I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5678 

To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out grant programs to encourage student participation in local government and volunteer service, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 

Mr. KIM of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out grant 

programs to encourage student participation in local government and volunteer service, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Service Starts At 

5 Home Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GRANTS TO SUPPORT INTERNSHIPS IN LOCAL GOV7 ERNMENT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education 


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1 shall carry out a program under which the Secretary 

2 makes grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities 

3 to support paid internships within units of local govern4 ment for secondary school students and students who are 

5 qualified undergraduates at institutions of higher edu6 cation in the State in which the entity is located. 

7 (b) APPLICATION.—To be considered for a grant 

8 under subsection (a), an eligible entity shall submit an ap9 plication to the Secretary of Education at such time, in 

10 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec11 retary may require. 

12 (c) LOCAL GOVERNMENT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM.— 

13 Each eligible entity that receives a grant under subsection 

14 (a) shall use such grant to carry out a program under 

15 which the entity— 

16 (1) identifies appropriate paid internship oppor17 tunities within units of local government for sec18 ondary school students and students who are under19 graduates at institutions of higher education in the 

20 State in which the entity is located; 

21 (2) establishes a process for the selection of 

22 students to fill such internships; 

23 (3) determines hourly rates of pay and other 

24 terms and conditions applicable to such internships; 


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1 (4) pays the costs incurred in providing such in2 ternships. 

3 (d) ACCOMMODATIONS AND EDUCATIONAL STAND4 ARDS.—In carrying out the internship program under sub5 section (c), an eligible entity shall— 

6 (1) work with institutions of higher education 

7 to ensure that the work performed by interns has 

8 educational value and meets applicable educational 

9 standards; and 

10 (2) seek to provide reasonable employment-re11 lated accommodations to interns who have childcare 

12 needs, transportation difficulties, or other such chal13 lenges, which may include accommodations such as 

14 flexible work schedules for interns and allowing in15 terns to telework to the extent determined prac16 ticable by the eligibility entity concerned. 

17 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

19 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 

20 SEC. 3. SCHOLARSHIP FOR VOLUNTEER SERVICE PRO21 GRAMS. 

22 (a) FUNDING.— 

23 (1) STATE PROGRAMS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:10 Sep 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5678.IH H5678

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1 retary of Education shall carry out a program 

2 under which the Secretary makes allocations to 

3 States, in accordance with subparagraph (B), to 

4 carry out the scholarship program under sub5 section (b). 

6 (B) ALLOCATIONS TO STATES.—Of the 

7 amount appropriated to carry out this section 

8 for each fiscal year and not reserved under 

9 paragraph (2), each State that has an applica10 tion approved by the Secretary under subpara11 graph (C) shall be allocated an amount in pro12 portion to number of students enrolled in the 

13 public elementary and secondary schools in the 

14 State for the previous school year relative to the 

15 total number of students enrolled in the public 

16 elementary and secondary schools for such 

17 school year in every State that has an applica18 tion approved by the Secretary under such sub19 paragraph. 

20 (C) STATE APPLICATION.—To be eligible 

21 to receive an allocation under subparagraph (B) 

22 a State shall submit an application to the Sec23 retary of Education at such time, in such man24 ner, and containing such information as the 

25 Secretary may require. 


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1 (2) FEDERAL PROGRAM.—Of the amount ap2 propriated to carry out this section for each fiscal, 

3 the Secretary of Education may reserve not more 

4 than 20 percent to carry out the Federal supple5 mental scholarship program under subsection (c). 

6 (b) STATE ADMINISTERED SCHOLARSHIP PRO7 GRAM.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State that receives an 

9 allocation under subsection (a)(2) shall use such al10 location to carry out a program under which the 

11 State awards scholarships, on a competitive basis, to 

12 eligible students who demonstrate a commitment to 

13 volunteer service work. 

14 (2) APPLICATION.—A student who seeks a 

15 scholarship under this subsection shall submit an ap16 plication to the State at such time, in such manner, 

17 and containing such information as the State may 

18 require. 

19 (3) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to 

20 receive a scholarship under this subsection a student 

21 shall meet the following criteria: 

22 (A) FIRST-TIME APPLICANT.—In the case 

23 of a first-time applicant for a scholarship under 

24 this subsection, the student shall— 


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1 (i)(I) be enrolled in a secondary school 

2 and be in the final year of a program of 

3 study leading to a regular high school di4 ploma; or 

5 (II) be enrolled in an institution of 

6 higher education; and 

7 (ii) have completed at least 100 hours 

8 of volunteer service work in the preceding 

9 school year (or another one-year period de10 termined by the Secretary of Education). 

11 (B) RENEWAL APPLICANT.—In the case of 

12 a student who received scholarship under this 

13 subsection for an academic year and who is 

14 seeking a scholarship for a subsequent academic 

15 year, the student shall— 

16 (i) be enrolled in an institution of 

17 higher education; 

18 (ii) be in good academic standing (as 

19 determined by the institution); and 

20 (iii) have completed at least 100 hours 

21 of volunteer service work in the preceding 

22 school year (or another one-year period de23 termined by the Secretary of Education). 


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1 (4) RENEWAL PROCESS.—Subject to the avail2 ability of funds for such purpose, a State that re3 ceives an allocation under subsection (a) shall— 

4 (A) award a scholarship to each renewal 

5 applicant who meets the requirements described 

6 in paragraph (3)(B); and 

7 (B) establish a streamlined process under 

8 which renewal applicants can apply for such 

9 scholarships with minimal documentation re10 quired. 

11 (5) PRIORITY.—In awarding scholarships under 

12 this subsection, a State shall— 

13 (A) in accordance with paragraph (4), first 

14 award scholarships to renewal applicants de15 scribed in paragraph (3)(B); and 

16 (B) from any funds remaining after award17 ing such scholarships, award scholarships to 

18 first-time applicants described in paragraph 

19 (3)(A). 

20 (6) USE OF FUNDS.—A scholarship received by 

21 a student under this subsection may be used by such 

22 student only to pay the student’s costs of attendance 

23 at an institution of higher education. 

24 (7) DURATION.—Each scholarship under this 

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1 demic year. A student may receive a scholarship 

2 under this subsection for a total period of not more 

3 than four academic years. 

4 (8) AMOUNT.—The amount of each scholarship 

5 under this subsection shall be— 

6 (A) $1000, for a student who completed at 

7 least 100 hours, but less than 138 hours, of vol8 unteer service work in the preceding school year 

9 (or another one-year period determined by the 

10 Secretary of Education); 

11 (B) $1500, for a student who completed at 

12 least 138 hours, but less than 175 hours, of vol13 unteer service work in the preceding school year 

14 (or another one-year period determined by the 

15 Secretary of Education); 

16 (C) $2000, for a student who completed at 

17 least 175 hours, but less than 213 hours, of vol18 unteer service work in such period; 

19 (D) $2500, for a student who completed at 

20 least 213 hours, but less than 250 hours, of vol21 unteer service work in such period; and 

22 (E) $3000, for a student who completed at 

23 least 250 hours of volunteer service work in 

24 such period. 


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1 (c) FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL SCHOLARSHIP PRO2 GRAM.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts reserved 

4 under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary of Education 

5 may carry out a program under which the Secretary 

6 awards supplementary funds, on a competitive basis, 

7 directly to eligible students who have already re8 ceived scholarships for volunteer service work. 

9 (2) AMOUNT.—The amount of supplementary 

10 funds awarded to each student under paragraph (1) 

11 shall be determined by the Secretary of Education. 

12 (3) PRIORITY.—In awarding scholarships under 

13 this subsection, the Secretary shall prioritize the 

14 award of funds to students who have not received a 

15 scholarship under subsection (b). 

16 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

18 $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 

19 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) The term ‘‘cost of attendance’’ has the 

22 meaning given that term in section 472 of the High23 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll). 

24 (2) The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a State or 

25 a unit of local government. 


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1 (3) The terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘regular 

2 high school diploma’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, and 

3 ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec4 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

6 (4) The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 

7 has the meaning given that term in section 101 of 

8 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 1001). 

10 (5) The term ‘‘unit of local government’’ 

11 means— 

12 (A) a county, municipality, town, township, 

13 village, parish, borough, or other unit of general 

14 government below the State level; or 

15 (B) a governing body of an Indian tribe or 

16 tribal organization. 

17 (6)(A) The term ‘‘volunteer service work’’ 

18 means unpaid acts of volunteer service conducted for 

19 or on behalf of a government or other nonprofit or20 ganization, which may include a community-based 

21 organization, faith-based organization, school, na22 tional service program, civic or fraternal service or23 ganization, local government agency, or other such 

24 organization. 


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1 (B) Such term does not include acts of proselyt2 izing, conducting worship services, religious instruc3 tion, political lobbying, court ordered service, or 

4 service conducted primarily for the benefit of the 

5 family of a student eligible for a scholarship under 

6 section 3. 

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