§ 1903 — National Security Education Board

(a) The Secretary of Defense shall establish a National Security Education Board. (b) The Board shall be composed of the following individuals or the representatives of such individuals: (1) The Secretary of Defense, who shall serve as the chairman of the Board. (2) The Secretary of Education. (3) The Secretary of State. (4) The Secretary of Commerce. (5) The Secretary of Homeland Security. (6) The Secretary of Energy. (7) The Director of National Intelligence. (8) The Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities. (9) Six individuals appointed by the President, who shall be experts in the fields of international, language, area, and counterproliferation studies education and who may not be officers or employees of the Federal Government. (c) Each individual appointed to the Board pursuant to subsection (b)(7) shall be appointed for a period specified by the President at the time of the appointment, but not to exceed four years. Such individuals shall receive no compensation for service on the Board but may receive reimbursement for travel and other necessary expenses. (d) The Board shall perform the following functions: (1) Develop criteria for awarding scholarships, fellowships, and grants under this chapter, including an order of priority in such awards that favors individuals expressing an interest in national security issues or pursuing a career in a national security position. (2) Provide for wide dissemination of information regarding the activities assisted under this chapter. (3) Establish qualifications for students desiring scholarships or fellowships, and institutions of higher education desiring grants, under this chapter, including, in the case of students desiring a scholarship or fellowship, a requirement that the student have a demonstrated commitment to the study of the discipline for which the scholarship or fellowship is to be awarded. (4) After taking into account the annual analyses of trends in language, international, area, and counterproliferation studies under section 1906(b)(1) of this title, make recommendations to the Secretary regarding— (A) which countries are not emphasized in other United States study abroad programs, such as countries in which few United States students are studying and countries which are of importance to the national security interests of the United States, and are, therefore, critical countries for the purposes of section 1902(a)(1)(A) of this title; (B) which areas within the disciplines described in section 1902(a)(1)(B) of this title relating to the national security interests of the United States are areas of study in which United States students are deficient in learning and are, therefore, critical areas within those disciplines for the purposes of that section; (C) which areas within the disciplines described in section 1902(a)(1)(C) of this title are areas in which United States students, educators, and Government employees are deficient in learning and in which insubstantial numbers of United States institutions of higher education provide training and are, therefore, critical areas within those disciplines for the purposes of that section; (D) how students desiring scholarships or fellowships can be encouraged to work for an agency or office of the Federal Government involved in national security affairs or national security policy upon completion of their education; and (E) which foreign languages are critical to the national security interests of the United States for purposes of section 1902(a)(1)(D) of this title (relating to grants for the National Flagship Language Initiative) and section 1902(a)(1)(E) of this title (relating to the scholarship program for advanced English language studies by heritage community citizens). (5) Encourage applications for fellowships under this chapter from graduate students having an educational background in any academic discipline, particularly in the areas of science or technology. (6) Provide the Secretary biennially with a list of scholarship recipients and fellowship recipients, including an assessment of their foreign area and language skills, who are available to work in a national security position. (7) Not later than 30 days after a scholarship or fellowship recipient completes the study or education for which assistance was provided under the program, provide the Secretary with a report fully describing the foreign area and language skills obtained by the recipient as a result of the assistance. (8) Review the administration of the program required under this chapter. (9) To the extent provided by the Secretary of Defense, oversee and coordinate the activities of the National Language Service Corps under section 1913 of this title, including— (A) assessing on a periodic basis whether the Corps is addressing the needs identified by the heads of departments and agencies of the Federal Government for personnel with skills in various foreign languages; (B) recommending plans for the Corps to address foreign language shortfalls and requirements of the departments and agencies of the Federal Government; (C) recommending effective ways to increase public awareness of the need for foreign languages skills and career paths in the Federal Government that use those skills; and (D) overseeing the Corps efforts to work with Executive agencies and State and local governments to respond to interagency plans and agreements to address overall foreign language shortfalls and to utilize personnel to address the various types of crises that warrant foreign language skills.