§ 7117 — Activities To Support Well-rounded Educational Opportunities

(a) Subject to section 7116(f) of this title, each local educational agency, or consortium of such agencies, that receives an allocation under section 7115(a) of this title shall use a portion of such funds to develop and implement programs and activities that support access to a well-rounded education and that— (1) are coordinated with other schools and community-based services and programs; (2) may be conducted in partnership with an institution of higher education, business, nonprofit organization, community-based organization, or other public or private entity with a demonstrated record of success in implementing activities under this section; and (3) may include programs and activities, such as— (A) college and career guidance and counseling programs, such as— (i) postsecondary education and career awareness and exploration activities; (ii) training counselors to effectively use labor market information in assisting students with postsecondary education and career planning; and (iii) financial literacy and Federal financial aid awareness activities; (B) programs and activities that use music and the arts as tools to support student success through the promotion of constructive student engagement, problem solving, and conflict resolution; (C) programming and activities to improve instruction and student engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including computer science, (referred to in this section as “STEM subjects”) such as— (i) increasing access for students through grade 12 who are members of groups underrepresented in such subject fields, such as female students, minority students, English learners, children with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students, to high-quality courses; (ii) supporting the participation of low-income students in nonprofit competitions related to STEM subjects (such as robotics, science research, invention, mathematics, computer science, and technology competitions); (iii) providing hands-on learning and exposure to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and supporting the use of field-based or service learning to enhance the students’ understanding of the STEM subjects; (iv) supporting the creation and enhancement of STEM-focused specialty schools; (v) facilitating collaboration among school, after-school program, and informal program personnel to improve the integration of programming and instruction in the identified subjects; and (vi) integrating other academic subjects, including the arts, into STEM subject programs to increase participation in STEM subjects, improve attainment of skills related to STEM subjects, and promote well-rounded education; (D) efforts to raise student academic achievement through accelerated learning programs described in section 7114(b)(3)(A)(i)(IV) of this title, such as— (i) reimbursing low-income students to cover part or all of the costs of accelerated learning examination fees, if the low-income students are enrolled in accelerated learning courses and plan to take accelerated learning examinations; or (ii) increasing the availability of, and enrollment in, accelerated learning courses, accelerated learning examinations, dual or concurrent enrollment programs, and early college high school courses; (E) activities to promote the development, implementation, and strengthening of programs to teach traditional American history, civics, economics, geography, or government education; (F) foreign language instruction; (G) environmental education; (H) programs and activities that promote volunteerism and community involvement; (I) programs and activities that support educational programs that integrate multiple disciplines, such as programs that combine arts and mathematics; or (J) other activities and programs to support student access to, and success in, a variety of well-rounded education experiences. (b) A local educational agency, or consortium of such agencies, that receives a subgrant under this subpart for fiscal year 2017 may use such funds to cover part or all of the fees for accelerated learning examinations taken by low-income students during the 2016-2017 school year, in accordance with subsection (a)(3)(D).