20 U.S.C. § 76j — Duties of Board

(a) Programs, activities, and goals: (1) In general, the Board must: (A) present classical and contemporary music, opera, drama, dance, and other performing arts from the U.S. and other countries; (B) promote and maintain the Center as the National Center for the Performing Arts by (i) leading national performing-arts education policy and programs for children, youth, families, adults, and educators, (ii) running a broad national and community outreach program, including model programs other institutions can adopt, and (iii) partnering with Very Special Arts, an affiliated group with programs for disabled individuals in the arts; (C) work to ensure its education and outreach programs meet the highest standards and reflect the country's cultural diversity; (D) provide facilities for other civic activities; (E) provide a fitting memorial to President Kennedy within the Center; (F) develop and annually update a comprehensive plan for the building's needs as they existed on July 21, 1994; (G) plan, design, and build whatever capital repairs, replacements, improvements, or changes are needed to keep the building and site at current standards of life, safety, security, and accessibility; (H) provide information and interpretation, plus all necessary maintenance, repair, alteration, janitorial, security, and other services and equipment for the building and site, done to a high-quality standard; and (I) ensure safe, convenient access to the site for both pedestrians and vehicles. (2) Administrative powers and duties: (A) The Board may enter contracts and make payments to public agencies, private organizations, or other private parties to carry out its functions, including using the services and facilities of other agencies like the Department of the Interior, the General Services Administration, and the Smithsonian. (B) The Board must prepare a budget under specific sections of title 31. (C) The Board may use federal or D.C. government personnel, with that agency's consent, on a reimbursable basis, and may use volunteer, unpaid personnel. (D) The Board may negotiate contracts for planning, design, engineering, or construction of buildings on the Kennedy Center Plaza (under section 76q–1), landscaping and Plaza improvements, or environmental/protection systems and repairs, choosing contractors based on qualifications as well as price. (E) The Board must maintain the Hall of Nations, Hall of States, and Grand Foyer in a manner fitting a national performing-arts center that also serves as a presidential memorial. (F) The Board must manage the grounds consistent with National Park Service rules and agreements in effect on July 21, 1994, and cannot change how the grounds are managed without Congress's and the Secretary of the Interior's approval. (b) Restriction on additional memorials: (1) Except as (2) allows, after December 2, 1983, the Board must ensure no new memorials or memorial-style plaques are added to the Center's public areas. (2) That restriction doesn't apply to: (A) a plaque acknowledging a gift from a foreign country; (B) a plaque on a donated theater chair or box; or (C) an inscription on the marble walls in the north or south galleries, Hall of States, or Hall of Nations acknowledging a major contribution — as long as the plaque or inscription follows Board policies in effect on December 2, 1983. (3) Testimonials and benefit performances do not count as "memorials" for this rule.