PUBLIC LAW 105-261—OCT. 17, 1998 112 STAT. 2033 SEC. 571. PILOT PROGRAM FOR TREATING GED AND HOME SCHOOL 10 USC 520 note. DIPLOMA RECIPIENTS AS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES FOR DETERMINATIONS OF ELIGIBILITY FOR ENLIST- MENT IN THE ARMED FORCES. (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Defense shall establish a pilot program to assess whether the Armed Forces could better meet recruiting requirements by treating GED recipients and home school diploma recipients as having graduated from high school with a high school diploma for the purpose of determining the eligibility of those persons to enlist in the Armed Forces. The Secretary of each military department shall administer the pilot program for the Armed Force or armed forces under the jurisdiction of that Secretary. (b) PERSONS ELIGIBLE UNDER THE PILOT PROGRAM AS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES.— Under the pilot program, a person shall be treated as having graduated from high school with a high school diploma for the purpose described in subsection (a) if— (1) the person has completed a general education development program while participating in the National Guard Challenge Program under section 509 of title 32, United States Code, and is a GED recipient; or (2) the person is a home school diploma recipient and provides a transcript demonstrating completion of high school to the military department involved under the pilot program. (c) GED AND HOME SCHOOL DIPLOMA RECIPIENTS.— For the purposes of this section— (1) a person is a GED recipient if the person, after completing a general education development program, has obtained certification of high school equivalency by meeting State requirements and passing a State approved exam that is administered for the purpose of providing an appraisal of the person's achievement or performance in the broad subject matter areas usually required for high school graduates; and (2) a person is a home school diploma recipient if the person has received a diploma for completing a program of education through the high school level at a home school, without regard to whether the home school is treated as a private school under the law of the State in which located. (d) ANNUAL LIMIT ON NUMBER.— Not more than 1,250 GED recipients and home school diploma recipients enlisted by an armed force during a fiscal year may be treated under the pilot program as having graduated from high school with a high school diploma. (e) DURATION OF PILOT PROGRAM. — The pilot program shall be in effect during the period beginning on October 1, 1998, and ending on September 30, 2003. (f) REPORT. — Not later than February 1, 2004, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives a report on the pilot program. The report shall include the following, set forth separately for GED recipients and home school diploma recipients: (1) The assessment of the Secretary of Defense, and any assessment of any of the Secretaries of the military departments, regarding the value of, and any necessity for, authority to treat GED recipients and home school diploma recipients as having graduated from high school with a high school
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