42 U.S.C. § 12591 — Description of participants

(a) In general. For this division, someone counts as a participant in a national service program funded under section 12571 if they: (1) meet whatever eligibility rules the program sets, as long as those rules directly relate to the tasks the person will do; (2) are chosen by the program to serve; (3) are at least 17 years old when they start their term of service; (4) have a high school diploma or its equivalent, or agree to get one — unless the program's own assessment of the person waives that requirement — and did not drop out of school to join the program (or are enrolled in higher education on an "ability to benefit" basis and eligible for funds under section 1091 of title 20); and (5) are a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or lawful permanent resident. (b) Special rules for certain youth programs. For a youth corps program described in section 12572(a)(3)(B)(x) that gets section 12571(a) assistance, someone counts as a participant if they (1) meet all the requirements in subsection (a) except the age-17 rule, and (2) are between 16 and 25 years old, inclusive, when they start their term of service. (c) Waiver. The Corporation can waive the high-school-diploma requirement in subsection (a)(4) for a person if the program does its own independent evaluation showing that person cannot get a high school diploma or its equivalent.