20 U.S.C. § 2344 — State leadership activities

(a)(1) From amounts reserved under section 2322(a)(2), each eligible agency^* must carry out State leadership activities to improve career and technical education^*. The activities must support: (A) preparation for nontraditional current and emerging professions, special-population programs, and exposing students to high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand jobs; (B) people in State institutions, including correctional and juvenile-justice facilities, and educational institutions serving people with disabilities; (C) recruiting, preparing, and retaining CTE teachers, faculty, specialized instructional-support personnel, and paraprofessionals through preservice, professional, or leadership development; and (D) technical assistance for eligible recipients. (2) Each agency must report how effectively the money achieved section 2342(d)(2) goals and State performance levels under section 2323(b)(3)(A), and reduced the disparities or gaps in section 2323(b)(3)(C)(ii)(II).

(b) These activities may include: (1) developing statewide programs of study, standards, curricula, courses, and career exploration and counseling resources; (2) approving local programs meeting section 2342(d)(4)(B); (3) statewide articulation agreements aligned with approved programs; (4) statewide industry or sector partnerships among local agencies, higher-education institutions, adult-education providers, Indian^* Tribes and Tribal organizations present in the State, employers including small businesses, and parents, as appropriate, to (A) develop aligned programs of study meeting State and local economic and education needs, including in-demand sectors and occupations; (B) give secondary students opportunities to (i) complete challenging technical and academic coursework aligned with State academic standards and (ii) earn a recognized postsecondary credential or credit toward one, including through dual or concurrent enrollment or early college, without cost to the student or family; and (C) add internships, externships, and simulated workplaces to programs of study; (5) high-quality, comprehensive, coordinated professional development^* for CTE educators and support personnel, grounded as practicable in available evidence-based^* research, including programs that (A) integrate State academic standards with technical knowledge and skills, including joint academic/CTE instruction, (B) prepare staff to accommodate special-population students using universal design, multi-tier supports, and positive behavioral interventions, and (C) keep staff current with industry standards and help them earn industry credentials or licenses and obtain State teaching credentials when they have relevant industry experience; (6) help recipients remove unequal access to (A) high-quality skill-building programs and (B) effective instructional staff; (7) incentive grants for (A) exemplary performance, based on (i) sustained or significant improvement above a local core-indicator level, (ii) connections between secondary and postsecondary education and training, (iii) academic/technical integration, (iv) closing subgroup achievement gaps, or (v) other appropriate performance factors, and (B) a recipient’s election to use funds under section 2355(c); (8) support for (A) adopting credentials and work-based learning and collecting related credential and employment data, or (B) working with State agencies to identify licenses or certifications that (i) unfairly block CTE students from entering work and (ii) do not protect consumers’ health, safety, or welfare; (9) pay-for-success initiatives leading to a recognized postsecondary credential; (10) CTE for adults and out-of-school youth^* while they complete secondary education; (11) competency-based curricula; (12) programs of study or career pathways^* in areas declared a state of emergency under section 5191 of title 42; (13) qualified-intermediary partnerships for training, public-private partnerships, system development, capacity, and scalable high-quality CTE; (14) career guidance and academic counseling^*, including academic and financial-aid counseling; (15) employability skills in CTE; (16) access, engagement, and success in STEM, including computer science, coding, and architecture, arts and design, and hands-on learning, especially for underrepresented groups including female, minority, and special-population students; (17) CTE student organizations, especially participation in nontraditional fields and by special-population students; (18) work-based learning aligned with CTE programs and programs of study; (19) integration and alignment of programs of study and career pathways; (20) CTE programs aligned with State, regional, or local high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand sectors and occupations identified by State or local workforce boards; (21) wide availability of instructional content, including open educational resources; (22) valid and reliable competency and technical-skill assessments and improved data systems for secondary and postsecondary academic and employment outcomes; (23) accelerated learning programs described in the cited Elementary and Secondary Education Act provision when part of a CTE program of study; (24) career academies implementing secondary curricula that prepare students for postsecondary education and work and integrate rigorous academic, technical, and employability content while addressing the section 2354(c) needs assessment; and (25) other State leadership activities improving CTE.

(c) An eligible agency receiving section 2322(a)(2) funds may not use them for administrative costs unless subsection (a) expressly authorizes that use.