Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§19155 Cultural and Institutional Barriers to Expanding the Academic and Federal Stem Workforce

Title 42 › CHAPTER 163 — RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, COMPETITION, AND INNOVATION › SUBCHAPTER V — BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN SCIENCE › Part A — STEM Opportunities › § 19155

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Director must, within 12 months after August 9, 2022, work with the interagency inclusion group and share best practices with organizations that get Federal research money. The advice must cover doing regular surveys to find cultural or institutional problems that hurt recruitment, retention, or advancement of groups that have been underrepresented in STEM. It must also cover training, like workshops, so STEM staff can learn fair ways to hire, evaluate, and promote students and researchers. Using that guidance, the National Science Foundation Director must make a policy for at least doctoral-degree institutions that get Federal research funding, and those institutions must report to NSF on actions taken within 3 years after August 9, 2022. Federal agencies with labs must keep or make similar policies and have their labs report to the agency head within the same 3-year period. The NSF Director must send Congress a report within 4 years after August 9, 2022 summarizing and analyzing the reported activities and policies.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §19155

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

(a)Best practices

(1)Development of guidance

Not later than 12 months after August 9, 2022, the Director, in consultation with the interagency working group on inclusion in STEM and utilizing existing guidance already developed by Federal research agencies where applicable, shall broadly disseminate to entities that receive Federal research funding best practices for— (A)

(B)providing educational opportunities, including workshops, for STEM professionals to learn about current research on effective practices for unbiased recruitment, evaluation, and promotion of undergraduate and graduate students and research personnel.

(2)Establishment of policies

Consistent with the guidance developed under paragraph (1)—

(A)The Director of the National Science Foundation, in consultation with the heads of Federal research agencies, shall develop a policy that—

(i)applies to, at a minimum, doctoral degree granting institutions that receive Federal research funding; and

(ii)requires each such institution, not later than 3 years after August 9, 2022, and to the extent practicable, to report to the Director of the National Science Foundation on activities and policies developed and implemented based on the guidance disseminated under paragraph (1); and

(B)each Federal research agency with a Federal laboratory shall maintain or develop and implement practices and policies for the purposes described in paragraph (1) for such laboratory and, not later than three years after August 9, 2022, each Federal laboratory shall report to the head of such agency on such practices and policies.

(b)Report to Congress

Not later than four years after August 9, 2022, the Director of the National Science Foundation shall submit a report to Congress that includes a summary and analysis of the types and frequency of activities and policies developed and carried out under subsection (a) based on the reports submitted under paragraph (2) of such subsection.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 19155

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110