Selection of participants

Participants in State Police Corps programs shall be selected on a competitive basis by each State under regulations prescribed by the Director. In order to participate in a State Police Corps program, a participant shall— Until the date that is 5 years after September 13, 1994, up to 10 percent of the applicants accepted into the Police Corps program may be persons who— Each State participating in the Police Corps program shall make special efforts to seek and recruit applicants from among members of all racial, ethnic or gender groups. This subsection does not authorize an exception from the competitive standards for admission established pursuant to subsections (a) and (b). An applicant shall be accepted into a State Police Corps program on the condition that the applicant will be matriculated in, or accepted for admission at, a 4-year institution of higher education— An applicant may be admitted into a State Police Corps program either before commencement of or during the applicant’s course of educational study.