109TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 366
AN ACT
To amend the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and
Technical Education Act of 1998 to strengthen
and improve programs under that Act.
109TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 366
AN ACT
To amend the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical
Education Act of 1998 to strengthen and improve pro-
grams under that Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vocational and Tech-
nical Education for the Future Act’’.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Wherever in this Act an amendment is expressed in
terms of an amendment to or repeal of a section or other
provision, the amendment or repeal shall be considered to
be made to a section or other provision of the Carl D.
Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998
(20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.).
SEC. 3. PURPOSES AND DEFINITIONS.
(a) PURPOSES.—Section 2(2) (20 U.S.C. 2301(2)) is
amended by inserting ‘‘rigorous and challenging’’ after
‘‘integrate’’.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 (20 U.S.C. 2302) is
amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (26) and redesig-
nating paragraphs (21) through (25) as paragraphs
(23) through (27), and paragraphs (27) through
(30) as paragraphs (29) through (32), respectively;
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through
(20) as paragraphs (5) through (21), respectively,
and inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
‘‘(4) ARTICULATION
AGREEMENT.—The term
‘articulation agreement’ means a written commit-
ment, agreed upon at the State level or approved an-
nually and facilitated by the lead administrators of
the secondary and postsecondary consortia members
as described in section 135(b)(3)(A), to provide a
program designed to provide students with a non-
duplicative sequence of progressive achievements
leading to degrees, certificates, or credentials in a
tech-prep education program linked through credit
transfer agreements.’’;
(3) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated), by
inserting ‘‘to students (and parents, as appro-
priate)’’ after ‘‘providing access’’;
(4) in paragraph (6) (as so redesignated), by
striking ‘‘section 5206’’ and inserting ‘‘section
5210’’;
(5) in paragraph (7) (as so redesignated)—
(A) by striking ‘‘method of instruction’’
and inserting ‘‘method’’; and
(B) by inserting ‘‘rigorous and chal-
lenging’’ after ‘‘required’’;
(6) in paragraph (11)(A) (as so redesignated),
by striking ‘‘an’’ and inserting ‘‘a public or non-
profit private’’;
(7) in paragraph (18) (as so redesignated)—
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking
‘‘TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT’’ and inserting
‘‘FIELDS’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘training and employment’’
and inserting ‘‘fields’’; and
(C) by inserting ‘‘current and’’ after ‘‘tech-
nology, and other’’;
(8) in paragraph (19) (as so redesignated), by
striking ‘‘the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the
Federated States of Micronesia,’’;
(9) by inserting after paragraph (21) (as so re-
designated) the following:
‘‘(22) SCIENTIFICALLY
BASED
RESEARCH.—
The term ‘scientifically based research’ has the
meaning given that term in section 9101(37) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 7801(37)).’’;
(10) in paragraph (25) (as so redesignated)—
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking
‘‘training and employment’’ and inserting
‘‘fields’’;
(B) in subparagraph (E), by striking
‘‘and’’;
(C) in subparagraph (F)—
(i) by striking ‘‘individuals with other
barriers to educational achievement, in-
cluding’’; and
(ii) by striking the period and insert-
ing ‘‘; and’’; and
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (F)
the following:
‘‘(G) individuals with other barriers to edu-
cational achievement, as determined by the
State.’’;
(11) by inserting after paragraph (27) (as so
redesignated) the following:
‘‘(28) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—The term ‘sup-
portive services’ means services such as transpor-
tation, child care, dependent care, and needs-based
payments, that are necessary to enable an individual
to participate in activities authorized under this
Act.’’;
(12) in paragraph (29) (as so redesignated), by
striking ‘‘section 2’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2(a)(4)’’;
(13) in paragraph (30) (as so redesignated)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘of subsection (a)’’ after
‘‘paragraph (2)’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘paragraph (5)(A) of such
section’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (5)(A) of
such subsection’’; and
(14) by amending paragraph (31)(A) (as so re-
designated) to read as follows:
‘‘(A) offer a sequence of courses that—
‘‘(i) provides individuals with the rig-
orous and challenging academic and tech-
nical knowledge and skills the individuals
need to prepare for further education and
for careers (other than careers requiring a
master’s or doctoral degree) in current or
emerging employment sectors;
‘‘(ii) may include the provision of
skills or courses necessary to enroll in a se-
quence of courses that meet the require-
ments of this subparagraph; and
‘‘(iii) provides, at the postsecondary
level, for a 1-year certificate, an associate
degree, or industry-recognized credential;
and’’.
SEC. 4. TRANSITION PROVISIONS.
Section 4 (20 U.S.C. 2303) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘the Carl D. Perkins Vocational
and Applied Technology Education Act’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘the ‘Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical
Education Act of 1998’ ’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘the Carl D. Perkins Vocational
and Applied Technology Education Amendments of
1998’’ and inserting ‘‘the Vocational and Technical
Education for the Future Act. Each eligible agency
shall be assured 1 full fiscal year for transition, to
plan for and implement the requirements of this
Act’’.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 8 (20 U.S.C. 2307) is amended to read as
follows:
‘‘SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act (other than subsection (a), (b), and (c) of section
114, and sections 117 and 118) $1,307,000,000 for fiscal
year 2006 and such sums as may be necessary for each
of fiscal years 2007 through 2011.’’.
SEC. 6. PROHIBITIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Carl D. Perkins Vocational
and Technical Education Act of 1998 (20 U.S.C. 2301
et seq.) is amended by adding after section 8 the following
new section:
‘‘SEC. 9. PROHIBITIONS.
‘‘(a) LOCAL CONTROL.—Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to authorize an officer or employee of the Fed-
eral government to mandate, direct, or control a State,
local educational agency, or school’s curriculum, program
of instruction, or allocation of State or local resources, or
mandate a State or any subdivision thereof to spend any
funds or incur any costs not paid for under this Act.
‘‘(b) NO PRECLUSION OF OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Any
State that declines to submit an application to the Sec-
retary for assistance under this Act shall not be precluded
from applying for assistance under any other program ad-
ministered by the Secretary.
‘‘(c) PROHIBITION
ON REQUIRING FEDERAL AP-
PROVAL OR CERTIFICATION OF STANDARDS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of Federal law, no State shall
be required to have academic and vocational and technical
content or student academic and vocational and technical
achievement standards approved or certified by the Fed-
eral government, in order to receive assistance under this
Act.
‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to affect the requirements under
section 113.’’.