Office relating to postsecondary vocational, technical, and occupational training funded under this Act, (4) the administration of any other Act of Congress vesting authority in the Commissioner for vocational, occupational, and adult education, and (5) the administration of those portions of any Act of Congress relating to career education which are relevant to the purposes of other Acts of Congress administered by the Bureau.

(b) (1) The Bureau shall be headed by a person (appointed or designated by the Commissioner) who is highly qualified in the fields of Vocational, technical, and occupational education, who is accorded the rank of Deputy Commissioner.

(2) Additional positions are created for, and shall be assigned to, the Bureau as follows:

(A) three positions to be placed in grade 17 of such General Schedule, one of which shall be filled by a person with broad experience in the field of junior and community college education.

(B) seven positions to be placed in grade 16 of such General Schedule, at least two of which shall be filled by persons with broad experience in the field of postsecondary-occupational education in community and junior colleges, at least one of which shall be filled by a person with broad experience in education in private proprietary institutions, and at least one of which shall be filled by a person with professional experience in occupational guidance and counseling, and

(C) three positions which shall be filled by persons at least one of whom is a skilled worker in a recognized occupation, another is a subprofessional technician in one of the branches of engineering, and the other is a subprofessional worker in one of the branches of social or medical services, who shall serve as senior advisers in the administration of the programs in the Bureau. (3) The Commissioner shall assign to the Bureau, by the end of fiscal year 1978, at least 50 per centum more persons to directly administer the programs authorized under this Act than were assigned to directly administer this Act during fiscal year 1976.

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION DATA AND OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATIONAL

DATA SYSTEMS

SEC. 161. (a) (1) The Commissioner and the Administrator of the National Center for Education Statistics shall, by September 30, 1977, jointly develop information elements and uniform definitions for a national vocational education data reporting and accounting system. This system shall include information resulting from the evaluations required to be conducted by section 112(b) (as such section will be in effect on October 1, 1977) and other information on vocational(A) students (including information on their race and sex), (B) programs,

(C) program completers and leavers,

(D) staff,

(E) facilities, and

(F) expenditures.

(2) In developing this system, the Commissioner and the Administrator shall endeavor as much as possible to make the system com

patible with the occupational information data system developed pursuant to subsection (b) and other information systems involving data on programs assisted under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973.

(3)(A) After the completion of the development of these information elements and uniform definitions pursuant to paragraph (1), the Administrator, shall immediately begin to design, implement, and operate this information system which shall be in full operation for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 1978.

(B) Any State receiving assistance under this Act shall cooperate with the Administrator in supplying the information required to be submitted by the Administrator and shall comply in its reports with the information elements and definitions developed jointly by the Administrator and the Commissioner pursuant to paragraph (1). Each State shall submit this data to the Administrator in whatever form he requires; and, whenever possible, this reporting shall include reporting of data by labor market areas within the State.

(4) The Administrator shall have the responsibility for updating this national vocational education information and accounting system and for preparing annual acquisition plans of data for operating this system. These plans shall be submitted to the Commissioner for his review and comment.

(b) (1) There is hereby established a National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee which shall consist of the Commissioner, the Administrator, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, and the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training. This Committee, with funds available to it under section 103 (a) (as such section will be in effect on the date of the enactment of the Education Amendments of 1976), shall

(A) in the use of program data and employment data, improve coordination between, and communication among, administrators and planners of programs authorized by this Act and by the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973, employment security agency administrators, research personnel, and employment and training planning and administering agencies at the Federal, State, and local levels;

(B) develop and implement, by September 30, 1978, an occupational information system to meet the common occupational information needs of vocational education programs and employment and training programs of 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; and

(C) assist State occupational information coordinating committees established pursuant to paragraph (2).

(2) By September 30, 1977, each State receiving assistance under this Act and under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 shall establish a State occupational information coordinating committee composed of representatives of the State board, the State employment security agency, the State Manpower Services Council, and the agency administering the vocational rehabilitation program. This committee shall, with funds available to it from the National

Coordinating Committee established pursuant to paragraph (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 Act and of the administering agencies under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973.

NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

SEC. 162. (a) The National Advisory Council on Vocational Education, established pursuant to section 104(a) of the Vocational Education Act of 1963, in effect prior to the enactment of the Education Amendments of 1976, shall continue to exist during the period for which appropriations are authorized under this Act. Individuals who are members of the Council on the date of the enactment of this Act may continue to serve for the terms for which they are appointed. Members appointed to succeed such individuals shall be appointed by the President for terms of three years. The Council shall consist of twenty-one members, each of whom shall be designated as representing one of the categories set forth in the following sentence. The National Advisory Council shall include individuals

(1) representative of labor and management, including persons who have knowledge of semiskilled, skilled, and technical employment;

(2) representative of new and emerging occupational fields; (3) knowledgeable in the field of vocational guidance and counseling;

(4) representing the National Commission for Manpower Policy created pursuant to title V of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973;

(5) representing nonprofit private schools;

(6) who are women with backgrounds and experiences in employment and training programs, who are knowledgeable with respect to problems of sex discrimination in job training and in employment, including women who are members of minority groups and who have, in addition to such backgrounds and experiences, special knowledge of the problems of discrimination in job training and employment against women who are members of such groups;

(7) knowledgeable about the administration of State and local vocational education programs, including members of school boards and private institutions;

(8) experienced in the education and training of handicapped persons and of persons of limited English-speaking ability (as defined in section 703 (a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965);

(9) familiar with the special problems and needs of individuals disadvantaged by their socioeconomic backgrounds;

(10) having special knowledge of postsecondary and adult vocational education programs;

(11) familiar with the special problems of individuals in correctional institutions; and

(12) representative of the general public who are not Federal employees, including parents and students, except that they must not be representative of categories (1) through (11), and who shall constitute not less than one-third of the total membership. The National Council shall have as a majority of its members persons who are not educators or administrators in the field of education. In appointing the National Advisory Council, the President shall insure that there is appropriate representation of both sexes, racial and ethnic minorities, and the various geographic regions of the country. The President shall select the chairman. The National Advisory Council shall meet at the call of the Chairman, but not less than four times a year.

(b) The National Advisory Council shall

(1) advise the President, Congress, Secretary, and Commissioner concerning the administration of, preparation of general regulations and budget requests for, and operation of, vocational education programs supported with assistance under this Act;

(2) review the administration and operation of vocational education programs under this Act, and other pertinent laws affecting Vocational education and manpower training (including the effectiveness of such programs in meeting the purposes for which they are established and operated), make recommendations with respect thereto, and make annual reports of its findings and recommendations (including recommendations for changes in the provisions of this Act and such other pertinent laws) to the President, Congress, Secretary, and Commissioner;

(3) make such other reports or recommendations to the President, Congress, Secretary, Commissioner, or head of any other Federal department or agency as it may deem desirable;

(4) (A) identify, after consultation with the National Commission for Manpower Policy, the vocational education and employment and training needs of the Nation and assess the extent to which vocational education, employment training, vocational rehabilitation, special education, and other programs, under this and related Acts represent a consistent, integrated, and coordinated approach to meeting such needs; and (B) comment, at least once annually, on the reports of the National Commission, which comments shall be included in one of the reports submitted by the National Advisory Council pursuant to this section and in one of the reports submitted by the National Commission pursuant to section 505 of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973.

(5) conduct such studies, hearings, or other activities as it deems necessary to enable it to formulate appropriate recommendations; (6) conduct independent evaluations of programs carried out under this Act and publish and distribute the results thereof; and (7) provide technical assistance and leadership to State advisory councils established pursuant to section 105, in order to assist them in carrying out their responsibilities under this Act. (c) There are authorized to be appropriated $450.000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1978, $475.000 for the fiscal year ending prior to September 30, 1979 and $500,000 for each of the fiscal years

ending prior to September 30, 1982 for the purposes of this subsection. The Council is authorized to use the funds appropriated pursuant to the preceding sentence to carry out its functions as set forth in this section and to engage such technical assistance as may be required to assist it in performing these functions. The National Council may accept gifts if the acceptance of such gifts will better enable it to carry out its functions under this section.

Subpart 2-Programs of National Significance

PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT

SEC. 171. (a) Funds reserved to the Commissioner under section 103 for programs under this part shall be used primarily for contracts, and some cases for grants, for

(1) activities authorized by sections 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, and 136, if such activities are deemed to be of national significance by the Commissioner;

(2) support of a national center for research in vocational education, chosen once every five years, which center shall be a nonprofit agency, shall be assisted by an advisory committee appointed by the Commissioner, shall have such locations, including contracts with one or more regional research centers, as shall be determined by the Commissioner after consultation with the national center and its advisory committee taking into consideration the vocational education research resources available, geographical area to be served and the schools, program, projects, and students and areas to be served by research activities, and shall, either directly or through other public agencies

(A) conduct applied research and development on problems of national significance in vocational education;

(B) provide leadership development through an advanced study center and inservice education activities for State and local leaders in vocational education;

(C) disseminate the results of the research and development projects funded by the center;

(D) develop and provide information to facilitate national planning and policy development in vocational education;

(E) (i) act as a clearinghouse for information on contracts made by the States pursuant to section 131, section 132, and section 133, and on contracts made by the Commissioner pursuant to this section; and (ii) compile an annotated bibliography of research, exemplary and innovative program projects, and curriculum development projects assisted with funds made available under this Act since July 1, 1970; and

(F) work with States, local educational agencies, and other public agencies in developing methods of evaluating programs, including the follow-up studies of program completers and leavers required by section 112, so that these agencies can offer job training programs which are more closely related to the types of jobs available in their communities, regions, and States; and