1. COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, YOUTH AND CULTURE
BILL NO. 28-0007
Twenty-Eighth Legislature of the Virgin Islands
March 3, 2009
An Act amending 17 V.I.C., to add chapter 45 establishing the National Guard Youth
Challenge Program and to authorize the Program to award participants an adult High
School Diploma and for other purposes
PROPOSED BY: Senator Louis Patrick Hill
Co-Sponsors: Craig Barshinger, Adlah ‘Foncie” Donastorg, Jr.,
Nellie Riveria-O’Reilly, Patrick Simeon Sprauve
and Michael Thurland
1 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands:
2 SECTION 1. Title 17, Virgin Islands Code, is amended by adding chapter 45 to
3 read as follows:
4 “Chapter 45 National Guard Youth Challenge Program
5 §1001. This subchapter may be cited as “The National Guard Youth Challenge
6 Program Act”.
7 §1002. The Virgin Islands National Guard shall implement and administer the
8 Youth Challenge Program, whose goal is to improve the life skills and employment
9 potential of participants by providing military-based training and supervised work
10 experience, in addition to the core program components of assisting participants to

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1 receive a high school diploma or its equivalent, leadership development, promoting
2 fellowship and community service, developing life-coping skills, and improving physical
3 fitness, health and hygiene.
4 The Virgin Islands National Guard shall promulgate rules and regulations,
5 including program personnel policy and staff criteria, participants eligibility standards,
6 and procedures consistent with the Rules and Regulations of the U.S. Department of
7 Defense Instruction No. 1025 promulgated by the U.S. Secretary of Defense and 52 USC
8 Section 509. The National Guard shall prepare written guidelines concerning the
9 nomination and selection process of participants in the program, and the guidelines must
10 include a list of the factors considered in the selection process.
11 §1003. Participation in the Youth Challenge Program is on a voluntary basis. No
12 person may be sentenced by any court to participate in the program; however, a Youth
13 Court Judge may recommend the program to a child when, under the court’s
14 determination, such program would be sufficient to meet the needs of the child.
15 §1004. The Virgin Islands National Guard under the auspices of the Challenge
16 Academy, may award an adult high school diploma to each participant who meets the
17 requirements for a general equivalency diploma (GED) under the policies and guidelines
18 of the GED Testing Services of the American Council on Education and any other
19 minimum academic requirements prescribed by the National Guard and Challenge
20 Academy for graduation from the Youth Challenge Program. Participants in the program
21 who do not meet the minimum academic requirements may be awarded a special
22 certificate of attendance. The National Guard and the Challenge Academy, in
23 consultation with the Virgin Islands Board of Education, shall establish rules and
24 regulations for awarding the adult high school diploma and shall prescribe the form for
25 such diploma and the certificate of attendance.

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1 §1005. The Virgin Islands National Guard may accept any available funds that
2 may be used to defray the expenses of the program, including, but not limited to, federal
3 funding, public or private funds and any funds that may be appropriated by the
4 Legislature for that purpose.
5 §1006. The Virgin Islands National Guard shall make an annual report to the
6 Governor and the Legislature on the Youth Challenge Program to include, but not limited
7 to, the number of applicants to the program by district, race and sex, the number of
8 applicants accepted, the number of applicants rejected, the number of persons completing
9 the program, the number of GEDs awarded, the number of certificates awarded and data
10 regarding sources of funding, employees and expenditures.
11 SECTION 2. Severability. Each section and each provision of this Act stand
12 alone, and if any provision in this Act has been held, or in the future is held, to be
13 unconstitutional, preempted by federal law, or otherwise invalid by any court of
14 competent jurisdiction, all of the other provisions set forth in this Act are intended to, and
15 shall remain, fully effective and shall be interpreted to exclude the unconstitutional,
16 preempted, or otherwise invalid provision. If any section, subsection, paragraph,
17 sentence, clause, word, or portion of this Act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional,
18 preempted by federal law, or otherwise invalid, that holding shall not affect the remaining
19 portions of this Act. The Legislature expressly declares that it would have enacted this
20 Act and each section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, word, or portion thereof
21 despite the fact that one or more sections, subsections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses,
22 words, or portions of this Act may be held unconstitutional, preempted by federal law, or
23 otherwise invalid.

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1 SECTION 3. The sum of $2,000,000 is appropriated in the fiscal year ending
2 September 30, 2009 from the General Fund to the Office of the Adjutant General for the
3 National Guard Youth Challenge Program, funds to remain available until expended.
4
5 BILL SUMMARY
6 Section 1 establishes the National Guard Youth challenge Program, an
7 interdiction program which promotes positive life-style changes for secondary school
8 students dropout determined to be at-risk by the Department of Education, Department of
9 Justice, Department of Human Services, and the Youth Program Coordinator at the
10 LEPC. This proposal authorizes the National Guard to implement the Program and
11 promulgate rules and regulations consistent with Department of Defense Rules and
12 Regulations and the federal statutes that established the program. The bill also mandates
13 the development of guidelines for participant selection. The National Guard is
14 authorized, under the auspices of the Challenge Academy, to issue an adult high school
15 diploma to each participant that meets the requirements for a GED.
16 The Bill authorizes the Guard to accept any available funds, including funds from
17 the Federal Government as outlined in the Master Youth Programs Cooperative
18 Agreement and 32 USC §509 (d) (1-4), private funds and appropriations from the
19 Legislature. The Bill imposes a duty on the Guard to make an annual report on the Youth
20 Challenge Program to the Legislature
21 Section 2 sets forth a Severability Clause.
22
23 BR09-0083/January 30, 2009/