HR 1388 Serve America Act Federally Funds Volunteerism, HR 1444 Mandates Youth Service Requirement

Since we first covered HR 1388, the name of this law has changed from the the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act to the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.  Many Americans fear HR 1388 will force mandatory “volunteerism” on our youth, and some people have gone so far as to compare the program to Hitler’s Youth. According to the Open Congress summary of HR 1388:

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (formally the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act) authorizes a dramatic funding increase for AmeriCorps and other volunteer programs, and the creation of new programs for seniors and veterans. It establishes a goal of expanding from 75,000 government-supported volunteers to 250,000, and would increase education funding and establish a summer volunteer program for students, paying $500 (which would be applied to college costs) to high-school and middle-school student who participate.

There is nothing about mandatory service learning in the summary; however, the text of the law mandates a high percentage of participation in a “Youth Engagement Zone Program“:

‘(4) YOUTH ENGAGEMENT ZONE PROGRAM- The term ‘youth engagement zone program’ means a service-learning program in which members of an eligible partnership collaborate to provide coordinated school-based or community-based service-learning opportunities

‘(A) in order to address a specific community challenge

‘(B) for an increasing percentage of out-of-school youth and secondary school students served by a local educational agency; and

‘(C) in circumstances under which

‘(i) not less than 90 percent of such students participate in service-learning activities as part of the program; or

‘(ii) service-learning is a part of the curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local educational agency.

90 percent is so high it essentially equates to mandatory participation as does the alternative curricular requirement for secondary schools. What would constitute service learning under the Serve America Act? According to HR 1388:

‘(c) Authorized Activities- Funds under this part may be used to–

‘(1) integrate service-learning programs into the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (referred to in this part as ‘STEM’) curricula at the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, or postbaccalaureate levels in coordination with practicing or retired STEM professionals;

‘(2) involve students in service-learning programs focusing on energy conservation in their community, including conducting educational outreach on energy conservation and working to improve energy efficiency in low-income housing and in public spaces;

‘(3) involve students in service-learning programs in emergency and disaster preparedness;

‘(4) involve students in service-learning programs aimed at improving access to and obtaining the benefits from computers and other emerging technologies, including improving such access for individuals with disabilities, in low-income or rural communities, in senior centers and communities, in schools, in libraries, and in other public spaces;

‘(5) involve high school age youth in the mentoring of middle school youth while involving all participants in service-learning to seek to meet unmet human, educational, environmental, public safety, or emergency and disaster preparedness needs in their community;

‘(6) conduct research and evaluations on service-learning, including service-learning in middle schools, and disseminate such research and evaluations widely;

‘(7) conduct innovative and creative activities as described in section 112(a);

‘(8) establish or implement summer of service programs (giving priority to programs that enroll youth who will be enrolled in any of grades 6 through 9 at the end of the summer concerned) during the summer months (including recruiting, training, and placing service-learning coordinators)–

‘(I) meet unmet human, educational, environmental (including energy conservation and stewardship), and emergency and disaster preparedness and other public safety needs; and

‘(II) be intensive, structured, supervised, and designed to produce identifiable improvements to the community;

‘(i) that shall–

‘(ii) that may include the extension of academic year service-learning programs into the summer months; and

‘(iii) under which a student who completes 100 hours of service as described in section 146(b)(2), shall be eligible for a summer of service educational award of $500 or $750 as described in sections 146(a)(2)(C) and 147(d);

‘(A) for youth who will be enrolled in any of grades 6 through 12 at the end of the summer concerned; and

‘(B) for community-based service-learning projects–

‘(9) establish or implement youth engagement zone programs in youth engagement zones, for students in secondary schools served by local educational agencies for which a majority of such students do not participate in service-learning activities that

If service learning is truly voluntary, then why does the federal government feel the need to offer summer of service educational awards?  Although I am in favor of helping children attend college, doesn’t compensation contradict the very idea of voluntary service?  Many fear the Serve America Act will end true public service through federal funding.  According to the Heritage Foundation:

There are, of course, other underlying goals–President Obama had originally pushed the national service proposal partly in order to meet certain infrastructure needs, such as construction projects and school improvements.  The economic meltdown provided added rationale for this notion, as these projects could be performed by workers on the federal payroll, thus reducing unemployment.

These goals are important, because they highlight the bill’s real statement about public service, the one that has lurked in the President’s rhetoric since the campaign: that public service cannot meet its objectives–and may not even be able to survive–without federal funding. It seems that without Washington’s assistance and coordination, people like Senator Kennedy’s young friend will never be asked to serve their country–indeed, the implication of the person’s statement is that involvement in a federal program is what constitutes serving one’s country. If Congress believes that public service can only survive as a government-funded job, it is indeed dead.

When faced with a similar economic depression, President Hoover pushed for federally funded public service. The Emergency Relief and Construction Act of 1932, which significantly expanded the federal government’s involvement in volunteerism, provided $1.5 billion in 1932 dollars in temporary loans to public service organizations.

Although much of the controversy around HR 1388 has been around mandatory service requirements for American youth, the larger issue is tying federal dollars into public service. The act will actually create government funded jobs making participating states and organizations permanently dependent on federal funding for their service activities. Hoover understood that and called his act a government jobs program, recognizing the potential to end real voluntary public service through federal funding. The possibility of mandatory youth service requirements has not disappeared under the Obama administration.

Although the original language in HR 1388 included “a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people” has been deleted from the current version, it now appears in HR 144 Congressional Commission on Civic Service Act:

(6) Whether a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people could be developed, and how such a requirement could be implemented in a manner that would strengthen the social fabric of the Nation and overcome civic challenges by bringing together people from diverse economic, ethnic, and educational backgrounds.

HR 1388 was signed into law with much fanfare by President Obama in the presence of former President Clinton and Senator Kennedy April 21, 2009. HR 1388 authorizes $5.7 billion over six years for service learning programs; however, Congress must still approve the funding.  There is a difference between public service and government funded service.  HR 1388 favors the latter.  Federally funding volunteerism won’t end our economic crisis.

Image: WhiteHouse.gov