20 U.S.C. § 2422
Section 2422 · National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee
Amended 3 times on record
There is established a National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (in this section referred to as the “Committee”) which shall consist of the Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, the Commissioner of the Rehabilitative Services Administration, the Director of the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs, the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, and the Administrator of the National Center for Education Statistics of the Department of Education, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics and the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training of the Department of Labor, the Undersecretary for Small Community and Rural Development of the Department of Agriculture, the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development of the Department of Commerce, and the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management and Personnel). The Committee, with funds available to it under section 2451 of this title, shall provide funds, on an annual basis, to State occupational information coordinating committees and to eligible recipients and shall—
(1) in the use of program data and employment data, improve coordination and communication among administrators and planners of programs authorized by this chapter and by the Job Training Partnership Act [29 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.], employment security agency administrators, research personnel, and personnel of employment and training planning and administering agencies (including apprenticeship training agencies) at the Federal, State, and local levels;
(2) develop and implement, in cooperation with State and local agencies, an occupational information system to meet the common occupational information needs of vocational education programs and employment and training programs (including postsecondary employment and training programs) at the national, State, and local levels, which system shall include data on occupational demand and supply based on uniform definitions, standardized estimating procedures, and standardized occupational classifications, including regularly updated data on employment demand for agribusiness;
(3) conduct studies to improve the quality and delivery of occupational information systems to assist economic development activities, and examine the effects of technological change on new and existing occupational areas and the required changes in knowledge and job skills;
(4) continue training, technical assistance activities to support comprehensive career guidance, and vocational counseling programs designed to promote improved career decisionmaking by individuals (especially in areas of career information delivery and use);
(5) coordinate the efforts of Federal, State, and local agencies and Tribal agencies with respect to such programs; and
(6) assist State occupational information coordinating committees established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
Each State receiving assistance under this chapter shall establish a State occupational information coordinating committee composed of representatives of the State board, the State employment security agency, the State economic development agency, the State job training coordinating council, the State board or agency governing higher education, and the agency administering the vocational rehabilitation program. Such committee shall, with funds available to it from the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee established pursuant to subsection (a) of this section—
(1) implement an occupational information system in the State which will meet the common needs for the planning for, and the operation of, programs of the State board assisted under this chapter, of the administering agencies under the Job Training Partnership Act [29 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.] and of the State board or agency governing higher education; and
(2) use the occupational information system to implement a career information delivery system.
(1)(A) The Committee, in consultation with the National Center or Centers for Research in Vocational Education, appropriate Federal agencies, and the States, shall establish a demonstration program to monitor educational outcomes for vocational education using wage and other records. The Committee shall develop procedures for establishing and maintaining nationally accessible information on a sample of wage and earning records maintained by States on earnings, establishment and industry affiliation and geographical location, and on educational activities. This information shall be collected on at least an annual basis. The program shall ensure that a scientific sample of vocational education students and nonvocational education students, local educational agencies, and States participate in the program. The Committee shall maintain, analyze, and report data collected under the program and shall provide technical assistance to States, local educational agencies, and others that wish to participate in the study.
(B)(i) Participation in the program described in subparagraph (A) shall be voluntary. The Committee shall enter into an agreement with any State which desires to carry out a study for the State under this subsection. Each such agreement shall contain provisions designed to assure—
(I) that the State will participate in the study;
(II) that the State will pay from non-Federal sources the non-Federal share of participation; and
(III) that the State agrees to the terms and conditions specified in this section.
(ii) For each fiscal year, the non-Federal share for the purpose of this program shall be the cost of conducting the study in the State, including the cost of administering the assessment for the State sample and the cost of coordination within the State.
(2) The program shall provide for an independent evaluation conducted by the Office of Technology Assessment of the Congress to assess the validity, fairness, accuracy, and utility of the data it produces. The report shall also describe the technical problems encountered and a description of what was learned about how to best implement and utilize data from the program.
(3) The provision of wage and other records to the Committee by a State employment security agency shall be voluntary and pursuant to an agreement between the Committee and the agency. Such agreement shall take into consideration issues such as—
(A) reimbursing the State employment security agency for the costs to the agency of providing the information; and
(B) compliance with safeguards established by the State employment security agency and determined by the Secretary of Labor to be appropriate to ensure that the information disclosed to the Committee is used only for the purposes of this subsection.
(4) The Executive Director of the Committee, in consultation with the Secretary, shall ensure that all personally identifiable information about students, their educational performance and their families and information with respect to individual schools shall remain confidential in accordance with the provisions of section 552 of title 5. The data gathered under this subsection shall not be used to rank, compare, or otherwise evaluate individual students or individual schools. No individual may be included in the program without that individual's written consent. At least once every 3 years the Secretary shall remind participants in writing of their inclusion in the program.
In the development and design of a system to provide data on graduation or completion rates, job placement rates from occupationally specific programs, licensing rates, and awards of high school graduate equivalency diplomas (GED), each State board for higher education shall develop a data collection system the results of which can be integrated into the occupational information system developed under this section.
Of amounts reserved under section 2451(a)(3)(A) of this title to carry out the provisions of this section, the Committee shall use—
(1) to support State occupational information coordinating committees for the purpose of operating State occupational information systems and career information delivery systems, the greater of—
(A) an amount equal to the aggregate amount appropriated or otherwise made available for that purpose for the fiscal year 1990; or
(B) an amount equal to 75 percent of the aggregate amount appropriated or otherwise made available to carry out this section; and
(2) for purposes of carrying out subsection (c) of this section—
(A) an amount equal to not less than 10 percent of the amounts available to carry out this section; or
(B) if the amount remaining after carrying out paragraph (1) is insufficient to provide the amount described in subparagraph (A), such remaining amount.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
The Job Training Partnership Act, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1) and (b)(1), is Pub. L. 97 300, Oct. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1322, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 19 (§1501 et seq.) of Title 29, Labor. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1501 of Title 29 and Tables.
Amendments
1994—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 103 227, §991(1), inserted “(including postsecondary employment and training programs)” after “training programs”.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103 227, §991(2)(B), inserted “the State board or agency governing higher education,” after “coordinating council,” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (b)(1), (2). Pub. L. 103 227, §991(2)(A), (C), redesignated subpars. (A) and (B) as pars. (1) and (2), respectively, and in par. (1) substituted “chapter, of” for “chapter and of” before “the administering agencies” and inserted “and of the State board or agency governing higher education” after “Job Training Partnership Act”.
Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 103 227, §991(3), (4), added subsec. (d) and redesignated former subsec. (d) as (e).
1990—Pub. L. 101 392, §408(a), substituted “National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee” for “Occupational information system” in section catchline.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101 392, §408(b)(1)(A) (C), in introductory provisions inserted “(in this section referred to as the ‘Committee’)” after “Coordinating Committee” and “the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education,” after “Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs,” and substituted “(Force Management and Personnel)” for “(Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics)”.
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 101 392, §408(b)(1)(D), inserted before semicolon at end “, including regularly updated data on employment demand for agribusiness”.
Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 101 392, §408(b)(1)(E), substituted “conduct studies to improve the quality and delivery of occupational information systems to assist economic development activities, and examine” for “contract studies on” and struck out “and” at end.
Subsec. (a)(4) to (6). Pub. L. 101 392, §408(b)(1)(F), (G), added pars. (4) and (5) and redesignated former par. (4) as (6).
Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 101 392, §408(b)(2), added subsecs. (c) and (d).
Effective Date of 1990 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 101 392 effective July 1, 1991, see section 702(a) of Pub. L. 101 392, set out as a note under section 2301 of this title.
Transition Provisions
Section 3(b)(1) of Pub. L. 98 524 provided that: “On the effective date of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act [see Effective Date note set out under section 2301 of this title], the personnel, property, and records of the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee established under section 161(b) of the Vocational Education Act of 1963 [Pub. L. 88 210, title I, as added Pub. L. 94 482, title II, §202(a), Oct. 12, 1976, 90 Stat. 2197, and amended, formerly 20 U.S.C. 2391(b)] shall be transferred to the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee established pursuant to section 422 of this Act [this section].”