H. R. 1499

One Hundred Seventh Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two

An Act

To amend the District of Columbia College Access Act of 1999 to permit individuals

who enroll in an institution of higher education more than 3 years after graduating

from a secondary school and individuals who attend private historically black

colleges and universities nationwide to participate in the tuition assistance programs under such Act, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia College

Access Improvement Act of 2002’’.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC SCHOOL PROGRAM.

Section 3(c)(2) of the District of Columbia College Access Act

of 1999 (sec. 38–2702(c)(2), D.C. Official Code) is amended by

striking subparagraphs (A) through (C) and inserting the following:

‘‘(A)(i) in the case of an individual who begins an

undergraduate course of study within 3 calendar years

(excluding any period of service on active duty in the armed

forces, or service under the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C.

2501 et seq.) or subtitle D of title I of the National and

Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.))

of graduation from a secondary school, or obtaining the

recognized equivalent of a secondary school diploma, was

domiciled in the District of Columbia for not less than

the 12 consecutive months preceding the commencement

of the freshman year at an institution of higher education;

‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual who graduated from

a secondary school or received the recognized equivalent

of a secondary school diploma before January 1, 1998,

and is currently enrolled at an eligible institution as of

the date of enactment of the District of Columbia College

Access Improvement Act of 2002, was domiciled in the

District of Columbia for not less than the 12 consecutive

months preceding the commencement of the freshman year

at an institution of higher education; or

‘‘(iii) in the case of any other individual and an individual re-enrolling after more than a 3-year break in the

individual’s post-secondary education, has been domiciled

in the District of Columbia for at least 5 consecutive years

at the date of application;

‘‘(B)(i) graduated from a secondary school or received

the recognized equivalent of a secondary school diploma

on or after January 1, 1998;
H. R. 1499—2

‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual who did not graduate

from a secondary school or receive a recognized equivalent

of a secondary school diploma, is accepted for enrollment

as a freshman at an eligible institution on or after January

1, 2002; or ‘‘(iii) in the case of an individual who graduated from

a secondary school or received the recognized equivalent

of a secondary school diploma before January 1, 1998,

is currently enrolled at an eligible institution as of the

date of enactment of the District of Columbia College Access

Improvement Act of 2002; ‘‘(C) meets the citizenship and immigration status

requirements described in section 484(a)(5) of the Higher

Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(a)(5));’’.

SEC. 3. PRIVATE SCHOOL PROGRAM.

Section 5(c)(1)(B) of the District of Columbia College Access

Act of 1999 (sec. 38–2704(c)(1)(B), D.C. Official Code) is amended

by striking ‘‘the main campus of which is located in the State

of Maryland or the Commonwealth of Virginia’’.

SEC. 4. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.

Section 6 of the District of Columbia College Access Act of

1999 (sec. 38–2705, D.C. Official Code) is amended— (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following: ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Mayor of the District of Columbia

may not use more than 7 percent of the total amount of Federal

funds appropriated for the program, retroactive to the date

of enactment of this Act (the District of Columbia College

Access Act of 1999), for the administrative expenses of the

program. ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term ‘administrative expenses’ means any expenses that are not directly used

to pay the cost of tuition and fees for eligible students to

attend eligible institutions.’’;

(2) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections

(f) and (g);

(3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following: ‘‘(e) LOCAL FUNDS.—It is the sense of Congress that the District

of Columbia may appropriate such local funds as necessary for

the programs under sections 3 and 5.’’; and

(4) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(h) DEDICATED ACCOUNT FOR PROGRAMS.— ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The District of Columbia government shall establish a dedicated account for the programs

under sections 3 and 5 consisting of the following amounts: ‘‘(A) The Federal funds appropriated to carry out such

programs under this Act or any other Act.

‘‘(B) Any District of Columbia funds appropriated by

the District of Columbia to carry out such programs. ‘‘(C) Any unobligated balances in amounts made available for such programs in previous fiscal years.

‘‘(D) Interest earned on balances of the dedicated

account.

‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the dedicated account

shall be used solely to carry out the programs under sections

3 and 5.’’.
H. R. 1499—3

SEC. 5. CONTINUATION OF CURRENT AGGREGATE LEVEL OF

AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The District of Columbia College Access Act

of 1999 (sec. 38–2701 et seq., D.C. Official Code) is amended by

adding at the end the following new section:

‘‘SEC. 7. LIMIT ON AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR

PUBLIC SCHOOL AND PRIVATE SCHOOL PROGRAMS.

‘‘The aggregate amount authorized to be appropriated to the

District of Columbia for the programs under sections 3 and 5

for any fiscal year may not exceed— ‘‘(1) $17,000,000, in the case of the aggregate amount for

fiscal year 2003; ‘‘(2) $17,000,000, in the case of the aggregate amount for

fiscal year 2004; or ‘‘(3) $17,000,000, in the case of the aggregate amount for

fiscal year 2005.’’. (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— (1) PUBLIC SCHOOL PROGRAM.—Section 3(i) of such Act (sec.

38–2702(i), D.C. Official Code) is amended by striking ‘‘and

such sums’’ and inserting ‘‘and (subject to section 7) such sums’’.

(2) PRIVATE SCHOOL PROGRAM.—Section 5(f) of such Act

(sec. 38–2704(f), D.C. Official Code) is amended by striking

‘‘and such sums’’ and inserting ‘‘and (subject to section 7) such

sums’’.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.