(2) The table of sections for subpart C of part 
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 36B the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 36C. Tax credit for educators and school leaders in elementary and sec-
ondary schools located in high poverty or rural areas.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to academic years ending in tax-
able years beginning after December 31, 2017. 
TITLE II—OFFICE OF RURAL 
EDUCATION POLICY 
SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF RURAL EDU-
CATION POLICY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Department of 
Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3411 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 221. OFFICE OF RURAL EDUCATION POLICY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be, in the Office of 
Elementary and Secondary Education of the Department, 
an Office of Rural Education Policy (referred to in this 
section as the ‘Office’). 
‘‘(b) DIRECTOR; DUTIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be headed 
by a Director, who shall advise the Secretary on the 
characteristics and needs of rural schools and the ef-
fects of current policies and proposed statutory, reg-
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ulatory, administrative, and budgetary changes on 
State educational agencies, and local educational 
agencies, that serve schools with a locale code of 32, 
33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL DUTIES OF THE DIRECTOR.— 
In addition to advising the Secretary with respect to 
the matters described in paragraph (1), the Director 
of the Office of Rural Education Policy (referred to 
in this section as the ‘Director’), through the Office, 
shall— 
‘‘(A) establish and maintain a clearing-
house for collecting and disseminating informa-
tion on— 
‘‘(i) teacher and principal recruitment 
and retention at rural elementary schools 
and rural secondary schools; 
‘‘(ii) access to, and implementation 
and use of, technology and distance learn-
ing at such schools; 
‘‘(iii) rigorous coursework delivery 
through distance learning at such schools; 
‘‘(iv) student achievement at such 
schools, including the achievement of low- 
income and minority students; 
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‘‘(v) innovative approaches in rural 
education to increase student achievement; 
‘‘(vi) higher education and career 
readiness and secondary school completion 
of students enrolled in such schools; 
‘‘(vii) access to, and quality of, early 
childhood development for children located 
in rural areas; 
‘‘(viii) access to, or partnerships with, 
community-based organizations in rural 
areas; 
‘‘(ix) the availability of professional 
development opportunities for rural teach-
ers and principals; 
‘‘(x) the availability of Federal and 
other grants and assistance that are spe-
cifically geared or applicable to rural 
schools; and 
‘‘(xi) the financing of such schools; 
‘‘(B) identify innovative research and dem-
onstration projects on topics of importance to 
rural elementary schools and rural secondary 
schools, including gaps in such research, and 
recommend such topics for study by the Insti-
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tute of Education Sciences and other research 
agencies; 
‘‘(C) coordinate the activities within the 
Department that relate to rural education; 
‘‘(D) provide information to the Secretary 
and others in the Department with respect to 
the activities of other Federal departments and 
agencies that relate to rural education, includ-
ing activities relating to rural housing, rural ag-
ricultural services, rural transportation, rural 
economic development, rural career and tech-
nical training, rural health care, rural disability 
services, and rural mental health; 
‘‘(E) coordinate with the Bureau of Indian 
Education, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the 
Department of the Interior, and the schools ad-
ministered by such agencies regarding rural 
education; 
‘‘(F) provide, directly or through grants, 
cooperative agreements, or contracts, technical 
assistance and other activities as necessary to 
support activities related to improving edu-
cation in rural areas; and 
‘‘(G) produce an annual report on the con-
dition of rural education that is delivered to the 
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members of the Education and the Workforce 
Committee of the House of Representatives and 
the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
Committee of the Senate and published on the 
Department’s Web site. 
‘‘(c) IMPACT ANALYSES OF RULES AND REGULA-
TIONS ON RURAL SCHOOLS.— 
‘‘(1) PROPOSED RULEMAKING.—Whenever the 
Secretary publishes a general notice of proposed 
rulemaking for any rule or regulation that may have 
a significant impact on State educational agencies or 
local educational agencies serving schools with a lo-
cale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by 
the Secretary, the Secretary (acting through the Di-
rector) shall prepare and make available for public 
comment an initial regulatory impact analysis. Such 
analysis shall describe the impact of the proposed 
rule or regulation on such State educational agencies 
and local educational agencies and shall set forth, 
with respect to such agencies, the matters required 
under section 603 of title 5, United States Code, to 
be set forth with respect to small entities. The initial 
regulatory impact analysis (or a summary) shall be 
published in the Federal Register at the time of the 
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publication of general notice of proposed rulemaking 
for the rule or regulation. 
‘‘(2) FINAL
RULE.—Whenever the Secretary 
promulgates a final version of a rule or regulation 
with respect to which an initial regulatory impact 
analysis is required by paragraph (1), the Secretary 
(acting through the Director) shall prepare a final 
regulatory impact analysis with respect to the final 
version of such rule or regulation. Such analysis 
shall set forth, with respect to State educational 
agencies and local educational agencies serving 
schools with a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, 
as determined by the Secretary, the matters required 
under section 604 of title 5, United States Code, to 
be set forth with respect to small entities. The Sec-
retary shall make copies of the final regulatory im-
pact analysis available to the public and shall pub-
lish, in the Federal Register at the time of publica-
tion of the final version of the rule or regulation, a 
statement describing how a member of the public 
may obtain a copy of such analysis. 
‘‘(3) REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS.—If 
a regulatory flexibility analysis is required by chap-
ter 6 of title 5, United States Code, for a rule or 
regulation to which this subsection applies, such 
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analysis shall specifically address the impact of the 
rule or regulation on State educational agencies and 
local educational agencies serving schools with a lo-
cale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by 
the Secretary.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 221(c) of the De-
partment of Education Organization Act, as added by sub-
section (a), shall apply to regulations proposed more than 
30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
TITLE III—EXPANDED LEARNING 
OPPORTUNITIES 
SEC. 401. EXPANDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES. 
Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De-
velopment Act is amended by inserting after section 365 
(7 U.S.C. 2008) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 366. EXPANDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en-
hance expanded learning time opportunities in rural areas 
by helping communities— 
‘‘(1) establish expanded learning time opportu-
nities, including after-school programs; and 
‘‘(2) improve existing programs by overcoming 
barriers to service. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means a local educational agency (as such term 
is defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7801)), educational service agency, community-based 
organization, public or private entity, or a consor-
tium of 2 or more such agencies, organizations, or 
entities. 
‘‘(2) EXPANDED
LEARNING
TIME.—The term 
‘expanded learning time’ means expanding a school 
day, week, or year schedule to significantly increase 
the total number of school hours, in order to include 
additional time for— 
‘‘(A) instruction and enrichment in core 
academic subjects, other academic subjects, and 
other activities that contribute to a well-round-
ed education; and 
‘‘(B) instructional and support staff to col-
laborate, plan, and engage in professional devel-
opment (including professional development on 
family and community engagement) within and 
across grades and subjects. 
‘‘(3) RURAL
AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ 
means an area that is served by an elementary or 
secondary school that is designated with a school lo-
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cale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by 
the Secretary of Education. 
‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 
grants to eligible entities to improve, expand, or es-
tablish expanded learning time programs and after- 
school programs (taking place during non-school 
hours), in rural areas. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Each grant under this 
section shall be in an amount of not less than 
$25,000. 
‘‘(d) DURATION.— 
‘‘(1) TERM OF GRANT.—The term of a grant 
under this section may not be for less than 3 years. 
‘‘(2) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may renew a 
grant under this section for a period of not less than 
3 years, based on the performance of the eligible en-
tity during the previous grant term. 
‘‘(e) USES.—As a condition of the receipt of a grant 
under this section, an eligible entity shall use the grant 
funds to carry out the activities described in subsection 
(c)(1), including transportation, professional development, 
training, recruitment and retention of staff, staff com-
pensation for additional hours worked, increasing access 
to technology, and planning. 
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‘‘(f) EVALUATION.—The Secretary may use not more 
than 1 percent of the funds appropriated in a fiscal year 
under subsection (k)— 
‘‘(1) to conduct evaluations of the effectiveness 
of programs and activities carried out under sub-
section (c); and 
‘‘(2) to disseminate the results of those evalua-
tions for the purpose of refining, improving, and 
strengthening programs. 
‘‘(g) OUTREACH, TRAINING, AND TECHNICAL AS-
SISTANCE.—The Secretary may use not more than 3 per-
cent of the funds appropriated in a fiscal year under sub-
section (k)— 
‘‘(1) to conduct outreach, including bidders’ 
conferences, to ensure widespread knowledge of the 
availability of resources described in subsection (c); 
‘‘(2) to disseminate information on best prac-
tices and successful program models for serving chil-
dren and youth in rural areas; and 
‘‘(3) to provide capacity building, training, and 
technical assistance to after-school programs and 
providers in rural areas. 
‘‘(h) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section, each eligible entity shall 
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submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such information as 
the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 
pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include— 
‘‘(A) a description of the expanded learn-
ing time program to be funded, including— 
‘‘(i) an assurance that the program 
will take place in a safe and easily acces-
sible facility; 
‘‘(ii) a description of how children and 
youth participating in the program will 
travel safely between the program site and 
home; 
‘‘(iii) a description of how the eligible 
entity will disseminate information about 
the program, including the location of the 
program, to the community in a manner 
that is understandable and accessible; 
‘‘(iv)(I) a description of the services to 
be provided to children and youth, which 
may include— 
‘‘(aa) academic enrichment and 
youth development activities; 
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