II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3710 

To amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

2006 to establish a career and technical innovation fund. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 27, 2012 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to establish a career and technical 

innovation fund. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Career And Technical 

5 Innovation Fund Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CAREER AND TECHNICAL INNOVATION FUND. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Carl D. Perkins Career and 

8 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘TITLE IV—CAREER AND 

2 TECHNICAL INNOVATION FUND 

3 ‘‘SEC. 401. PURPOSES. 

4 ‘‘The purposes of this title are to strengthen the abil5 ity of career and technical education programs to prepare 

6 students to meet the needs of the future workforce by— 

7 ‘‘(1) funding the identification, development, 

8 evaluation, and expansion of new and innovative, 

9 research- and evidence-based career and technical 

10 education practices, programs, and strategies in 

11 order to— 

12 ‘‘(A) significantly increase student achieve13 ment on the core indicators of performance as 

14 outlined in section 113; 

15 ‘‘(B) reduce gaps in program participation 

16 and completion rates among populations of ca17 reer and technical education students; and 

18 ‘‘(C) improve the effectiveness of career 

19 and technical education teachers, leaders, and 

20 counselors; 

21 ‘‘(2) funding the development of innovative ca22 reer and technical programs of study, as described 

23 in section 122(c)(1)(A), in new and emerging indus24 tries at the regional (or local) level; 


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1 ‘‘(3) developing rigorous evidence of the effec2 tiveness of innovative strategies on career and tech3 nical education student outcomes and career and 

4 technical education program outcomes; and 

5 ‘‘(4) supporting the rapid development, expan6 sion, adoption, and implementation of tools and re7 sources that improve the efficiency, effectiveness, or 

8 pace of adoption of such career and technical edu9 cation practices, programs, and strategies. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 402. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

11 ‘‘The Secretary may reserve not more than 5 percent 

12 of funds appropriated to carry out this title for any fiscal 

13 year to carry out activities of national significance. Such 

14 activities shall include— 

15 ‘‘(1) capacity building; 

16 ‘‘(2) technical assistance; 

17 ‘‘(3) evaluation; and 

18 ‘‘(4) dissemination of best practices developed 

19 with grant funds provided under this title. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 403. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED; LENGTH OF GRANTS; 

21 PRIORITIES. 

22 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use 

24 funds made available to carry out this title for a fisVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:07 Jan 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3710.IS S3710

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1 cal year to award grants, on a competitive basis, to 

2 eligible entities. 

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this title, the term 

5 ‘eligible entity’ means a group or consortium 

6 that includes not less than 2 of the following 

7 (at least 1 of which shall be an entity described 

8 in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv)): 

9 ‘‘(i) A local educational agency or a 

10 consortium of such agencies. 

11 ‘‘(ii) An area career and technical 

12 education school or a consortium of such 

13 schools. 

14 ‘‘(iii) An institution of higher edu15 cation whose most common degree awarded 

16 is an associate’s degree, or a consortium of 

17 such institutions. 

18 ‘‘(iv) A postsecondary vocational insti19 tution, as defined in section 102(c) of the 

20 Higher Education Act of 1965, or a con21 sortium of such institutions. 

22 ‘‘(v) An entity that carries out ap23 prenticeship programs registered under the 

24 Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known 

25 as the National Apprenticeship Act (29 


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1 U.S.C. 50 et seq; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 

2 663)). 

3 ‘‘(vi) An institution of higher edu4 cation whose most common degree awarded 

5 is a bachelor’s or higher degree, or a con6 sortium of such institutions. 

7 ‘‘(vii) A business or industry rep8 resentative partner that provides training. 

9 ‘‘(B) OTHER PARTNERS.—An eligible enti10 ty may also include a State board or local board 

11 (as such terms are defined in section 101 of the 

12 Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 

13 2801)), an eligible agency, a community-based 

14 organization, a nonprofit organization, or other 

15 business or industry representative. 

16 ‘‘(C) RECORD OF SUCCESS.—In order to 

17 be eligible to receive a grant under this title, at 

18 least 1 of the members of the eligible entity 

19 shall have a recent record of success in improv20 ing career and technical education outcomes, 

21 career and technical education program out22 comes, or both, in the area addressed in the ap23 plication. 

24 ‘‘(b) DURATION OF GRANTS.—The Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(1) shall award grants under this title for a 

2 period of not more than 3 years; and 

3 ‘‘(2) may extend such grants for not more than 

4 an additional 2-year period if the grantee dem5 onstrates to the Secretary that it is achieving its 

6 program objectives and, as applicable, has improved 

7 education outcomes for career and technical edu8 cation students. 

9 ‘‘(c) RURAL SET-ASIDE.—The Secretary shall ensure 

10 that not less than 22 percent of the funds awarded under 

11 subsection (a) for any fiscal year are for projects that meet 

12 the following requirements, except that the Secretary shall 

13 not be required to make such awards unless a sufficient 

14 number of otherwise eligible high-quality applications are 

15 received: 

16 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES THAT INCLUDE LOCAL

17 EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—If the eligible entity in18 cludes a local educational agency or a consortium of 

19 such agencies, both of the following requirements 

20 shall be met: 

21 ‘‘(A) The eligible entity includes— 

22 ‘‘(i) a local educational agency with 

23 an urban-centric district locale code of 32, 

24 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the 

25 Secretary; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a consortium of such local edu2 cational agencies; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) an educational service agency or 

4 a nonprofit organization with demonstrated 

5 expertise in serving students from rural 

6 areas. 

7 ‘‘(B) A majority of the schools to be served 

8 by the project are designated with a school lo9 cale code of 41, 42, or 43, or a combination of 

10 such codes, as determined by the Secretary, 

11 and— 

12 ‘‘(i) are served by a local educational 

13 agency serving a geographic area in which 

14 20 percent or more of the children 5 

15 through 17 years of age are from families 

16 with incomes below the poverty level; 

17 ‘‘(ii) are served by a local educational 

18 agency in which the total number of stu19 dents in average daily attendance at all of 

20 the schools served by the local educational 

21 agency is fewer than 600; or 

22 ‘‘(iii) are served by a local educational 

23 agency located in a county that has a total 

24 population density of fewer than 10 per25 sons per square mile. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES THAT DO NOT IN2 CLUDE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—If the eli3 gible entity does not include a local educational 

4 agency or a consortium of such agencies, the eligible 

5 entity shall demonstrate that it will serve individ6 uals— 

7 ‘‘(A) at least 20 percent of whom are from 

8 families with incomes below the poverty level; 

9 ‘‘(B) who reside in an area served by a 

10 local educational agency in which the total 

11 number of students in average daily attendance 

12 at all of the schools served by the local edu13 cational agency is fewer than 600; or 

14 ‘‘(C) who reside in a county that has a 

15 total population density of fewer than 10 per16 sons per square mile. 

17 ‘‘(d) STANDARDS OF EVIDENCE.—An eligible entity 

18 that desires a grant under this title shall demonstrate that 

19 the activities the entity proposes to carry out with funds 

20 under this title are likely to succeed in improving student 

21 outcomes. Evidence shall include a rationale based on re22 search findings or a reasonable hypothesis that the activi23 ties proposed by the eligible entity will improve student 

24 outcomes. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 404. APPLICATIONS. 

2 ‘‘Each eligible entity that desires to receive a grant 

3 under this title shall submit an application to the Sec4 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

5 information as the Secretary may reasonably require. At 

6 a minimum, each application shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) describe the project for which the appli8 cant is seeking a grant and how the evidence sup9 porting that project meets the standards of evidence, 

10 as described in section 403(d); 

11 ‘‘(2) describe how the applicant will address at 

12 least 1 of the areas described in section 405(a)(1); 

13 ‘‘(3) describe how the project will support the 

14 goal of innovation as outlined in the purposes of this 

15 title; 

16 ‘‘(4) provide an estimate of the number of stu17 dents that the applicant plans to serve under the 

18 proposed project, including the percentage of those 

19 students who are from special populations; 

20 ‘‘(5) describe the applicant’s plan for continuing 

21 the proposed project after funding under this title 

22 ends; 

23 ‘‘(6) describe the applicant’s partnership and 

24 communication with business, industry, and labor, as 

25 appropriate; 


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1 ‘‘(7) provide evidence of the eligible entity’s 

2 ability to carry out the project, which may include 

3 information on other successful efforts to increase 

4 student achievement; 

5 ‘‘(8) provide a description of the applicant’s 

6 plan for independently evaluating the effectiveness of 

7 activities carried out with funds under this title; 

8 ‘‘(9) provide an assurance that the applicant 

9 will— 

10 ‘‘(A) cooperate with evaluations, as re11 quested by the Secretary; 

12 ‘‘(B) make data available to third parties 

13 for validation and further study, in accordance 

14 with applicable data privacy laws, including sec15 tion 444 of the General Education Provisions 

16 Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g, commonly known as the 

17 ‘Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 

18 1974’); 

19 ‘‘(C) participate in communities of prac20 tice; and 

21 ‘‘(D) disseminate information about project 

22 activities; 

23 ‘‘(10) provide a description of how the innova24 tive project will support and coordinate with any 

25 funds received by project partners under title I, and 


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1 with the activities outlined in State and local plans 

2 under title I; and 

3 ‘‘(11) include an assurance from the applicable 

4 eligible agency that the project is aligned with State 

5 goals. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 405. USES OF FUNDS. 

7 ‘‘(a) USES OF FUNDS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity that re9 ceives a grant under this title shall use the grant 

10 funds to carry out 1 or more of the following activi11 ties: 

12 ‘‘(A) Designing and implementing pro13 grams of study aligned to labor market needs in 

14 new or emerging industries or occupations. 

15 ‘‘(B) More seamlessly integrating academic 

16 and career and technical education components 

17 through new or improved education delivery 

18 models. 

19 ‘‘(C) Implementing new assessment sys20 tems within career and technical education pro21 grams that measure career readiness skills for 

22 students, particularly focusing on measures of 

23 employability skills and industry-recognized cre24 dentials. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Incorporating new and emerging 

2 workforce skills into current career and tech3 nical education curriculum to ensure all pro4 grams are aligned to industry needs. 

5 ‘‘(E) Ensuring students have access to up6 to-date career pathway and labor market infor7 mation through new or expanded comprehensive 

8 career education programs that link to existing 

9 labor market data. 

10 ‘‘(F) Developing new programs to help stu11 dents transition from secondary education to 

12 postsecondary education, or from completion of 

13 one postsecondary program to another postsec14 ondary program awarding a higher-level creden15 tial. 

16 ‘‘(G) Increasing the use of technology with17 in career and technical education programs. 

18 ‘‘(H) Redesigning current programs 

19 through the comprehensive use of innovative de20 livery models, curriculum, professional develop21 ment, and other key elements. 

22 ‘‘(I) Designing programs specifically tar23 geted to disadvantaged populations, such as 

24 high school dropouts or dislocated workers. 


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1 ‘‘(J) Incorporating comprehensive work2 based learning programs into the programs of 

3 study described in subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL USES OF FUNDS.—In addi5 tion to the activities described in paragraph (1), 

6 each eligible entity that receives a grant under this 

7 title may use the grant funds— 

8 ‘‘(A) to improve the effectiveness of career 

9 and technical education teachers, administra10 tors, or counselors through innovative recruit11 ment, retention, or professional development ef12 forts; and 

13 ‘‘(B) for an independent evaluation of the 

14 innovative practices carried out with the grant. 

15 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO SUBGRANT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an eligible entity that re17 ceives a grant under this title includes a member 

18 that is a nonprofit organization, such nonprofit or19 ganization may use the grant funds to award sub20 grants to other entities to provide support to 1 or 

21 more schools or local educational agencies. 

22 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS OF

23 GRANTEES.—Each entity awarded a subgrant under 

24 paragraph (1) shall comply with the requirements of 

25 this title relating to grantees, as appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 406. PERFORMANCE MEASURES. 

2 ‘‘The Secretary shall establish performance measures 

3 for the programs and activities carried out under this title. 

4 These measures, at a minimum, shall track the grantee’s 

5 progress in improving outcomes for each subgroup of stu6 dents included in the definition of special populations that 

7 is served by the grantee, including, as applicable, by— 

8 ‘‘(1) each of the core indicators of performance, 

9 as outlined in section 113; 

10 ‘‘(2) improving career and technical education 

11 teacher and school leader effectiveness; or 

12 ‘‘(3) any other indicator as the grantee may de13 termine relative to the specific project proposed. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 407. REPORTING. 

15 ‘‘Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this 

16 title shall submit to the Secretary, at such time and in 

17 such manner as the Secretary may require, an annual re18 port that includes information on the entity’s progress on 

19 the performance measures established under section 406, 

20 and the data supporting such progress. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 408. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

23 this title such sums as may be necessary for each of the 

24 fiscal years 2013 through 2017.’’. 

25 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

26 section 1(b) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 


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1 Education Act of 2006 is amended by inserting after the 

2 item relating to section 324 the following: 

‘‘TITLE IV—CAREER AND TECHNICAL INNOVATION FUND 

‘‘Sec. 401. Purposes. 

‘‘Sec. 402. National activities. 

‘‘Sec. 403. Program authorized; length of grants; priorities. 

‘‘Sec. 404. Applications. 

‘‘Sec. 405. Uses of funds. 

‘‘Sec. 406. Performance measures. 

‘‘Sec. 407. Reporting. 

‘‘Sec. 408. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

Æ 


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