20 U.S.C. § 1070a–12: Talent search

§1070a–12 Talent Search

Title 20 › CHAPTER 28 — HIGHER EDUCATION RESOURCES AND STUDENT ASSISTANCE › SUBCHAPTER IV — STUDENT ASSISTANCE › Part A — Grants to Students in Attendance at Institutions of Higher Education › subpart 2 — federal early outreach and student services programs › § 1070a–12

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates a program called Talent Search that must find young people who can do college-level work, help them finish high school, and encourage them to go on to postsecondary school. It must tell students about student aid and help them apply. It must also encourage people who left school to return and finish their education. Projects in the program must offer things like good tutoring, help choosing courses, help getting ready for college tests and applications, information on federal student aid and help filling out the FAFSA, help reentering school or getting a GED, and lessons on money skills for students and parents. They may also offer extra tutoring, career advice, campus visits, family workshops, mentoring, and special services for groups such as limited English speakers, students with disabilities, homeless youth, or students in foster care. Grants must serve at least two-thirds low-income, first-generation college students; serve people who finished 5 years of elementary school or are ages 11–27 (unless that would defeat the program’s goals); not duplicate other funded projects; and be located where the people served can reach them.

Title 20, §1070a–12

Education, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Program authority

The Secretary shall carry out a program to be known as talent search which shall be designed—

(1)to identify qualified youths with potential for education at the postsecondary level and to encourage such youths to complete secondary school and to undertake a program of postsecondary education;

(2)to publicize the availability of, and facilitate the application for, student financial assistance available to persons who pursue a program of postsecondary education; and

(3)to encourage persons who have not completed programs of education at the secondary or postsecondary level to enter or reenter, and complete such programs.

(b)Required services

Any project assisted under this section shall provide—

(1)connections to high quality academic tutoring services, to enable students to complete secondary or postsecondary courses;

(2)advice and assistance in secondary course selection and, if applicable, initial postsecondary course selection;

(3)assistance in preparing for college entrance examinations and completing college admission applications;

(4)(A)information on the full range of Federal student financial aid programs and benefits (including Federal Pell Grant awards and loan forgiveness) and resources for locating public and private scholarships; and

(B)assistance in completing financial aid applications, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid described in section 1090(a) of this title;

(5)guidance on and assistance in—

(A)secondary school reentry;

(B)alternative education programs for secondary school dropouts that lead to the receipt of a regular secondary school diploma;

(C)entry into general educational development (GED) programs; or

(D)postsecondary education; and

(6)connections to education or counseling services designed to improve the financial literacy and economic literacy of students or the students’ parents, including financial planning for postsecondary education.

(c)Permissible services

Any project assisted under this section may provide services such as—

(1)academic tutoring, which may include instruction in reading, writing, study skills, mathematics, science, and other subjects;

(2)personal and career counseling or activities;

(3)information and activities designed to acquaint youth with the range of career options available to the youth;

(4)exposure to the campuses of institutions of higher education, as well as cultural events, academic programs, and other sites or activities not usually available to disadvantaged youth;

(5)workshops and counseling for families of students served;

(6)mentoring programs involving elementary or secondary school teachers or counselors, faculty members at institutions of higher education, students, or any combination of such persons; and

(7)programs and activities as described in subsection (b) or paragraphs (1) through (6) of this subsection that are specially designed for students who are limited English proficient, students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education, students with disabilities, students who are homeless children and youths (as such term is defined in section 11434a of title 42), students who are in foster care or are aging out of the foster care system, or other disconnected students.

(d)Requirements for approval of applications

In approving applications for projects under this section for any fiscal year the Secretary shall—

(1)require an assurance that not less than two-thirds of the individuals participating in the project proposed to be carried out under any application be low-income individuals who are first generation college students;

(2)require that such participants be persons who either have completed 5 years of elementary education or are at least 11 years of age but not more than 27 years of age, unless the imposition of any such limitation with respect to any person would defeat the purposes of this section or the purposes of section 1070a–16 of this title;

(3)require an assurance that individuals participating in the project proposed in the application do not have access to services from another project funded under this section or under section 1070a–16 of this title; and

(4)require an assurance that the project will be located in a setting accessible to the persons proposed to be served by the project.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(b)(1)(A), inserted “, and facilitate the application for,” after “the availability of”. Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(b)(1)(B), substituted “to enter or reenter, and complete” for “, but who have the ability to complete such programs, to reenter”. Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(b)(3), added subsecs. (b) and (c) and struck out former subsec. (b) which related to permissible services. Former subsec. (c) redesignated (d). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(b)(2), (4), redesignated subsec. (c) as (d) and substituted “projects under this section” for “talent search projects under this division” in introductory provisions. 1998—Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 105–244, § 402(b)(1), added par. (4) and struck out former par. (4) which read as follows: “guidance on secondary school reentry or entry to general educational development (GED) programs or other alternative education programs for secondary school dropouts;”. Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 105–244, § 402(b)(2), inserted before semicolon “, or activities designed to acquaint individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds with careers in which the individuals are particularly underrepresented”. Subsec. (b)(8). Pub. L. 105–244, § 402(b)(3), substituted “families” for “parents”. Subsec. (b)(9). Pub. L. 105–244, § 402(b)(4), inserted “or counselors” after “teachers”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1998 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 105–244 effective Oct. 1, 1998, except as otherwise provided in Pub. L. 105–244, see section 3 of Pub. L. 105–244, set out as a note under section 1001 of this title.