47 U.S.C. § 398 — Federal interference or control

(a) Prohibition This part does not change any other rule in this chapter. And except for the equal-employment rules in subsection (b), no federal department, agency, officer, or employee may direct, supervise, or control public telecommunications. That protection covers the Corporation, its grantees and contractors, the Corporation's charter and bylaws, and any school's curriculum, teaching program, or staff. (b) Equal opportunity employment The Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio, and any public telecommunications entity that gets money under subpart C must give everyone an equal chance at a job. These groups are called "recipients." No recipient may discriminate in hiring because of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. The rules must follow the Commission's own equal-employment regulations. The Secretary must enforce this rule and write regulations to carry it out. The Secretary must also work closely with the Commission. The goal is for every public telecommunications entity to report the same kinds of information, in the same way. Once the Secretary's rules take effect, the Corporation must put an equal-employment promise into every grant or contract with a recipient. Anyone who wants to be a recipient must first give the Corporation information proving they follow the equal-employment rules. The Corporation decides whether that proof is good enough, using guidelines the Secretary writes. If the Corporation is not satisfied, it must tell the Secretary. The Secretary then reviews the case and makes the final call. While that review happens, the Corporation must still fund the recipient's grant application — but only if the Corporation would otherwise have approved it. The Corporation must keep watching each recipient's equal-employment practices for as long as the grant or contract lasts. Each year, by February 15, the Corporation must send the Secretary a report on this work, covering the fiscal year that ended the previous September 30. The Corporation must also give the Secretary any other information the Secretary needs. If the Secretary finally decides a recipient is not complying, the Secretary must notify the recipient in writing within 10 days and ask it to fix the problem. The recipient then has 120 days to either prove the problem is fixed or sign a compliance agreement the Secretary approves. If the recipient does neither, the Secretary must order the Corporation to cut off or reduce its funding — and the Corporation must obey. Funding can start again only after the Secretary certifies that the recipient has signed an approved compliance agreement. A recipient whose funding was cut can ask for that certification at any time. (c) Control over content or distribution of programs Nothing in this section lets any federal department, agency, officer, or employee control the content or distribution of public telecommunications programs and services. It also cannot control the curriculum or teaching program of any school or school system.