Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act

“(8) increasing the employment opportunities for populations who are chronically unemployed or underemployed, including individuals with disabilities, individuals from economically disadvantaged families, out-of-workforce individuals, youth who are in, or have aged out of, the foster care system, and homeless individuals.”

“(8) Career pathways.—The term ‘career pathways’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).”

“(11) Credit transfer agreement.—The term ‘credit transfer agreement’ means a formal agreement, such as an articulation agreement, among and between secondary and postsecondary education institutions or systems that grant students transcripted postsecondary credit, which may include credit granted to students in dual or concurrent enrollment programs or early college high school, dual credit, articulated credit, and credit granted on the basis of performance on technical or academic assessments.

“(12) CTE concentrator.—The term ‘CTE concentrator’ means—

“(A) at the secondary school level, a student served by an eligible recipient who has completed at least 2 courses in a single career and technical education program or program of study; and

“(B) at the postsecondary level, a student enrolled in an eligible recipient who has—

“(i) earned at least 12 credits within a career and technical education program or program of study; or

“(ii) completed such a program if the program encompasses fewer than 12 credits or the equivalent in total.

“(13) CTE participant.—The term ‘CTE participant’ means an individual who completes not less than one course in a career and technical education program or program of study of an eligible recipient.

“(14) Director.—The term ‘Director’ means the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences.

“(15) Dual or concurrent enrollment program.—The term ‘dual or concurrent enrollment program’ has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

“(16) Early college high school.—The term ‘early college high school’ has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.”

“(19) Eligible entity.—The term ‘eligible entity’ means a consortium that includes the following:

“(A) Representatives of not less than 2 of the following categories of entities, 1 of which shall serve as the fiscal agent for the consortium:

“(i) A local educational agency or a consortium of such agencies.

“(ii) An educational service agency serving secondary school students.

“(iii) An area career and technical education school or a consortium of such schools.

“(iv) An Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or Tribal educational agency.

“(v) An institution of higher education whose most common degree awarded is an associate degree, or a consortium of such institutions.

“(vi) An institution of higher education whose most common degree awarded is a bachelor’s or higher degree, or a consortium of such institutions.

“(vii) A State educational agency.

“(B) One or more business or industry representative partners, which may include representatives of local or regional businesses or industries, including industry or sector partnerships in the local area, local workforce development boards, or labor organizations.

“(C) One or more stakeholders, which may include—

“(i) parents and students;

“(ii) representatives of local agencies serving out-of-school youth, homeless children and youth, and at-risk youth (as defined in section 1432 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6472));

“(iii) representatives of Indian tribes and Tribal organizations, where applicable;

“(iv) representatives of minority-serving institutions (as described in paragraphs (1) through (7) of section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)), where applicable;

“(v) representatives of special populations;

“(vi) representatives of adult career and technical education providers; or

“(vii) other relevant community stakeholders.”

“(20) Eligible institution.—The term ‘eligible institution’ means—

“(A) a consortium of 2 or more of the entities described in subparagraphs (B) through (F);

“(B) a public or nonprofit private institution of higher education that offers and will use funds provided under this title in support of career and technical education courses that lead to technical skill proficiency or a recognized postsecondary credential, including an industry-recognized credential, a certificate, or an associate degree;

“(C) a local educational agency providing education at the postsecondary level;

“(D) an area career and technical education school providing education at the postsecondary level;

“(E) an Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or Tribal education agency that operates a school or may be present in the State;

“(F) a postsecondary educational institution controlled by the Bureau of Indian Education or operated by or on behalf of any Indian Tribe that is eligible to contract with the Secretary of the Interior for the administration of programs under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) or the Act of April 16, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 5342 et seq.);

“(G) a tribally controlled college or university; or

“(H) an educational service agency.”

“(22) English learner.—The term ‘English learner’ means—

“(A) a secondary school student who is an English learner, as defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; or

“(B) an adult or an out-of-school youth who has limited ability in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language and—

“(i) whose native language is a language other than English; or

“(ii) who lives in a family environment or community in which a language other than English is the dominant language.

“(23) Evidence-based.—The term ‘evidence-based’ has the meaning given the term in section 8101(21)(A) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.”

“(25) High school.—The term ‘high school’ has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

“(26) In-demand industry sector or occupation.—The term ‘in-demand industry sector or occupation’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).

“(27) Indian; indian tribe.—The terms ‘Indian’ and ‘Indian Tribe’ have the meanings given the terms ‘Indian’ and ‘Indian tribe’, respectively, in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).”

“(29) Industry or sector partnership.—The term ‘industry or sector partnership’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).”

“(32) Local workforce development board.—The term ‘local workforce development board’ means a local workforce development board established under section 107 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3122).”

“(35) Out-of-school youth.—The term ‘out-of-school youth’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).

“(36) Out-of-workforce individual.—The term ‘out-of-workforce individual’ means—

“(A) an individual who is a displaced homemaker, as defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); or

“(B) an individual who—

“(i)

(I) has worked primarily without remuneration to care for a home and family, and for that reason has diminished marketable skills; or

“(II) is a parent whose youngest dependent child will become ineligible to receive assistance under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) not later than 2 years after the date on which the parent applies for assistance under such title; and

“(ii) is unemployed or underemployed and is experiencing difficulty in obtaining or upgrading employment.

“(37) Paraprofessional.—The term ‘paraprofessional’ has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

“(38) Pay for success initiative.—

“(A) In general.—Subject to subparagraph (B), the term ‘pay for success initiative’ means a performance-based grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded by a State or local public entity (such as a local educational agency) to a public or private nonprofit entity—

“(i) in which a commitment is made to pay for improved outcomes that result in increased public value and social benefit to students and the public sector, such as improved student outcomes as evidenced by the indicators of performance described in section 113(b)(2) and direct cost savings or cost avoidance to the public sector; and

“(ii) that includes—

“(I) a feasibility study on the initiative describing how the proposed intervention is based on evidence of effectiveness;

“(II) a rigorous, third-party evaluation that uses experimental or quasi-experimental design or other research methodologies that allow for the strongest possible causal inferences to determine whether the initiative has met its proposed outcomes;

“(III) an annual, publicly available report on the progress of the initiative; and

“(IV) a requirement that payments are made to the recipient of a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement only when agreed upon outcomes are achieved, except that the entity may make payments to the third party conducting the evaluation described in subclause (II).

“(B) Exclusion.—The term ‘pay for success initiative’ does not include any initiative that—

“(i) reduces the special education or related services that a student would otherwise receive under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; or

“(ii) otherwise reduces the rights of a student or the obligations of an entity under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), or any other law.”

“(40) Professional development.—The term ‘professional development’ means activities that—

“(A) are an integral part of eligible agency, eligible recipient, institution, or school strategies for providing educators (including teachers, principals, other school leaders, administrators, specialized instructional support personnel, career guidance and academic counselors, and paraprofessionals) with the knowledge and skills necessary to enable students to succeed in career and technical education, to meet challenging State academic standards under section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or to achieve academic skills at the postsecondary level; and

“(B) are sustained (not stand-alone, 1-day, or short-term workshops), intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom-focused, to the extent practicable evidence-based, and may include activities that—

“(i) improve and increase educators’—

“(I) knowledge of the academic and technical subjects;

“(II) understanding of how students learn; and

“(III) ability to analyze student work and achievement from multiple sources, including how to adjust instructional strategies, assessments, and materials based on such analysis;

“(ii) are an integral part of eligible recipients’ improvement plans;

“(iii) allow personalized plans for each educator to address the educator’s specific needs identified in observation or other feedback;

“(iv) support the recruitment, hiring, and training of effective educators, including educators who became certified through State and local alternative routes to certification;

“(v) advance educator understanding of—

“(I) effective instructional strategies that are evidence-based; and

“(II) strategies for improving student academic and technical achievement or substantially increasing the knowledge and teaching skills of educators;

“(vi) are developed with extensive participation of educators, parents, students, and representatives of Indian Tribes (as applicable), of schools and institutions served under this Act;

“(vii) are designed to give educators of students who are English learners in career and technical education programs or programs of study the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and appropriate language and academic support services to those students, including the appropriate use of curricula and assessments;

“(viii) as a whole, are regularly evaluated for their impact on increased educator effectiveness and improved student academic and technical achievement, with the findings of the evaluations used to improve the quality of professional development;

“(ix) are designed to give educators of individuals with disabilities in career and technical education programs or programs of study the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and academic support services to those individuals, including positive behavioral interventions and supports, multi-tier system of supports, and use of accommodations;

“(x) include instruction in the use of data and assessments to inform and instruct classroom practice;

“(xi) include instruction in ways that educators may work more effectively with parents and families;

“(xii) provide follow-up training to educators who have participated in activities described in this paragraph that are designed to ensure that the knowledge and skills learned by the educators are implemented in the classroom;

“(xiii) promote the integration of academic knowledge and skills and relevant technical knowledge and skills, including programming jointly delivered to academic and career and technical education teachers; or

“(xiv) increase the ability of educators providing career and technical education instruction to stay current with industry standards.

“(41) Program of study.—The term ‘program of study’ means a coordinated, nonduplicative sequence of academic and technical content at the secondary and postsecondary level that—

“(A) incorporates challenging State academic standards, including those adopted by a State under section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;

“(B) addresses both academic and technical knowledge and skills, including employability skills;

“(C) is aligned with the needs of industries in the economy of the State, region, Tribal community, or local area;

“(D) progresses in specificity (beginning with all aspects of an industry or career cluster and leading to more occupation-specific instruction);

“(E) has multiple entry and exit points that incorporate credentialing; and

“(F) culminates in the attainment of a recognized postsecondary credential.

“(42) Qualified intermediary.—The term ‘qualified intermediary’ means a nonprofit entity, which may be part of an industry or sector partnership, that demonstrates expertise in building, connecting, sustaining, and measuring partnerships with entities such as employers, schools, community-based organizations, postsecondary institutions, social service organizations, economic development organizations, Indian tribes or Tribal organizations, and workforce systems to broker services, resources, and supports to youth and the organizations and systems that are designed to serve youth, including—

“(A) connecting employers to classrooms;

“(B) assisting in the design and implementation of career and technical education programs and programs of study;

“(C) delivering professional development;

“(D) connecting students to internships and other work-based learning opportunities; and

“(E) developing personalized student supports.

“(43) Recognized postsecondary credential.—The term ‘recognized postsecondary credential’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).”

“(46) Specialized instructional support personnel.—The term ‘specialized instructional support personnel’ has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

“(47) Specialized instructional support services.—The term ‘specialized instructional support services’ has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.”

“(53) Tribal organization.—The term ‘Tribal organization’ has the meaning given the term ‘tribal organization’ in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

“(54) Universal design for learning.—The term ‘universal design for learning’ has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

“(55) Work-based learning.—The term ‘work-based learning’ means sustained interactions with industry or community professionals in real workplace settings, to the extent practicable, or simulated environments at an educational institution that foster in-depth, firsthand engagement with the tasks required in a given career field, that are aligned to curriculum and instruction.”

“(1) to condition or incentivize the receipt of any grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, or the receipt of any priority or preference under such grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, upon a State, local educational agency, eligible agency, eligible recipient, eligible entity, or school’s adoption or implementation of specific instructional content, academic standards and assessments, curricula, or program of instruction (including any condition, priority, or preference to adopt the Common Core State Standards developed under the Common Core State Standards Initiative, any other academic standards common to a significant number of States, or any assessment, instructional content, or curriculum aligned to such standards);

“(2) through grants, contracts, or other cooperative agreements, to mandate, direct, or control a State, local educational agency, eligible agency, eligible recipient, eligible entity, or school’s specific instructional content, academic standards and assessments, curricula, or program of instruction (including any requirement, direction, or mandate to adopt the Common Core State Standards developed under the Common Core State Standards Initiative, any other academic standards common to a significant number of States, or any assessment, instructional content, or curriculum aligned to such standards); or

“(3) except as required under sections 112(b), 211(b), and 223—

“(A) to mandate, direct, or control the allocation of State or local resources; or

“(B) to mandate that a State or a political subdivision of a State spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under this Act.”

“(d) Rule of Construction.—Nothing in this section affects the applicability of subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code, (commonly known as the “Administrative Procedure Act”) or chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, commonly known as the “Congressional Review Act”).”

; and

“(f) Congressional Notice and Comment.—

“(1) Notice to congress.—Not less than 15 business days prior to issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking related to this Act in the Federal Register, the Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives, and other relevant congressional committees, notice of the Secretary’s intent to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking that shall include—

“(A) a copy of the proposed regulation;

“(B) the need to issue the regulation;

“(C) a description of how the regulation is consistent with the scope of this Act;

“(D) the anticipated burden (including the time, cost, and paperwork burden) the regulation will impose on an eligible agency, institution, or recipient that may be impacted by the regulation, including the potential impact on rural areas;

“(E) the anticipated benefits to an eligible agency, institution, or recipient that may be impacted by the regulation, including in rural areas; and

“(F) any regulations that will be repealed when the new regulation is issued.

“(2) Comment period for congress.—The Secretary shall—

“(A) before issuing any notice of proposed rulemaking under this subsection, provide Congress with a comment period of 15 business days to make comments on the proposed regulation, beginning on the date that the Secretary provides the notice of intent to the appropriate committees of Congress under paragraph (1); and

“(B) include and seek to address all comments submitted by members of Congress in the public rulemaking record for the regulation published in the Federal Register.

“(3) Comment and review period; emergency situations.—The comment and review period for any proposed regulation shall be not less than 60 days unless an emergency requires a shorter period, in which case the Secretary shall—

“(A) designate the proposed regulation as an emergency with an explanation of the emergency in the notice to Congress under paragraph (1);

“(B) publish the length of the comment and review period in such notice and in the Federal Register; and

“(C) conduct immediately thereafter regional meetings to review such proposed regulation before issuing any final regulation.”