AMA WORKS
WITH CONGRESS
TO SECURE
EDUCATIONAL
PROTECTIONS FOR
UAS OPERATIONS
By Tyler Dobbs, Government Affairs director | tylerd@modelaircraft.org
AT THE TIME of this writing, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021 had been passed by both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. AMA successfully got an educational provision written into the act, which permits UAS operations as part of an educational program that is chartered by a recognized community-based organization (CBO), such as AMA or as an established Air Force Junior ROTC program for education or research purposes.
University-level UAS operations, such as University Model Aviation Student Clubs, will continue to be permitted within CBO programming or as a standalone UAS program. Additionally, a provision prohibiting federal agencies from using foreign-made UAS and UAS equipment was removed from the act.
These legislative protections are a great win for UAS STE(A)M curriculum because it allows AMA to continue its educational UAS programming that has been in place for decades. AMA wants to offer a special thanks to the Armed Services Committee, the Senate Commerce Committee, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as well as to the congressional members and staff who worked to finalize the Conference Committee Report.
The NDAA Educational UAS provision is as follows:
SEC. 10002. IMPROVING AUTHORITY FOR OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.
Section 350 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–254; 49 U.S.C. 44809 note) is amended—
(1) in the section heading, by striking “AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION” and inserting “FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES”; and
(2) in subsection (a)—
(A) by striking “aircraft system operated by” and all that follows and inserting “aircraft system”; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
“(1) operated by an institution of higher education for educational or research purposes;
“(2) flown as part of an established Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) program for education or research purposes; or
“(3) flown as part of an educational program that is chartered by a recognized community-based organization (as defined in subsection (h) of such section).”
FAA 14 CFR Update
On December 10, 2020, the FAA officially removed 14 CFR part 101, subpart E, the Special Rule for Model Aircraft. Part 101 had been outdated since Public Law 115-254, FAA Reauthorization, was passed in October 2018.
The removal of part 101 reflects changes that were already made through legislation in 2018 and has no new impact for recreational UAS operators. It is simply the FAA doing some housekeeping and does not change any requirements for recreational operators.
