Student Debt Alternative and CTE Awareness Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3365 To require the Secretary of Education to disclose information about career and technical education and funding under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, and require FAFSA applications to include a career and technical education acknowledgment. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 20, 2021 Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To require the Secretary of Education to disclose information about career and technical education and funding under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, and require FAFSA applications to include a career and technical education acknowledgment. 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 ‘‘Student Debt Alter- 4 native and CTE Awareness Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:16 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3365.IH H3365 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3365 IH (1) Career and technical education provides in- 1 dividuals with a rigorous academic alternative to a 2 costly 4-year degree, and prepares individuals with 3 employable and occupation-specific skills. 4 (2) Career and technical education programs— 5 (A) offer 16 different high-skilled, high-de- 6 mand career fields of study; and 7 (B) can take between 6 months and 2 8 years to complete, compared to a traditional 4- 9 year bachelor’s degree. 10 (3) The average cost for a career and technical 11 education program is $3,000 to $6,000 per year, 12 while the average cost for an in-State, public 4-year 13 institution is over $25,000 per year. 14 SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE ON DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 15 WEBSITE. 16 The Secretary of Education (acting through the Of- 17 fice of Federal Student Aid) shall— 18 (1) not later than 60 days after the date of en- 19 actment of this Act, publish on the public website of 20 the Office of Federal Student Aid of the Department 21 of Education information on— 22 (A) career and technical education pro- 23 grams, including average completion time, pro- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:23 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3365.IH H3365 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3365 IH gram cost, and post-graduation employment 1 rate; and 2 (B) opportunities in each State— 3 (i) to pursue such programs; and 4 (ii) for funding to pursue such pro- 5 grams under the Carl D. Perkins Career 6 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 7 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); and 8 (2) continuously update and maintain the infor- 9 mation published under paragraph (1) to ensure 10 that such information continues to be relevant. 11 SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE ON FAFSA APPLICATION. 12 Section 494(a)(1)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 13 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098h(a)(1)(A)) is amended by adding 14 at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(iii) career and technical education 16 programs (as defined in section 3 of the 17 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 18 Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302)) 19 are a viable alternative to a 4-year degree, 20 and include, to ensure such individuals are 21 made aware of such programs and related 22 career paths at the beginning of the appli- 23 cation— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:23 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3365.IH H3365 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3365 IH ‘‘(I) a one-page summary of the 1 most recent information provided 2 under section 3(1) of the Student 3 Debt Alternative and CTE Awareness 4 Act; and 5 ‘‘(II) an acknowledgment signa- 6 ture box;’’. 7 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 8 The terms ‘‘career and technical education’’ and 9 ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given the terms in section 3 10 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 11 Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:16 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3365.IH H3365 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS