(a) The State Board of Career Education may approve the establishment of vocational centers to serve high school students from several school districts in locations where services are needed to:
(1) Support economic, industrial, and employment development efforts;
(2) Provide equity and substantially equal access to quality vocational programs; and
(3) Improve school programs to assist schools in meeting accreditation standards.
(b) The board shall approve only centers which utilize existing vocational education resources such as facilities, equipment, etc., except in those geographic areas in which comprehensive vocational offerings have not been developed and the state board determines that those resources must be developed to accomplish the above purposes.
(c) If a postsecondary vocational-technical school or two-year college which operates a secondary vocational center merges or consolidates with a public institution of higher education, the secondary vocational center may continue to be administered by the institution of higher education involved in the merger or consolidation.