23 U.S.C. § 504 : US Code - Section 504: Training and education

Search 23 U.S.C. § 504 : US Code - Section 504: Training and education

(a) National Highway Institute. -
(1) In general. - The Secretary shall operate in the Federal
Highway Administration a National Highway Institute (in this
subsection referred to as the "Institute"). The Secretary shall
administer, through the Institute, the authority vested in the
Secretary by this title or by any other law for the development
and conduct of education and training programs relating to
highways.
(2) Duties of the institute. - In cooperation with State
transportation departments, United States industry, and any
national or international entity, the Institute shall develop and
administer education and training programs of instruction for -
(A) Federal Highway Administration, State, and local
transportation agency employees;
(B) regional, State, and metropolitan planning organizations;
(C) State and local police, public safety, and motor vehicle
employees; and
(D) United States citizens and foreign nationals engaged or
to be engaged in surface transportation work of interest to the
United States.
(3) Courses. -
(A) In general. - The Institute shall -
(i) develop or update existing courses in asset management,
including courses that include such components as -
(I) the determination of life-cycle costs;
(II) the valuation of assets;
(III) benefit-to-cost ratio calculations; and
(IV) objective decisionmaking processes for project
selection; and
(ii) continually develop courses relating to the
application of emerging technologies for -
(I) transportation infrastructure applications and asset
management;
(II) intelligent transportation systems;
(III) operations (including security operations);
(IV) the collection and archiving of data;
(V) expediting the planning and development of
transportation projects; and
(VI) the intermodal movement of individuals and freight.
(B) Additional courses. - In addition to the courses
developed under subparagraph (A), the Institute, in
consultation with State transportation departments,
metropolitan planning organizations, and the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, may
develop courses relating to technology, methods, techniques,
engineering, construction, safety, maintenance, environmental
mitigation and compliance, regulations, management, inspection,
and finance.
(C) Revision of courses offered. - The Institute shall
periodically -
(i) review the course inventory of the Institute; and
(ii) revise or cease to offer courses based on course
content, applicability, and need.
(4) Set-aside; federal share. - Not to exceed 1/2 of 1
percent of the funds apportioned to a State under section
104(b)(3) for the surface transportation program shall be
available for expenditure by the State transportation department
for the payment of not to exceed 80 percent of the cost of
tuition and direct educational expenses (excluding salaries) in
connection with the education and training of employees of State
and local transportation agencies in accordance with this
subsection.
(5) Federal responsibility. -
(A) In general. - Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
education and training of employees of Federal, State, and
local transportation (including highway) agencies authorized
under this subsection may be provided -
(i) by the Secretary at no cost to the States and local
governments if the Secretary determines that provision at no
cost is in the public interest; or
(ii) by the State through grants, cooperative agreements,
and contracts with public and private agencies, institutions,
individuals, and the Institute.
(B) Payment of full cost by private persons. - Private
agencies, international or foreign entities, and individuals
shall pay the full cost of any education and training received
by them unless the Secretary determines that a lower cost is of
critical importance to the public interest.
(6) Training fellowships; cooperation. - The Institute may -
(A) engage in training activities authorized under this
subsection, including the granting of training fellowships; and
(B) carry out its authority independently or in cooperation
with any other branch of the Federal Government or any State
agency, authority, association, institution, for-profit or
nonprofit corporation, other national or international entity,
or other person.
(7) Collection of fees. -
(A) General rule. - In accordance with this subsection, the
Institute may assess and collect fees solely to defray the
costs of the Institute in developing or administering education
and training programs under this subsection.
(B) Limitation. - Fees may be assessed and collected under
this subsection only in a manner that may reasonably be
expected to result in the collection of fees during any fiscal
year in an aggregate amount that does not exceed the aggregate
amount of the costs referred to in subparagraph (A) for the
fiscal year.
(C) Persons subject to fees. - Fees may be assessed and
collected under this subsection only with respect to -
(i) persons and entities for whom education or training
programs are developed or administered under this subsection;
and
(ii) persons and entities to whom education or training is
provided under this subsection.
(D) Amount of fees. - The fees assessed and collected under
this subsection shall be established in a manner that ensures
that the liability of any person or entity for a fee is
reasonably based on the proportion of the costs referred to in
subparagraph (A) that relate to the person or entity.
(E) Use. - All fees collected under this subsection shall be
used to defray costs associated with the development or
administration of education and training programs authorized
under this subsection.
(8) Relation to fees. - The funds made available to carry out
this subsection may be combined with or held separate from the
fees collected under paragraph (7).
(b) Local Technical Assistance Program. -
(1) Authority. - The Secretary shall carry out a local
technical assistance program that will provide access to surface
transportation technology to -
(A) highway and transportation agencies in urbanized and
rural areas;
(B) contractors that perform work for the agencies; and
(C) infrastructure security staff.
(2) Grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts. - The
Secretary may make grants and enter into cooperative agreements
and contracts to provide education and training, technical
assistance, and related support services to -
(A) assist rural, local transportation agencies and tribal
governments, and the consultants and construction personnel
working for the agencies and governments, to -
(i) develop and expand expertise in road and transportation
areas (including pavement, bridge, concrete structures,
intermodal connections, safety management systems,
intelligent transportation systems, incident response,
operations, and traffic safety countermeasures);
(ii) improve roads and bridges;
(iii) enhance -
(I) programs for the movement of passengers and freight;
and
(II) intergovernmental transportation planning and
project selection; and
(iv) deal effectively with special transportation-related
problems by preparing and providing training packages,
manuals, guidelines, and technical resource materials;
(B) develop technical assistance for tourism and recreational
travel;
(C) identify, package, and deliver transportation technology
and traffic safety information to local jurisdictions to assist
urban transportation agencies in developing and expanding their
ability to deal effectively with transportation-related
problems (particularly the promotion of regional cooperation);
(D) operate, in cooperation with State transportation
departments and universities -
(i) local technical assistance program centers designated
to provide transportation technology transfer services to
rural areas and to urbanized areas; and
(ii) local technical assistance program centers designated
to provide transportation technical assistance to tribal
governments; and
(E) allow local transportation agencies and tribal
governments, in cooperation with the private sector, to enhance
new technology implementation.
(3) Federal share. - The Federal share of the cost of
activities carried out by the tribal technical assistance centers
under paragraph (2)(D)(ii) shall be 100 percent.
(c) Research Fellowships. -
(1) General authority. - The Secretary, acting either
independently or in cooperation with other Federal departments,
agencies, and instrumentalities, may make grants for research
fellowships for any purpose for which research is authorized by
this chapter.
(2) Dwight david eisenhower transportation fellowship program. -
The Secretary shall establish and implement a transportation
research fellowship program for the purpose of attracting
qualified students to the field of transportation. The program
shall be known as the "Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation
Fellowship Program".
(d) Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Education
Program. -
(1) In general. - The Secretary shall establish the Garrett A.
Morgan Technology and Transportation Education Program to improve
the preparation of students, particularly women and minorities,
in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through
curriculum development and other activities related to
transportation.
(2) Authorized activities. - The Secretary shall award grants
under this subsection on the basis of competitive peer review.
Grants awarded under this subsection may be used for enhancing
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at the
elementary and secondary school level through such means as -
(A) internships that offer students experience in the
transportation field;
(B) programs that allow students to spend time observing
scientists and engineers in the transportation field; and
(C) developing relevant curriculum that uses examples and
problems related to transportation.
(3) Application and review procedures. -
(A) In general. - An entity described in subparagraph (C)
seeking funding under this subsection shall submit an
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Secretary may require. Such
application, at a minimum, shall include a description of how
the funds will be used to serve the purposes described in
paragraph (2).
(B) Priority. - In making awards under this subsection, the
Secretary shall give priority to applicants that will encourage
the participation of women and minorities.
(C) Eligibility. - Local educational agencies and State
educational agencies, which may enter into a partnership
agreement with institutions of higher education, businesses, or
other entities, shall be eligible to apply for grants under
this subsection.
(4) Definitions. - In this subsection, the following
definitions apply:
(A) Institution of higher education. - The term "institution
of higher education" has the meaning given that term in section
101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
(B) Local educational agency. - The term "local educational
agency" has the meaning given that term in section 9101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801).
(C) State educational agency. - The term "State educational
agency" has the meaning given that term in section 9101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801).
(e) Surface Transportation Workforce Development, Training, and
Education. -
(1) Funding. - Subject to project approval by the Secretary, a
State may obligate funds apportioned to the State under sections
104(b)(1), 104(b)(2), 104(b)(3), 104(b)(4), and 144(e) for
surface transportation workforce development, training, and
education, including -
(A) tuition and direct educational expenses, excluding
salaries, in connection with the education and training of
employees of State and local transportation agencies;
(B) employee professional development;
(C) student internships;
(D) university or community college support; and
(E) education activities, including outreach, to develop
interest and promote participation in surface transportation
careers.
(2) Federal share. - The Federal share of the cost of
activities carried out in accordance with this subsection shall
be 100 percent.
(3) Surface transportation workforce development, training, and
education defined. - In this subsection, the term "surface
transportation workforce development, training, and education"
means activities associated with surface transportation career
awareness, student transportation career preparation, and
training and professional development for surface transportation
workers, including activities for women and minorities.
(f) Transportation Education Development Pilot Program. -
(1) Establishment. - The Secretary shall establish a program to
make grants to institutions of higher education that, in
partnership with industry or State departments of transportation,
will develop, test, and revise new curricula and education
programs to train individuals at all levels of the transportation
workforce.
(2) Selection of grant recipients. - In selecting applications
for awards under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider -
(A) the degree to which the new curricula or education
program meets the specific needs of a segment of the
transportation industry, States, or regions;
(B) providing for practical experience and on-the-job
training;
(C) proposals oriented toward practitioners in the field
rather than the support and growth of the research community;
(D) the degree to which the new curricula or program will
provide training in areas other than engineering, such as
business administration, economics, information technology,
environmental science, and law;
(E) programs or curricula in nontraditional departments that
train professionals for work in the transportation field, such
as materials, information technology, environmental science,
urban planning, and industrial technology; and
(F) the commitment of industry or a State's department of
transportation to the program.
(3) Limitations. - The amount of a grant under this subsection
shall not exceed $300,000 per year. After a recipient has
received 3 years of Federal funding under this subsection,
Federal funding may equal not more than 75 percent of a grantee's
program costs.
(g) Freight Capacity Building Program. -
(1) Establishment. - The Secretary shall establish a freight
planning capacity building initiative to support enhancements in
freight transportation planning in order to -
(A) better target investments in freight transportation
systems to maintain efficiency and productivity; and
(B) strengthen the decisionmaking capacity of State
transportation departments and local transportation agencies
with respect to freight transportation planning and systems.
(2) Agreements. - The Secretary shall enter into agreements to
support and carry out administrative and management activities
relating to the governance of the freight planning capacity
initiative.
(3) Stakeholder involvement. - In carrying out this section,
the Secretary shall consult with the Association of Metropolitan
Planning Organizations, the American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials, and other freight planning
stakeholders, including the other Federal agencies, State
transportation departments, local governments, nonprofit
entities, academia, and the private sector.
(4) Eligible activities. - The freight planning capacity
building initiative shall include research, training, and
education in the following areas:
(A) The identification and dissemination of best practices in
freight transportation.
(B) Providing opportunities for freight transportation staff
to engage in peer exchange.
(C) Refinement of data and analysis tools used in conjunction
with assessing freight transportation needs.
(D) Technical assistance to State transportation departments
and local transportation agencies reorganizing to address
freight transportation issues.
(E) Facilitating relationship building between governmental
and private entities involved in freight transportation.
(F) Identifying ways to target the capacity of State
transportation departments and local transportation agencies to
address freight considerations in operations, security, asset
management, and environmental excellence in connection with
long-range multimodal transportation planning and project
implementation.
(5) Federal share. - The Federal share of the cost of an
activity carried out under this section shall be up to 100
percent, and such funds shall remain available until expended.
(6) Use of funds. - Funds made available for the program
established under this subsection may be used for research,
program development, information collection and dissemination,
and technical assistance. The Secretary may use such funds
independently or make grants or to (!1) and enter into contracts
and cooperative agreements with a Federal agency, State agency,
local agency, federally recognized Indian tribal government or
tribal consortium, authority, association, nonprofit or for-
profit corporation, or institution of higher education, to carry
out the purposes of this subsection.