Title 20, EducationRelease 119-110
§2351 Distribution of Funds to Secondary Education Programs
Title 20 › CHAPTER 44 — CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION › SUBCHAPTER I — CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION ASSISTANCE TO THE STATES › Part C — Local Provisions › § 2351
Summary
State education agencies must divide federal money for secondary career and technical education to local school districts and similar groups. Thirty percent of the money is given based on how many kids ages 5–17 live in each district. Seventy percent is given based on how many kids ages 5–17 in each district are from families below the poverty line. The counts come from the latest good data (like Census or NCES) and must be adjusted for changed district lines and for schools without regular boundaries (for example, charter schools and Bureau of Indian Education secondary schools). A State can ask the federal Secretary to use a different formula if it would target poor students better. No district gets money unless its share is more than $15,000, though districts can join together to meet that minimum. Rural districts and some charter secondary schools can get a waiver if they cannot join a consortium. Money meant for secondary career and technical education can go to area CTE schools or educational service agencies when they form consortia, and shares are split by student counts (using a 3‑year average if practical). The State must have an appeals process for disputes, use consortium funds only for shared programs, report how funds are allocated, and treat BIE-funded secondary schools like local districts.
Full Legal Text
Title 20, §2351
Education, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Distribution rules
Except as provided in section 2353 of this title and as otherwise provided in this section, each eligible agency shall distribute the portion of funds made available under section 2322(a)(1) of this title to carry out this section to local educational agencies within the State as follows:
(1)Thirty percent
Thirty percent shall be allocated to such local educational agencies in proportion to the number of individuals aged 5 through 17, inclusive, who reside in the school district served by such local educational agency for the preceding fiscal year compared to the total number of such individuals who reside in the school districts served by all local educational agencies in the State for such preceding fiscal year, as determined on the basis of the most recent satisfactory—
(A)data provided to the Secretary by the Bureau of the Census for the purpose of determining eligibility under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.]; or
(B)student membership data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics through the Common Core of Data survey system.
(2)Seventy percent
Seventy percent shall be allocated to such local educational agencies in proportion to the number of individuals aged 5 through 17, inclusive, who reside in the school district served by such local educational agency and are from families below the poverty level for the preceding fiscal year, as determined on the basis of the most recent satisfactory data used under section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 6333(c)(1)(A)], compared to the total number of such individuals who reside in the school districts served by all the local educational agencies in the State for such preceding fiscal year.
(3)Adjustments
Each eligible agency, in making the allocations under paragraphs (1) and (2), shall adjust the data used to make the allocations to—
(A)reflect any change in school district boundaries that may have occurred since the data were collected; and
(B)include local educational agencies without geographical boundaries, such as charter schools and secondary schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education.
(b)Waiver for more equitable distribution
The Secretary may waive the application of subsection (a) in the case of 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 9902(2) of title 42) to local educational agencies within the State than the formula described in subsection (a); and
(2)includes a proposal for such an alternative formula.
(c)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 school career and technical education programs or programs of study; 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.
(d)Limited jurisdiction agencies
(1)In general
In applying the provisions of subsection (a), no eligible agency receiving assistance under this subchapter 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.
(e)Allocations to area career and technical education schools and educational service agencies
(1)In general
Each eligible agency shall distribute the portion of funds made available under section 2322(a)(1) of this title for any fiscal year by such eligible agency for career and technical education activities at the secondary level under this section to the appropriate area career and technical education school or educational service agency in any case in which the area career and technical education school or educational service agency, and the local educational agency concerned—
(A)have formed or will form a consortium for the purpose 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 career 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 career 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 career 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 career 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.
(f)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 2355 of this title is encouraged to—
(A)form a consortium or enter into a cooperative agreement with an area career and technical education school or educational service agency offering programs that meet the requirements of section 2355 of this title;
(B)transfer such allocation to the area career 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 subsection 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 subchapter. Such funds may not be reallocated to individual members of the consortium for purposes or programs benefitting only 1 member of the consortium.
(g)Data
The Secretary shall collect information from eligible agencies regarding the specific dollar allocations made available by the eligible agency for career and technical education programs and programs of study under subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) and how these allocations are distributed to local educational agencies, area career and technical education schools, and educational service agencies, within the State in accordance with this section.
(h)Special rule
Each eligible agency distributing funds under this section shall treat a secondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian Education 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.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, referred to in subsec. (a)(1)(A), is Pub. L. 89–10, Apr. 11, 1965, 79 Stat. 27. Title I of the Act is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 6301 et seq.) of chapter 70 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 6301 of this title and Tables.
Prior Provisions
A prior section 2351, Pub. L. 88–210, title I, § 131, as added Pub. L. 105–332, § 1(b), Oct. 31, 1998, 112 Stat. 3109, related to distribution of funds to secondary school programs, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 109–270. Another prior section 2351, Pub. L. 88–210, title III, § 301, as added Pub. L. 98–524, § 1, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2457, related to applications by community-based organizations, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 105–332.
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (a)(3)(B). Pub. L. 115–224, § 131(1), substituted “Bureau of Indian Education” for “Bureau of Indian Affairs”. Subsec. (c)(2)(A)(ii). Pub. L. 115–224, § 131(2), inserted “or programs of study” after “technical education programs”. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 115–224, § 131(3), inserted “and programs of study” after “technical education programs”. Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 115–224, § 131(4), substituted “Bureau of Indian Education” for “Bureau of Indian Affairs”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–224 effective July 1, 2019, see section 4 of Pub. L. 115–224, set out as a note under section 2301 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
20 U.S.C. § 2351
Title 20, Education
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110