEMENT.—(1) Each participant receiving a

22 scholarship or a payment under this section shall enter

23 into an agreement with the Director. Each such agreement

24 shall contain assurances that the participant shall—
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1 (A) after successful completion of a bacca2 laureate program and training as prescribed in sec3 tion 8, work for 4 years in a State or local police

4 force without there having arisen sufficient cause for

5 the participant’s dismissal under the rules applicable

6 to members of the police force of which the partici7 pant is a member;

8 (B) complete satisfactorily—

9 (i) an educational course of study and re10 ceipt of a baccalaureate degree (in the case of

11 undergraduate study) or the reward of credit to

12 the participant for having completed one or

13 more graduate courses (in the case of graduate

14 study);

15 (ii) Police Corps training and certification

16 by the Director that the participant has met

17 such performance standards as may be estab18 lished pursuant to section 8; and

19 (C) repay all of the scholarship or payment re20 ceived plus interest at the rate of 10 percent in the

21 event that the conditions of subparagraphs (A) and

22 (B) are not complied with.

23 (2)(A) A recipient of a scholarship or payment under

24 this section shall not be considered in violation of the
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1 agreement entered into pursuant to paragraph (1) if the

2 recipient—

3 (i) dies; or

4 (ii) becomes permanently and totally disabled as

5 established by the sworn affidavit of a qualified phy6 sician.

7 (B) In the event that a scholarship recipient is unable

8 to comply with the repayment provision set forth in sub9 paragraph (B) of paragraph (1) because of a physical or

10 emotional disability or for good cause as determined by

11 the Director, the Director may substitute community serv12 ice in a form prescribed by the Director for the required

13 repayment.

14 (C) The Director shall expeditiously seek repayment

15 from participants who violate the agreement described in

16 paragraph (1).

17 (e) DEPENDENT CHILD.—A dependent child of a law

18 enforcement officer—

19 (1) who is a member of a State or local police

20 force or is a Federal criminal investigator or uni21 formed police officer,

22 (2) who is not a participant in the Police Corps

23 program, but

24 (3) who serves in a State for which the Director

25 has approved a Police Corps plan, and
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1 (4) who is killed in the course of performing

2 police duties,

3 shall be entitled to the scholarship assistance authorized

4 in this section for any course of study in any accredited

5 institution of higher education. Such dependent child shall

6 not incur any repayment obligation in exchange for the

7 scholarship assistance provided in this section.

8 (f) GROSS INCOME.—For purposes of section 61 of

9 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, a participant’s or de10 pendent child’s gross income shall not include any amount

11 paid as scholarship assistance under this section or as a

12 stipend under section 8.

13 (g) APPLICATION.—Each participant desiring a

14 scholarship or payment under this section shall submit an

15 application as prescribed by the Director in such manner

16 and accompanied by such information as the Director may

17 reasonably require.

18 (h) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section

19 the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean20 ing given that term in the first sentence of section 1201(a)

21 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).

22 SEC. 7. SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Participants in State Police Corps

24 programs shall be selected on a competitive basis by each

25 State under regulations prescribed by the Director.
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1 (b) SELECTION CRITERIA AND QUALIFICATIONS.—

2 (1) In order to participate in a State Police Corps pro3 gram, a participant must—

4 (A) be a citizen of the United States or an alien

5 lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the

6 United States;

7 (B) meet the requirements for admission as a

8 trainee of the State or local police force to which the

9 participant will be assigned pursuant to section 10,

10 including achievement of satisfactory scores on any

11 applicable examination, except that failure to meet

12 the age requirement for a trainee of the State or

13 local police shall not disqualify the applicant if the

14 applicant will be of sufficient age upon completing

15 an undergraduate course of study;

16 (C) possess the necessary mental and physical

17 capabilities and emotional characteristics to dis18 charge effectively the duties of a law enforcement

19 officer;

20 (D) be of good character and demonstrate sin21 cere motivation and dedication to law enforcement

22 and public service;

23 (E) in the case of an undergraduate, agree in

24 writing that the participant will complete an edu25 cational course of study leading to the award of a
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1 baccalaureate degree and will then accept an ap2 pointment and complete 4 years of service as an offi3 cer in the State police or in a local police depart4 ment within the State;

5 (F) in the case of a participant desiring to un6 dertake or continue graduate study, agree in writing

7 that the participant will accept an appointment and

8 complete 4 years of service as an officer in the State

9 police or in a local police department within the

10 State before undertaking or continuing graduate

11 study;

12 (G) contract, with the consent of the partici13 pant’s parent or guardian if the participant is a

14 minor, to serve for 4 years as an officer in the State

15 police or in a local police department, if an appoint16 ment is offered; and

17 (H) except as provided in paragraph (2), be

18 without previous law enforcement experience.

19 (2)(A) Until the date that is 5 years after the date

20 of enactment of this Act, up to 10 percent of the appli21 cants accepted into the Police Corps program may be per22 sons who—

23 (i) have had some law enforcement experience;

24 and
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1 (ii) have demonstrated special leadership poten2 tial and dedication to law enforcement.

3 (B)(i) The prior period of law enforcement of a par4 ticipant selected pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall not

5 be counted toward satisfaction of the participant’s 4-year

6 service obligation under section 9, and such a participant

7 shall be subject to the same benefits and obligations under

8 this Act as other participants, including those stated in

9 subparagraphs (b)(1) (E) and (F).

10 (ii) Clause (i) shall not be construed to preclude

11 counting a participant’s previous period of law enforce12 ment experience for purposes other than satisfaction of the

13 requirements of section 9, such as for purposes of deter14 mining such a participant’s pay and other benefits, rank,

15 and tenure.

16 (3) It is the intent of this Act that there shall be

17 no more than 20,000 participants in each graduating

18 class. The Director shall approve State plans providing in

19 the aggregate for such enrollment of applicants as shall

20 assure, as nearly as possible, annual graduating classes

21 of 20,000. In a year in which applications are received

22 in a number greater than that which will produce, in the

23 judgment of the Director, a graduating class of more than

24 20,000, the Director shall, in deciding which applications

25 to grant, give preference to those who will be participating
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1 in State plans that provide law enforcement personnel to

2 areas of greatest need.

3 (c) RECRUITMENT OF MINORITIES.—Each State par4 ticipating in the Police Corps program shall make special

5 efforts to seek and recruit qualified applicants from among

6 members of all racial, ethnic, or gender groups. This sub7 section does not authorize an exception from the competi8 tive standards for admission established pursuant to sub9 sections (a) and (b).

10 (d) ENROLLMENT OF APPLICANT.—(1) An applicant

11 shall be accepted into a State Police Corps program on

12 the condition that the applicant will be matriculated in,

13 or accepted for admission at, a 4-year institution of higher

14 education (as described in the first sentence of section

15 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

16 1141(a))—

17 (A) as a full-time student in an undergraduate

18 program; or

19 (B) for purposes of taking a graduate course.

20 (2) If the applicant is not matriculated or accepted

21 as set forth in paragraph (1), the applicant’s acceptance

22 in the program shall be revoked.

23 (e) LEAVE OF ABSENCE.—(1) A participant in a

24 State Police Corps program who requests a leave of ab25 sence from educational study, training or service for a pe-
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1 riod not to exceed 1 year (or 18 months in the aggregate

2 in the event of multiple requests) due to temporary phys3 ical or emotional disability shall be granted such leave of

4 absence by the State.

5 (2) A participant who requests a leave of absence

6 from educational study, training or service for a period

7 not to exceed 1 year (or 18 months in the aggregate in

8 the event of multiple requests) for any reason other than

9 those listed in paragraph (1) may be granted such level

10 of absence by the State.

11 (3) A participant who requests a leave of absence

12 from educational study or training for a period not to ex13 ceed 30 months to serve on an official church mission may

14 be granted such leave of absence.

15 (f) ADMISSION OF APPLICANTS.—An applicant may

16 be admitted into a State Police Corps program either be17 fore commencement of or during the applicant’s course of

18 educational study.

19 SEC. 8. POLICE CORPS TRAINING.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Director shall establish

21 programs of training for Police Corps participants. Such

22 programs may be carried out at up to 3 training centers

23 established for this purpose and administered by the Di24 rector, or by contracting with existing State training facili25 ties. The Director shall contract with a State training fa-
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1 cility upon request of such facility if the Director deter2 mines that such facility offers a course of training sub3 stantially equivalent to the Police Corps training program

4 described in this Act.

5 (2) The Director is authorized to enter into contracts

6 with individuals, institutions of learning, and government

7 agencies (including State and local police forces), to obtain

8 the services of persons qualified to participate in and con9 tribute to the training process.

10 (3) The Director is authorized to enter into agree11 ments with agencies of the Federal Government to utilize

12 on a reimbursable basis space in Federal buildings and

13 other resources.

14 (4) The Director may authorize such expenditures as

15 are necessary for the effective maintenance of the training

16 centers, including purchases of supplies, uniforms, and

17 educational materials, and the provision of subsistence,

18 quarters, and medical care to participants.

19 (b) TRAINING SESSIONS.—A participant in a State

20 Police Corps program shall attend two 8-week training

21 sessions at a training center, one during the summer fol22 lowing completion of sophomore year and one during the

23 summer following completion of junior year. If a partici24 pant enters the program after sophomore year, the partici-
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1 pant shall complete 16 weeks of training at times deter2 mined by the Director.

3 (c) FURTHER TRAINING.—The 16 weeks of Police

4 Corps training authorized in this section is intended to

5 serve as basic law enforcement training but not to exclude

6 further training of participants by the State and local au7 thorities to which they will be assigned. Each State plan

8 approved by the Director under section 10 shall include

9 assurances that following completion of a participant’s

10 course of education each participant shall receive appro11 priate additional training by the State or local authority

12 to which the participant is assigned. The time spent by

13 a participant in such additional training, but not the time

14 spent in Police Corps training, shall be counted toward

15 fulfillment of the participant’s 4-year service obligation.

16 (d) COURSE OF TRAINING.—The training sessions at

17 training centers established under this section shall be de18 signed to provide basic law enforcement training, includ19 ing vigorous physical and mental training to teach partici20 pants self-discipline and organizational loyalty and to im21 part knowledge and understanding of legal processes and

22 law enforcement.

23 (e) EVALUATION OF PARTICIPANTS.—A participant

24 shall be evaluated during training for mental, physical,

25 and emotional fitness, and shall be required to meet per-
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1 formance standards prescribed by the Director at the con2 clusion of each training session in order to remain in the

3 Police Corps program.

4 (f) STIPEND.—The Director shall pay participants in

5 training sessions a stipend of $250 a week during training.

6 SEC. 9. SERVICE OBLIGATION.

7 (a) SWEARING IN.—Upon satisfactory completion of

8 the participant’s course of education and training program

9 established in section 8 and meeting the requirements of

10 the police force to which the participant is assigned, a par11 ticipant shall be sworn in as a member of the police force

12 to which the participant is assigned pursuant to the State

13 Police Corps plan, and shall serve for 4 years as a member

14 of that police force.

15 (b) RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—A participant

16 shall have all the rights and responsibilities of and shall

17 be subject to all rules and regulations applicable to other

18 members of the police force of which the participant is

19 a member, including those contained in applicable agree20 ments with labor organizations and those provided by

21 State and local law.

22 (c) DISCIPLINE.—If the police force of which the par23 ticipant is a member subjects the participant to discipline

24 such as would preclude the participant’s completing 4

25 years of service, and result in denial of educational assist-
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1 ance under section 6, the Director may, upon a showing

2 of good cause, permit the participant to complete the serv3 ice obligation in an equivalent alternative law enforcement

4 service and, if such service is satisfactorily completed, sec5 tion 6(d)(1)(C) shall not apply.

6 (d) LAY-OFFS.—If the police force of which the par7 ticipant is a member lays off the participant such as would

8 preclude the participants’ completing 4 years of service,

9 and result in denial of educational assistance under sec10 tion 6, the Director may permit the participant to com11 plete the service obligation in an equivalent alternative law

12 enforcement service and, if such service is satisfactorily

13 completed, section 6(d)(1)(C) shall not apply.

14 SEC. 10. STATE PLAN REQUIREMENTS.

15 A State Police Corps Plan shall—

16 (1) provide for the screening and selection of

17 participants in accordance with the criteria set out

18 in section 7;

19 (2) state procedures governing the assignment

20 of participants in the Police Corps program to State

21 and local police forces (no more than 10 percent of

22 all the participants assigned in each year by each

23 State to be assigned to a statewide police force or

24 forces);
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1 (3) provide that participants shall be assigned

2 to those geographic areas in which—

3 (A) there is the greatest need for addi4 tional law enforcement personnel; and

5 (B) the participants will be used most ef6 fectively;

7 (4) provide that to the extent consistent with

8 paragraph (3), a participant shall be assigned to an

9 area near the participant’s home or such other place

10 as the participant may request;

11 (5) provide that to the extent feasible, a partici12 pant’s assignment shall be made at the time the par13 ticipant is accepted into the program, subject to

14 change—

15 (A) prior to commencement of a partici16 pant’s fourth year of undergraduate study,

17 under such circumstances as the plan may

18 specify; and

19 (B) from commencement of a participant’s

20 fourth year of undergraduate study until com21 pletion of 4 years of police service by partici22 pant, only for compelling reasons or to meet the

23 needs of the State Police Corps program and

24 only with the consent of the participant;
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1 (6) to provide that no participant shall be as2 signed to serve with a local police force—

3 (A) whose size has declined by more than

4 5 percent since June 21, 1989; or

5 (B) which has members who have been laid

6 off but not retired;

7 (7) provide that participants shall be placed and

8 to the extent feasible kept on community and pre9 ventive patrol;

10 (8) assure that participants will receive effective

11 training and leadership;

12 (9) provide that the State may decline to offer

13 a participant an appointment following completion of

14 Federal training, or may remove a participant from

15 the Police Corps program at any time, only for good

16 cause (including failure to make satisfactory

17 progress in a course of educational study) and after

18 following reasonable review procedures stated in the

19 plan; and

20 (10) provide that a participant shall, while serv21 ing as a member of a police force, be compensated

22 at the same rate of pay and benefits and enjoy the

23 same rights under applicable agreements with labor

24 organizations and under State and local law as other
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1 police officers of the same rank and tenure in the

2 police force of which the participant is a member.

3 SEC. 11. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

4 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than April 1 of

5 each fiscal year, the Director shall submit a report to the

6 Attorney General, the President, the Speaker of the House

7 of Representatives, and the President of the Senate. Such

8 report shall—

9 (1) state the number of current and past par10 ticipants in the Police Corps program authorized by

11 this Act, broken down according to the levels of edu12 cational study in which they are engaged and years

13 of service they have served on police forces (includ14 ing service following completion of the 4-year service

15 obligation);

16 (2) describe the geographic dispersion of par17 ticipants in the Police Corps program; and

18 (3) describe the progress of the programs au19 thorized by this Act and make recommendations for

20 changes in the programs.

21 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

23 this Act $100,000,000 for fiscal years 1993 and 1994, and

24 $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1995, 1996, and

25 1997.
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