HR 2184 — Cyber Scholarship Opportunities Act of 2017

(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 and cybersecurity-related aspects of other related fields as appropriate, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing and aerospace; (2) provide the scholarship recipients with summer internship opportunities or other meaningful temporary appointments in the Federal information technology and cybersecurity workforce; (3) prioritize the placement of scholarship recipients fulfilling the post-award employment obligation under this section to ensure that— (A) not less than 70 percent of such recipients are placed in an executive agency (as defined in section 105 of title 5); (B) not more than 10 percent of such recipients are placed as educators in the field of cybersecurity at qualified institutions of higher education that provide scholarships under this section; and (C) not more than 20 percent of such recipients are placed in positions described in paragraphs (2) through (5) of subsection (d); and (4) provide awards to improve cybersecurity education, including by seeking to provide awards in coordination with other relevant agencies for summer cybersecurity camp or other experiences, including teacher training, in each of the 50 States, at the kindergarten through grade 12 level— (A) to increase interest in cybersecurity careers; (B) to help students practice correct and safe online behavior and understand the foundational principles of cybersecurity; (C) to improve teaching methods for delivering cybersecurity content for kindergarten through grade 12 computer science curricula; and (D) to promote teacher recruitment in the field of cybersecurity. (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 for a period equal to the length of the scholarship, following receipt of the student’s degree, in the cybersecurity mission of— (1) an executive agency (as defined in section 105 of title 5); (2) Congress, including any agency, entity, office, or commission established in the legislative branch; (3) an interstate agency; (4) a State, local, or Tribal government; (5) a State, local, or Tribal government-affiliated non-profit that is considered to be critical infrastructure (as defined in section 5195c(e) of title 42); or (6) as provided by subsection (b)(3)(B), a qualified institution of higher education. (e) Hiring authority (1) Appointment in excepted service Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 33 of title 5 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...