21st Century Workforce Partnerships Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3186 To award career pathways innovation grants to local educational agencies and consortia of local educational agencies, to provide technical assistance within the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education to administer the grants and support the local educational agencies with the prepara- tion of grant applications and management of grant funds, to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to support community college and industry partnerships, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 13, 2021 Ms. CRAIG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To award career pathways innovation grants to local edu- cational agencies and consortia of local educational agen- cies, to provide technical assistance within the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education to administer the grants and support the local educational agencies with the preparation of grant applications and manage- ment of grant funds, to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to support community college and industry partnerships, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3186 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Work- 2 force Partnerships Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen- 6 tary school’’, ‘‘high school’’, ‘‘local educational agen- 7 cy’’, ‘‘middle grades’’, and ‘‘secondary school’’ have 8 the meanings given the terms in section 8101 of the 9 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 10 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 11 (2) BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY PARTNER.—The 12 term ‘‘business or industry partner’’ means— 13 (A) a business; 14 (B) an industry or sector partnership, as 15 defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innova- 16 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); 17 (C) an association of multiple businesses 18 or other employers in an in-demand industry 19 sector or occupation, as defined in section 3 of 20 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 21 (29 U.S.C. 3102); 22 (D) a community partner; 23 (E) an intermediary organization; or 24 (F) a labor management training partner- 25 ship. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3186 IH (3) CAREER PATHWAY.—The term ‘‘career 1 pathway’’ has the meaning given the term in section 2 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 3 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 4 (4) COMMUNITY PARTNER.—The term ‘‘com- 5 munity partner’’ means a nonprofit organization or 6 a State, local, or tribal government entity that has 7 expertise— 8 (A) in the planning and delivery of edu- 9 cation, career training, and related programs; 10 (B) in forging coordination and coopera- 11 tion between educators and other members of 12 the community; 13 (C) in training educators and other 14 deliverers of educational services; 15 (D) in development and implementation of 16 data systems that measure the progress of stu- 17 dents, schools, and institutions of higher edu- 18 cation, or career pathways programs; or 19 (E) in delivering an increase in earnings, 20 family incomes, or family resources. 21 (5) ELIGIBLE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘eligible 22 agency’’ means— 23 (A) a local educational agency; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3186 IH (B) a consortium of local educational agen- 1 cies or an agent operating on behalf of the con- 2 sortium; or 3 (C) a school operated or funded by the Bu- 4 reau of Indian Education. 5 (6) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean- 6 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self- 7 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 8 U.S.C. 5304). 9 (7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 10 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 11 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 13 (8) INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATION.—The term 14 ‘‘intermediary organization’’ means a nonprofit orga- 15 nization that has expertise in training, forging pub- 16 lic-private partnerships, systems development, capac- 17 ity-building, improving scalability, and evaluation. 18 (9) LABOR MANAGEMENT TRAINING PARTNER- 19 SHIP.—The term ‘‘labor management training part- 20 nership’’ means an independent organization jointly 21 controlled by employers and unions that supports 22 workforce training and development. 23 (10) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—The term ‘‘Native 24 Hawaiian’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3186 IH tion 6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 1 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517). 2 (11) PROGRAM OF STUDY.—The term ‘‘pro- 3 gram of study’’ means a State approved career and 4 technical education program of courses that articu- 5 lates between secondary and postsecondary school. 6 (12) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PRO- 7 GRAM.—The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship pro- 8 gram’’ means a program registered under the Act of 9 August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 10 Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 11 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 12 (13) SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘school 13 partnership’’ means a partnership that— 14 (A) shall include, at a minimum— 15 (i) an eligible agency; and 16 (ii) one or more business or industry 17 partners; and 18 (B) may also include one or more of the 19 following partners: 20 (i) A community-based organization. 21 (ii) A joint labor-management part- 22 nership. 23 (iii) An institution of higher edu- 24 cation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3186 IH (iv) A State board or local board (as 1 such terms are defined in section 3 of the 2 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 3 (29 U.S.C. 3102)). 4 (v) An apprenticeship college that— 5 (I) is not eligible to receive funds 6 under title IV of the Higher Edu- 7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 8 et seq.); 9 (II) is an institution that pro- 10 vides instruction related to a reg- 11 istered apprenticeship program or is a 12 sponsor of a registered apprenticeship 13 program; and 14 (III) meets the requirements of 15 subsection (a) or (b) of section 101 of 16 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 17 U.S.C. 1001). 18 (vi) Any other entity that the Sec- 19 retary, after consultation with the Sec- 20 retary of Labor, considers appropriate. 21 (14) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 22 means the Secretary of Education. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3186 IH SEC. 3. SECONDARY SCHOOL TO CAREER PATHWAYS INNO- 1 VATION GRANT PROGRAM. 2 (a) CAREER PATHWAYS INNOVATION GRANT PRO- 3 GRAM ESTABLISHED.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail- 5 able to carry out this section, the Secretary, after 6 consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall es- 7 tablish a career pathways innovation grant program, 8 through which the Secretary shall award grants, on 9 a competitive basis, to eligible agencies for the pur- 10 pose of addressing the specialized skill needs of busi- 11 ness and industry by carrying out programs of study 12 or career pathways programs, featuring school part- 13 nerships, that support career pathways in high 14 school or career exploration in the middle grades, 15 leading to higher subsequent employment and job 16 quality. 17 (2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 18 section— 19 (A) shall be for a period of 3 years; and 20 (B) may be renewed for one additional 2- 21 year period, if the eligible agency demonstrates 22 sufficient progress in achieving the goals of the 23 initial grant. 24 (b) APPLICATION.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3186 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible agency desiring a 1 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec- 2 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 3 and containing such information as the Secretary 4 may require. 5 (2) CONTENTS; PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT.— 6 The application submitted under paragraph (1) shall 7 include— 8 (A) an initial partnership agreement, en- 9 tered into by the eligible agency and all mem- 10 bers of the school partnership, that— 11 (i) specifies the duties and responsibil- 12 ities of each partner; 13 (ii) describes the commitment of re- 14 sources or materials to be provided by each 15 partner toward the school partnership, en- 16 suring that the business or industry part- 17 ners in the school partnership provide an 18 amount of resources, in cash or in-kind, to- 19 ward the activities supported under the 20 grant that equals or exceeds the amount 21 contributed by the eligible agency and the 22 amount to be provided by the grant under 23 this section; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3186 IH (iii) describes how the overall goals of 1 the school partnership align with any 2 statewide, regional, or local workforce de- 3 velopment strategies in existence at the 4 time of the application, including those es- 5 tablished under the Workforce Innovation 6 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et 7 seq.) or the Carl D. Perkins Career and 8 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 9 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); 10 (B) a description of how the eligible agency 11 and members of the school partnership will col- 12 laborate to ensure the quality of the career 13 pathways program offered under the grant, in- 14 cluding any program that leads to an industry- 15 recognized credential or postsecondary credit 16 leading to a degree or certification in a career 17 pathway; 18 (C) identification of the goals and meas- 19 ures used to define progress toward student 20 outcomes, which may align with existing goals 21 and measurement provided under the Elemen- 22 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 23 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins Ca- 24 reer and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3186 IH U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), and the Workforce Inno- 1 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et 2 seq.); and 3 (D) a strategic plan describing the role 4 and activities of the eligible agency and all 5 members of the school partnership in sup- 6 porting how the program will be sustained fol- 7 lowing the end of the grant. 8 (3) METHODS THAT MEASURE JOB QUALITY.— 9 The application submitted under paragraph (1) may 10 include a description of how the school partnership 11 will experiment with methods that measure job qual- 12 ity. 13 (c) AWARD BASIS.—In awarding grants under this 14 section, the Secretary shall— 15 (1) ensure that, to the extent practicable based 16 on the applications received under subsection (b)— 17 (A) not less than 15 percent of the grant 18 funds available to carry out this section are 19 awarded to rural eligible agencies; and 20 (B) not less than 5 percent of the grant 21 funds available to carry out this section are 22 awarded to eligible agencies that serve a sub- 23 stantial percentage of Indian or Native Hawai- 24 ian children; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3186 IH (2) except to the extent necessary to comply 1 with paragraph (1), give priority to— 2 (A) any eligible agency whose school part- 3 nership includes an institution of higher edu- 4 cation offering postsecondary credits, or an en- 5 tity offering a registered apprenticeship pro- 6 gram that is articulated through secondary 7 school programming counting towards the reg- 8 istered apprenticeship requirements, through 9 the career pathways program under the grant; 10 (B) any eligible agency whose career path- 11 ways program— 12 (i) in a high school, offers concurrent 13 enrollment opportunities for postsecondary 14 credit; or 15 (ii) leads to a recognized postsec- 16 ondary credential, as defined in section 3 17 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 18 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); and 19 (C) any eligible agency whose career path- 20 ways programs are focused on serving low-in- 21 come students (defined as eligible for benefits 22 under the free and reduced price school lunch 23 program established under the Richard B. Rus- 24 sell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3186 IH 1751 et seq.)), out-of-school youth, students 1 with disabilities, students experiencing home- 2 lessness, students who are English language 3 learners, students who have low levels of lit- 4 eracy, or youth who are in or have aged out of 5 the foster care system. 6 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 7 (1) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible 8 agency receiving grant funds under this section shall 9 use grant funds to build or expand a career path- 10 ways program featuring school partnerships that 11 supports career pathways in high school or career 12 exploration in the middle grades. 13 (2) PERMISSIVE USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible 14 agency receiving grant funds under this section may 15 use grant funds either during or outside of the 16 school day or school year— 17 (A) to hire a designated career pathways 18 partnership coordinator to seek out and build 19 relationships with business or industry partners 20 to foster and manage the school partnerships 21 supported under the grant; 22 (B) for the costs of new equipment, infra- 23 structure (such as facilities, technology, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3186 IH staffing), or transportation related to the career 1 pathways program; 2 (C) to recruit, or assist with State licen- 3 sure and credential requirements, career and 4 tec [Text truncated for display. 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