20 U.S.C. § 1070d: Maintenance and expansion of existing programs

The Secretary shall maintain and expand existing secondary and postsecondary high school equivalency program and college assistance migrant program projects located at institutions of higher education or at private nonprofit organizations working in cooperation with institutions of higher education. who are 16 years of age and over; or who are beyond the age of compulsory school attendance in the State in which such persons reside and are not enrolled in school; who themselves, or whose immediate family, have spent a minimum of 75 days during the past 24 months in migrant and seasonal farmwork; or who are eligible to participate, or have participated within the preceding 2 years, in programs under part C of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [ 20 U.S.C. 6391 et seq.] or section 3222 of title 29 ; and who lack a high school diploma or its equivalent; educational services which provide instruction designed to help students obtain a general education diploma which meets the guidelines established by the State in which the project is located for high school equivalency; personal, vocational, and academic counseling; placement services designed to place students in a university, college, or junior college program (including preparation for college entrance examinations), or in military service or career positions; and health services; information concerning, and assistance in obtaining, available student financial aid; stipends for high school equivalency program participants; housing for those enrolled in residential programs; exposure to cultural events, academic programs, and other educational and cultural activities usually not available to migrant youth; other essential supportive services (such as transportation and child care), as needed to ensure the success of eligible students; and other activities to improve persistence and retention in postsecondary education. outreach and recruitment services to reach persons who themselves or whose immediate family have spent a minimum of 75 days during the past 24 months in migrant and seasonal farmwork or who have participated or are eligible to participate, in programs under part C of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [ 20 U.S.C. 6391 et seq.] or section 3222 of title 29 , and who meet the minimum qualifications for attendance at a college or university; personal, academic, career, and economic education or personal finance counseling as an ongoing part of the program; tutoring and academic skill building instruction and assistance; assistance with special admissions; health services; and other services as necessary to assist students in completing program requirements; stipends; scholarships; student travel; career oriented work study; books and supplies; tuition and fees; room and board; and other assistance necessary to assist students in completing their first year of college; housing support for students living in institutional facilities and commuting students; exposure to cultural events, academic programs, and other activities not usually available to migrant youth; internships; and other essential supportive services (such as transportation and child care) as necessary to ensure the success of eligible students. monitoring and reporting the academic progress of students who participated in the project during such student’s first year of college and during such student’s subsequent years in college; referring such students to on- or off-campus providers of counseling services, academic assistance, or financial aid, and coordinating such services, assistance, and aid with other non-program services, assistance, and aid, including services, assistance, and aid provided by community-based organizations, which may include mentoring and guidance; and for students attending two-year institutions of higher education, encouraging the students to transfer to four-year institutions of higher education, where appropriate, and monitoring the rate of transfer of such students. staff in-service training; training and technical assistance; staff travel; student travel; interagency coordination; and an evaluation plan. Except under extraordinary circumstances, the Secretary shall award grants for a 5-year period. For the purpose of making grants under this subpart, the Secretary shall consider the prior experience of service delivery under the particular project for which funds are sought by each applicant. Such prior experience shall be awarded the same level of consideration given this factor for applicants for programs in accordance with section 1070a–11(c)(2) of this title . $180,000 for each project under the high school equivalency program, and $180,000 for each project under the college assistance migrant program. may reserve not more than a total of ½ of one percent for outreach activities, technical assistance, and professional development programs relating to the programs under subsection (a); make available not less than 45 percent of such remainder for the high school equivalency programs and not less than 45 percent of such remainder for the college assistance migrant programs; award the rest of such remainder for high school equivalency programs or college assistance migrant programs based on the number, quality, and promise of the applications; and consider the need to provide an equitable geographic distribution of such grants; and for any fiscal year for which the amount appropriated to carry out this section is less than $40,000,000, shall, in awarding grants from the remainder of such amounts make available the same percentage of funds to the high school equivalency program and to the college assistance migrant program as was made available for each such program for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the grant was made. annually collect data on persons receiving services authorized under this subpart regarding such persons’ rates of secondary school graduation, entrance into postsecondary education, and completion of postsecondary education, as applicable; not less often than once every two years, prepare and submit to the authorizing committees a report based on the most recently available data under paragraph (1); and make such report available to the public. For the purpose of making grants and contracts under this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 and such sums as may be necessary for the each of the five succeeding fiscal years.