The SERVE Act is designed to help the military recruit more young people by giving them better access to information about military service opportunities. The bill addresses a real problem: military recruitment is at its hardest point in 50 years, partly because fewer young people have family members who served in the military and many don't know about the benefits of military service like competitive pay, education, and career training.

The bill makes several practical changes. First, it requires high schools to give military recruiters more frequent and meaningful access to students—at least four times per year during lunch, between classes, and at school events. Schools must also share student directory information (names, grades, contact information) with military recruiters. Second, the bill expands the Junior ROTC program by allowing students at schools without their own ROTC unit to participate in ROTC programs at other schools in their district. Third, it requires the military to automatically receive updated contact information from the Selective Service System each year, rather than having to request it each time.

The bill also creates incentives for schools that successfully encourage military enlistment. It establishes a two-year pilot program to recognize high schools with above-average military enlistment rates as "HERO schools," and gives priority consideration in military academy admissions to students from these high-performing schools. Finally, it designates the first week of April as National Week of Military Recruitment.