# Plain Language Summary: Cybersecurity Opportunity Act

This bill creates a grant program to help colleges and universities teach cybersecurity skills to students, with a special focus on schools that serve lower-income students and historically underrepresented communities. The Department of Homeland Security would distribute money to eligible schools so they can start new cybersecurity programs or improve existing ones. The grants could be used to hire instructors, buy equipment, set up partnerships with tech companies, and recruit students into these programs.

The bill specifically targets schools that serve a lot of students from low-income backgrounds, historically Black colleges and universities, and other minority-serving institutions. At least half of all the grant money must go to these historically Black colleges and minority-serving institutions to ensure these communities benefit from the cybersecurity job opportunities. Schools that receive grants can use the money to build labs for hands-on training, create research opportunities for students, and run outreach programs to let people know about their cybersecurity courses.

The program would run for five years from when the first grant is awarded, giving schools a defined window to apply and receive funding. Schools that want grants would need to submit an application explaining how they plan to use the money to expand cybersecurity education. The government would track how well the program works by measuring things like how many students participate, what kinds of jobs they get after graduation, and whether schools improve their cybersecurity programs overall. This is essentially an investment in training the next generation of cybersecurity workers while making sure that opportunity reaches communities that have historically been left out of tech careers.

Cybersecurity Opportunity Act

Johnson, Henry C. "Hank"

Cybersecurity Opportunity Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to establish a grant program to promote cybersecurity training and education at institutions of higher education with an enrollment of needy students, historically Black colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions.