(a)
In General.— The Director of the National Science Foundation, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and Secretary of Homeland Security, shall continue a Federal cyber scholarship-for-service program to recruit and train the next generation of information technology professionals, industrial control system security professionals, and security managers to meet the needs of the cybersecurity mission for Federal, State, local, and tribal governments.
(b)
Program Description and Components.— The Federal Cyber Scholarship-for-Service Program shall—
(1)
provide scholarships through qualified institutions of higher education, including community colleges, to students who are enrolled in programs of study at institutions of higher education leading to degrees or specialized program certifications in the cybersecurity field;
(2)
provide the scholarship recipients with summer internship opportunities or other meaningful temporary appointments in the Federal information technology workforce; and
(3)
prioritize the employment placement of scholarship recipients in the Federal Government.
(c)
Scholarship Amounts.— Each scholarship under subsection (b) shall be in an amount that covers the student’s tuition and fees at the institution under subsection (b)(1) for not more than 3 years and provides the student with an additional stipend.
(d)
Post-award Employment Obligations.— Each scholarship recipient, as a condition of receiving a scholarship under the program, shall enter into an agreement under which the recipient agrees to work in the cybersecurity mission of a Federal, State, local, or tribal agency for a period equal to the length of the scholarship following receipt of the student’s degree.
(e)
Hiring Authority.—
(1)
Appointment in excepted service.— Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, an agency shall appoint in the excepted service an individual who has completed the eligible degree program for which a scholarship was awarded.
(2)
Noncompetitive conversion.— Except as provided in paragraph (4), upon fulfillment of the service term, an employee appointed under paragraph (1) may be converted noncompetitively to term, career-conditional or career appointment.
(3)
Timing of conversion.— An agency may noncompetitively convert a term employee appointed under paragraph (2) to a career-conditional or career appointment before the term appointment expires.
(4)
Authority to decline conversion.— An agency may decline to make the noncompetitive conversion or appointment under paragraph (2) for cause.
(f)
Eligibility.— To be eligible to receive a scholarship under this section, an individual shall—
(1)
be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States;
(2)
demonstrate a commitment to a career in improving the security of information technology;
(3)
have demonstrated a high level of proficiency in mathematics, engineering, or computer sciences;
(4)
be a full-time student in an eligible degree program at a qualified institution of higher education, as determined by the Director of the National Science Foundation; and
(5)
accept the terms of a scholarship under this section.
(g)
Conditions of Support.—
(1)
In general.— As a condition of receiving a scholarship under this section, a recipient shall agree to provide the qualified institution of higher education with annual verifiable documentation of post-award employment and up-to-date contact information.
(2)
Terms.— A scholarship recipient under this section shall be liable to the United States as provided in subsection (i) if the individual—
(A)
fails to maintain an acceptable level of academic standing at the applicable institution of higher education, as determined by the Director of the National Science Foundation;
(B)
is dismissed from the applicable institution of higher education for disciplinary reasons;
(C)
withdraws from the eligible degree program before completing the program;
(D)
declares that the individual does not intend to fulfill the post-award employment obligation under this section; or
(E)
fails to fulfill the post-award employment obligation of the individual under this section.
(h)
Monitoring Compliance.— As a condition of participating in the program, a qualified institution of higher education shall—
(1)
enter into an agreement with the Director of the National Science Foundation, to monitor the compliance of scholarship recipients with respect to their post-award employment obligations; and
(2)
provide to the Director of the National Science Foundation, on an annual basis, the post-award employment documentation required under subsection (g)(1) for scholarship recipients through the completion of their post-award employment obligations.
(i)
Amount of Repayment.—
(1)
Less than 1 year of service.— If a circumstance described in subsection (g)(2) occurs before the completion of 1 year of a post-award employment obligation under this section, the total amount of scholarship awards received by the individual under this section shall—
(B)
be treated as a loan to be repaid in accordance with subsection (j).
(2)
1 or more years of service.— If a circumstance described in subparagraph (D) or (E) of subsection (g)(2) occurs after the completion of 1 or more years of a post-award employment obligation under this section, the total amount of scholarship awards received by the individual under this section, reduced by the ratio of the number of years of service completed divided by the number of years of service required, shall—
(B)
be treated as a loan to be repaid in accordance with subsection (j).
(j)
Repayments.— A loan described subsection (i) shall—
(1)
be treated as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (
20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.); and
(2)
be subject to repayment, together with interest thereon accruing from the date of the scholarship award, in accordance with terms and conditions specified by the Director of the National Science Foundation (in consultation with the Secretary of Education) in regulations promulgated to carry out this subsection.
(k)
Collection of Repayment.—
(1)
In general.— In the event that a scholarship recipient is required to repay the scholarship award under this section, the qualified institution of higher education providing the scholarship shall—
(A)
determine the repayment amounts and notify the recipient and the Director of the National Science Foundation of the amounts owed; and
(B)
collect the repayment amounts within a period of time as determined by the Director of the National Science Foundation, or the repayment amounts shall be treated as a loan in accordance with subsection (j).
(2)
Returned to treasury.— Except as provided in paragraph (3), any repayment under this subsection shall be returned to the Treasury of the United States.
(3)
Retain percentage.— A qualified institution of higher education may retain a percentage of any repayment the institution collects under this subsection to defray administrative costs associated with the collection. The Director of the National Science Foundation shall establish a single, fixed percentage that will apply to all eligible entities.
(l)
Exceptions.— The Director of the National Science Foundation may provide for the partial or total waiver or suspension of any service or payment obligation by an individual under this section whenever compliance by the individual with the obligation is impossible or would involve extreme hardship to the individual, or if enforcement of such obligation with respect to the individual would be unconscionable.
(m)
Evaluation and Report.— The Director of the National Science Foundation shall evaluate and report periodically to Congress on the success of recruiting individuals for scholarships under this section and on hiring and retaining those individuals in the public sector workforce.