any eligible agency that submits to the Secretary an application for such a waiver that

(1) demonstrates that a proposed alternative formula more effectively targets funds on the basis of poverty (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget and revised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))1 to local educational agencies within the State than the formula described in subsection (b); and

(2) includes a proposal for such an alternative formula. (d) MINIMUM ALLOCATION.

(1) IN GENERAL.-Except as provided in paragraph (2), a local educational agency shall not receive an allocation under subsection (a) unless the amount allocated to such agency under subsection (a) is greater than $15,000. A local educational agency may enter into a consortium with other local educational agencies for purposes of meeting the minimum allocation requirement of this paragraph.

(2) WAIVER.—The eligible agency shall waive the application of paragraph (1) in any case in which the local educational agency

(A)(i) is located in a rural, sparsely populated area, or (ii) is a public charter school operating secondary vocational and technical education programs; and

(B) demonstrates that the local educational agency is unable to enter into a consortium for purposes of providing activities under this part.

(3) REDISTRIBUTION.-Any amounts that are not allocated by reason of paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) shall be redistributed to local educational agencies that meet the requirements of paragraph (1) or (2) in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(e) LIMITED JURISDICTION AGENCIES.

(1) IN GENERAL.-In applying the provisions of subsection (a), no eligible agency receiving assistance under this title shall allocate funds to a local educational agency that serves only elementary schools, but shall distribute such funds to the local educational agency or regional educational agency that provides secondary school services to secondary school students in the same attendance area.

(2) SPECIAL RULE. The amount to be allocated under paragraph (1) to a local educational agency that has jurisdiction only over secondary schools shall be determined based on the number of students that entered such secondary schools in the previous year from the elementary schools involved. (f) ALLOCATIONS TO AREA VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION SCHOOLS AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCIES.

(1) IN GENERAL.-Each eligible agency shall distribute the portion of funds made available under section 112(a)(1) for any fiscal year by such eligible agency for secondary school vocational and technical education activities under this section to the appropriate area vocational and technical education school or educational service agency in any case in which the area vo

1 So in law. Should be additional parenthesis to close phrase beginning "(as defined by".

cational and technical education school or educational service agency, and the local educational agency concerned

(A) have formed or will form a consortium for the pur

pose of receiving funds under this section; or

(B) have entered into or will enter into a cooperative arrangement for such purpose.

(2) ALLOCATION BASIS.—If an area vocational and technical education school or educational service agency meets the requirements of paragraph (1), then the amount that would otherwise be distributed to the local educational agency shall be allocated to the area vocational and technical education school, the educational service agency, and the local educational agency based on each school, agency or entity's relative share of students who are attending vocational and technical education programs (based, if practicable, on the average enrollment for the preceding 3 years;

(3) APPEALS PROCEDURE.-The eligible agency shall establish an appeals procedure for resolution of any dispute arising between a local educational agency and an area vocational and technical education school or an educational service agency with respect to the allocation procedures described in this section, including the decision of a local educational agency to leave a consortium or terminate a cooperative arrangement. (g) CONSORTIUM REQUIREMENTS.

(1) ALLIANCE.—Any local educational agency receiving an allocation that is not sufficient to conduct a program which meets the requirements of section 135 is encouraged to

(A) form a consortium or enter into a cooperative agreement with an area vocational and technical education school or educational service agency offering programs that meet the requirements of section 135;

(B) transfer such allocation to the area vocational and technical education school or educational service agency; and

(C) operate programs that are of sufficient size, scope, and quality to be effective.

(2) FUNDS TO CONSORTIUM.-Funds allocated to a consortium formed to meet the requirements of this paragraph shall be used only for purposes and programs that are mutually beneficial to all members of the consortium and can be used only for programs authorized under this title. Such funds may not be reallocated to individual members of the consortium for purposes or programs benefiting only one member of the consortium.

(h) DATA.-The Secretary shall collect information from eligible agencies regarding the specific dollar allocations made available by the eligible agency for vocational and technical education programs under subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) and how these allocations are distributed to local educational agencies, area vocational and technical education schools, and educational service agencies, within the State in accordance with this section.

(i) SPECIAL RULE.-Each eligible agency distributing funds under this section shall treat a secondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs within the State as if such school were a

local educational agency within the State for the purpose of receiving a distribution under this section.

(20 U.S.C. 2351)

SEC. 132. DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FOR POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

(a) ALLOCATION.

(1) IN GENERAL.-Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) and section 133, each eligible agency shall distribute the portion of the funds made available under section 112(a)(1) to carry out this section for any fiscal year to eligible institutions or consortia of eligible institutions within the State.

(2) FORMULA.-Each eligible institution or consortium of eligible institutions shall be allocated an amount that bears the same relationship to the portion of funds made available under section 112(a)(1) to carry out this section for any fiscal year as the sum of the number of individuals who are Federal Pell Grant recipients and recipients of assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs enrolled in programs meeting the requirements of section 135 offered by such institution or consortium in the preceding fiscal year bears to the sum of the number of such recipients enrolled in such programs within the State for such year.

(3) CONSORTIUM REQUIREMENTS.—

(A) IN GENERAL.-In order for a consortium of eligible institutions described in paragraph (2) to receive assistance pursuant to such paragraph, such consortium shall operate joint projects that

(i) provide services to all postsecondary institutions participating in the consortium; and

(ii) are of sufficient size, scope, and quality to be effective.

(B) FUNDS TO CONSORTIUM.-Funds allocated to a consortium formed to meet the requirements of this section shall be used only for purposes and programs that are mutually beneficial to all members of the consortium and shall be used only for programs authorized under this title. Such funds may not be reallocated to individual members of the consortium for purposes or programs benefiting only one member of the consortium.

(4) WAIVER. The eligible agency may waive the application of paragraph (3)(A)(i) in any case in which the eligible institution is located in a rural, sparsely populated area.

(b) WAIVER FOR MORE EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.-The Secretary may waive the application of subsection (a) if an eligible agency submits to the Secretary an application for such a waiver that

(1) demonstrates that the formula described in subsection (a) does not result in a distribution of funds to the eligible institutions or consortia within the State that have the highest numbers of economically disadvantaged individuals and that an alternative formula will result in such a distribution; and (2) includes a proposal for such an alternative formula. (c) MINIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.

(1) IN GENERAL.-No institution or consortium shall receive an allocation under this section in an amount that is less than $50,000.

(2) REDISTRIBUTION.-Any amounts that are not distributed by reason of paragraph (1) shall be redistributed to eligible institutions or consortia in accordance with this section.

(20 U.S.C. 2352)

SEC. 133. SPECIAL RULES FOR VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

(a) SPECIAL RULE FOR MINIMAL ALLOCATION.—

(1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.-Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 131 and 132 and in order to make a more equitable distribution of funds for programs serving the areas of greatest economic need, for any program year for which a minimal amount is made available by an eligible agency for distribution under section 131 or 132, such State may distribute such minimal amount for such year—

(A) on a competitive basis; or

(B) through any alternative method determined by the State.

(2) MINIMAL AMOUNT.-For purposes of this section, the term "minimal amount" means not more than 15 percent of the total amount made available for distribution under section 112(a)(1).

(b) REDISTRIBUTION.

(1) IN GENERAL.-In any academic year that an eligible recipient does not expend all of the amounts the eligible recipient is allocated for such year under section 131 or 132, such eligible recipient shall return any unexpended amounts to the eligible agency to be reallocated under section 131 or 132, as appropriate.

(2) REDISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS RETURNED LATE IN AN ACADEMIC YEAR.-In any academic year in which amounts are returned to the eligible agency under section 131 or 132 and the eligible agency is unable to reallocate such amounts according to such sections in time for such amounts to be expended in such academic year, the eligible agency shall retain such amounts for distribution in combination with amounts provided under section 112(a)(1) for the following academic year. (c) CONSTRUCTION.-Nothing in section 131 or 132 shall be construed

(1) to prohibit a local educational agency or a consortium thereof that receives assistance under section 131, from working with an eligible institution or consortium thereof that receives assistance under section 132, to carry out secondary school vocational and technical education programs in accordance with this title;

(2) to prohibit an eligible institution or consortium thereof that receives assistance under section 132, from working with a local educational agency or consortium thereof that receives assistance under section 131, to carry out postsecondary and adult vocational and technical education programs in accordance with this title; or

(3) to require a charter school, that provides vocational and technical education programs and is considered a local educational agency under State law, to jointly establish the charter school's eligibility for assistance under this title unless the charter school is explicitly permitted to do so under the State's charter school statute.

(d) CONSISTENT APPLICATION.-For purposes of this section, the eligible agency shall provide funds to charter schools offering vocational and technical education programs in the same manner as the eligible agency provides those funds to other schools. Such vocational and technical education programs within a charter school shall be of sufficient size, scope, and quality to be effective.

(20 U.S.C. 2353)

SEC. 134. LOCAL PLAN FOR VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

(a) LOCAL PLAN REQUIRED.-Any eligible recipient desiring financial assistance under this part shall, in accordance with requirements established by the eligible agency (in consultation with such other educational entities as the eligible agency determines to be appropriate) submit a local plan to the eligible agency. Such local plan shall cover the same period of time as the period of time applicable to the State plan submitted under section 122.

(b) CONTENTS.-The eligible agency shall determine requirements for local plans, except that each local plan shall

(1) describe how the vocational and technical education programs required under section 135(b) will be carried out with funds received under this title;

(2) describe how the vocational and technical education activities will be carried out with respect to meeting State adjusted levels of performance established under section 113; (3) describe how the eligible recipient will—

(A) improve the academic and technical skills of students participating in vocational and technical education programs by strengthening the academic, and vocational and technical components of such programs through the integration of academics with vocational and technical education programs through a coherent sequence of courses to ensure learning in the core academic, and vocational and technical subjects;

(B) provide students with strong experience in and understanding of all aspects of an industry; and

(C) ensure that students who participate in such vocational and technical education programs are taught to the same challenging academic proficiencies as are taught for all other students;

(4) describe how parents, students, teachers, representatives of business and industry, labor organizations, representatives of special populations, and other interested individuals are involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of vocational and technical education programs assisted under this title, and how such individuals and entities are effectively informed about, and assisted in understanding, the requirements of this title;