21st Century SKILLS Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1911 To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to provide training services linked to employment demand through Upskill Accounts, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 19, 2019 Ms. HARRIS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to provide training services linked to employment demand through Upskill Accounts, 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 ‘‘21st Century Skills 4 are Key to Individuals’ Life-Long Success Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘21st Century SKILLS Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1911 IS (1) In 1962, Congress authorized the first sub- 1 stantial Federal job training programs in the post- 2 war period, to retrain workers displaced because of 3 technological change. 4 (2) For nearly 60 years, Federal workforce de- 5 velopment programs have emphasized targeted edu- 6 cation and job training and reemployment activities, 7 service coordination and delivery, and a demand- 8 driven approach that is responsive to consumer 9 choice for participants and to the labor needs of 10 local employers. 11 (3) Now the 21st century economy demands 12 systems that equip workers to be able to think criti- 13 cally and creatively, solve complex problems, make 14 evidence-based decisions, adapt to evolving tech- 15 nologies, and work collaboratively. 16 (4) Increasing 21st century skills development 17 is linked to improving employment prospects and 18 work success. Removal of structural barriers to em- 19 ployment prospects and work success, such as im- 20 plicit bias, hiring discrimination, transportation 21 gaps, and housing insecurity, requires raising em- 22 ployer responsibility and job standards and improv- 23 ing connections for individuals with barriers to em- 24 ployment. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1911 IS (5) Sector partnerships bring together employ- 1 ers, education and training providers, labor organi- 2 zations and joint labor-management partnerships, 3 local workforce boards, and other stakeholders to 4 collaborate to identify local needs and align training 5 and education opportunities with local employment 6 demand, including through the use of career path- 7 ways for workers. 8 (6) Building on the functions of entities in the 9 workforce development system, including aggre- 10 gating data and acting as catalysts to promote ca- 11 reers with good pay, will contribute to fostering in- 12 clusive economic growth. 13 (7) This Act, and the amendments made by this 14 Act, will remove barriers to inclusive economic 15 growth by allowing workers to access training oppor- 16 tunities through eligible providers of training serv- 17 ices, including community colleges and registered ap- 18 prenticeship programs, and by providing supportive 19 services, including child care and transportation. 20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 21 In this Act: 22 (1) CAREER PATHWAY.—The term ‘‘career 23 pathway’’ means a combination of rigorous and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1911 IS high-quality education, training, and other services 1 that— 2 (A) aligns with the skill needs of industries 3 in the economy of the State or regional econ- 4 omy involved; 5 (B) prepares an individual to be successful 6 in any of a full range of secondary or postsec- 7 ondary education options, including registered 8 apprenticeship programs; 9 (C) includes counseling to support an indi- 10 vidual in achieving the individual’s education 11 and career goals; 12 (D) includes, as appropriate, education of- 13 fered concurrently with and in the same context 14 as workforce preparation activities and training 15 for a specific occupation or occupational cluster; 16 (E) organizes education, training, and 17 other services to meet the particular needs of 18 an individual in a manner that accelerates the 19 educational and career advancement of the indi- 20 vidual to the extent practicable; 21 (F) enables an individual to attain a sec- 22 ondary school diploma or its recognized equiva- 23 lent, and at least 1 recognized postsecondary 24 credential (as defined in section 3 of the Work- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1911 IS force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 1 U.S.C. 3102)); and 2 (G) helps an individual enter or advance 3 within a specific occupation or occupational 4 cluster. 5 (2) ELIGIBLE PROVIDER OF TRAINING SERV- 6 ICES.—The term ‘‘eligible provider of training serv- 7 ices’’ means a provider of training services that, sub- 8 ject to the provisions of the Workforce Innovation 9 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101), as amended 10 by this Act, is— 11 (A) an institution of higher education that 12 provides a program that leads to a recognized 13 postsecondary credential, as defined in section 3 14 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 15 Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); 16 (B) an entity that carries out a registered 17 apprenticeship program; or 18 (C) another public or private provider of a 19 program of training services, which may include 20 a joint labor-management organization or an el- 21 igible providers of adult education and literacy 22 activities under the Adult Education and Lit- 23 eracy Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) if such ac- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1911 IS tivities are provided in combination with occu- 1 pational skills training. 2 (3) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 3 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 4 means an apprenticeship program that is registered 5 under the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known 6 as the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, 7 chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 8 (4) SECTOR PARTNERSHIP.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘sector part- 10 nership’’ means an industry or sector partner- 11 ship, as defined in section 3 of the Workforce 12 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 13 3102), meaning a workforce collaborative, con- 14 vened by or acting in partnership with a State 15 board or local board, that— 16 (i) organizes key stakeholders in an 17 industry cluster into a working group that 18 focuses on the shared goals and human re- 19 sources needs of the industry cluster and 20 that includes, at the appropriate stage of 21 development of the partnership— 22 (I) representatives of multiple 23 businesses or other employers in the 24 industry cluster, including small and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1911 IS medium-sized employers when prac- 1 ticable; 2 (II) 1 or more representatives of 3 a recognized State labor organization 4 or central labor council, or another 5 labor representative, as appropriate; 6 and 7 (III) 1 or more representatives of 8 an institution of higher education 9 with, or another provider of, education 10 or training programs that support the 11 industry cluster; and 12 (ii) may include representatives of— 13 (I) State or local government; 14 (II) State or local economic de- 15 velopment agencies; 16 (III) State boards or local 17 boards, as appropriate; 18 (IV) a State workforce agency or 19 other entity providing employment 20 services; 21 (V) other State or local agencies; 22 (VI) business or trade associa- 23 tions; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1911 IS (VII) economic development or- 1 ganizations; 2 (VIII) nonprofit organizations, 3 community-based organizations, or 4 intermediaries; 5 (IX) philanthropic organizations; 6 (X) industry associations; and 7 (XI) other organizations, as de- 8 termined to be necessary by the mem- 9 bers comprising the industry or sector 10 partnership. 11 (B) WIOA TERMS.—A term used in sub- 12 paragraph (A) shall have the meaning given the 13 term, if any, in section 3 of the Workforce In- 14 novation and Opportunity Act (42 U.S.C. 15 3102). 16 SEC. 4. UPSKILL ACCOUNTS. 17 (a) DISCRETIONARY FUNDING FOR ACTIVITIES 18 OTHER THAN TRAINING SERVICES.— 19 (1) ALLOTMENTS.—Section 132 of the Work- 20 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 21 3172) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 22 lowing: 23 ‘‘(d) DISCRETIONARY AND MANDATORY FUNDING.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1911 IS ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Notwithstanding 1 any other provision of this chapter, none of the 2 funds appropriated under subsection (a), (b), or (c) 3 of section 136, and allotted or otherwise provided 4 under this section, may be used to provide training 5 services, except under the provisions described in 6 paragraph (2). Funds appropriated under section 7 136(d) shall be used to provide training services and 8 supportive services under section 134(c)(3), and ad- 9 ditional sums described in section 134(c)(3)(C)(ii) 10 for career services under section 134(c)(2). 11 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The provisions described in 12 this paragraph are section 129(b), paragraph (2) or 13 (3) of section 134(a), or section 134(d), 169(c) or 14 170.’’. 15 (2) ALLOCATIONS.—Section 133(b)(1) of such 16 Act (29 U.S.C. 3173(b)(1)) is amended by striking 17 ‘‘The’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to section 132(d), 18 the’’. 19 (b) MANDATORY FUNDING FOR TRAINING SERV- 20 ICES.—Section 134 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 3174) is 21 amended— 22 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 23 following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1911 IS ‘‘(b) LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVI- 1 TIES.— 2 ‘‘(1) TRAINING SERVICES.—Funds appropriated 3 under section 136(d) shall be used to pay or reim- 4 burse local boards for the cost of providing training 5 services, supportive services, and career services as 6 described in section 136(d). 7 ‘‘(2) OTHER EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING AC- 8 TIVITIES.—Funds allocated to a local area for adults 9 under paragraph (2)(A) or (3), as appropriate, of 10 section 133(b), and funds allocated to a local area 11 for dislocated workers under section 133(b)(2)(B)— 12 ‘‘(A) shall be used to carry out employ- 13 ment and training activities described in sub- 14 section (c), other than subsection (c)(3), for 15 adults or dislocated workers, respectively; and 16 ‘‘(B) may be used to carry out employment 17 and training activities described in subsection 18 (d) for adults or dislocated workers, respec- 19 tively.’’. 20 (c) ACCOUNTS.—Section 134(c) of such Act (29 21 U.S.C. 3174(c)) is amended— 22 (1) in paragraph (1)— 23 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 24 (i) by striking clause (iii); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1911 IS (ii) by redesignating clauses (iv) and 1 (v) as clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively; 2 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 3 subparagraph (C); and 4 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 5 the following: 6 ‘‘(B) TRAINING SERVICES, SUPPORTIVE 7 SERVICES, AND CAREER SERVICES FUNDS.— 8 Funds appropriated under section 136(d) shall 9 be used to provide training services, supportive 10 services, and career services as described in sec- 11 tion 136(d) to adults and dislocated workers 12 who are eligible for the services involved.’’; 13 (2) in paragraph (2)— 14 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 15 ‘‘Funds described in paragraph (1)’’ and insert- 16 ing ‘‘Funds described in paragraph (1) or made 17 available under paragraph (3)(C)(ii)’’; and 18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(D) PRIORITY.—With respect to funds al- 20 located to a local area for adult employment 21 and training activities under paragraph (2)(A) 22 or (3) of section 133(b), priority shall be given 23 to recipients of public assistance, other low-in- 24 come individuals, and individuals who are basic 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1911 IS skills deficient for receipt of career services de- 1 scribed in subparagraph (A)(xii). The appro- 2 priate local board and the Governor shall direct 3 the one-stop operators in the local area with re- 4 gard to making determinations related to such 5 priority.’’; and 6 (3) in paragraph (3)— 7 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i)— 8 (i) in the matter preceding subclause 9 (I)— 10 (I) by striking ‘‘funds allocated 11 to a local area for adults under para- 12 graph (2)(A) or (3), as appropriate, of 13 section 133(b), and funds allocated to 14 the local area for dislocated workers 15 under section 133(b)(2)(B),’’ and in- 16 serting ‘‘funds appropriated under 17 section 136(d) and made available 18 under subparagraph (C)(i)’’; and 19 (II) by striking ‘‘, respectively’’; 20 and 21 (ii) in subclause (IV), by striking 22 ‘‘who are’’ and all that follows and insert- 23 ing ‘‘who meet the requirements of sub- 24 paragraph (E).’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Jun 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1911.IS S1911 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 1911 IS (B) by amending subparagraph (C) to read 1 as follows: 2 ‘‘(C) ARRANGEMENTS FOR OBTAINING 3 FEDERAL FUNDING.— 4 ‘‘(i) TRAINING SERVICES AND SUP- 5 PORTIVE SERVICES.—The Secretary shall 6 establish arrangements by which a local 7 board shall obtain payment in advance for 8 the cost of providing training services and 9 supportive services through Upskill Ac- 10 counts or contracts to individuals who have 11 been determined to meet the requirements 12 of subparagraph (A) and are therefore eli- 13 gible for the services involved. 14 ‘‘(ii) CAREER SERVICES AND COORDI- 15 NATION ACTIVITIES.—Whe [Text truncated for display. 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