---
kind: "section"
citation: "34 C.F.R. § 75.227"
title: "34"
number: "75.227"
heading: "What procedures does the Secretary use if the Secretary decides to give special consideration to rural applicants?"
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/34/75.227"
---

# §75.227. What procedures does the Secretary use if the Secretary decides to give special consideration to rural applicants?

- (a) If the Secretary determines that special consideration of rural applicants is appropriate, the Secretary may: provide competitive preference to applicants that meet one or more of the conditions in [paragraph (b)](#b) of this section; or provide special consideration for rural applicants by establishing one competition for those applicants that meet one or more of the conditions in [paragraph (b)](#b) of this section and a separate competition for applicants that meet the corresponding conditions in [paragraph (c)](#c).
- (b) As used in this section, “rural applicant” means an applicant that meets one or more of the following conditions:
  - (1) The applicant proposes to serve a local educational agency (LEA) that is eligible under the Small Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program or the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program authorized under title V, part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
  - (2) **The applicant proposes to serve a community that is served by one or more LEAs—**
    - (i) With a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43; or
    - (ii) **With a locale code of 41, 42, or 43.**
  - (3) **The applicant proposes a project in which a majority of the schools served—**
    - (i) Have a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43; or
    - (ii) **Have a locale code of 41, 42, or 43.**
  - (4) The applicant is an institution of higher education with a rural campus setting, or the applicant proposes to serve a campus with a rural setting. Rural settings include one or more of the following: Town-Fringe, Town-Distant, Town-Remote, Rural Fringe, Rural-Distant, and Rural-Remote, as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics College Navigator search tool.
- (c) As used in this section, a “non-rural applicant” means an applicant that meets one or more of the following conditions—
  - (1) The applicant does not propose to serve a local educational agency (LEA) that is eligible under the Small Rural School Achievement program or the Rural and Low-Income School program authorized under title V, part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
  - (2) **The applicant does not propose to serve a community that is served by one or more LEAs—**
    - (i) With a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43; or
    - (ii) **With a locale code of 41, 42, or 43.**
  - (3) **The applicant proposes a project in which a majority of the schools served—**
    - (i) Have a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43; or
    - (ii) **Have a locale code of 41, 42, or 43.**
  - (4) The applicant is not an institution of higher education with a rural campus setting, or the applicant proposes to serve a campus with a rural setting. Rural settings include one or more of the following: Town-Fringe, Town-Distant, Town-Remote, Rural Fringe, Rural-Distant, and Rural-Remote, as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics College Navigator search tool.

## Notes

### Amendments

[89 FR 70327, Aug. 29, 2024]

### Authority

Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3 and 3474, unless otherwise noted. Section 75.263 also issued under 2 CFR 200.308(e)(1). Section 75.617 also issued under 31 U.S.C. 3504, 3505. Section 75.740 also issued under 20 U.S.C. 1232g and 1232h.

### Source

Source: 45 FR 22497, Apr. 3, 1980, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 45 FR 77368, Nov. 21, 1980.

### Amendments

[89 FR 70327, Aug. 29, 2024]