Title 54, National Park Service and Related ProgramsRelease 119-110

§308302 Program

Title 54 › Subtitle III — National Preservation Programs › CHAPTER 3083 — NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD NETWORK TO FREEDOM › § 308302

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must set up the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom inside the Service (the National Park Service). The Secretary must make and share educational materials like handbooks, maps, guides, and electronic info; make formal agreements to give technical help; and create one official symbol for the network and rules for using it. The network covers three kinds of things: Service units and programs tied to the Underground Railroad; other federal, state, local, or private places with a proven Underground Railroad connection that are on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places; and other government or non‑government educational, research, or interpretive programs directly related to the Underground Railroad. The Secretary may make agreements and offer technical help to other agencies, government levels, private groups, and, with the Secretary of State, to Canada, Mexico, and appropriate Caribbean countries.

Full Legal Text

Title 54, §308302

National Park Service and Related Programs, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment; Responsibilities of Secretary.—
The Secretary shall establish in the Service the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Under the national network, the Secretary shall—
(1)produce and disseminate appropriate educational materials, such as handbooks, maps, interpretive guides, or electronic information;
(2)enter into appropriate cooperative agreements and memoranda of understanding to provide technical assistance under subsection (c); and
(3)create and adopt an official, uniform symbol or device for the national network and issue regulations for its use.
(b)Elements.—
The national network shall encompass the following elements:
(1)All System units and programs of the Service determined by the Secretary to pertain to the Underground Railroad.
(2)Other Federal, State, local, and privately owned properties pertaining to the Underground Railroad that have a verifiable connection to the Underground Railroad and that are included on, or determined by the Secretary to be eligible for inclusion on, the National Register of Historic Places.
(3)Other governmental and nongovernmental facilities and programs of an educational, research, or interpretive nature that are directly related to the Underground Railroad.
(c)Cooperative Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding.—
To achieve the purposes of this chapter and to ensure effective coordination of the Federal and non-Federal elements of the national network with System units and programs of the Service, the Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements and memoranda of understanding with, and provide technical assistance—
(1)to the heads of other Federal agencies, States, localities, regional governmental bodies, and private entities; and
(2)in cooperation with the Secretary of State, to the governments of Canada, Mexico, and any appropriate country in the Caribbean.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 30830216 U.S.C. 469l–1.Pub. L. 105–203, § 3, July 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 679; Pub. L. 110–229, title III, subtitle G, § 361(a)(1), May 8, 2008, 122 Stat. 801. In subsection (a), the words “a program to be known as” are omitted as unnecessary. The words “national network” are substituted for “program” because of the definition of “national network” in section 308301 of this title and for consistency with subsections (b) and (c).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

54 U.S.C. § 308302

Title 54, National Park Service and Related Programs

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110