Title 20 › Chapter 26— SUPPORT AND SCHOLARSHIP IN HUMANITIES AND ARTS; MUSEUM SERVICES › Subchapter I— NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES › § 952
Defines the key words used in the subchapter. Humanities — the study and interpretation of language, literature, history, law, philosophy, archaeology, religion, ethics, arts theory, and related social-science subjects, and how these subjects apply to our diverse heritage and national life. The arts — major creative fields like music, dance, theater, visual arts, architecture, design, film, television, radio, recordings, creative writing, folk and traditional arts, and activities for presenting and performing them. Production — performances, exhibitions, recordings, films, broadcasts, readings, and other artistic presentations that meet standards set by the National Endowment for the Arts (see section 954). Project — organized programs to promote creativity, commission works, develop talent, and increase public understanding of the arts; may include renting or buying facilities, land, or equipment; renovation counts if federal spending on it for any project does not exceed $250,000 or if two‑thirds of the National Council on the Arts or the National Council on the Humanities members present and voting approve; and, for the limited purposes of sections 954(p), 956(c)(10), and 956(h), construction of facilities counts if it is for demonstration or unusual circumstances and two‑thirds of the relevant councils present and voting approve. Group — a State or public agency or any nonprofit U.S. society, institution, organization, association, museum, or establishment. Workshop — an activity aimed at helping nonprofessionals, students, or amateurs develop or enjoy the arts or to promote scholarship and teaching. State — the 50 States plus Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands. Local arts agency — a community group or local government agency that mainly gives money, services, or programs to artists and arts organizations for the public good. Developing arts organization — a promising local arts group that is an important source of local programming and can grow to broaden access in rural, innercity, and other underserved areas. Determined to be obscene — found obscene in a final judgment by a U.S. court of record with proper authority. Final judgment — a court decision that either is not reviewed by any higher court with authority to review it or cannot be reviewed by any other court. Obscene — for a project, production, workshop, or program: (1) the average person, using current community standards, would find it appeals to prurient interest; (2) it depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and (3) it, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
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Legislative History
Reference
Citation
20 U.S.C. § 952
Title 20 — Education
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60