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Title 20, EducationRelease 119-110

§1070a–13 Upward Bound

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–13

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates the Upward Bound program to help students get the skills and motivation to succeed after high school. Projects must give tutoring in subjects like reading, writing, math, science, and study skills. They must help students pick high school and college courses, prepare for college entrance tests, and apply to college. Projects must give information about federal student aid (including Pell Grants and loan forgiveness) and help fill out the FAFSA. They must help students return to school, join alternative programs that lead to a diploma, enter GED programs, or go on to college. Projects must also teach basic financial and economic skills to students or their parents. Programs that have been funded two or more years must include math through precalculus, laboratory science, foreign language, composition, and literature. Projects may also offer cultural activities, career information, on-campus summer programs, mentoring, work-study, special help for veterans, and services for students who are limited English proficient, underrepresented in college, have disabilities, are homeless, in foster care or aging out, or otherwise disconnected. At least two-thirds of participants must be low‑income first‑generation college students. The rest must be low‑income, first‑generation, or at high risk of academic failure. Participants must need academic support, have finished 8 years of elementary school, and be 13–19 years old unless that would defeat the program’s purpose. No student can be turned away for joining after 9th grade. Stipends may be up to $60 per month in the summer (for up to 3 months), $300 per month in summer for work‑study (up to 3 months), and $40 per month during the rest of the year. Congress provided $57,000,000 for each fiscal year 2008 through 2011 to give four‑year grants to projects that did not get money in 2007 and scored above 70; the authority to award those grants expired at the end of fiscal year 2011. The Department of Education may not enforce the “absolute priority” rule it published in the Federal Register on September 22, 2006; that change is not retroactive and current grantees in that grant cycle can continue without recompetition.

Full Legal Text

Title 20, §1070a–13

Education, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Program authority
The Secretary shall carry out a program to be known as upward bound which shall be designed to generate skills and motivation necessary for success in education beyond secondary school.
(b)Required services
Any project assisted under this section shall provide—
(1)academic tutoring to enable students to complete secondary or postsecondary courses, which may include instruction in reading, writing, study skills, mathematics, science, and other subjects;
(2)advice and assistance in secondary and 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)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)Additional required services for multiple-year grant recipients
Any project assisted under this section which has received funding for two or more years shall include, as part of the core curriculum in the next and succeeding years, instruction in mathematics through precalculus, laboratory science, foreign language, composition, and literature.
(d)Permissible services
Any project assisted under this section may provide such services as—
(1)exposure to cultural events, academic programs, and other activities not usually available to disadvantaged youth;
(2)information, activities, and instruction designed to acquaint youth participating in the project with the range of career options available to the youth;
(3)on-campus residential programs;
(4)mentoring programs involving elementary school or secondary school teachers or counselors, faculty members at institutions of higher education, students, or any combination of such persons;
(5)work-study positions where youth participating in the project are exposed to careers requiring a postsecondary degree;
(6)special services, including mathematics and science preparation, to enable veterans to make the transition to postsecondary education; and
(7)programs and activities as described in subsection (b), subsection (c), 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.
(e)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 youths participating in the project proposed to be carried out under any application be low-income individuals who are first generation college students;
(2)require an assurance that the remaining youths participating in the project proposed to be carried out under any application be low-income individuals, first generation college students, or students who have a high risk for academic failure;
(3)require that there be a determination by the institution, with respect to each participant in such project that the participant has a need for academic support in order to pursue successfully a program of education beyond secondary school;
(4)require that such participants be persons who have completed 8 years of elementary education and are at least 13 years of age but not more than 19 years of age, unless the imposition of any such limitation would defeat the purposes of this section; and
(5)require an assurance that no student will be denied participation in a project assisted under this section because the student will enter the project after the 9th grade.
(f)Maximum stipends
Youths participating in a project proposed to be carried out under any application may be paid stipends not in excess of $60 per month during the summer school recess, for a period not to exceed three months, except that youth participating in a work-study position under subsection (d)(5) may be paid a stipend of $300 per month during the summer school recess, for a period not to exceed three months. Youths participating in a project proposed to be carried out under any application may be paid stipends not in excess of $40 per month during the remaining period of the year.
(g)Additional funds
(1)Authorization and appropriation
There are authorized to be appropriated, and there are appropriated to the Secretary, from funds not otherwise appropriated, $57,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011 to carry out paragraph (2), except that any amounts that remain unexpended for such purpose for each of such fiscal years may be available for technical assistance and administration costs for the Upward Bound program. The authority to award grants under this subsection shall expire at the end of fiscal year 2011.
(2)Use of funds
The amounts made available by paragraph (1) shall be available to provide assistance to all Upward Bound projects that did not receive assistance in fiscal year 2007 and that have a grant score above 70. Such assistance shall be made available in the form of 4-year grants.
(h)Absolute priority prohibited in Upward Bound Program
Upon enactment of this subsection and except as otherwise expressly provided by amendment to this section, the Secretary shall not continue, implement, or enforce the absolute priority for the Upward Bound Program published by the Department of Education in the Federal Register on September 22, 2006 (71 Fed. Reg. 55447 et seq.). This subsection shall not be applied retroactively. In implementing this subsection, the Department shall allow the programs and participants chosen in the grant cycle to which the priority applies to continue their grants and participation without a further recompetition. The entities shall not be required to apply the absolute priority conditions or restrictions to future participants.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(c)(1), added subsec. (b) and struck out former subsec. (b) which related to permissible services. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(c)(2), substituted “Additional required services for multiple-year grant recipients” for “Required services” in heading and “project assisted under this section” for “upward bound project assisted under this division” in text. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(c)(4), added subsec. (d). Former subsec. (d) redesignated (e). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(c)(3), (5)(A), redesignated subsec. (d) as (e) and substituted “projects under this section” for “upward bound projects under this division” in introductory provisions. Former subsec. (e) redesignated (f). Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(c)(5)(B), substituted “low-income individuals, first generation college students, or students who have a high risk for academic failure;” for “either low-income individuals or first generation college students;”. Subsec. (e)(5). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(c)(5)(C)–(E), added par. (5). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(c)(3), (6), redesignated subsec. (e) as (f) and substituted “during the summer school recess, for a period not to exceed three months” for “during June, July, and August” in two places, and “subsection (d)(5)” for “subsection (b)(10)”. Former subsec. (f) redesignated (g). Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(c)(3), redesignated subsec. (f) as (g). Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 110–315, § 403(c)(7), added subsec. (h). 2007—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 110–84 added subsec. (f). 1998—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 105–244, § 402(c)(1)(A), substituted “counseling and workshops” for “personal counseling”. Subsec. (b)(9). Pub. L. 105–244, § 402(c)(1)(B), inserted “or counselors” after “teachers” and struck out “and” after semicolon. Subsec. (b)(10), (11). Pub. L. 105–244, § 402(c)(1)(D), added pars. (10) and (11). Former par. (10) redesignated (12). Subsec. (b)(12). Pub. L. 105–244, § 402(c)(1)(E), substituted “(11)” for “(9)”. Pub. L. 105–244, § 402(c)(1)(C), redesignated par. (10) as (12). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105–244, § 402(c)(2), substituted “except that youth participating in a work-study position under subsection (b)(10) may be paid a stipend of $300 per month during June, July, and August. Youths participating in a project proposed to be carried out under any application may be paid stipends not in excess of $40 per month during the remaining period of the year.” for “and not in excess of $40 per month during the remaining period of the year.” 1993—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–208 substituted “foreign” for “and foreign”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2007 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 110–84 effective Oct. 1, 2007, see section 1(c) of Pub. L. 110–84, set out as a note under section 1070a of this title.

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.

Effective Date

of 1993 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 103–208 effective as if included in the Higher Education

Amendments

of 1992, Pub. L. 102–325, except as otherwise provided, see section 5(a) of Pub. L. 103–208, set out as a note under section 1051 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

20 U.S.C. § 1070a–13

Title 20, Education

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110