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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2524 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2524

 To support access to career and technical education programs of study 
 that provide students with education and training combining rigorous 
  academics with technical curricula focused on specific high-skill, 
   high-wage, high-demand and high-growth occupations and industries.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 24, 2014

 Mr. Warner (for himself and Mr. Kaine) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To support access to career and technical education programs of study 
 that provide students with education and training combining rigorous 
  academics with technical curricula focused on specific high-skill, 
   high-wage, high-demand and high-growth occupations and industries.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pathways to Prosperity Act of 
2014''.

SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

    Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in this Act an 
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 
of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to 
be made to a section or other provision of the Carl D. Perkins Career 
and Technical Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.).

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 3 (20 U.S.C. 2302) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (9), (10) 
        through (17), (18), (19), and (20) through (34) as paragraphs 
        (7) through (10), (12) through (19), (21), (22), and (24) 
        through (38), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
            ``(6) Career and technical education program of study.--The 
        term `career and technical education program of study' means a 
        coordinated, non-duplicative sequence of secondary and 
        postsecondary academic and technical courses that--
                    ``(A) contain rigorous, State-identified college 
                and career readiness standards that address both 
                academic and technical content and align to local, 
                regional, or State labor market needs, as identified by 
                employers and labor market information;
                    ``(B) support attainment of career readiness 
                skills;
                    ``(C) progress in content specificity (beginning 
                with all aspects of an industry or career cluster 
                leading to more occupationally specific instruction);
                    ``(D) incorporate multiple entry and exit points 
                with portable demonstrations of technical competency, 
                which may include postsecondary education credits as 
                recognized by credit transfer or articulation 
                agreements or industry-recognized credentials; and
                    ``(E) culminate in the attainment of an industry-
                recognized credential, an apprenticeship or 
                postsecondary certificate, or an associate or 
                baccalaureate degree.'';
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (10), as redesignated by 
        paragraph (1) of this section, the following:
            ``(11) Credit transfer agreement.--The term `credit 
        transfer agreement' refers to an opportunity for secondary 
        students to be awarded transcripted postsecondary credit, 
        supported with formal agreements among secondary and 
        postsecondary education systems, such as dual enrollment, dual 
        credit, 2-year to 4-year college articulation agreements, or 
        articulated credit, which may include credit awarded for 
        performance on technical assessments.'';
            (4) by inserting after paragraph (19), as redesignated by 
        paragraph (1) of this section, the following:
            ``(20) Industry-recognized credential.--The term `industry-
        recognized credential' means a credential that--
                    ``(A) is sought or accepted by employers within the 
                industry or sector involved as a recognized, preferred, 
                or required credential for recruitment, screening, 
                hiring, retention or advancement purposes; and
                    ``(B) if appropriate, is endorsed by a nationally 
                recognized trade association or organization 
                representing a significant part of the industry or 
                sector.''; and
            (5) by inserting after paragraph (22), as redesignated by 
        paragraph (1) of this section, the following:
            ``(23) Labor market information.--The term `labor market 
        information' means economic, social, and demographic 
        information that--
                    ``(A) pertains to labor markets for the purposes of 
                determining the supply of, and demand for, labor and 
                related skills and competencies; and
                    ``(B) supports students, job seekers, employers, 
                developers of curricula, and other relevant 
                stakeholders in understanding labor market and economic 
                trends to help make informed labor market decisions.''.

SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY.

    Section 113(b)(2) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2323(b)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking clause (vi); and
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking clause (v) and 
        inserting the following:
                            ``(v) the median earnings of students who 
                        are employed during the second quarter after 
                        completing a career and technical education 
                        program of study in the State. The Secretary 
                        shall, consistent with State law, ensure that 
                        the necessary wage records are available to 
                        enable eligible agencies to collect data 
                        relating to this State performance measure.''.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

    Section 114(d)(4)(A) (20 U.S.C. 2324) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause (v);
            (2) in clause (iii), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon; and
            (3) by inserting after clause (iii) the following:
                            ``(iv) to engage in evaluation and 
                        technical assistance activities that will 
                        assist in--
                                    ``(I) collecting information on the 
                                industry-recognized credentials awarded 
                                to participants in career and technical 
                                education programs of study, 
                                including--
                                            ``(aa) the name of such 
                                        industry-recognized 
                                        credentials;
                                            ``(bb) the awarding body;
                                            ``(cc) the duration of the 
                                        program of study for the 
                                        credential; and
                                            ``(dd) the number of such 
                                        participants receiving the 
                                        credential; and
                                    ``(II) developing the necessary 
                                infrastructure to support the State and 
                                local reporting of information 
                                described in subclause (I), including 
                                through activities such as 
                                establishing--
                                            ``(aa) data sharing 
                                        agreements with State licensing 
                                        agencies and with industry 
                                        associations and employers who 
                                        award certifications or other 
                                        industry-recognized 
                                        credentials;
                                            ``(bb) a consistent 
                                        reporting method across States; 
                                        and
                                            ``(cc) a collection system 
                                        to process reports in a timely 
                                        fashion; and''.

SEC. 6. STATE LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES.

    Section 124(b) (20 U.S.C. 2341(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (9) by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) establishing statewide credit transfer agreements 
        aligned to approved career and technical education programs of 
        study.''.

SEC. 7. LOCAL PLAN FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

    Section 134(b) (20 U.S.C. 2354(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (12) by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(13) describe how the eligible recipient will partner 
        with business and industry to--
                    ``(A) identify opportunities for experiential and 
                work-based learning opportunities either in-person or 
                virtually;
                    ``(B) ensure career and technical education 
                programs of study are responsive to community and 
                employment demands and are--
                            ``(i) aligned with employment priorities in 
                        the State, regional, or local economy 
                        identified by employers and other relevant 
                        stakeholders identified in section 134(b)(5);
                            ``(ii) informed by labor market 
                        information; and
                            ``(iii) designed to meet current, 
                        intermediate, and long term labor market 
                        projections;
                    ``(C) ensure funding under this Act is spent in a 
                coordinated manner with other local resources.''.

SEC. 8. AMENDMENT TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 
              1965.

    Section 1502(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6492(a)) is amended by striking ``challenging State 
academic content standards and challenging State student academic 
achievement standards'' and inserting ``rigorous, State-identified 
college and career readiness standards that address both academic 
content and career and technical education content identified under 
section 113(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 
Education Act.''.
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