§ 6662 — Presidential And Congressional Academies For American History And Civics

(a) From the amounts reserved under section 6661(b)(1) of this title for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award not more than 12 grants, on a competitive basis, to— (1) eligible entities to establish Presidential Academies for the Teaching of American History and Civics (in this section referred to as the “Presidential Academies”) in accordance with subsection (e); and (2) eligible entities to establish Congressional Academies for Students of American History and Civics (in this section referred to as the “Congressional Academies”) in accordance with subsection (f). (b) An eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under subsection (a) shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may reasonably require. (c) The term “eligible entity” under this section means— (1) an institution of higher education or nonprofit educational organization, museum, library, or research center with demonstrated expertise in historical methodology or the teaching of American history and civics; or (2) a consortium of entities described in paragraph (1). (d) Grants awarded to eligible entities under subsection (a) shall be for a term of not more than 5 years. (1) Each eligible entity that receives a grant under subsection (a)(1) shall use the grant funds to establish a Presidential Academy that offers a seminar or institute for teachers of American history and civics, which— (A) provides intensive professional development opportunities for teachers of American history and civics to strengthen such teachers’ knowledge of the subjects of American history and civics; (B) is led by a team of primary scholars and core teachers who are accomplished in the field of American history and civics; (C) is conducted during the summer or other appropriate time; and (D) is of not less than 2 weeks and not more than 6 weeks in duration. (2) Each year, each Presidential Academy shall select between 50 and 300 teachers of American history and civics from public or private elementary schools and secondary schools to attend the seminar or institute under paragraph (1). (3) Each teacher selected to participate in a seminar or institute under this subsection shall be awarded a fixed stipend based on the length of the seminar or institute to ensure that such teacher does not incur personal costs associated with the teacher’s participation in the seminar or institute. (4) In awarding grants under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that coordinate or align their activities with the National Park Service National Centennial Parks initiative to develop innovative and comprehensive programs using the resources of the National Parks. (1) Each eligible entity that receives a grant under subsection (a)(2) shall use the grant funds to establish a Congressional Academy that offers a seminar or institute for outstanding students of American history and civics, which— (A) broadens and deepens such students’ understanding of American history and civics; (B) is led by a team of primary scholars and core teachers who are accomplished in the field of American history and civics; (C) is conducted during the summer or other appropriate time; and (D) is of not less than 2 weeks and not more than 6 weeks in duration. (A) Each year, each Congressional Academy shall select between 100 and 300 eligible students to attend the seminar or institute under paragraph (1). (B) A student shall be eligible to attend a seminar or institute offered by a Congressional Academy under this subsection if the student— (i) is recommended by the student’s secondary school principal or other school leader to attend the seminar or institute; and (ii) will be a secondary school junior or senior in the academic year following attendance at the seminar or institute. (3) Each student selected to participate in a seminar or institute under this subsection shall be awarded a fixed stipend based on the length of the seminar or institute to ensure that such student does not incur personal costs associated with the student’s participation in the seminar or institute. (1) An eligible entity that receives funds under subsection (a) shall provide, toward the cost of the activities assisted under the grant, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 100 percent of the amount of the grant. (2) The Secretary may waive all or part of the matching requirement described in paragraph (1) for any fiscal year for an eligible entity if the Secretary determines that applying the matching requirement would result in serious hardship or an inability to carry out the activities described in subsection (e) or (f).