Mandatory basic military training followed by at least one year of civil service in exchange for a free ride in college. That's my law.
You'd get out of high school, have a few weeks summer break, then head off to basic training. Exceptions would only be granted in very rare circumstances with most of those with severe health issues sent to a less intensive program. Most everybody would end up in a course that resembles army basic training. You'd have an intense physical training program, with introductory weapons and tactics courses. Then when you're done, you'd have to spend one year in some civil service program of your choice such as the red cross, local community service, americorps, UN relief corps, or even regular military service. In exchange for one year of service, the government would pay your tuition, books, lodging, and food stipend while you go to college until you get a bachelors degree. Those attending private or otherwise expensive colleges could receive a voucher equal to average costs. That way people attending Harvard while staying in a swank penthouse wouldn't end up costing more than someone sharing a house near a smaller campus.
Rich people could still attend their Ivy league of choice, and save a bit in the process. While the average kid from a poor family could afford to attend his own state university or technical school. As soon as you dropped out or missed more than one school year for non approved reasons you'd forfeit your voucher. If you wanted to go for a masters or Ph.D., you could either find scholarships or funding, or dedicate another year to civil service.
I feel that the benefits of such a system would not become apparent for a number of years, but eventually the population would become better educated, more healthy and more capable of responding to threats in the event of war. The program would be eye opening for nearly everybody, with rich kids maybe becoming more more humble, fat kids more empowered, poor kids more motivated, and depressed kids getting high on endorphins. Think of all the fat kids who struggle through PE in high school and suffer from low self esteem. They would come out of training feel motivated and empowered, and would likely form exercise habits that would last the rest of their lives. The same could be said about gang members and drug addicts, they would emerge from the program feeling good about themselves with positive attitude, healthy body and a slightly less prickly ego. Also, if we ever had to go to war, nearly everyone would already know how to shoot a gun, run a few miles, use a gas mask, climb a wall, rappel, subdue an attacker, save a drowning victim, administer CPR and basic first aid, and all sorts of other skills.
I'm bananas aren't I?