---
kind: "section"
citation: "20 U.S.C. § 2321"
title: "20"
title_heading: "Education"
number: "2321"
heading: "Reservations and State allotment"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/20/2321"
units:
  - "Chapter 44 — Career and Technical Education"
  - "Subchapter I — Career and Technical Education Assistance to the States"
  - "Part A — Allotment and Allocation"
---

# §2321. Reservations and State allotment

- (a) **Reservations and State allotment—**
  - (1) **Reservations—** From the amount appropriated under [section 2307 of this title](/usc/20/2307.md) for each fiscal year, the [Secretary](/usc/20/2302.md?p=45) shall reserve—
    - (A) 0.13 percent to carry out [section 2325 of this title](/usc/20/2325.md); and
    - (B) 1.50 percent to carry out [section 2326 of this title](/usc/20/2326.md), of which—
      - (i) 1.25 percent of the sum shall be available to carry out [section 2326(b) of this title](/usc/20/2326.md?p=b); and
      - (ii) 0.25 percent of the sum shall be available to carry out [section 2326(h) of this title](/usc/20/2326.md?p=h).
  - (2) **Foundational grant—**
    - (A) **In general—** From the remainder of the amount appropriated under [section 2307 of this title](/usc/20/2307.md) and not reserved under [paragraph (1)](#a-1) for a fiscal year, the [Secretary](/usc/20/2302.md?p=45) shall allot to a [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) for the fiscal year an amount equal to the amount the [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) received in fiscal year 2018.
    - (B) **Ratable reduction—** If for any fiscal year the amount appropriated for allotments under this section is insufficient to satisfy the provisions of [subparagraph (A)](#a-2-A), the payments to all [States](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) under such subparagraph shall be ratably reduced.
  - (3) **Additional funds—** Subject to [paragraph (4)](#a-4), from the additional funds remaining from the amount appropriated under [section 2307 of this title](/usc/20/2307.md) and not expended under paragraphs [(1)](#a-1) and [(2)](#a-2) for a fiscal year, the [Secretary](/usc/20/2302.md?p=45) shall allot to a [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) for the fiscal year—
    - (A) an amount that bears the same ratio to 50 percent of the sum being allotted as the product of the population aged 15 to 19, inclusive, in the [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is made and the [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49)’s allotment ratio bears to the sum of the corresponding products for all the [States](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49);
    - (B) an amount that bears the same ratio to 20 percent of the sum being allotted as the product of the population aged 20 to 24, inclusive, in the [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is made and the [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49)’s allotment ratio bears to the sum of the corresponding products for all the [States](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49);
    - (C) an amount that bears the same ratio to 15 percent of the sum being allotted as the product of the population aged 25 to 65, inclusive, in the [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is made and the [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49)’s allotment ratio bears to the sum of the corresponding products for all the [States](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49); and
    - (D) an amount that bears the same ratio to 15 percent of the sum being allotted as the amounts allotted to the [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) under subparagraphs [(A)](#a-3-A), [(B)](#a-3-B), and [(C)](#a-3-C) for such years bears to the sum of the amounts allotted to all the [States](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) under subparagraphs [(A)](#a-3-A), [(B)](#a-3-B), and [(C)](#a-3-C) for such year.
  - (4) **Minimum allotment for years with additional funds—**
    - (A) **In general—** Subject to [subparagraph (B)](#a-4-B), for a fiscal year for which there are additional funds described in [paragraph (3)](#a-3), no [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) shall receive for such fiscal year under [paragraph (3)](#a-3) less than 1/2 of 1 percent of the additional funds available for such fiscal year. Amounts necessary for increasing such payments to [States](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) to comply with the preceding sentence shall be obtained by ratably reducing the amounts to be paid to other [States](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49).
    - (B) **Special rule—** In the case of a qualifying [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49), the minimum allotment under [subparagraph (A)](#a-4-A) for a fiscal year for the qualifying [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) shall be the lesser of—
      - (i) 1/2 of 1 percent of the additional funds available for such fiscal year; and
      - (ii) the product of—
        - (I) 1/3 of the additional funds; multiplied by
        - (II) the quotient of—
          - (aa) the qualifying [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49)’s ratio described in [subparagraph (C)](#a-4-C) for the fiscal year for which the determination is made; divided by
          - (bb) the sum of all such ratios for all qualifying [States](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) for the fiscal year for which the determination is made.
    - (C) **Ratio—** For purposes of [subparagraph (B)(ii)(II)(aa)](#a-4-B-ii-II-aa), the ratio for a qualifying [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) for a fiscal year shall be 1.00 less the quotient of—
      - (i) the amount the qualifying [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) is allotted under [paragraph (3)](#a-3) for the fiscal year; divided by
      - (ii) 1/2 of 1 percent of the amount appropriated under [paragraph (3)](#a-3) for the fiscal year for which the determination is made.
    - (D) **Definitions—** In this paragraph, the term “qualifying [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49)” means a [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) (except the United States Virgin Islands) that, for the fiscal year for which a determination under this paragraph is made, would receive, under the allotment formula under [paragraph (3)](#a-3) (without the application of this paragraph), an amount that would be less than the amount the [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) would receive under [subparagraph (A)](#a-4-A) for such fiscal year.
- (b) **Reallotment—** If the [Secretary](/usc/20/2302.md?p=45) determines that any amount of any [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49)’s allotment under [subsection (a)](#a) for any fiscal year will not be required for such fiscal year for carrying out the activities for which such amount has been allotted, the [Secretary](/usc/20/2302.md?p=45) shall make such amount available for reallotment. Any such reallotment among other [States](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) shall occur on such dates during the same year as the [Secretary](/usc/20/2302.md?p=45) shall fix, and shall be made on the basis of criteria established by regulation. No funds may be reallotted for any use other than the use for which the funds were appropriated. Any amount reallotted to a [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) under this subsection for any fiscal year shall remain available for obligation during the succeeding fiscal year and shall be deemed to be part of the [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49)’s allotment for the year in which the amount is obligated.
- (c) **Allotment ratio—**
  - (1) **In general—** The allotment ratio for any [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) shall be 1.00 less the product of—
    - (A) 0.50; and
    - (B) the quotient obtained by dividing the per capita income for the [State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) by the per capita income for all the [States](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) (exclusive of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands), except that—
      - (i) the allotment ratio in no case shall be more than 0.60 or less than 0.40; and
      - (ii) the allotment ratio for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands shall be 0.60.
  - (2) **Promulgation—** The allotment ratios shall be promulgated by the [Secretary](/usc/20/2302.md?p=45) for each fiscal year between October 1 and December 31 of the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is made. Allotment ratios shall be computed on the basis of the average of the appropriate per capita incomes for the 3 most recent consecutive fiscal years for which satisfactory data are available.
  - (3) **Definition of per capita income—** For the purpose of this section, the term “per capita income” means, with respect to a fiscal year, the total personal income in the calendar year ending in such year, divided by the population of the area concerned in such year.
  - (4) **Population determination—** For the purposes of this section, population shall be determined by the [Secretary](/usc/20/2302.md?p=45) on the basis of the latest estimates available to the [Department](/usc/20/1221.md?p=c-3) of Education.
- (d) **Definition of State—** For the purpose of this section, the term “[State](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49)” means each of the several [States](/usc/20/2302.md?p=49) of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 88–210, title I, § 111, as added Pub. L. 109–270, § 1(b), Aug. 12, 2006, 120 Stat. 691; amended Pub. L. 115–224, title I, § 110, July 31, 2018, 132 Stat. 1576.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Prior Provisions

A prior section 2321, Pub. L. 88–210, title I, § 111, as added Pub. L. 105–332, § 1(b), Oct. 31, 1998, 112 Stat. 3083; amended Pub. L. 106–246, div. B, title II, § 2403(b), July 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 555, related to reservations and State allotment, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 109–270.

Another prior section 2321, Pub. L. 88–210, title I, § 111, as added Pub. L. 98–524, § 1, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2441; amended Pub. L. 101–392, title I, § 111, Sept. 25, 1990, 104 Stat. 763; Pub. L. 103–382, title III, § 391(s)(1), Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 4024, related to State administration, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 105–332.

### Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–224 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to reservations and State allotment, reallotment, and allotment ratios.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 2018 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 115–224 effective July 1, 2019, see section 4 of Pub. L. 115–224, set out as a note under section 2301 of this title.