20 U.S.C. § 1136 — Legal educational opportunity program

(a) Program authority The Secretary^* must carry out a program called the “Thurgood Marshall Legal Educational Opportunity Program.” The program must provide low-income, minority, or disadvantaged secondary-school and college students with information, preparation, and financial help to gain access to and complete law school and to be admitted to law practice. (b) Eligibility A secondary-school or college student is eligible for help under this section if the student is— (1) from a low-income family; (2) a minority; or (3) from an economically or otherwise disadvantaged background. (c) Contract or grant authorized The Secretary may enter into a contract with, or make a grant to, the Council on Legal Education Opportunity for at least 5 years— (1) to identify secondary-school and college students who are from low-income families, are minorities, or are from the disadvantaged backgrounds described in subsection (b)(3); (2) to prepare those students to complete a baccalaureate degree successfully and to study at accredited law schools, and to help them develop analytical skills, writing skills, and study methods that improve their success in law school and promote their admission to and completion of law school; (3) to help those students choose the appropriate law school, apply to enter law school, and receive financial help for that study; (4) to provide support services to those students who are first-year law students to improve their retention and success in law school studies; (5) to motivate and prepare those students— (A) regarding law school studies and practice in low-income communities; and (B) to provide legal services to low-income individuals and families; and (6) to award Thurgood Marshall Fellowships to eligible law school students— (A) who took part in summer institutes under subsection (d)(6) and are enrolled in an accredited law school; or (B) who successfully completed a comparable summer institute program certified by the Council on Legal Education Opportunity. (d) Services provided To carry out the purposes described in subsection (c), the contract or grant must provide services through pre-college programs, undergraduate prelaw information resource centers, summer institutes, midyear seminars, and other educational activities conducted under this section. The services may include— (1) information and counseling about— (A) accredited law school academic programs, especially tuition, fees, and admission requirements; (B) course work offered and required for law school graduation; (C) faculty specialties and areas of legal emphasis; and (D) pre-college and undergraduate preparatory courses in analytical and writing skills, study methods, and course selection; (2) summer academic programs for secondary-school students who have expressed interest in a law career; (3) tutoring and academic counseling, including help preparing for bar examinations; (4) prelaw mentoring programs involving law school faculty, members of State^* and local bar associations, and retired and sitting judges, justices, and magistrates; (5) help identifying preparatory courses and material for law school aptitude or admissions tests; (6) summer institutes for Thurgood Marshall Fellows that expose the Fellows to a demanding curriculum emphasizing abstract thinking, legal analysis, research, writing, and examination techniques; and (7) midyear seminars and other educational activities designed to reinforce the reading, writing, and studying skills of Thurgood Marshall Fellows and Associates. (e) Duration of services The services described in subsection (d) may be provided— (1) before the period of law school study, including before and during undergraduate study; (2) during the period of law school study; and (3) during the period after law school study and before taking a bar examination. (f) Subcontracts and subgrants To plan, develop, or deliver one or more services described in subsection (d), the Council on Legal Education Opportunity must enter into subcontracts with, and make subgrants to, institutions of higher education, law schools, public and private agencies and organizations, national and State bar associations, and combinations of those institutions, schools, agencies, organizations, and associations. (g) Fellowships and stipends Each year, the Secretary must set the maximum fellowship and maximum stipend, including allowances for the participant’s travel and the travel of the participant’s dependents, to be awarded or paid to Thurgood Marshall Fellows or Associates for the period in which they participate in summer institutes, midyear seminars, and bar preparation seminars. A Thurgood Marshall Fellow or Associate may qualify for such a fellowship or stipend only if the Fellow or Associate maintains satisfactory academic progress toward a Juris Doctor or Bachelor of Laws degree, as determined by the respective institutions. This requirement does not apply to a law school graduate enrolled in a bar preparation course. (h) Authorization of appropriations Congress may appropriate $5,000,000 to carry out this section for fiscal year 2009 and each of the five following fiscal years.