§1725 Policy research, data collection, analysis and modeling, evaluation, and dissemination

Summary

Within 1 year after the Assistant Secretary starts giving grants under section 1723(d)(1), and every year after that, the Assistant Secretary must send Congress a public report about the grant programs. The report must describe the results of evaluations, list every grant (amount, who got it, and why), note any grants that were changed, ended, or had money moved and say how that money was used, and list any challenges to grants and their outcomes. The Assistant Secretary must evaluate whether States getting grants under section 1723 and other grantees under section 1724 are keeping their promises, meeting their Digital Equity Plan goals, following the rules and requirements in the cited subsections (for example subsections c, e, f, g, and h), and following any other rules the Assistant Secretary sets. Each report must be posted online in a searchable, easy-to-use format that is accessible to people with disabilities and available in languages other than English. The Assistant Secretary may hire or work with federal agencies, public or private groups, and experts to do evaluations and to collect and share best practices for digital equity. The Assistant Secretary must work with many partners, including relevant Cabinet agencies (like Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Interior), the FCC, FTC, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Small Business Administration, regional commissions, State agencies and governors, organizations that do digital inclusion work, researchers, and other groups as needed. The Assistant Secretary must give technical help to applicants and grantees to keep data reporting consistent. Money needed to do all this is authorized and remains available until spent.