JOBS Act of 2023 — CivicLens

Federal

JOBS Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 3,785 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill allows students to receive federal Pell Grants (money for education that doesn't need to be repaid) while enrolled in short-term job training programs. Previously, Pell Grants were only available for longer degree programs. The bill creates new rules for which job training programs qualify and requires government agencies to share data about training program performance. ##

Who It Affects

* Students enrolled in eligible job training programs at colleges and vocational schools * Colleges and vocational institutions offering job training programs * The Secretary of Education (responsible for managing the program) * The Secretary of Labor (who shares workforce training data) * Accrediting agencies (organizations that evaluate school quality) * State boards overseeing workforce training ##

Key Provisions

* Students in eligible job training programs can receive Federal Pell Grants starting with the school year beginning July 1, 2023, with the same terms and conditions as other Pell Grant recipients (Sec. 2(a)(2)) * An eligible job training program must provide between 150 and 600 clock hours of instruction over 8 to 15 weeks and lead to a recognized credential that employers in the field accept (Sec. 2(a)(1)(B)(i)) * The Secretary of Education must approve or deny a program's eligibility within 60 days of submission (Sec. 2(a)(1)(B)(ii)) * Accrediting agencies must develop standards to evaluate whether institutions can effectively offer job training programs and must verify that programs lead to credentials recognized by industry partnerships (Sec. 2(b)) * The Secretary of Education must enter into a data sharing agreement with the Secretary of Labor to access workforce training performance information at least once yearly (Sec. 2(c)) * The minimum Federal Pell Grant amount changes from ten percent to 5 percent of the maximum grant (Sec. 2(d)) ##

What Changes

Students who complete short-term career training programs at eligible institutions can now access federal Pell Grant funding. Previously this funding was not available for programs shorter than the traditional college semester structure. Accrediting agencies must now evaluate job training programs as part of their institutional reviews. Federal agencies will share data about workforce training program outcomes. ##

Important Definitions

* **Eligible job training program**: A career and technical education program lasting 8 to 15 weeks with 150 to 600 instructional hours that provides training in high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand jobs and results in a credential employers recognize * **Institutional credit articulation**: When a college gives a student academic credit for completing a non-credit job training program, which can count toward a future degree or certificate at that college * **Eligible career pathway program**: A program that meets federal requirements, is listed on an approved workforce provider list, is part of a career pathway, and aligns with an approved career and technical education program of study * **Recognized postsecondary credential**: A certificate, diploma, or other credential that employers in an industry actually recognize and value ##

Effective Date

The main provisions take effect July 1, 2023. The change to the minimum Pell Grant amount takes effect as if it were included in earlier legislation, subject to that legislation's effective date.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 793 To extend Federal Pell Grant eligibility of certain short-term programs. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 2, 2023 Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio (for himself, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. TURNER, and Ms. SHERRILL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To extend Federal Pell Grant eligibility of certain short- term programs. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jumpstart Our Busi- 4 nesses by Supporting Students Act of 2023’’ or the 5 ‘‘JOBS Act of 2023’’. 6 SEC. 2. EXTENDING FEDERAL PELL GRANT ELIGIBILITY OF 7 CERTAIN SHORT-TERM PROGRAMS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 793 IH (1) PRIOR TO FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION.—Section 1 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 2 U.S.C. 1070a) is amended by inserting after sub- 3 section (j) the following: 4 ‘‘(k) JOB TRAINING FEDERAL PELL GRANT PRO- 5 GRAM.— 6 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 7 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE CAREER PATHWAY PRO- 8 GRAM.—The term ‘eligible career pathway pro- 9 gram’ means a program that— 10 ‘‘(i) meets the requirements of section 11 484(d)(2); 12 ‘‘(ii) is listed on the provider list 13 under section 122(d) of the Workforce In- 14 novation and Opportunity Act; 15 ‘‘(iii) is part of a career pathway, as 16 defined in section 3 of that Act; and 17 ‘‘(iv) is aligned to a program of study 18 as defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Per- 19 kins Career and Technical Education Act 20 of 2006. 21 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE JOB TRAINING PRO- 22 GRAM.— 23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 24 job training program’ means a career and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 793 IH technical education program at an institu- 1 tion of higher education that— 2 ‘‘(I) provides not less than 150, 3 and not more than 600, clock hours of 4 instructional time over a period of not 5 less than 8 weeks and not more than 6 15 weeks; 7 ‘‘(II) provides training aligned 8 with the requirements of high-skill, 9 high-wage, or in-demand industry sec- 10 tors or occupations in the State or 11 local area, as determined by an indus- 12 try or sector partnership; 13 ‘‘(III) is a program of training 14 services, and provided through an eli- 15 gible training provider, as described 16 under section 122(d) of the Workforce 17 Innovation and Opportunity Act; 18 ‘‘(IV) provides a student, upon 19 completion of the program, with a rec- 20 ognized postsecondary credential that 21 is recognized by employers in the rel- 22 evant industry, including credentials 23 recognized by industry or sector part- 24 nerships in the relevant industry in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 793 IH the State or local area where the in- 1 dustry is located and the job training 2 program is provided; 3 ‘‘(V) has been determined by the 4 institution of higher education (after 5 validation of that determination by an 6 industry or sector partnership) to pro- 7 vide academic content, an amount of 8 instructional time, and a recognized 9 postsecondary credential that are suf- 10 ficient to— 11 ‘‘(aa) meet the hiring re- 12 quirements of potential employ- 13 ers; and 14 ‘‘(bb) satisfy any applicable 15 educational prerequisite require- 16 ment for professional licensure or 17 certification, so that the student 18 who completes the program and 19 seeks employment qualifies to 20 take any licensure or certification 21 examination needed to practice or 22 find employment in an occupa- 23 tion that the program prepares 24 students to enter; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 793 IH ‘‘(VI) may include integrated 1 education and training; 2 ‘‘(VII) may be offered as part of 3 an eligible career pathway program; 4 ‘‘(VIII) does not exceed by more 5 than 50 percent the minimum number 6 of clock hours required for training if 7 the State has established such a re- 8 quirement; and 9 ‘‘(IX) shall include institutional 10 credit articulation for a student en- 11 rolled in a noncredit job training pro- 12 gram. 13 ‘‘(ii) APPROVAL BY THE SEC- 14 RETARY.—In the case of a program that is 15 seeking to establish eligibility as an eligible 16 job training program under this subpara- 17 graph, the Secretary shall make a deter- 18 mination about whether the program meets 19 the requirements of this subparagraph not 20 more than 60 days after the date on which 21 such program is submitted for consider- 22 ation as an eligible job training program. 23 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL ASSURANCE.—The 24 Secretary shall not determine that a pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 793 IH gram is an eligible job training program in 1 accordance with clause (ii) unless the Sec- 2 retary receives a certification from the ap- 3 propriate State board containing an assur- 4 ance that the program meets the require- 5 ments of clause (i). 6 ‘‘(C) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU- 7 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu- 8 cation’ means— 9 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education, 10 as defined in section 101; or 11 ‘‘(ii) a postsecondary vocational insti- 12 tution, as defined in section 102(c). 13 ‘‘(D) INSTITUTIONAL CREDIT ARTICULA- 14 TION.—The term ‘institutional credit articula- 15 tion’ means an institution of higher education 16 provides a student who has completed a non- 17 credit program with the equivalent academic 18 credit that may be applied to a subsequent 19 credit-bearing certificate or degree program 20 upon enrollment in such program at such insti- 21 tution. 22 ‘‘(E) WIOA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘in- 23 dustry or sector partnership’, ‘in-demand indus- 24 try sector or occupation’, ‘recognized postsec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 793 IH ondary credential’, and ‘State board’ have the 1 meanings given such terms in section 3 of the 2 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 3 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—For the award year begin- 4 ning on July 1, 2023, and each subsequent award 5 year, the Secretary shall carry out a program 6 through which the Secretary shall award Federal 7 Pell Grants to students in eligible job training pro- 8 grams (referred to as a ‘job training Federal Pell 9 Grant’). Each eligible job training Federal Pell 10 Grant awarded under this subsection shall have the 11 same terms and conditions, and be awarded in the 12 same manner, as other Federal Pell Grants awarded 13 under subsection (a), except as follows: 14 ‘‘(A) A student who is eligible to receive a 15 job training Federal Pell Grant under this sub- 16 section is a student who— 17 ‘‘(i) has not yet attained a 18 postbaccalaureate degree; 19 ‘‘(ii) attends an institution of higher 20 education; 21 ‘‘(iii) is enrolled, or accepted for en- 22 rollment, in an eligible job training pro- 23 gram at such institution of higher edu- 24 cation; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 793 IH ‘‘(iv) meets all other eligibility re- 1 quirements for a Federal Pell Grant (ex- 2 cept with respect to the type of program of 3 study, as provided in clause (iii)). 4 ‘‘(B) The amount of a job training Federal 5 Pell Grant for an eligible student shall be deter- 6 mined under subsection (b), except that sub- 7 section (b)(4) shall not apply. 8 ‘‘(3) INCLUSION IN TOTAL ELIGIBILITY PE- 9 RIOD.—Any period during which a student receives 10 a job training Federal Pell Grant under this sub- 11 section shall be included in calculating the student’s 12 period of eligibility for Federal Pell Grants under 13 subsection (c), and the eligibility requirements re- 14 garding students who are enrolled in an under- 15 graduate program on less than a full-time basis shall 16 similarly apply to students who are enrolled in an el- 17 igible job training program at an eligible institution 18 on less than a full-time basis.’’. 19 (2) AFTER FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION ACT.—Sec- 20 tion 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 21 U.S.C. 1070a), as amended by section 703 of the 22 FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII of division FF 23 of Public Law 116–260) and the FAFSA Simplifica- 24 tion Act Technical Corrections Act (Public Law 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 793 IH 117–103), is further amended by adding at the end 1 the following: 2 ‘‘(k) JOB TRAINING FEDERAL PELL GRANT PRO- 3 GRAM.— 4 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 5 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE CAREER PATHWAY PRO- 6 GRAM.—The term ‘eligible career pathway pro- 7 gram’ means a program that— 8 ‘‘(i) meets the requirements of section 9 484(d)(2); 10 ‘‘(ii) is listed on the provider list 11 under section 122(d) of the Workforce In- 12 novation and Opportunity Act; 13 ‘‘(iii) is part of a career pathway, as 14 defined in section 3 of that Act; and 15 ‘‘(iv) is aligned to a program of study 16 as defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Per- 17 kins Career and Technical Education Act 18 of 2006. 19 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE JOB TRAINING PRO- 20 GRAM.— 21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 22 job training program’ means a career and 23 technical education program at an institu- 24 tion of higher education that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 793 IH ‘‘(I) provides not less than 150, 1 and not more than 600, clock hours of 2 instructional time over a period of not 3 less than 8 weeks and not more than 4 15 weeks; 5 ‘‘(II) provides training aligned 6 with the requirements of high-skill, 7 high-wage, or in-demand industry sec- 8 tors or occupations in the State or 9 local area, as determined by an indus- 10 try or sector partnership; 11 ‘‘(III) is a program of training 12 services, and provided through an eli- 13 gible training provider, as described 14 under section 122(d) of the Workforce 15 Innovation and Opportunity Act; 16 ‘‘(IV) provides a student, upon 17 completion of the program, with a rec- 18 ognized postsecondary credential that 19 is recognized by employers in the rel- 20 evant industry, including credentials 21 recognized by industry or sector part- 22 nerships in the relevant industry in 23 the State or local area where the in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 793 IH dustry is located and the job training 1 program is provided; 2 ‘‘(V) has been determined by the 3 institution of higher education (after 4 validation of that determination by an 5 industry or sector partnership) to pro- 6 vide academic content, an amount of 7 instructional time, and a recognized 8 postsecondary credential that are suf- 9 ficient to— 10 ‘‘(aa) meet the hiring re- 11 quirements of potential employ- 12 ers; and 13 ‘‘(bb) satisfy any applicable 14 educational prerequisite require- 15 ment for professional licensure or 16 certification, so that the student 17 who completes the program and 18 seeks employment qualifies to 19 take any licensure or certification 20 examination needed to practice or 21 find employment in an occupa- 22 tion that the program prepares 23 students to enter; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 793 IH ‘‘(VI) may include integrated 1 education and training; 2 ‘‘(VII) may be offered as part of 3 an eligible career pathway program; 4 ‘‘(VIII) does not exceed by more 5 than 50 percent the minimum number 6 of clock hours required for training if 7 the State has established such a re- 8 quirement; and 9 ‘‘(IX) shall include institutional 10 credit articulation for a student en- 11 rolled in a noncredit job training pro- 12 gram. 13 ‘‘(ii) APPROVAL BY THE SEC- 14 RETARY.—In the case of a program that is 15 seeking to establish eligibility as an eligible 16 job training program under this subpara- 17 graph, the Secretary shall make a deter- 18 mination about whether the program meets 19 the requirements of this subparagraph not 20 more than 60 days after the date on which 21 such program is submitted for consider- 22 ation as an eligible job training program. 23 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL ASSURANCE.—The 24 Secretary shall not determine that a pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 793 IH gram is an eligible job training program in 1 accordance with clause (ii) unless the Sec- 2 retary receives a certification from the ap- 3 propriate State board containing an assur- 4 ance that the program meets the require- 5 ments of clause (i). 6 ‘‘(C) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU- 7 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu- 8 cation’ means— 9 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education, 10 as defined in section 101; or 11 ‘‘(ii) a postsecondary vocational insti- 12 tution, as defined in section 102(c). 13 ‘‘(D) INSTITUTIONAL CREDIT ARTICULA- 14 TION.—The term ‘institutional credit articula- 15 tion’ means an institution of higher education 16 provides a student who has completed a non- 17 credit program with the equivalent academic 18 credit that may be applied to a subsequent 19 credit-bearing certificate or degree program 20 upon enrollment in such program at such insti- 21 tution. 22 ‘‘(E) WIOA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘in- 23 dustry or sector partnership’, ‘in-demand indus- 24 try sector or occupation’, ‘recognized postsec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H793.IH H793 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 14 •HR 793 IH ondary credential’, and ‘State board’ have the 1 meanings given such terms in section 3 of the 2 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 3 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—For the award year begin- 4 ning on July 1, 2023, [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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