Cyber Scholarship Opportunities Act of 2017

This bill requires the National Science Foundation, in coordination with the Office of Personnel Management, to develop and implement a pilot program at community colleges to provide scholarships to students who are pursuing associate degrees or specialized program certifications in cybersecurity and either have bachelor's degrees or are veterans.

The bill amends the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 to require that the federal cyber scholarship-for-service program: (1) place at least 80% of recipients in an executive agency, and (2) provide awards to improve cybersecurity education at the K-12 levels.

The post-award employment obligations of scholarship recipients must include work for an executive agency; Congress; an interstate agency; state, local, or tribal governments; or certain government-affiliated nonprofits.

Scholarship eligibility factors are revised to include: (1) an individual's skills and abilities under the National Institute of Standards and Technology's national cybersecurity awareness and education program, and (2) students pursuing a degree on a less than full-time but not less than half-time basis.

The bill amends the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 to include cybersecurity in the definitions of a "mathematics and science teacher" and "science, technology, engineering, or mathematics professional" under the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program.

Cyber Scholarship Opportunities Act of 2017

This bill amends the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 to require at least 5% of scholarships that the National Science Foundation (NSF) coordinates with the Department of Homeland Security under the federal cyber scholarship-for-service program to be provided to students who are pursuing an associate's degree in a cybersecurity field without the intent of transferring to a bachelor's degree program and who either have a bachelor's degree already or are veterans of the Armed Forces.

The post-award employment obligations of scholarship recipients pursuing a doctoral or master's degree may include work at an institution of higher education or for a local educational agency teaching cybersecurity skills.

Scholarship eligibility factors are revised to include: (1) an individual's skills and abilities under the National Institute of Standards and Technology's national cybersecurity awareness and education program, and (2) students pursuing a degree on a less than full-time but not less than half-time basis.

The NSF must work with the Office of Personnel Management to: (1) consolidate information about cyber scholarships programs and job opportunities into a single online resource center; and (2) work with state, local, and tribal agencies to advertise cybersecurity positions to recipients.

The NSF may carry out a program to improve cybersecurity education at the K-12 level.

The NSF may: (1) grant exceptions from the post-award employment obligations to students who agree to work in a critical infrastructure mission at a federal government corporation or a state, local, or tribal government-affiliated component of a critical infrastructure sector; or (2) develop a pilot program to enhance critical infrastructure protection training for students pursuing careers in cybersecurity.