The Department of Education's May 2, 2006 announcement of a variety of methods that high schools may use to provide a "rigorous" curriculum to allow low-income graduates to qualify for a new federal college-grant program was welcome news to those who had feared that the government's reach into the classroom was too expansive. Students who complete such a curriculum may be eligible to tap into a $790 million fund; an estimated 500,000 students will qualify for the aid in the 2006-07 academic year. The Academic Competitiveness Grants for college freshmen and sophomores and the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent, or SMART, grant program for juniors and seniors are meant to encourage students to pursue studies in mathematics, science, and certain foreign languages.