text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Pathways to Prosperity Act of 
  2014''.
  
  SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
  
      Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in this Act an 
  amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 
  of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to 
  be made to a section or other provision of the Carl D. Perkins Career 
  and Technical Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.).
  
  SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
  
      Section 3 (20 U.S.C. 2302) is amended--
              (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (9), (10) 
          through (17), (18), (19), and (20) through (34) as paragraphs 
          (7) through (10), (12) through (19), (21), (22), and (24) 
          through (38), respectively;
              (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
              ``(6) Career and technical education program of study.--The 
          term `career and technical education program of study' means a 
          coordinated, non-duplicative sequence of secondary and 
          postsecondary academic and technical courses that--
                      ``(A) contain rigorous, State-identified college 
                  and career readiness standards that address both 
                  academic and technical content and align to local, 
                  regional, or State labor market needs, as identified by 
                  employers and labor market information;
                      ``(B) support attainment of career readiness 
                  skills;
                      ``(C) progress in content specificity (beginning 
                  with all aspects of an industry or career cluster 
                  leading to more occupationally specific instruction);
                      ``(D) incorporate multiple entry and exit points 
                  with portable demonstrations of technical competency, 
                  which may include postsecondary education credits as 
                  recognized by credit transfer or articulation 
                  agreements or industry-recognized credentials; and
                      ``(E) culminate in the attainment of an industry-
                  recognized credential, an apprenticeship or 
                  postsecondary certificate, or an associate or 
                  baccalaureate degree.'';
              (3) by inserting after paragraph (10), as redesignated by 
          paragraph (1) of this section, the following:
              ``(11) Credit transfer agreement.--The term `credit 
          transfer agreement' refers to an opportunity for secondary 
          students to be awarded transcripted postsecondary credit, 
          supported with formal agreements among secondary and 
          postsecondary education systems, such as dual enrollment, dual 
          credit, 2-year to 4-year college articulation agreements, or 
          articulated credit, which may include credit awarded for 
          performance on technical assessments.'';
              (4) by inserting after paragraph (19), as redesignated by 
          paragraph (1) of this section, the following:
              ``(20) Industry-recognized credential.--The term `industry-
          recognized credential' means a credential that--
                      ``(A) is sought or accepted by employers within the 
                  industry or sector involved as a recognized, preferred, 
                  or required credential for recruitment, screening, 
                  hiring, retention or advancement purposes; and
                      ``(B) if appropriate, is endorsed by a nationally 
                  recognized trade association or organization 
                  representing a significant part of the industry or 
                  sector.''; and
              (5) by inserting after paragraph (22), as redesignated by 
          paragraph (1) of this section, the following:
              ``(23) Labor market information.--The term `labor market 
          information' means economic, social, and demographic 
          information that--
                      ``(A) pertains to labor markets for the purposes of 
                  determining the supply of, and demand for, labor and 
                  related skills and competencies; and
                      ``(B) supports students, job seekers, employers, 
                  developers of curricula, and other relevant 
                  stakeholders in understanding labor market and economic 
                  trends to help make informed labor market decisions.''.
  
  SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY.
  
      Section 113(b)(2) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 
  Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2323(b)(2)) is amended--
              (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking clause (vi); and
              (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking clause (v) and 
          inserting the following:
                              ``(v) the median earnings of students who 
                          are employed during the second quarter after 
                          completing a career and technical education 
                          program of study in the State. The Secretary 
                          shall, consistent with State law, ensure that 
                          the necessary wage records are available to 
                          enable eligible agencies to collect data 
                          relating to this State performance measure.''.
  
  SEC. 5. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.
  
      Section 114(d)(4)(A) (20 U.S.C. 2324) is amended--
              (1) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause (v);
              (2) in clause (iii), by striking ``and'' after the 
          semicolon; and
              (3) by inserting after clause (iii) the following:
                              ``(iv) to engage in evaluation and 
                          technical assistance activities that will 
                          assist in--
                                      ``(I) collecting information on the 
                                  industry-recognized credentials awarded 
                                  to participants in career and technical 
                                  education programs of study, 
                                  including--
                                              ``(aa) the name of such 
                                          industry-recognized 
                                          credentials;
                                              ``(bb) the awarding body;
                                              ``(cc) the duration of the 
                                          program of study for the 
                                          credential; and
                                              ``(dd) the number of such 
                                          participants receiving the 
                                          credential; and
                                      ``(II) developing the necessary 
                                  infrastructure to support the State and 
                                  local reporting of information 
                                  described in subclause (I), including 
                                  through activities such as 
                                  establishing--
                                              ``(aa) data sharing 
                                          agreements with State licensing 
                                          agencies and with industry 
                                          associations and employers who 
                                          award certifications or other 
                                          industry-recognized 
                                          credentials;
                                              ``(bb) a consistent 
                                          reporting method across States; 
                                          and
                                              ``(cc) a collection system 
                                          to process reports in a timely 
                                          fashion; and''.
  
  SEC. 6. STATE LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES.
  
      Section 124(b) (20 U.S.C. 2341(a)) is amended--
              (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``and'' after the 
          semicolon;
              (2) in paragraph (9) by striking the period at the end and 
          inserting ``; and''; and
              (3) by adding at the end the following:
              ``(10) establishing statewide credit transfer agreements 
          aligned to approved career and technical education programs of 
          study.''.
  
  SEC. 7. LOCAL PLAN FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.
  
      Section 134(b) (20 U.S.C. 2354(b)) is amended--
              (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ``and'' after the 
          semicolon;
              (2) in paragraph (12) by striking the period at the end and 
          inserting ``; and''; and
              (3) by adding at the end the following:
              ``(13) describe how the eligible recipient will partner 
          with business and industry to--
                      ``(A) identify opportunities for experiential and 
                  work-based learning opportunities either in-person or 
                  virtually;
                      ``(B) ensure career and technical education 
                  programs of study are responsive to community and 
                  employment demands and are--
                              ``(i) aligned with employment priorities in 
                          the State, regional, or local economy 
                          identified by employers and other relevant 
                          stakeholders identified in section 134(b)(5);
                              ``(ii) informed by labor market 
                          information; and
                              ``(iii) designed to meet current, 
                          intermediate, and long term labor market 
                          projections;
                      ``(C) ensure funding under this Act is spent in a 
                  coordinated manner with other local resources.''.
  
  SEC. 8. AMENDMENT TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 
                1965.
  
      Section 1502(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
  1965 (20 U.S.C. 6492(a)) is amended by striking ``challenging State 
  academic content standards and challenging State student academic 
  achievement standards'' and inserting ``rigorous, State-identified 
  college and career readiness standards that address both academic 
  content and career and technical education content identified under 
  section 113(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 
  Education Act.''.
target: Pathways to Prosperity Act of 2014 - Amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act to replace specified minimum measures of student attainment in the core indicators of performance for career and technical education students at the secondary level with a measure of the median earnings of students employed during the second quarter after completing a career and technical education program of study in the state. Requires the national research center, established under the Act, to engage in evaluation and technical assistance activities that will assist in: (1) collecting information on the industry-recognized credentials awarded to participants in career and technical education programs, and (2) developing the necessary infrastructure to support the state and local reporting of specified related information. Makes it a responsibility of the state agency involved to establish statewide credit transfer agreements aligned to approved career and technical education programs of study. Requires each local plan for career and technical education programs to describe how the eligible recipient of assistance will partner with business and industry to: (1) identify opportunities for experiential and work-based learning opportunities either in-person or virtually, (2) ensure the career and technical education programs of study are responsive to community and employment demands and meet other specified criteria, and (3) ensure funding under the Act is spent in a coordinated manner with other local resources. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise the purpose of grants for demonstration projects of innovative practices to require the projects to show the most promise of enabling the children served to meet rigorous, state-identified college and career readiness standards that address both certain academic content and certain career and technical education content.    
feat_title: Pathways to Prosperity Act of 2014