Sec. 306. Department of State Student Internship Program
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The Secretary shall establish the Department of State Student Internship Program (in this section referred to as the Program ) to offer internship opportunities at the Department to eligible students to raise awareness of the essential role of diplomacy in the conduct of United States foreign policy and the realization of United States foreign policy objectives. To be eligible to participate in the Program, an applicant shall— be enrolled, not less than half-time, at— an institution of higher education (as such term is defined section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1002 )); or an institution of higher education based outside the United States, as determined by the Secretary; and be able to receive and hold an appropriate security clearance.
The Secretary shall establish selection criteria for students to be admitted into the Program that includes a demonstrated interest in a career in foreign affairs. The Secretary shall advertise the Program widely, including on the internet, through the Department’s Diplomats in Residence program, and through other outreach and recruiting initiatives targeting undergraduate and graduate students. The Secretary shall additionally conduct targeted outreach to encourage participation in the Program from— individuals belonging to traditionally underrepresented groups in terms of racial, ethnic, geographic, and gender diversity, and disability status; and students enrolled at minority serving institutions (which shall have the meaning given the term eligible institutions described in section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1067q(a) ).
The Secretary shall provide housing assistance to a student participating in the Program whose permanent address is within the United States if the location of the internship in which such student is participating is outside the United States. The Secretary is authorized to provide housing assistance to a student participating in the Program whose permanent address is within the United States if the location of the internship in which such student is participating is more than 50 miles away from such student’s permanent address.
The Secretary shall provide a student participating in the Program whose permanent address is within the United States financial assistance to cover the costs of travel once to and once from the location of the internship in which such student is participating, including travel by air, train, bus, or other transit as appropriate, if the location of such internship is— more than 50 miles from such student’s permanent address; or outside the United States. The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, structure internships to ensure such internships satisfy criteria for academic credit at the institutions of higher education in which participants in such internships are enrolled.
Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transition all unpaid internship programs of the Department, including the Foreign Service Internship Program, to internship programs that offer compensation. Upon selection as a candidate for entry into an internship program of the Department after such date, a participant in such internship program shall be afforded the opportunity to forgo compensation, including if doing so allows such participant to receive college or university curricular credit.
The transition required under paragraph
(1)shall not apply in the case of unpaid internship programs of the Department that are part of the Virtual Student Federal Service internship program. The Secretary may waive the requirement under this subsection to transition an unpaid internship program of the Department to an internship program that offers compensation if the Secretary determines and not later than 30 days after any such determination submits to the appropriate congressional committees and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report that to do so would not be consistent with effective management goals. The report required under subparagraph shall describe the reason why transitioning an unpaid internship program of the Department to an internship program that offers compensation would not be consistent with effective management goals, including any justification for maintaining such unpaid status indefinitely, or any additional authorities or resources necessary to transition such unpaid program to offer compensation in the future. Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report that includes the following: Data, to the extent collection of such information is permissible by law, regarding the number of students who applied to the Program, were offered a position, and participated, respectively, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, institution of higher education, home State, State where each student graduated from high school, and disability status. Data on the number of security clearance investigations started for such students and the timeline for such investigations, including whether such investigations were completed or if, and when, an interim security clearance was granted. Information on expenditures on the Program. Information regarding the Department’s compliance with subsection (g). Nothing in this section may be construed to compel any student who is a participant in an internship program of the Department to participate in the collection of the data or divulge any personal information. Such students shall be informed that their participation in the data collection contemplated by this section is voluntary. Any data collected under this section shall be subject to the relevant privacy protection statutes and regulations applicable to Federal employees. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary, in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management with respect to the number of interns to be hired each year, may— select, appoint, and employ individuals for up to 1 year through compensated internships under an excepted service (as defined in section 2103 of title 5, United States Code); and remove any compensated intern employed pursuant to paragraph
(1)without regard to the provisions of law governing appointments in the excepted service. Internships offered and compensated by the Department under this section shall be funded solely by amounts available and appropriated under the heading Diplomatic Programs on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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