directly affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita; 
and 
‘‘(B) in a course of study or program, of-
fered by such institution and approved by the 
Secretary, leading to a health professions de-
gree (graduate, undergraduate, or associate) or 
certificate, 
which 
may 
include 
laboratory 
sciences, epidemiology, environmental health, 
health communications, health education and 
behavioral sciences, psychology, physical ther-
apy, gerontology, sociology, health policy, social 
work, information sciences, or public adminis-
tration; 
‘‘(2) be a United States citizen or non-citizen 
resident; 
‘‘(3) submit an application to the Secretary to 
participate in the Program; and 
‘‘(4) sign and submit to the Secretary, at the 
time of the submittal of such application, a written 
contract (described in subsection (d)) to serve, upon 
the completion of the course of study or program in-
volved, for the applicable period of obligated service 
in the full-time employment of a Federal, State or 
local public health agency, organization, or associa-
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tion in an area directly affected by Hurricane 
Katrina or Rita. 
‘‘(c) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) APPLICATION
AND
CONTRACT
FORMS.— 
The Secretary shall disseminate application forms 
and contract forms to individuals desiring to partici-
pate in the Program. The Secretary shall include 
with such forms— 
‘‘(A) a fair summary of the rights and li-
abilities of an individual whose application is 
approved (and whose contract is accepted) by 
the Secretary, including in the summary a clear 
explanation of the damages to which the United 
States is entitled to recover in the case of the 
individual’s breach of the contract; and 
‘‘(B) information relating to the service ob-
ligation and such other information as may be 
necessary for the individual to understand the 
individual’s prospective participation in the Pro-
gram. 
‘‘(2) INFORMATION
FOR
SCHOOLS.—The Sec-
retary shall distribute to health professions schools, 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, His-
panic-serving institutions, Tribal Colleges and Uni-
versities, Asian-American- and Pacific Islander-serv-
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ing institutions, secondary educational institutions, 
and other appropriate accredited academic institu-
tions and relevant Federal, State, local, and tribal 
public health agencies, materials providing informa-
tion on the Program and shall encourage such 
schools, institutions, and agencies to disseminate 
such materials to potentially eligible students. 
‘‘(3) UNDERSTANDABILITY, AND TIMING.—The 
application form, contract form, and all other infor-
mation furnished by the Secretary under this section 
shall— 
‘‘(A) be written in a manner calculated to 
be understood by the average individual apply-
ing to participate in the Program; 
‘‘(B) be made available by the Secretary on 
a date sufficiently early to ensure that such in-
dividuals have adequate time to carefully review 
and evaluate such forms and information. 
‘‘(4) 
SPECIAL
CONSIDERATION.—Individuals 
who are eligible under subsection (b) shall be pro-
vided special consideration if the individuals are 
from medically underserved communities, as defined 
in section 799B of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 295p). 
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‘‘(d) CONTRACT.—The written contract (referred to 
in this section) between the Secretary and an individual 
shall contain— 
‘‘(1) an agreement on the part of the Secretary 
that the Secretary will provide the individual with a 
scholarship for a period of years (not to exceed 5 
academic years) during which the individual shall 
pursue an approved course of study or program to 
prepare the individual to serve in the public health 
workforce; 
‘‘(2) an agreement on the part of the individual 
that the individual will— 
‘‘(A) maintain full-time enrollment in the 
approved course of study or program described 
in subsection (b)(1) until the individual com-
pletes that course of study or program; 
‘‘(B) while enrolled in the course of study 
or program, maintain an acceptable level of aca-
demic standing (as determined under regula-
tions of the Secretary by the educational insti-
tution offering such course of study or pro-
gram); and 
‘‘(C) immediately upon graduation, serve 
in the full-time employment of a Federal, State, 
or local public health agency, organization, or 
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association in a position related to the course of 
study or program for which the contract was 
awarded for a period of time (referred to in this 
section as the ‘period of obligated service’) 
equal to the greater of— 
‘‘(i) 1 year for each academic year for 
which the individual was provided a schol-
arship under the Program; or 
‘‘(ii) 3 years; 
‘‘(3) an agreement by both parties as to the na-
ture and extent of the scholarship assistance, which 
may include— 
‘‘(A) payment of the tuition expenses of 
the individual; 
‘‘(B) payment of all other reasonable edu-
cational expenses of the individual including 
fees, books, equipment, and laboratory ex-
penses; and 
‘‘(C) payment of a stipend of not more 
than $2,400 per month for each month of the 
academic year involved (indexed to account for 
increases in the Consumer Price Index); and 
‘‘(4) a provision that any financial obligation of 
the United States arising out of a contract entered 
into under this section and any obligation of the in-
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dividual which is conditioned thereon, is contingent 
upon funds being appropriated for scholarships 
under this section; 
‘‘(5) a statement of the damages to which the 
United States is entitled for the individual’s breach 
of the contract; and 
‘‘(6) such other statements of the rights and li-
abilities of the Secretary and of the individual, not 
inconsistent with the provisions of this section. 
‘‘(e) POSTPONING OBLIGATED SERVICE.—With re-
spect to an individual receiving a degree or certificate from 
a school of medicine, public health, nursing, osteopathic 
medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, po-
diatry, pharmacy, psychology, or social work under a 
scholarship under the Program, the date of the initiation 
of the period of obligated service may be postponed, upon 
the submission by the individual of a petition for such 
postponement and approval by the Secretary, to the date 
on which the individual completes an approved internship, 
residency, or other relevant public health preparedness ad-
vanced training program. 
‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 
‘‘(1) CONTRACTS
WITH
INSTITUTIONS.—The 
Secretary may contract with an educational institu-
tion in which a participant in the Program is en-
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