 
             CHAPTER 44--VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
 
   SUBCHAPTER I--VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION ASSISTANCE TO THE 
                                 STATES
 
                    Part A--Allotment and Allocation
 
Sec. 2324. National activities


(a) Program performance information

                           (1) In general

        The Secretary shall collect performance information about, and 
    report on, the condition of vocational and technical education and 
    on the effectiveness of State and local programs, services, and 
    activities carried out under this subchapter in order to provide the 
    Secretary and Congress, as well as Federal, State, local, and tribal 
    agencies, with information relevant to improvement in the quality 
    and effectiveness of vocational and technical education. The 
    Secretary annually shall report to Congress on the Secretary's 
    aggregate analysis of performance information collected each year 
    pursuant to this subchapter, including an analysis of performance 
    data regarding special populations.

                          (2) Compatibility

        The Secretary shall, to the extent feasible, ensure that the 
    performance information system is compatible with other Federal 
    information systems.

                           (3) Assessments

        As a regular part of its assessments, the National Center for 
    Education Statistics shall collect and report information on 
    vocational and technical education for a nationally representative 
    sample of students. Such assessment may include international 
    comparisons.

(b) Miscellaneous provisions

          (1) Collection of information at reasonable cost

        The Secretary shall take such action as may be necessary to 
    secure at reasonable cost the information required by this 
    subchapter. To ensure reasonable cost, the Secretary, in 
    consultation with the National Center for Education Statistics, the 
    Office of Vocational and Adult Education, and an entity assisted 
    under section 2328 of this title shall determine the methodology to 
    be used and the frequency with which information is to be collected.

                      (2) Cooperation of States

        All eligible agencies receiving assistance under this chapter 
    shall cooperate with the Secretary in implementing the information 
    systems developed pursuant to this chapter.

(c) Research, development, dissemination, evaluation and assessment

                           (1) Single plan

        (A) In general

            The Secretary may, directly or through grants, contracts, or 
        cooperative agreements, carry out research, development, 
        dissemination, evaluation and assessment, capacity building, and 
        technical assistance with regard to the vocational and technical 
        education programs under this chapter. The Secretary shall 
        develop a single plan for such activities.

        (B) Plan

            Such plan shall--
                (i) identify the vocational and technical education 
            activities described in subparagraph (A) the Secretary will 
            carry out under this section;
                (ii) describe how the Secretary will evaluate such 
            vocational and technical education activities in accordance 
            with paragraph (3); and
                (iii) include such other information as the Secretary 
            determines to be appropriate.

                   (2) Independent advisory panel

        The Secretary shall appoint an independent advisory panel, 
    consisting of vocational and technical education administrators, 
    educators, researchers, and representatives of labor organizations, 
    businesses, parents, guidance and counseling professionals, and 
    other relevant groups, to advise the Secretary on the implementation 
    of the assessment described in paragraph (3), including the issues 
    to be addressed, the methodology of the studies involved, and the 
    findings and recommendations resulting from the assessment. The 
    panel shall submit to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
    of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Labor and Human 
    Resources of the Senate, and the Secretary an independent analysis 
    of the findings and recommendations resulting from the assessment 
    described in paragraph (3). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
    U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the panel established under this 
    subsection.

                    (3) Evaluation and assessment

        (A) In general

            From amounts made available under paragraph (8), the 
        Secretary shall provide for the conduct of an independent 
        evaluation and assessment of vocational and technical education 
        programs under this chapter through studies and analyses 
        conducted independently through grants, contracts, and 
        cooperative agreements that are awarded on a competitive basis.

        (B) Contents

            The assessment required under paragraph (1) shall include 
        descriptions and evaluations of--
                (i) the extent to which State, local, and tribal 
            entities have developed, implemented, or improved State and 
            local vocational and technical education programs and the 
            effect of programs assisted under this chapter on that 
            development, implementation, or improvement, including the 
            capacity of State, tribal, and local vocational and 
            technical education systems to achieve the purpose of this 
            chapter;
                (ii) the extent to which expenditures at the Federal, 
            State, tribal, and local levels address program improvement 
            in vocational and technical education, including the impact 
            of Federal allocation requirements (such as within-State 
            allocation formulas) on the delivery of services;
                (iii) the preparation and qualifications of teachers of 
            vocational and technical, and academic, curricula in 
            vocational and technical education programs, as well as 
            shortages of such teachers;
                (iv) participation of students in vocational and 
            technical education programs;
                (v) academic and employment outcomes of vocational and 
            technical education, including analyses of--
                    (I) the number of vocational and technical education 
                students and tech-prep students who meet State adjusted 
                levels of performance;
                    (II) the extent and success of integration of 
                academic, and vocational and technical, education for 
                students participating in vocational and technical 
                education programs; and
                    (III) the extent to which vocational and technical 
                education programs prepare students for subsequent 
                employment in high-wage, high-skill careers or 
                participation in postsecondary education;

                (vi) employer involvement in, and satisfaction with, 
            vocational and technical education programs;
                (vii) the use and impact of educational technology and 
            distance learning with respect to vocational and technical 
            education and tech-prep programs; and
                (viii) the effect of State adjusted levels of 
            performance and State levels of performance on the delivery 
            of vocational and technical education services.

        (C) Reports

            (i) In general

                The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Education 
            and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the 
            Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate--
                    (I) an interim report regarding the assessment on or 
                before January 1, 2002; and
                    (II) a final report, summarizing all studies and 
                analyses that relate to the assessment and that are 
                completed after the assessment, on or before July 1, 
                2002.
            (ii) Prohibition

                Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the reports 
            required by this subsection shall not be subject to any 
            review outside the Department of Education before their 
            transmittal to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
            of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Labor and 
            Human Resources of the Senate, and the Secretary, but the 
            President, the Secretary, and the independent advisory panel 
            established under paragraph (2) may make such additional 
            recommendations to Congress with respect to the assessment 
            as the President, the Secretary, or the panel determine to 
            be appropriate.

           (4) Collection of State information and report

        (A) In general

            The Secretary may collect and disseminate information from 
        States regarding State efforts to meet State adjusted levels of 
        performance described in section 2323 of this title.

        (B) Report

            The Secretary shall gather any information collected 
        pursuant to subparagraph (A) and submit a report to the 
        Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources 
        of the Senate.

                            (5) Research

        (A) In general

            The Secretary, after consulting with the States, shall award 
        grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements on a competitive 
        basis to an institution of higher education, a public or private 
        nonprofit organization or agency, or a consortium of such 
        institutions, organizations, or agencies to establish a national 
        research center or centers--
                (i) to carry out research for the purpose of developing, 
            improving, and identifying the most successful methods for 
            successfully addressing the education, employment, and 
            training needs of participants in vocational and technical 
            education programs, including research and evaluation in 
            such activities as--
                    (I) the integration of vocational and technical 
                instruction, and academic, secondary and postsecondary 
                instruction;
                    (II) education technology and distance learning 
                approaches and strategies that are effective with 
                respect to vocational and technical education;
                    (III) State adjusted levels of performance and State 
                levels of performance that serve to improve vocational 
                and technical education programs and student 
                achievement; and
                    (IV) academic knowledge and vocational and technical 
                skills required for employment or participation in 
                postsecondary education;

                (ii) to carry out research to increase the effectiveness 
            and improve the implementation of vocational and technical 
            education programs, including conducting research and 
            development, and studies, providing longitudinal information 
            or formative evaluation with respect to vocational and 
            technical education programs and student achievement;
                (iii) to carry out research that can be used to improve 
            teacher training and learning in the vocational and 
            technical education classroom, including--
                    (I) effective inservice and preservice teacher 
                education that assists vocational and technical 
                education systems; and
                    (II) dissemination and training activities related 
                to the applied research and demonstration activities 
                described in this subsection, which may also include 
                serving as a repository for information on vocational 
                and technical skills, State academic standards, and 
                related materials; and

                (iv) to carry out such other research as the Secretary 
            determines appropriate to assist State and local recipients 
            of funds under this chapter.

        (B) Report

            The center or centers conducting the activities described in 
        subparagraph (A) shall annually prepare a report of key research 
        findings of such center or centers and shall submit copies of 
        the report to the Secretary, the Committee on Education and the 
        Workforce of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 
        Labor and Human Resources of the Senate, the Library of 
        Congress, and each eligible agency.

        (C) Dissemination

            The center or centers shall conduct dissemination and 
        training activities based upon the research described in 
        subparagraph (A).

                (6) Demonstrations and dissemination

        (A) Demonstration program

            The Secretary is authorized to carry out demonstration 
        vocational and technical education programs, to replicate model 
        vocational and technical education programs, to disseminate best 
        practices information, and to provide technical assistance upon 
        request of a State, for the purposes of developing, improving, 
        and identifying the most successful methods and techniques for 
        providing vocational and technical education programs assisted 
        under this chapter.

        (B) Demonstration partnership

            (i) In general

                The Secretary shall carry out a demonstration 
            partnership project involving a 4-year, accredited 
            postsecondary institution, in cooperation with local public 
            education organizations, volunteer groups, and private 
            sector business participants to provide program support, and 
            facilities for education, training, tutoring, counseling, 
            employment preparation, specific skills training in emerging 
            and established professions, and for retraining of military 
            medical personnel, individuals displaced by corporate or 
            military restructuring, migrant workers, as well as other 
            individuals who otherwise do not have access to such 
            services, through multisite, multistate distance learning 
            technologies.
            (ii) Program

                Such program may be carried out directly or through 
            grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or through the 
            national center or centers established under paragraph (5).

                           (7) Definition

        In this section, the term ``institution of higher education'' 
    has the meaning given the term in section 1001 of this title.

                 (8) Authorization of appropriations

        There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
    section such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999 and each 
    of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.

(Pub. L. 88-210, title I, Sec. 114, as added Pub. L. 105-332, Sec. 1(b), 
Oct. 31, 1998, 112 Stat. 3089.)

                       References in Text

    The Federal Advisory Committee Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), 
is Pub. L. 92-463, Oct. 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 770, as amended, which is set 
out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.


                            Prior Provisions

    A prior section 2324, Pub. L. 88-210, title I, Sec. 114, as added 
Pub. L. 98-524, Sec. 1, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2449; amended Pub. L. 
101-392, title I, Sec. 114, Sept. 25, 1990, 104 Stat. 769, related to 
development and approval of State plans, prior to the general amendment 
of this chapter by Pub. L. 105-332.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 2307 of this title.
