Historical and Revision Notes

1988 Act

Amendment of subsection (b) is based on Pub. L. 93–307, title IV, §401, June 8, 1974, 88 Stat. 234, as amended by Pub. L. 93–365, title VII, §705, Aug. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 406.

Amendments

1988—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–370 inserted before period at end "; however, a person may not be denied enlistment in the armed forces solely because of his not having a high school diploma if his enlistment is needed to meet established strength requirements".

1983—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–94 struck out provisions under which, for fiscal years beginning on October 1, 1980, and October 1, 1981, the total number of persons originally enlisted or inducted to serve on active duty (other than active duty for training) in the armed forces during such fiscal years whose score on the Armed Forces Qualification Test was at or above the tenth percentile and below the thirty-first percentile could not exceed 25 percent of the number of such persons enlisted or inducted into the armed forces during such fiscal years, and, in the provisions remaining applicable to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 1982, substituted "20 percent of the total number of persons originally enlisted or inducted to serve on active duty (other than active duty for training) in such armed force" for "20 percent of the number of such persons enlisted or inducted into such armed force".

1981—Pub. L. 97–86 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).

1980—Pub. L. 96–579 struck out subsec. (a) designation and subsec. (b) authorizing the Secretary of Defense for national security reasons to waive the enlistment and induction limitation based on percentile limits conditioned upon notification of the Congress and a concurrent resolution of approval.

Effective Date of 1981 Amendment

Pub. L. 97–86, title IV, §402(b)(2), Dec. 1, 1981, 95 Stat. 1105, provided that: "The amendments made by paragraph (1) [amending this section] shall take effect at the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 1, 1981]."

Pilot Program for Treating GED and Home School Diploma Recipients as High School Graduates for Determinations of Eligibility for Enlistment in Armed Forces

Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title V, §571, Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 2033, as amended by Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title X, §1067(3), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 774, directed the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program during the period Oct. 1, 1998, to Sept. 30, 2003, to assess whether the Armed Forces could better meet recruiting requirements by treating GED recipients and home school diploma recipients as having graduated from high school with a high school diploma for the purpose of determining eligibility of those persons to enlist in the Armed Forces, and to submit to committees of Congress a report on the program not later than Feb. 1, 2004.

Maximum Number of Army Enlistees and Inductees Who Are Not High School Graduates

Pub. L. 96–342, title III, §302(a), Sept. 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 1082, as amended by Pub. L. 97–86, title IV, §402(a), Dec. 1, 1981, 95 Stat. 1104; Pub. L. 97–252, title IV, §403, Sept. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 725; Pub. L. 98–94, title IV, §402, Sept. 24, 1983, 97 Stat. 629; Pub. L. 98–525, title IV, §402, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2516; Pub. L. 99–145, title IV, §402, Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 618, provided that the number of male individuals enlisted or inducted into the Army during the fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1, 1985, who were not high school graduates could not exceed, as of Sept. 30, 1986, 35 percent of all male individuals enlisted or inducted into the Army during such fiscal year.

Denial of Enlistment for Lack of High School Diploma Prohibited

Pub. L. 93–307, title IV, §401, June 8, 1974, 88 Stat. 234, as amended by Pub. L. 93–365, title VII, §705, Aug. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 406, which provided that no volunteer for enlistment into the Armed Forces shall be denied enlistment solely because of his not having a high school diploma when his enlistment is needed to meet established strength requirements, was repealed and restated in sections 520(b) and 3262 of this title by Pub. L. 100–370, §1(a), July 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 840.