II 

Calendar No. 256 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2305 

[Report No. 117–59] 

To enhance cybersecurity education. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2021 

Mr. OSSOFF (for himself, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. 

KING, Mr. CORNYN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. KELLY, Mr. ROUNDS, and 

Mr. BOOZMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

JANUARY 20, 2022 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To enhance cybersecurity education. 

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 ‘‘Cybersecurity Oppor5 tunity Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DR. DAVID SATCHER CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION 

2 GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.—The Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security shall— 

5 (1) award grants to assist public institutions of 

6 higher education that have an enrollment of needy 

7 students (as defined in section 312(d) of the Higher 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(d))), His9 torically Black Colleges and Universities, and minor10 ity-serving institutions, to establish or expand cyber11 security programs, to build and upgrade institutional 

12 capacity to better support new or existing cybersecu13 rity programs, including cybersecurity partnerships 

14 with public and private entities, and to support such 

15 institutions on the path to producing qualified en16 trants in the cybersecurity workforce or becoming a 

17 National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyberse18 curity through the program carried out by the Na19 tional Security Agency and the Department of 

20 Homeland Security; and 

21 (2) award grants for a 5-year pilot period to 

22 build capacity to public institutions of higher edu23 cation that have an enrollment of needy students (as 

24 defined in section 312(d) of the Higher Education 

25 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(d))), Historically 

26 Black Colleges and Universities, and minority-servVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2305.RS S2305

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1 ing institutions, to expand cybersecurity education 

2 opportunities, cybersecurity technology and pro3 grams, cybersecurity research, and cybersecurity 

4 partnerships with public and private entities. 

5 (b) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible institution seeking a 

6 grant under subsection (a) shall submit an application to 

7 the Secretary of Homeland Security at such time, in such 

8 manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 

9 may reasonably require, including a statement of how the 

10 institution will use the funds awarded through the grant 

11 to expand cybersecurity education opportunities at the eli12 gible institution. 

13 (c) ACTIVITIES.—An eligible institution that receives 

14 a grant under this section may use the funds awarded 

15 through such grant for increasing research, education, 

16 technical, partnership, and innovation capacity, including 

17 for— 

18 (1) building and upgrading institutional capac19 ity to better support new or existing cybersecurity 

20 programs, including cybersecurity partnerships with 

21 public and private entities; and 

22 (2) building and upgrading institutional capac23 ity to provide hands-on research and training experi24 ences for undergraduate and graduate students. 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cybersecurity Oppor3 tunity Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DR. DAVID SATCHER CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION 

5 GRANT PROGRAM. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

7 (1) ENROLLMENT OF NEEDY STUDENTS.—The 

8 term ‘‘enrollment of needy students’’ has the meaning 

9 given the term in section 312(d) of the Higher Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(d)). 

11 (2) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNIVER12 SITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or univer13 sity’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B institu14 tion’’ as defined in section 322 of the Higher Edu15 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 

16 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

17 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean18 ing given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher 

19 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

20 (4) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The term 

21 ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an institution 

22 listed in section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act 

23 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 

24 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

26 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

2 (A) award grants to assist institutions of 

3 higher education that have an enrollment of 

4 needy students, historically Black colleges and 

5 universities, and minority-serving institutions, 

6 to establish or expand cybersecurity programs, to 

7 build and upgrade institutional capacity to bet8 ter support new or existing cybersecurity pro9 grams, including cybersecurity partnerships with 

10 public and private entities, and to support such 

11 institutions on the path to producing qualified 

12 entrants in the cybersecurity workforce or becom13 ing a National Center of Academic Excellence in 

14 Cybersecurity; and 

15 (B) award grants to build capacity at insti16 tutions of higher education that have an enroll17 ment of needy students, historically Black col18 leges and universities, and minority-serving in19 stitutions, to expand cybersecurity education op20 portunities, cybersecurity technology and pro21 grams, cybersecurity research, and cybersecurity 

22 partnerships with public and private entities. 

23 (2) RESERVATION.—The Secretary shall award 

24 not less than 50 percent of the amount available for 


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1 grants under this Act to historically Black colleges 

2 and universities and minority-serving institutions. 

3 (3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall carry 

4 out this section in coordination with the National 

5 Initiative for Cybersecurity Education at the Na6 tional Institute of Standards and Technology. 

7 (4) SUNSET.—The Secretary’s authority to 

8 award grants under paragraph (1) shall terminate on 

9 the date that is 5 years after the date the Secretary 

10 first awards a grant under paragraph (1). 

11 (5) AMOUNTS TO REMAIN AVAILABLE.—Notwith12 standing section 1552 of title 31, United States Code, 

13 or any other provision of law, funds available to the 

14 Secretary for obligation for a grant under this section 

15 shall remain available for expenditure for 100 days 

16 after the last day of the performance period of such 

17 grant. 

18 (c) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible institution seeking a 

19 grant under subsection (a) shall submit an application to 

20 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

21 such information as the Secretary may reasonably require, 

22 including a statement of how the institution will use the 

23 funds awarded through the grant to expand cybersecurity 

24 education opportunities at the eligible institution. 


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1 (d) ACTIVITIES.—An eligible institution that receives 

2 a grant under this section may use the funds awarded 

3 through such grant for increasing research, education, tech4 nical, partnership, and innovation capacity, including 

5 for— 

6 (1) building and upgrading institutional capac7 ity to better support new or existing cybersecurity 

8 programs, including cybersecurity partnerships with 

9 public and private entities; 

10 (2) building and upgrading institutional capac11 ity to provide hands-on research and training experi12 ences for undergraduate and graduate students; and 

13 (3) outreach and recruitment to ensure students 

14 are aware of such new or existing cybersecurity pro15 grams, including cybersecurity partnerships with 

16 public and private entities. 

17 (e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than— 

18 (1) 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

19 and annually thereafter until the Secretary submits 

20 the report under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 

21 prepare and submit to Congress a report on the status 

22 and progress of implementation of the grant program 

23 under this Act, including on the number and nature 

24 of institutions participating, the number and nature 

25 of students served by institutions receiving grants, the 


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1 level of funding provided to grant recipients, the types 

2 of activities being funded by the grants program, and 

3 plans for future implementation and development; 

4 and 

5 (2) 5 years after the date of enactment of this 

6 Act, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to Con7 gress a report on the status of cybersecurity education 

8 programming and capacity-building at institutions 

9 receiving grants under this Act, including changes in 

10 the scale and scope of these programs, associated fa11 cilities, or in accreditation status, and on the edu12 cational and employment outcomes of students par13 ticipating in cybersecurity programs that have re14 ceived support under this Act. 

15 (f) PERFORMANCE METRICS.—The Secretary of Home16 land Security shall establish performance metrics for grants 

17 awarded under this section. 


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Calendar No. 256 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2305 

[Report No. 117–59] 

A BILL 

To enhance cybersecurity education. 

JANUARY 20, 2022 

Reported with an amendment 


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