Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§19173 Opportunities for online education

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 163— - RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, COMPETITION, AND INNOVATION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER V— - BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN SCIENCE › Part Part B— - Rural STEM Education Research › § 19173

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Director must give competitive awards to colleges, nonprofits, or groups of them (they can include private partners) to study online STEM courses for rural communities. Funded research can cover evaluating Prekindergarten through grade 12 STEM learning; how online training and mentoring can help rural teachers and leaders; mixing online STEM lessons with mentoring and hands-on learning; using online programs to support students who need physical or academic accommodations; and other activities the Director approves. Proposals must include an evaluation plan with outcome-based measures, and awardees must report results each year and at the end. The Director must evaluate all awards using common benchmarks, try to link findings to other rural STEM research, and within 180 days after finishing that evaluation send a public report to Congress with results and recommendations. The Director must also work with other federal agencies to avoid overlap and improve the program.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §19173

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Director shall make competitive awards to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or a consortium thereof, which may include a private sector partner) to conduct research on online STEM education courses for rural communities.

(b)The research areas eligible for funding under this subsection shall include—

(1)evaluating the learning and achievement of rural students in prekindergarten through grade 12 in STEM subjects;

(2)understanding how computer-based and online professional development courses and mentor experiences can be integrated to meet the needs of educators, principals, and other school leaders of rural students in prekindergarten through grade 12;

(3)combining computer-based and online STEM education and training with mentoring and other applied learning arrangements;

(4)leveraging online programs to supplement STEM studies for rural students that need physical and academic accommodation; and

(5)any other activity the Director determines will accomplish the goals of this subsection.

(c)All proposals for awards under this section shall include an evaluation plan that includes the use of outcome-oriented measures to assess the impact and efficacy of the award. Each recipient of an award under this subsection shall include results from these evaluative activities in annual and final projects.

(d)(1)The Director shall evaluate the portfolio of awards made under this subsection. Such evaluation shall—

(A)use a common set of benchmarks and tools to assess the results of research conducted under such awards and identify best practices; and

(B)to the extent practicable, integrate findings from activities carried out pursuant to research conducted under this section, with respect to the pursuit of careers and degrees in STEM, with those activities carried out pursuant to other research on serving rural students and communities.

(2)Not later than 180 days after the completion of the evaluation under paragraph (1), the Director shall submit to Congress and make widely available to the public a report that includes—

(A)the results of the evaluation; and

(B)any recommendations for administrative and legislative action that could optimize the effectiveness of the awards made under this section.

(e)In carrying out this section, the Director shall, for purposes of enhancing program effectiveness and avoiding duplication of activities, consult, cooperate, and coordinate with the programs and policies of other relevant Federal agencies.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 19173

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73