Jobs to Compete Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1655 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend Federal Pell Grant eligibility to certain short-term workforce programs. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 17, 2023 Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, and Ms. NOR- TON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend Federal Pell Grant eligibility to certain short-term work- force 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 ‘‘Jobs to Compete Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. WORKFORCE PELL GRANTS. 5 Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 6 U.S.C. 1070a), as amended by section 703 of the FAFSA 7 Simplification Act (title VII of division FF of Public Law 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1655.IH H1655 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 1655 IH 116–260), is further amended by adding at the end the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(k) WORKFORCE PELL GRANTS PROGRAM.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For award year 2025–2026 4 and each succeeding award year, the Secretary shall 5 award grants (referred to as a ‘Workforce Pell 6 Grants’) to eligible students under paragraph (2) in 7 accordance with this subsection. 8 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—To be eligible to 9 receive a Workforce Pell Grant under this subsection 10 for any period of enrollment, a student shall meet 11 the eligibility requirements for a Federal Pell Grant 12 under this section, except that the student— 13 ‘‘(A) notwithstanding the eligibility re- 14 quirements with respect to the program of 15 study, shall be enrolled, or accepted for enroll- 16 ment, in an eligible workforce program de- 17 scribed in section 481(b)(3), offered by an eligi- 18 ble institution of higher education (as defined 19 in section 481(b)(3)(F)); and 20 ‘‘(B) notwithstanding the eligibility re- 21 quirements with respect to the first under- 22 graduate baccalaureate course of study under 23 subsection (d)(1) may have completed such first 24 undergraduate baccalaureate course of study, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1655.IH H1655 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 1655 IH but shall not have received a postbaccalaureate 1 degree. 2 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AWARDS.— 3 The Secretary shall award Workforce Pell Grants 4 under this subsection in the same manner and with 5 the same terms and conditions as the Secretary 6 awards Federal Pell Grants under subsection (b), ex- 7 cept that a student who is eligible for a grant equal 8 to less than the amount of the minimum Federal 9 Pell Grant because the eligible workforce program in 10 which the student is enrolled or accepted for enroll- 11 ment is less than an academic year (in hours of in- 12 struction or weeks of duration) may still be eligible 13 for a Workforce Pell Grant. 14 ‘‘(4) PREVENTION OF DOUBLE BENEFITS.—No 15 eligible student described in paragraph (2) may, for 16 the same period of enrollment, receive both a grant 17 under this subsection and a Federal Pell Grant 18 under subsection (b) or (c). 19 ‘‘(5) INCLUSION IN TOTAL ELIGIBILITY PE- 20 RIOD.—Any period during which a student receives 21 a Workforce Federal Pell Grant under this sub- 22 section shall be included in calculating the student’s 23 period of eligibility for Federal Pell Grants under 24 subsection (d), and the eligibility requirements re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1655.IH H1655 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 1655 IH garding students who are enrolled in an under- 1 graduate program on less than a full-time basis shall 2 similarly apply to students who are enrolled in an el- 3 igible workforce program at an eligible institution of 4 higher education on less than a full-time basis.’’. 5 SEC. 3. PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY FOR WORKFORCE PELL 6 GRANTS. 7 (a) ELIGIBLE WORKFORCE PROGRAMS.—Section 8 481(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 9 1088(b)) is amended— 10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 11 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 12 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol- 13 lowing: 14 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PROGRAM FOR PURPOSES OF 15 WORKFORCE PELL GRANTS.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A program is an eligi- 17 ble program for purposes of the Workforce Pell 18 Grants program under section 401(k) (referred 19 to in this paragraph as an ‘eligible workforce 20 program’) only if the program— 21 ‘‘(i) is at least 150 clock hours of in- 22 struction, but less than 600 clock hours of 23 instruction (or an equivalent number of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1655.IH H1655 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 1655 IH credit hours) offered during a minimum of 1 8 weeks, but less than 15 weeks; 2 ‘‘(ii) in a case in which the State in 3 which the program is located, or a Federal 4 agency, has established the minimum num- 5 ber of clock hours (or an equivalent num- 6 ber of credit hours) required for the train- 7 ing provided by such program, does not ex- 8 ceed by more than 50 percent such min- 9 imum number of clock hours (or credit 10 hours); 11 ‘‘(iii) is a career and technical edu- 12 cation program at an eligible institution of 13 higher education; 14 ‘‘(iv) provides an education aligned 15 with the requirements of high-skill, high- 16 wage, or in-demand industry sectors or oc- 17 cupations (including in nontraditional 18 fields) in the State or local area in which 19 the program is provided, as determined by 20 an accrediting agency or association recog- 21 nized by the Secretary pursuant to section 22 496(a)(4)(C), after validation of such de- 23 termination by— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1655.IH H1655 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 1655 IH ‘‘(I) the State board or local 1 board that serves such State or local 2 area; 3 ‘‘(II) the eligible agency for such 4 State, on the basis of the sectors or 5 occupations in such State that such 6 eligible agency identifies under section 7 122(d)(13)(C) of the Carl D. Perkins 8 Career and Technical Education Act 9 of 2006; 10 ‘‘(III) the eligible agency for such 11 State, on the basis of the results of 12 the comprehensive needs assessment 13 submitted to the agency under section 14 134(b)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Ca- 15 reer and Technical Education Act of 16 2006 with respect to the local area in 17 which the program is provided; or 18 ‘‘(IV) an industry or sector part- 19 nership convened by or acting in part- 20 nership with the State board or local 21 board that serves such State or local 22 area; 23 ‘‘(v) is a program— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1655.IH H1655 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 1655 IH ‘‘(I) provided through an eligible 1 training provider, as described under 2 section 122(d) of the Workforce Inno- 3 vation and Opportunity Act; and 4 ‘‘(II) subject to the reporting re- 5 quirements of section 116(d)(4) of the 6 Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 7 tunity Act, or would be subject to 8 such requirements except for a waiver 9 issued to a State under section 189(i) 10 of the Workforce Innovation and Op- 11 portunity Act; 12 ‘‘(vi) has been determined by the eligi- 13 ble institution of higher education pro- 14 viding such program (after validation of 15 that determination by at least one of the 16 entities described in subclauses (I) through 17 (IV) of clause (iv)) to provide academic 18 content, an amount of instructional time, 19 competencies, and a recognized postsec- 20 ondary credential that are sufficient to— 21 ‘‘(I) meet the hiring requirements 22 of potential employers in the sectors 23 or occupations described in clause 24 (iv); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1655.IH H1655 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 1655 IH ‘‘(II) satisfy any applicable edu- 1 cational prerequisite requirement for 2 professional licensure or certification 3 in the State or States in which the 4 program is offered, so that a student 5 who completes the program and seeks 6 employment is qualified to practice or 7 find employment in such sectors or oc- 8 cupations that the program prepares 9 students to enter, including, if appli- 10 cable, being qualified to take any rel- 11 evant licensure or certification exami- 12 nations that may be needed to prac- 13 tice such employment; 14 ‘‘(vii) subject to subparagraph (E), 15 provides a student, upon completion of the 16 program, with a recognized postsecondary 17 credential that is stackable and portable 18 across multiple employers and geographical 19 areas; 20 ‘‘(viii) not later than 18 months after 21 the date the program has been approved as 22 an eligible workforce program under this 23 paragraph, has demonstrated that students 24 who complete the program receive a me- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1655.IH H1655 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 1655 IH dian increase of 20 percent of median 1 earnings as compared to median earnings 2 of such students prior to enrolling in such 3 program, in accordance with subparagraph 4 (B); 5 ‘‘(ix) not later than 18 months after 6 the date the program has been approved as 7 an eligible workforce program under this 8 paragraph, has demonstrated (on the basis 9 of the data collected under section 131(i) 10 and such other information as the Sec- 11 retary may require) that the median earn- 12 ings of students who complete such pro- 13 gram, as calculated in accordance with 14 subparagraph (B)(i)(II), exceed the median 15 earnings for adults who are at least 25 16 years old, but younger than 35 years old, 17 with only high school diploma (or a recog- 18 nized equivalent) in the State in which the 19 program is located, based on data from the 20 Bureau of the Census and approved by the 21 Secretary; 22 ‘‘(x) publishes prominently on the 23 website of the institution, and provides a 24 written disclosure to each prospective stu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1655.IH H1655 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 1655 IH dent prior to entering into an enrollment 1 agreement for such program (which each 2 such student shall confirm receiving 3 through a written affirmation prior to en- 4 tering such enrollment agreement) con- 5 taining, at a minimum, the following infor- 6 mation calculated, as applicable, in accord- 7 ance with section 131(i), including— 8 ‘‘(I) the required tuition and fees 9 of the program; 10 ‘‘(II) the difference between re- 11 quired tuition and fees described in 12 subclause (I) and any grant aid 13 (which does not need to be repaid) 14 provided to the student; 15 ‘‘(III) the completion rate of the 16 program; 17 ‘‘(IV) the employment rates of 18 students who complete the program, 19 measured at approximately 6 months 20 and 1 year, respectively, after comple- 21 tion of the program; 22 ‘‘(V) median earnings of students 23 who complete the program, as cal- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1655.IH H1655 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 1655 IH culated in accordance with subpara- 1 graph (B)(i)(II)); 2 ‘‘(VI) median earnings of stu- 3 dents who do not complete the pro- 4 gram, calculated based on earnings 5 approximately 6 months after ceasing 6 enrollment in the program; 7 ‘‘(VII) the ratio of the amount 8 that is the difference between required 9 tuition and fees and any grant aid 10 provided to the student described in 11 subclause (II) to the median earnings 12 of students described in subclause 13 (V); 14 ‘‘(VIII) an explanation, in clear 15 and plain language that shall be speci- 16 fied by the Secretary, of the ratio de- 17 scribed in subclause (VII); and 18 ‘‘(IX) in the case of a program 19 that prepares students for a profes- 20 sional licensure or certification exam- 21 ination, the share of such students 22 who pass such examinations; 23 ‘‘(xi) prepares students to pursue one 24 or more related certificate or degree pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1655.IH H1655 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 1655 IH grams at one or more institutions of higher 1 education (which may include the eligible 2 institution of higher education providing 3 the eligible workforce program), includ- 4 ing— 5 ‘‘(I) by ensuring the acceptability 6 of the credits received under the work- 7 force program toward meeting such 8 certificate or degree program require- 9 ments (such as through an articula- 10 tion agreement as defined in section 11 486A); and 12 ‘‘(II) subject to subparagraph 13 (B), by ensuring that a student who 14 completes noncredit coursework in the 15 workforce program, upon completion 16 of the workforce program and enroll- 17 ment in such a related certificate or 18 degree program, will receive academic 19 credit for such noncredit coursework 20 that will be accepted toward meeting 21 such certificate or degree program re- 22 quirements; 23 ‘‘(xii) is not offered exclusively 24 through distance education or a cor- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1655.IH H1655 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 1655 IH respondence course, except as determined 1 by the Secretary to be necessary, on a tem- 2 porary basis, in connection with a— 3 ‘‘(I) major disaster or emergency 4 declared by the President under sec- 5 tion 401 or 501 of the Robert T. Staf- 6 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency 7 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 and 8 5191); or 9 ‘‘(II) national emergency de- 10 clared by the President under section 11 201 of the National Emergencies Act 12 (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); 13 ‘‘(xiii) includes counseling for students 14 to— 15 ‘‘(I) support each such student in 16 achieving the student’s education and 17 career goals; and 18 ‘‘(II) ensure that each such stu- 19 dent receives information on— 20 ‘‘(aa) the sectors or occupa- 21 tions described in clause (iv) for 22 which the eligible workforce pro- 23 gram provides training (including 24 the median earnings of students 25 VerDate Sep 11 201 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]