Supporting Apprenticeship Colleges Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2303 To authorize funding to expand and support enrollment at institutions of higher education that sponsor construction and manufacturing-oriented registered apprenticeship programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 1, 2021 Ms. CRAIG (for herself and Mr. STAUBER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To authorize funding to expand and support enrollment at institutions of higher education that sponsor construction and manufacturing-oriented registered apprenticeship programs, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Supporting Appren- 4 ticeship Colleges Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. COMMUNITY OUTREACH GRANT PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appropriated 7 under subsection (f), the Secretary of Education shall pro- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2303.IH H2303 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2303 IH vide grants to eligible entities for the purposes of expand- 1 ing or supporting potential student and employer outreach 2 carried out by such entities with respect to the construc- 3 tion and manufacturing-oriented registered apprenticeship 4 programs offered by such entities. 5 (b) AMOUNTS.—The total grant amount made to an 6 eligible entity under this section may not exceed $500,000. 7 (c) USE OF GRANTS.—An eligible entity that receives 8 a grant under this section shall use such grant for the 9 outreach described in subsection (a), which shall include 10 the following: 11 (1) Outreach to high schools, for the purpose of 12 educating students, parents, guardians, and faculty 13 on the benefits of enrolling in the construction and 14 manufacturing-oriented registered apprenticeship 15 program offered by the eligible entity. 16 (2) Outreach to local businesses and other po- 17 tential employers for the purpose of educating such 18 employers on the benefits of hiring graduates of 19 such program, which shall— 20 (A) primarily target relationship building 21 with potential employers in rural, exurban, and 22 suburban areas; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2303.IH H2303 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2303 IH (B) seek to maximize the number of stu- 1 dents who work in such areas after completing 2 such program. 3 (3) Outreach to local workforce development 4 boards for the purpose of reaching nontraditional 5 student populations and prioritizing local needs. 6 (d) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible enti- 7 ty seeking a grant under this section shall submit an appli- 8 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 9 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 10 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec- 11 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 12 that demonstrate outreach efforts targeted at increasing 13 program enrollment for rural, first generation, minority, 14 and nontraditional students, or other students from 15 underrepresented population. 16 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 17 are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to carry out 18 this section for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 19 2025. 20 SEC. 3. STUDENT SUPPORT GRANT PROGRAM FOR EX- 21 PANDED ACADEMIC ADVISING. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appropriated 23 under subsection (g), the Secretary of Education shall pro- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2303.IH H2303 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2303 IH vide grants to eligible entities for the activities described 1 in subsection (d). 2 (b) AMOUNTS.—The total grant amount made to an 3 eligible entity under this section may not exceed $500,000. 4 (c) MULTIPLE GRANTS PERMITTED.—An eligible en- 5 tity may receive a grant under sections 2 and 3. 6 (d) USE OF GRANTS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re- 8 ceives a grant under this section shall use such 9 grant for advising and support services to enrollees 10 of construction and manufacturing-oriented reg- 11 istered apprenticeship programs offered by such en- 12 tity to increase retention and persistence for stu- 13 dents. 14 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Such advising and sup- 15 port services shall include the following: 16 (A) Expanding academic advising pro- 17 grams that provide services to students, includ- 18 ing the following: 19 (i) Career advising and professional 20 development. 21 (ii) Support for English as a second 22 language students. 23 (iii) Information and resource sys- 24 tems. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2303.IH H2303 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2303 IH (iv) Mentoring systems. 1 (v) Other such programs. 2 (B) Expanding student support programs 3 that provide services to students, including the 4 following: 5 (i) Health and family-related services, 6 including substance abuse disorder and 7 mental health counseling. 8 (ii) Support for first-generation stu- 9 dents. 10 (iii) Childcare support. 11 (iv) Other such programs. 12 (v) In the case of an eligible entity 13 that is a construction and manufacturing- 14 oriented registered apprenticeship pro- 15 gram, maintaining its accreditation by a 16 nationally recognized accrediting agency or 17 association recognized by the Secretary of 18 Education pursuant to part H of title IV 19 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 20 U.S.C. 1099a et seq.), 21 (e) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible enti- 22 ty seeking a grant under this section shall submit an appli- 23 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 24 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2303.IH H2303 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2303 IH (f) REPORT.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re- 2 ceives a grant under this section shall submit to the 3 Secretary a report on— 4 (A) the activities supported by the grant; 5 (B) the number of students participating 6 in the activities supported by the grant; 7 (C) any progress made in achieving the 8 goals of the program supported by the grant, in 9 general, and measuring in particular— 10 (i) the effectiveness of the grant in ex- 11 panding overall enrollment and program 12 completion rates; and 13 (ii) the effectiveness of the grant in 14 expanding enrollment and program comple- 15 tion rates for underrepresented popu- 16 lations; and 17 (D) such other information as the Sec- 18 retary determines to be appropriate. 19 (2) TIMELINE FOR SUBMISSION OF REPORT.— 20 The report under paragraph (1) shall be submitted 21 to the Secretary not later than 180 days after the 22 date on which the eligible entity concludes the activi- 23 ties supported by the grant under this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2303.IH H2303 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2303 IH (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 1 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 2 $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 3 2025. 4 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this Act: 6 (1) CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURING-ORI- 7 ENTED APPRENTICESHIP COLLEGE.—The term 8 ‘‘construction and manufacturing-oriented appren- 9 ticeship college’’ means— 10 (A) an institution of higher education that 11 is a sponsor of a construction and manufac- 12 turing-oriented registered apprenticeship pro- 13 gram; or 14 (B) a construction and manufacturing-ori- 15 ented registered apprenticeship program. 16 (2) CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURING-ORI- 17 ENTED REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 18 The term ‘‘construction and manufacturing-oriented 19 registered apprenticeship program’’ means a reg- 20 istered apprenticeship program that— 21 (A) provides coursework and training in 22 preparation for employment in the construction 23 or manufactory industry (such as employment 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2303.IH H2303 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2303 IH as a painter, drywall finisher, glazier, or glass- 1 worker); 2 (B)(i) leads to a recognized postsecondary 3 credential other than a certificate of completion 4 of an apprenticeship; or 5 (ii) awards credits that can be applied to- 6 ward a recognized postsecondary credential; and 7 (C) is accredited by a nationally recognized 8 accrediting agency or association recognized by 9 the Secretary of Education pursuant to part H 10 of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 11 (20 U.S.C. 1099a et seq.). 12 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 13 ty’’ means a construction and manufacturing-ori- 14 ented apprenticeship college. 15 (4) FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT.— 16 The term ‘‘first generation college student’’ has the 17 meaning given the term in section 402A(h) of the 18 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a– 19 11(h)). 20 (5) HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high school’’ 21 has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of 22 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 23 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2303.IH H2303 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2303 IH (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 1 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 2 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 3 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 4 (7) OUTREACH.—The term ‘‘outreach’’ means 5 communications and relationship-building opportuni- 6 ties undertaken by an eligible entity. 7 (8) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN- 8 TIAL.—The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary creden- 9 tial’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 10 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 11 U.S.C. 3102). 12 (9) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 13 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 14 means an apprenticeship program registered under 15 the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as 16 the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, 17 chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 18 (10) SECOND LANGUAGE.—The term ‘‘second 19 language’’ means any language other than English, 20 including Braille and American Sign Language. 21 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 22 means the Secretary of Education. 23 (12) UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATION.—The 24 term ‘‘underrepresented population’’ means an indi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2303.IH H2303 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2303 IH vidual who is from a group whose gender, ethnic 1 background, or national origin is not traditionally 2 represented in registered apprenticeship programs. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2303.IH H2303 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS