Service Starts At Home Act
This bill, titled the Service Starts At Home Act, directs the Secretary of Education to run grant and scholarship programs aimed at boosting student involvement in local government and volunteer service. It creates two main grant tracks: (1) a Local Government Internship Grant program that funds paid internships for high school and early college students within state and local government units, with requirements for internship design, selection, pay, and accommodations; and (2) a Scholarship for Volunteer Service program that provides state-administered scholarships to students who commit to volunteer work, with specified hour benchmarks, renewal rules, and dollar amounts tied to hours volunteered. The bill also authorizes a Federal Supplemental Scholarship program and a separate program to recognize achievement in community service. It authorizes substantial federal funding ($50M annually for internships; $100M annually for scholarships) for 2026–2030 and sets a quick implementation timeline (programs to be up and running within one year of enactment).
Key Points
- 1Local Government Internship Grants
- 2- The Secretary must award competitive grants to eligible entities (states or units of local government) to run paid internships for secondary students and undergraduates in the state.
- 3- The funded program must: identify internship opportunities, establish student selection processes, set pay and terms, and cover internship costs.
- 4- Eligible entities must coordinate with higher education institutions to ensure internships are educational and may offer accommodations (flexible schedules, telework) as practicable.
- 5- Funding: $50 million per year for 2026–2030.
- 6Scholarship for Volunteer Service Program (State Administered)
- 7- States receive allocations (based on student enrollment in public K–12 schools) to fund a scholarship program for students committed to volunteer service.
- 8- Students apply to the state; eligibility requires either high school senior status or enrollment in higher education, plus a minimum of 100 hours of volunteer service in the prior year (renewals require ongoing enrollment and good academic standing with at least 100 hours in the prior year).
- 9- Scholarships are annual and may be used only for cost of attendance at an accredited higher education institution; renewal is allowed for up to 4 academic years.
- 10- Scholarship amounts scale with volunteer hours: $1,000 to $3,000 depending on hours completed (e.g., 100–137 hours up to 250+ hours).
- 11Federal Supplemental Scholarship Program
- 12- The Secretary may award competitive supplementary funds directly to eligible students for volunteer service.
- 13- Priority is given to students who have not previously received a state scholarship.
- 14Recognition of Community Service
- 15- The Secretary will run a program recognizing schools and higher education institutions for overall volunteer achievement contributions to communities.
- 16Funding and Authorities
- 17- Appropriations: $50 million/year for internships; $100 million/year for scholarships for 2026–2030.
- 18- Some funds under the scholarship programs may be reserved for the federal supplemental program (up to 20% of the annual amount for section 3).
- 19Definitions
- 20- The bill uses existing definitions from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) for terms like elementary/secondary, local education agency, and state.
- 21- It defines “eligible entity” as a state or unit of local government, and “unit of local government” to include counties, municipalities, tribes, etc.
- 22- “Volunteer service work” includes unpaid acts for government or nonprofit organizations but excludes proselytizing, worship, religious instruction, political lobbying, court-ordered service, or family-related service for a scholarship recipient.