II 

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, highdemand and high-growth occupations and industries. 

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 ‘‘Pathways to Prosperity 

5 Act of 2014’’. 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 2524 IS

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

6 section or other provision of the Carl D. Perkins Career 

7 and Technical Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.). 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 Section 3 (20 U.S.C. 2302) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

11 (9), (10) through (17), (18), (19), and (20) through 

12 (34) as paragraphs (7) through (10), (12) through 

13 (19), (21), (22), and (24) through (38), respectively; 

14 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(6) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PRO17 GRAM OF STUDY.—The term ‘career and technical 

18 education program of study’ means a coordinated, 

19 non-duplicative sequence of secondary and postsec20 ondary academic and technical courses that— 

21 ‘‘(A) contain rigorous, State-identified col22 lege and career readiness standards that ad23 dress both academic and technical content and 

24 align to local, regional, or State labor market 

25 needs, as identified by employers and labor 

26 market information; 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 2524 IS

1 ‘‘(B) support attainment of career readi2 ness skills; 

3 ‘‘(C) progress in content specificity (begin4 ning with all aspects of an industry or career 

5 cluster leading to more occupationally specific 

6 instruction); 

7 ‘‘(D) incorporate multiple entry and exit 

8 points with portable demonstrations of technical 

9 competency, which may include postsecondary 

10 education credits as recognized by credit trans11 fer or articulation agreements or industry-rec12 ognized credentials; and 

13 ‘‘(E) culminate in the attainment of an in14 dustry-recognized credential, an apprenticeship 

15 or postsecondary certificate, or an associate or 

16 baccalaureate degree.’’; 

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (10), as redes18 ignated by paragraph (1) of this section, the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(11) CREDIT TRANSFER AGREEMENT.—The 

21 term ‘credit transfer agreement’ refers to an oppor22 tunity for secondary students to be awarded 

23 transcripted postsecondary credit, supported with 

24 formal agreements among secondary and postsec25 ondary education systems, such as dual enrollment, 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 2524 IS

1 dual credit, 2-year to 4-year college articulation 

2 agreements, or articulated credit, which may include 

3 credit awarded for performance on technical assess4 ments.’’; 

5 (4) by inserting after paragraph (19), as redes6 ignated by paragraph (1) of this section, the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(20) INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED CREDENTIAL.— 

9 The term ‘industry-recognized credential’ means a 

10 credential that— 

11 ‘‘(A) is sought or accepted by employers 

12 within the industry or sector involved as a rec13 ognized, preferred, or required credential for re14 cruitment, screening, hiring, retention or ad15 vancement purposes; and 

16 ‘‘(B) if appropriate, is endorsed by a na17 tionally recognized trade association or organi18 zation representing a significant part of the in19 dustry or sector.’’; and 

20 (5) by inserting after paragraph (22), as redes21 ignated by paragraph (1) of this section, the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(23) LABOR MARKET INFORMATION.—The 

24 term ‘labor market information’ means economic, so25 cial, and demographic information that— 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 2524 IS

1 ‘‘(A) pertains to labor markets for the pur2 poses of determining the supply of, and demand 

3 for, labor and related skills and competencies; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(B) supports students, job seekers, em6 ployers, developers of curricula, and other rel7 evant stakeholders in understanding labor mar8 ket and economic trends to help make informed 

9 labor market decisions.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY. 

11 Section 113(b)(2) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

12 Technical Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2323(b)(2)) is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking clause (vi); 

15 and 

16 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking clause (v) 

17 and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(v) the median earnings of students 

19 who are employed during the second quar20 ter after completing a career and technical 

21 education program of study in the State. 

22 The Secretary shall, consistent with State 

23 law, ensure that the necessary wage 

24 records are available to enable eligible 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 2524 IS

1 agencies to collect data relating to this 

2 State performance measure.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

4 Section 114(d)(4)(A) (20 U.S.C. 2324) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause (v); 

6 (2) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

7 semicolon; and 

8 (3) by inserting after clause (iii) the following: 

9 ‘‘(iv) to engage in evaluation and 

10 technical assistance activities that will as11 sist in— 

12 ‘‘(I) collecting information on the 

13 industry-recognized credentials award14 ed to participants in career and tech15 nical education programs of study, in16 cluding— 

17 ‘‘(aa) the name of such in18 dustry-recognized credentials; 

19 ‘‘(bb) the awarding body; 

20 ‘‘(cc) the duration of the 

21 program of study for the creden22 tial; and 

23 ‘‘(dd) the number of such 

24 participants receiving the creden25 tial; and 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 2524 IS

1 ‘‘(II) developing the necessary in2 frastructure to support the State and 

3 local reporting of information de4 scribed in subclause (I), including 

5 through activities such as estab6 lishing— 

7 ‘‘(aa) data sharing agree8 ments with State licensing agen9 cies and with industry associa10 tions and employers who award 

11 certifications or other industry12 recognized credentials; 

13 ‘‘(bb) a consistent reporting 

14 method across States; and 

15 ‘‘(cc) a collection system to 

16 process reports in a timely fash17 ion; and’’. 

18 SEC. 6. STATE LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES. 

19 Section 124(b) (20 U.S.C. 2341(a)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

21 the semicolon; 

22 (2) in paragraph (9) by striking the period at 

23 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 2524 IS

1 ‘‘(10) establishing statewide credit transfer 

2 agreements aligned to approved career and technical 

3 education programs of study.’’. 

4 SEC. 7. LOCAL PLAN FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDU5 CATION PROGRAMS. 

6 Section 134(b) (20 U.S.C. 2354(b)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

8 the semicolon; 

9 (2) in paragraph (12) by striking the period at 

10 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(13) describe how the eligible recipient will 

13 partner with business and industry to— 

14 ‘‘(A) identify opportunities for experiential 

15 and work-based learning opportunities either in16 person or virtually; 

17 ‘‘(B) ensure career and technical education 

18 programs of study are responsive to community 

19 and employment demands and are— 

20 ‘‘(i) aligned with employment prior21 ities in the State, regional, or local econ22 omy identified by employers and other rel23 evant stakeholders identified in section 

24 134(b)(5); 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 2524 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) informed by labor market infor2 mation; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) designed to meet current, inter4 mediate, and long term labor market pro5 jections; 

6 ‘‘(C) ensure funding under this Act is 

7 spent in a coordinated manner with other local 

8 resources.’’. 

9 SEC. 8. AMENDMENT TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SEC10 ONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965. 

11 Section 1502(a) of the Elementary and Secondary 

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6492(a)) is amended 

13 by striking ‘‘challenging State academic content standards 

14 and challenging State student academic achievement 

15 standards’’ and inserting ‘‘rigorous, State-identified col16 lege and career readiness standards that address both aca17 demic content and career and technical education content 

18 identified under section 113(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Carl D. 

19 Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.’’. 

Æ 


dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS