20 USC 2302 - Definitions

View all text of Chapter 44 [§ 2301 - § 2414]

§ 2302. DefinitionsUnless otherwise specified, in this chapter:

(1) Administration

(2) All aspects of an industry

(3) Area career and technical education schoolThe term “area career and technical education school” means—

(A) a specialized public secondary school used exclusively or principally for the provision of career and technical education to individuals who are available for study in preparation for entering the labor market;

(B) the department of a public secondary school exclusively or principally used for providing career and technical education in not fewer than 3 different fields that are available to all students, especially in high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations;

(C) a public or nonprofit technical institution or career and technical education school used exclusively or principally for the provision of career and technical education to individuals who have completed or left secondary school and who are available for study in preparation for entering the labor market, if the institution or school admits, as regular students, individuals who have completed secondary school and individuals who have left secondary school; or

(D) the department or division of an institution of higher education, that operates under the policies of the eligible agency and that provides career and technical education in not fewer than 3 different occupational fields leading to immediate employment but not necessarily leading to a baccalaureate degree, if the department or division admits, as regular students, both individuals who have completed secondary school and individuals who have left secondary school.

(4) Articulation agreementThe term “articulation agreement” means a written commitment—

(A) that is agreed upon at the State level or approved annually by the lead administrators of—

(i) a secondary institution and a postsecondary educational institution; or

(ii) a subbaccalaureate degree granting postsecondary educational institution and a baccalaureate degree granting postsecondary educational institution; and

(B) to a program that is—

(i) designed to provide students with a nonduplicative sequence of progressive achievement leading to technical skill proficiency, a credential, a certificate, or a degree; and

(ii) linked through credit transfer agreements between the 2 institutions described in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) (as the case may be).

(5) Career and technical educationThe term “career and technical education” means organized educational activities that—

(A) offer a sequence of courses that—

(i) provides individuals with rigorous academic span and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in current or emerging professions, which may include high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations, which shall be, at the secondary level, aligned with the challenging State academic standards adopted by a State under section 6311(b)(1) of this title;

(ii) provides technical skill proficiency or a recognized postsecondary credential, which may include an industry-recognized credential, a certificate, or an associate degree; and

(iii) may include prerequisite courses (other than a remedial course) that meet the requirements of this subparagraph;

(B) include competency-based, work-based, or other applied learning that supports the development of academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, employability skills, technical skills, and occupation-specific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of an industry, including entrepreneurship, of an individual;

(C) to the extent practicable, coordinate between secondary and postsecondary education programs through programs of study, which may include coordination through articulation agreements, early college high school programs, dual or concurrent enrollment program opportunities, or other credit transfer agreements that provide postsecondary credit or advanced standing; and

(D) may include career exploration at the high school level or as early as the middle grades (as such term is defined in section 7801 of this title).

(6) Career and technical student organization

(A) In general

(B) State and national units

(7) Career guidance and academic counselingThe term “career guidance and academic counseling” means guidance and counseling that—

(A) provides access for students (and, as appropriate, parents and out-of-school youth) to information regarding career awareness exploration opportunities and planning with respect to an individual’s occupational and academic future;

(B) provides information to students (and, as appropriate, parents and out-of-school youth) with respect to career options, financial aid, job training, secondary and postsecondary options (including associate and baccalaureate degree programs), dual or concurrent enrollment programs, work-based learning opportunities, early college high schools, financial literacy, and support services, as appropriate; and

(C) may provide assistance for special populations with respect to direct support services that enable students to persist in and complete career and technical education, programs of study, or career pathways.

(8) Career pathways

(9) Charter school

(10) Cooperative educationThe term “cooperative education” means a method of education for individuals who, through written cooperative arrangements between a school and employers, receive instruction, including required rigorous and challenging academic courses and related career and technical education instruction, by alternation of study in school with a job in any occupational field, which alternation—

(A) shall be planned and supervised by the school and employer so that each contributes to the education and employability of the individual; and

(B) may include an arrangement in which work periods and school attendance may be on alternate half days, full days, weeks, or other periods of time in fulfilling the cooperative program.

(11) Credit transfer agreement

(12) CTE concentratorThe term “CTE concentrator” means—

(A) at the secondary school level, a student served by an eligible recipient who has completed at least 2 courses in a single career and technical education program or program of study; and

(B) at the postsecondary level, a student enrolled in an eligible recipient who has—

(i) earned at least 12 credits within a career and technical education program or program of study; or

(ii) completed such a program if the program encompasses fewer than 12 credits or the equivalent in total.

(13) CTE participant

(14) Director

(15) Dual or concurrent enrollment program

(16) Early college high school

(17) Educational service agency

(18) Eligible agency

(19) Eligible entityThe term “eligible entity” means a consortium that includes the following:

(A) Representatives of not less than 2 of the following categories of entities, 1 of which shall serve as the fiscal agent for the consortium:

(i) A local educational agency or a consortium of such agencies.

(ii) An educational service agency serving secondary school students.

(iii) An area career and technical education school or a consortium of such schools.

(iv) An Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or Tribal educational agency.

(v) An institution of higher education whose most common degree awarded is an associate degree, or a consortium of such institutions.

(vi) An institution of higher education whose most common degree awarded is a bachelor’s or higher degree, or a consortium of such institutions.

(vii) A State educational agency.

(B) One or more business or industry representative partners, which may include representatives of local or regional businesses or industries, including industry or sector partnerships in the local area, local workforce development boards, or labor organizations.

(i) parents and students;

(ii) representatives of local agencies serving out-of-school youth, homeless children and youth, and at-risk youth (as defined in section 6472 of this title);

(iii) representatives of Indian tribes and Tribal organizations, where applicable;

(iv) representatives of minority-serving institutions (as described in paragraphs (1) through (7) of section 1067q(a) of this title), where applicable;

(v) representatives of special populations;

(vi) representatives of adult career and technical education providers; or

(vii) other relevant community stakeholders.

(20) Eligible institutionThe term “eligible institution” means—

(A) a consortium of 2 or more of the entities described in subparagraphs (B) through (F);

(B) a public or nonprofit private institution of higher education that offers and will use funds provided under this subchapter in support of career and technical education courses that lead to technical skill proficiency or a recognized postsecondary credential, including an industry-recognized credential, a certificate, or an associate degree, except that, for the purpose of section 2352 of this title, the term “recognized postsecondary credential” as used in this subparagraph shall not include a baccalaureate degree;

(D) an area career and technical education school providing education at the postsecondary level;

(E) an Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or Tribal education agency that operates a school or may be present in the State;

(F) a postsecondary educational institution controlled by the Bureau of Indian Education or operated by or on behalf of any Indian Tribe that is eligible to contract with the Secretary of the Interior for the administration of programs under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) or the Act of April 16, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 5342 et seq.);

(G) a tribally controlled college or university; or

(H) an educational service agency.

(21) Eligible recipientThe term “eligible recipient” means—

(A) a local educational agency (including a public charter school that operates as a local educational agency), an area career and technical education school, an educational service agency, an Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or Tribal educational agency or a consortium, eligible to receive assistance under section 2351 of this title; or

(B) an eligible institution or consortium of eligible institutions eligible to receive assistance under section 2352 of this title.

(22) English learnerThe term “English learner” means—

(A) a secondary school student who is an English learner, as defined in section 7801 of this title; or

(B) an adult or an out-of-school youth who has limited ability in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language and—

(i) whose native language is a language other than English; or

(ii) who lives in a family environment or community in which a language other than English is the dominant language.

(23) Evidence-based

(24) Governor

(25) High school

(26) In-demand industry sector or occupation

(27) Indian; Indian Tribe

(28) Individual with a disability

(A) In general

(B) Individuals with disabilities

(29) Industry or sector partnership

(30) Institution of higher education

(31) Local educational agency

(32) Local workforce development board

(33) Non-traditional fields

(34) Outlying area

(35) Out-of-school youth

(36) Out-of-workforce individualThe term “out-of-workforce individual” means—

(A) an individual who is a displaced homemaker, as defined in section 3102 of title 29; or

(B) an individual who—

(i)(I) has worked primarily without remuneration to care for a home and family, and for that reason has diminished marketable skills; or(II) is a parent whose youngest dependent child will become ineligible to receive assistance under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) not later than 2 years after the date on which the parent applies for assistance under such title; and

(ii) is unemployed or underemployed and is experiencing difficulty in obtaining or upgrading employment.

(37) Paraprofessional

(38) Pay for success initiative

(A) In generalSubject to subparagraph (B), the term “pay for success initiative” means a performance-based grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded by a State or local public entity (such as a local educational agency) to a public or private nonprofit entity—

(i) in which a commitment is made to pay for improved outcomes that result in increased public value and social benefit to students and the public sector, such as improved student outcomes as evidenced by the indicators of performance described in section 2323(b)(2) of this title and direct cost savings or cost avoidance to the public sector; and

(ii) that includes—(I) a feasibility study on the initiative describing how the proposed intervention is based on evidence of effectiveness;(II) a rigorous, third-party evaluation that uses experimental or quasi-experimental design or other research methodologies that allow for the strongest possible causal inferences to determine whether the initiative has met its proposed outcomes;(III) an annual, publicly available report on the progress of the initiative; and(IV) a requirement that payments are made to the recipient of a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement only when agreed upon outcomes are achieved, except that the entity may make payments to the third party conducting the evaluation described in subclause (II).

(B) ExclusionThe term “pay for success initiative” does not include any initiative that—

(i) reduces the special education or related services that a student would otherwise receive under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.]; or

(ii) otherwise reduces the rights of a student or the obligations of an entity under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), or any other law.

(39) Postsecondary educational institutionThe term “postsecondary educational institution” means—

(A) an institution of higher education that provides not less than a 2-year program of instruction that is acceptable for credit toward a bachelor’s degree;

(B) a tribally controlled college or university; or

(C) a nonprofit educational institution offering certificate or other skilled training programs at the postsecondary level.

(40) Professional developmentThe term “professional development” means activities that—

(A) are an integral part of eligible agency, eligible recipient, institution, or school strategies for providing educators (including teachers, principals, other school leaders, administrators, specialized instructional support personnel, career guidance and academic counselors, and paraprofessionals) with the knowledge and skills necessary to enable students to succeed in career and technical education, to meet challenging State academic standards under section 6311(b)(1) of this title, or to achieve academic skills at the postsecondary level; and

(B) are sustained (not stand-alone, 1-day, or short-term workshops), intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom-focused, to the extent practicable evidence-based, and may include activities that—

(i) improve and increase educators’—(I) knowledge of the academic and technical subjects;(II) understanding of how students learn; and(III) ability to analyze student work and achievement from multiple sources, including how to adjust instructional strategies, assessments, and materials based on such analysis;

(ii) are an integral part of eligible recipients’ improvement plans;

(iii) allow personalized plans for each educator to address the educator’s specific needs identified in observation or other feedback;

(iv) support the recruitment, hiring, and training of effective educators, including educators who became certified through State and local alternative routes to certification;

(v) advance educator understanding of—(I) effective instructional strategies that are evidence-based; and(II) strategies for improving student academic and technical achievement or substantially increasing the knowledge and teaching skills of educators;

(vi) are developed with extensive participation of educators, parents, students, and representatives of Indian Tribes (as applicable), of schools and institutions served under this chapter;

(vii) are designed to give educators of students who are English learners in career and technical education programs or programs of study the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and appropriate language and academic support services to those students, including the appropriate use of curricula and assessments;

(viii) as a whole, are regularly evaluated for their impact on increased educator effectiveness and improved student academic and technical achievement, with the findings of the evaluations used to improve the quality of professional development;

(ix) are designed to give educators of individuals with disabilities in career and technical education programs or programs of study the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and academic support services to those individuals, including positive behavioral interventions and supports, multi-tier system of supports, and use of accommodations;

(x) include instruction in the use of data and assessments to inform and instruct classroom practice;

(xi) include instruction in ways that educators may work more effectively with parents and families;

(xii) provide follow-up training to educators who have participated in activities described in this paragraph that are designed to ensure that the knowledge and skills learned by the educators are implemented in the classroom;

(xiii) promote the integration of academic knowledge and skills and relevant technical knowledge and skills, including programming jointly delivered to academic and career and technical education teachers; or

(xiv) increase the ability of educators providing career and technical education instruction to stay current with industry standards.

(41) Program of studyThe term “program of study” means a coordinated, nonduplicative sequence of academic and technical span at the secondary and postsecondary level that—

(A) incorporates challenging State academic standards, including those adopted by a State under section 6311(b)(1) of this title;

(B) addresses both academic and technical knowledge and skills, including employability skills;

(D) progresses in specificity (beginning with all aspects of an industry or career cluster and leading to more occupation-specific instruction);

(E) has multiple entry and exit points that incorporate credentialing; and

(F) culminates in the attainment of a recognized postsecondary credential.

(42) Qualified intermediaryThe term “qualified intermediary” means a nonprofit entity, which may be part of an industry or sector partnership, that demonstrates expertise in building, connecting, sustaining, and measuring partnerships with entities such as employers, schools, community-based organizations, postsecondary institutions, social service organizations, economic development organizations, Indian tribes or Tribal organizations, and workforce systems to broker services, resources, and supports to youth and the organizations and systems that are designed to serve youth, including—

(A) connecting employers to classrooms;

(B) assisting in the design and implementation of career and technical education programs and programs of study;

(D) connecting students to internships and other work-based learning opportunities; and

(E) developing personalized student supports.

(43) Recognized postsecondary credential

(44) Secondary school

(45) Secretary

(46) Specialized instructional support personnel

(47) Specialized instructional support services

(48) Special populationsThe term “special populations” means—

(A) individuals with disabilities;

(B) individuals from economically disadvantaged families, including low-income youth and adults;

(D) single parents, including single pregnant women;

(E) out-of-workforce individuals;

(F) English learners;

(G) homeless individuals described in section 11434a of title 42;

(H) youth who are in, or have aged out of, the foster care system; and

(I) youth with a parent who—

(i) is a member of the armed forces (as such term is defined in section 101(a)(4) of title 10); and

(ii) is on active duty (as such term is defined in section 101(d)(1) of such title).

(49) State

(50) Support services

(51) Tribally controlled college or university

(52) Tribally controlled postsecondary career and technical institutionThe term “tribally controlled postsecondary career and technical institution” means an institution of higher education (as defined in section 1001 of this title, except that subsection (a)(2) of such section shall not be applicable and the reference to Secretary in subsection (a)(5) of such section shall be deemed to refer to the Secretary of the Interior) that—

(A) is formally controlled, or has been formally sanctioned or chartered, by the governing body of an Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes;

(B) offers a technical degree or certificate granting program;

(D) demonstrates adherence to stated goals, a philosophy, or a plan of operation, that fosters individual Indian economic and self-sufficiency opportunity, including programs that are appropriate to stated Tribal goals of developing individual entrepreneurships and self-sustaining economic infrastructures on reservations or tribal lands;

(E) has been in operation for at least 3 years;

(F) holds accreditation with or is a candidate for accreditation by a nationally recognized accrediting authority for postsecondary career and technical education; and

(G) enrolls the full-time equivalent of not less than 100 students, of whom a majority are Indians.

(53) Tribal organization

(54) Universal design for learning

(55) Work-based learning

(Pub. L. 88–210, § 3, as added Pub. L. 109–270, § 1(b), Aug. 12, 2006, 120 Stat. 685; amended Pub. L. 110–315, title IX, § 941(k)(2)(D)(i), Aug. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 3466; Pub. L. 114–95, title IX, § 9215(n)(1), Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 2168; Pub. L. 115–224, § 7, July 31, 2018, 132 Stat. 1565; Pub. L. 116–6, div. H, title II, § 201(a), Feb. 15, 2019, 133 Stat. 475.)