What This Bill Does
This bill directs the Secretary of Labor to award grants to states for developing, running, and evaluating apprenticeship programs in early childhood education. The grants aim to prepare workers with the skills needed to work with young children and help track their career progress after completing the apprenticeships.
Who It Affects
States that apply for and receive grants, apprentices in early childhood education programs, institutions of higher education, businesses participating in apprenticeships, Indian Tribes, and institutions serving minority populations.
Key Provisions
• The Secretary of Labor must award grants to states to develop, run, and evaluate early childhood education apprenticeships, consulting with the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Education (Sec. 1(a)).
• Grant money must be used to teach apprentices specialized skills for early childhood education work, increase the number of apprentices earning credentials or degrees, and help apprentices advance their careers (Sec. 1(c)(1)).
• Grants can also be used to share best practices with businesses and schools, and to track how many apprentices remain employed in early childhood education 6 months and 1 year after completing their apprenticeships (Sec. 1(c)(2)).
• The Secretary must prioritize states that partner with Indian Tribes or colleges serving minority populations, have credit transfer agreements between colleges, or promise to spend at least 25 percent of grant funds in underserved or rural communities (Sec. 1(d)).
• Grants last 3 years, the Secretary can award no more than 20 grants per year, and the federal government covers at most 75 percent of the costs (Sec. 1(e) and 1(f)).
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, states can apply for federal money to create and run apprenticeship programs focused on early childhood education. The Secretary of Labor will evaluate which states receive grants based on their partnerships with minority-serving organizations and rural communities. States receiving grants must track how well their apprenticeships work and report annually to the Secretary. Within 5 years, the Secretary must report to Congress on how effective these programs were at increasing the number of apprentices and credentials earned.
Important Definitions
• Apprentice: An individual participating in a registered apprenticeship program focused on early childhood education.
• Apprenticeship: A registered apprenticeship program that trains apprentices.
• Registered Apprenticeship Program: An apprenticeship program registered under the National Apprenticeship Act.
• Secretary: The Secretary of Labor.
• State: Each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1834
To direct the Secretary of Labor to award grants to develop, administer,
and evaluate early childhood education apprenticeships, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 28, 2023
Mr. GUTHRIE (for himself, Ms. WILD, and Mr. TRONE) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Labor to award grants to develop,
administer, and evaluate early childhood education ap-
prenticeships, 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. GRANTS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
3
APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS.
4
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in consulta-
5
tion with the Secretary of Health and Human Services
6
and the Secretary of Education, shall award grants to
7
States to develop, administer, and evaluate apprentice-
8
ships.
9
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:01 Apr 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1834.IH
H1834
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2
•HR 1834 IH
(b) APPLICATION.—A State seeking a grant under
1
this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary for
2
approval at such time, in such manner, and containing
3
such information as the Secretary may require.
4
(c) USES OF FUNDS.—
5
(1) REQUIRED
USES.—A grant under sub-
6
section (a) shall be used for activities that develop,
7
administer, and evaluate an apprenticeship, includ-
8
ing—
9
(A) equipping apprentices with specialized
10
knowledge, skills, and competencies required to
11
work in early childhood education;
12
(B) increasing the number of apprentices
13
(including apprentices that are in areas that are
14
underserved or rural) with a recognized postsec-
15
ondary credential, a certificate of completion of
16
an apprenticeship, or a degree from an institu-
17
tion of higher education;
18
(C) promoting recruitment and retention of
19
apprentices;
20
(D) providing a pathway to career ad-
21
vancement for apprentices by assisting such ap-
22
prentices in completing an apprenticeship and
23
tracking the percent of such completions, in-
24
cluding the apprentices who—
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:01 Apr 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1834.IH
H1834
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3
•HR 1834 IH
(i) attend an institution of higher edu-
1
cation after completing an apprenticeship;
2
and
3
(ii) enter into employment that is un-
4
subsidized after completing an apprentice-
5
ship;
6
(E) supporting partnerships with institu-
7
tions of higher education in the State, busi-
8
nesses, and other entities participating in an
9
apprenticeship to provide for academic credit
10
for instruction related to the apprenticeship and
11
the application of such credit toward a degree
12
at an institution of higher education; and
13
(F) developing strategies to hire and retain
14
qualified supervisors for apprentices that sup-
15
port such apprentices through—
16
(i) professional development;
17
(ii) mentorship;
18
(iii) evaluation; and
19
(iv) training.
20
(2) PERMITTED USES.—In addition to the re-
21
quirements under paragraph (1), a grant under sub-
22
section (a) may be used to—
23
(A) coordinate with the State apprentice-
24
ship agency to determine and disseminate best
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:01 Apr 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1834.IH
H1834
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4
•HR 1834 IH
practices, recommended curricula, or other re-
1
sources on administering effective apprentice-
2
ships for businesses, institutions of higher edu-
3
cation, or other entities participating in an ap-
4
prenticeship; and
5
(B) establish primary indicators of per-
6
formance with respect to apprentices and indi-
7
viduals who have completed an apprenticeship
8
to be shared on State and national workforce
9
registries (commonly known as ‘‘Registered Ap-
10
prenticeship Partners Information Data Sys-
11
tems’’), including—
12
(i) the percentage of individuals who
13
have completed an apprenticeship and re-
14
main employed full-time in early childhood
15
education—
16
(I) 6 months after completing
17
such apprenticeship; and
18
(II) 1 year after completing such
19
apprenticeship;
20
(ii) the median earnings of individuals
21
who have completed an apprenticeship and
22
are employed full-time in early childhood
23
education within 6 months after com-
24
pleting such apprenticeship;
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:01 Apr 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1834.IH
H1834
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5
•HR 1834 IH
(iii) the percentage of apprentices who
1
obtain a recognized postsecondary creden-
2
tial, a secondary school diploma, or the
3
recognized equivalent of such diploma
4
while participating in an apprenticeship;
5
and
6
(iv) the percentage of individuals who
7
have completed an apprenticeship and who
8
begin or obtain a recognized postsecondary
9
credential or degree, a secondary school di-
10
ploma, or the recognized equivalent of such
11
diploma within 1 year after completing an
12
apprenticeship.
13
(d) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize State
14
applicants that—
15
(1) have developed partnerships with—
16
(A) Indian Tribes in such State; or
17
(B) institutions of higher education that
18
serve minority populations;
19
(2) have a statewide credit articulation agree-
20
ment in place that ensures credit transfer between
21
participating institutions of higher education in the
22
State and other relevant credential programs; or
23
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:01 Apr 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1834.IH
H1834
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6
•HR 1834 IH
(3) assure that no less than 25 percent of the
1
grant funds will be used to support apprenticeships
2
in underserved or rural communities.
3
(e) GRANT TERM AND LIMITATION.—
4
(1) TERM.—The term of a grant made under
5
this Act shall be 3 years.
6
(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall award no
7
greater than 20 grants each fiscal year.
8
(f) COST-SHARING.—
9
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the
10
cost of any activity carried out using a grant made
11
under this Act shall be not more than 75 percent.
12
(2) IN-KIND
CONTRIBUTIONS.—The non-Fed-
13
eral share of the total cost of any activity carried
14
out using a grant made under this Act may be in
15
the form of donations or in-kind contributions of
16
goods or services fairly valued.
17
(g) STATE EVALUATION
AND REPORT
TO SEC-
18
RETARY.—
19
(1) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than
20
1 year after receiving a grant under this Act, and
21
annually thereafter for the duration of the grant, a
22
State shall submit to the Secretary a report con-
23
taining an evaluation of the apprenticeships to deter-
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:01 Apr 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1834.IH
H1834
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7
•HR 1834 IH
mine which program strategies made progress to-
1
ward—
2
(A) increasing the aggregate number of ap-
3
prentices; and
4
(B) increasing the retention rates of ap-
5
prentices.
6
(2)
RULE
FOR
REPORTING
DATA.—The
7
disaggregation of data under this Act shall not be
8
required when the number of apprentices in a cat-
9
egory is insufficient to yield statistically reliable in-
10
formation or when the results would reveal person-
11
ally identifiable information about an apprentice.
12
(h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 years
13
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
14
shall submit to Congress a report on the effectiveness of
15
each State that received a grant under this Act to develop,
16
administer, and evaluate apprenticeships, including evalu-
17
ating—
18
(1) an increase in the number of apprentices in
19
early childhood education;
20
(2) an increase in the retention rates of individ-
21
uals who work in early childhood education after
22
completing an apprenticeship;
23
(3) the career path of apprentices and individ-
24
uals who have completed an apprenticeship; and
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:01 Apr 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1834.IH
H1834
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
8
•HR 1834 IH
(4) an increase in the number of credentials
1
and degrees obtained by apprentices.
2
(i) FUNDING.—To carry out the grant program
3
under this Act, the Secretary shall use amounts allocated
4
under section 414(c) of the American Competitiveness and
5
Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 3224a).
6
(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:
7
(1)
APPRENTICE.—The
term
‘‘apprentice’’
8
means an individual participating in a registered ap-
9
prenticeship program focused on early childhood
10
education as that term is defined under section 103
11
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
12
1003).
13
(2) APPRENTICESHIP.—The term ‘‘apprentice-
14
ship’’ means a registered apprenticeship program
15
that trains apprentices.
16
(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The
17
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the
18
meaning given the term under section 102(a)(1) of
19
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
20
1002(a)(1)).
21
(4) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.—
22
The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’
23
means an apprenticeship program registered under
24
the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:01 Apr 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1834.IH
H1834
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
9
•HR 1834 IH
the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et
1
seq.).
2
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
3
the Secretary of Labor.
4
(6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of
5
the several States, the District of Columbia, and the
6
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
7
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:01 Apr 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H1834.IH
H1834
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB