I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5961 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to support apprenticeship programs. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 25, 2020 Mr. KHANNA (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to support apprenticeship 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 ‘‘Student Apprentice- 4 ship Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. 6 Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 7 U.S.C. 1133 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 8 the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5961 IH ‘‘PART F—APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS 1 ‘‘SEC. 791. GRANTS TO SUPPORT APPRENTICESHIP PRO- 2 GRAMS. 3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 ‘‘(1) APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.—The term 5 ‘apprenticeship program’ means a program that is 6 registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 (com- 7 monly known as the ‘National Apprenticeship Act’; 8 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.) on 9 November 7, 2019, and is in compliance with the 10 regulations promulgated to carry out such Act under 11 part 29 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, as 12 in effect on the date of introduction of this Act in 13 the Senate. 14 ‘‘(2) POSTSECONDARY APPRENTICESHIP PRO- 15 GRAM.—The term ‘postsecondary apprenticeship 16 program’ means an apprenticeship program that 17 meets the requirements of a recognized postsec- 18 ondary credential conferred by an institution of 19 higher education as established by the relevant State 20 agency in the State where the program is delivered. 21 ‘‘(3) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN- 22 TIAL.—The term ‘recognized postsecondary creden- 23 tial’ means a credential consisting of an industry- 24 recognized certificate, that is credit-bearing at the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5961 IH institution of higher education from which it is con- 1 ferred, or an associate or baccalaureate degree. 2 ‘‘(4) STUDENT APPRENTICE.—The term ‘stu- 3 dent apprentice’ means an individual who is— 4 ‘‘(A) enrolled or accepted for enrollment at 5 an institution of higher education for the pur- 6 pose of obtaining a recognized postsecondary 7 credential (which provides credit toward a post- 8 secondary degree) offered by that institution 9 and is a participant in a postsecondary appren- 10 ticeship program; and 11 ‘‘(B) a worker at least 16 years of age, ex- 12 cept where a higher minimum age standard is 13 otherwise fixed by law, who is employed to learn 14 an apprenticeable occupation, as described in 15 section 29.4 of title 29, Code of Federal Regu- 16 lations (as in effect on November 7, 2019), 17 under standards of apprenticeship fulfilling the 18 requirements of section 29.5 of title 29, Code of 19 Federal Regulations (as in effect on November 20 7, 2019). 21 ‘‘(5) WORKFORCE INTERMEDIARY.—The term 22 ‘workforce intermediary’— 23 ‘‘(A) means an entity, which may be part 24 of an industry or sector partnership, that dem- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5961 IH onstrates expertise in building, connecting, sus- 1 taining, and measuring the performance of 2 partnerships in order for the entity to broker 3 services, resources, and supports for develop- 4 ment, delivery, expansion, or improvement of 5 postsecondary apprenticeship programs, and of 6 the organizations and systems that are designed 7 to serve covered student apprentices and em- 8 ployer partners, including— 9 ‘‘(i) connecting employers to appren- 10 ticeship opportunities; 11 ‘‘(ii) assisting in the design and imple- 12 mentation of postsecondary apprenticeship 13 programs, including curriculum develop- 14 ment and delivery for related instruction; 15 ‘‘(iii) supporting entities, and spon- 16 sors or program administrators, in meeting 17 the registration and reporting require- 18 ments; 19 ‘‘(iv) providing professional develop- 20 ment activities such as training to men- 21 tors; 22 ‘‘(v) connecting students or workers to 23 apprenticeship opportunities; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5961 IH ‘‘(vi) developing and providing person- 1 alized covered apprentice supports, includ- 2 ing supportive services and financial advis- 3 ing; and 4 ‘‘(B) includes a State workforce develop- 5 ment board or local workforce development 6 board, as established under title I of the Work- 7 force Innovation and Opportunity Act, or State 8 workforce agency. 9 ‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in collabo- 11 ration with the Secretary of Labor, shall award 12 grants to eligible partnerships to enable the partner- 13 ships to develop and implement a postsecondary ap- 14 prenticeship program. 15 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—Grants awarded under this 16 section shall be 4 or 5 years in duration. 17 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the 19 term ‘eligible partnership’ means a partnership 20 that— 21 ‘‘(i) shall include— 22 ‘‘(I) an institution of higher edu- 23 cation or a consortium of such institu- 24 tions; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5961 IH ‘‘(II) an individual employer or 1 consortium of employers; and 2 ‘‘(III) a workforce intermediary, 3 unless waived by the Secretary be- 4 cause the partnership demonstrates 5 that a high-quality program is in 6 place or it would be a hardship to in- 7 clude a workforce intermediary; and 8 ‘‘(ii) may include— 9 ‘‘(I) a State agency responsible 10 for the administration of career and 11 technical education in the State or for 12 the supervision of the administration 13 of career and technical education in 14 the State; 15 ‘‘(II) a labor organization; 16 ‘‘(III) an economic development 17 agency or organization, such as a 18 chamber of commerce, business alli- 19 ance, or industry association; 20 ‘‘(IV) a community-based organi- 21 zation; 22 ‘‘(V) a State educational agency; 23 or 24 ‘‘(VI) a local educational agency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5961 IH ‘‘(B) FISCAL AGENT.—The lead fiscal 1 agent of an eligible partnership shall be any of 2 the following: 3 ‘‘(i) An institution of higher edu- 4 cation. 5 ‘‘(ii) An industry association. 6 ‘‘(iii) A workforce intermediary that is 7 an entity that is described in section 8 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 9 1986 and exempt from taxation under sec- 10 tion 501(a) of such Code. 11 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible partner- 13 ship that desires to receive a grant under this 14 section shall submit an application to the Sec- 15 retary at such time, in such manner, and ac- 16 companied by such information as the Secretary 17 may require. 18 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—An application sub- 19 mitted under subparagraph (A) shall include— 20 ‘‘(i) a plan to recruit and retain a 21 high number or high percentage of partici- 22 pants who are from nontraditional appren- 23 ticeship populations, including women, mi- 24 norities, individuals with disabilities, vet- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5961 IH erans, and individuals with barriers to em- 1 ployment, such as opportunity youth, low- 2 income youth and adults, young adults and 3 adults of color, and individuals who have 4 been impacted by the criminal justice sys- 5 tem; 6 ‘‘(ii) letters of support and a labor 7 market analysis that demonstrate that the 8 occupation for which the program prepares 9 participants— 10 ‘‘(I) is feasible and in demand; 11 ‘‘(II) is a high-growth, high-wage 12 occupation; and 13 ‘‘(III) is a response to in-demand 14 industry sectors or occupations as de- 15 termined by the State or local work- 16 force boards; 17 ‘‘(iii) a plan for reaching desired out- 18 comes, as described in paragraph (7); 19 ‘‘(iv) a plan for ensuring that the 20 partnership has the capacity to access data 21 to measure desired outcomes and the out- 22 comes described in clause (v); and 23 ‘‘(v) a plan for— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5961 IH ‘‘(I) increasing associate or bac- 1 calaureate degree and credential at- 2 tainment; 3 ‘‘(II) how tuition and mandatory 4 fees expenses will be covered with the 5 goal of the program being tuition free 6 and debt free for students; 7 ‘‘(III) the employer of the part- 8 nership to cover not less than 25 per- 9 cent of the tuition and mandatory 10 fees; 11 ‘‘(IV) sustaining the program for 12 at least 20 months beyond the grant 13 period; and 14 ‘‘(V) including a provider of sup- 15 port or specialized services, such as fi- 16 nancial counseling. 17 ‘‘(C) DESCRIPTION OF INSTRUCTION.—In 18 addition to the information described in sub- 19 paragraph (B), an application submitted under 20 subparagraph (A) shall include a description of 21 the organized, related instruction the apprentice 22 will receive in technical subjects related to the 23 occupation for which the program prepares par- 24 ticipants, which— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5961 IH ‘‘(i) shall include not less than 2,000 1 hours of on the job learning and a rec- 2 ommended 144 hours for each year (with 3 an allowance for a student to spread it out 4 over 2 years) of related technical instruc- 5 tion unless an alternative requirement is 6 put forth by the employer and sponsor that 7 reflects industry standards and is accepted 8 by the Secretary; 9 ‘‘(ii) may be accomplished through 10 credit-bearing classroom instruction, occu- 11 pational or industry courses, instruction 12 provided through electronic media, or other 13 instruction approved by the registration 14 agency; 15 ‘‘(iii) shall be provided by one or more 16 qualified instructors who— 17 ‘‘(I)(aa) meet the career technical 18 education instructor requirements of 19 the applicable education agency of the 20 State of registration; or 21 ‘‘(bb) are subject matter experts, 22 defined for purposes of this subpara- 23 graph as individuals (including jour- 24 neyworkers) recognized within an in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5961 IH dustry as having expertise in a spe- 1 cific occupation; and 2 ‘‘(II) have training in teaching 3 techniques and learning styles or will 4 obtain such training before an in- 5 structor begins providing the related 6 technical instruction; and 7 ‘‘(iv) shall, to the maximum extent 8 practicable, be aligned to a career pathway, 9 as defined in section 3 of the Workforce 10 Innovation and Opportunity Act. 11 ‘‘(5) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall, in se- 12 lecting eligible partnerships to receive grants under 13 this section— 14 ‘‘(A) consider the equitable geographic dis- 15 tribution of grants among rural and urban 16 areas; 17 ‘‘(B) leverage significant State, local, insti- 18 tutional, or private resources, including in-kind 19 contributions, to support the activities assisted 20 under this section; 21 ‘‘(C) consider industries and occupations 22 where apprenticeships are not already preva- 23 lent; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5961 IH ‘‘(D) not select partnerships that seek to 1 use a grant under this section to establish ap- 2 prenticeships in construction trades. 3 ‘‘(6) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible partner- 5 ship that receives a grant under this section 6 shall use the grant funds to develop and imple- 7 ment a postsecondary apprenticeship program 8 in high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand indus- 9 try sectors or occupations. 10 ‘‘(B) PERMISSIBLE USE OF FUNDS.—An 11 eligible partnership that receives a grant under 12 this section to develop and implement a postsec- 13 ondary apprenticeship program may use the 14 grant funds for any of the following: 15 ‘‘(i) Program design and implementa- 16 tion costs, including— 17 ‘‘(I) development of curricula and 18 standards; 19 ‘‘(II) development of a com- 20 petency-based approach to awarding 21 credits; and 22 ‘‘(III) use of subject matter ex- 23 perts in instructional delivery or cur- 24 riculum design. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 5961 IH ‘‘(ii) Development of on-the-job learn- 1 ing, mentoring, and additional supervision 2 structures and professional development 3 for mentors and supervisors. 4 ‘‘(iii) Tuition for the related instruc- 5 tion of the apprenticeship. 6 ‘‘(iv) Development of articulation 7 agreements with institutions of higher edu- 8 cation that result in awarding an associ- 9 ate’s or higher degree. 10 ‘‘(v) Assessment of prior learning for 11 the purpose of awarding credit. 12 ‘‘(vi) Certifying examinations. 13 ‘‘(vii) Recruitment of student appren- 14 tices. 15 ‘‘(viii) Need-based supportive services, 16 including tutoring, transportation, child 17 care, and housing subsidies. 18 ‘‘(ix) Not more than 20 percent of 19 grant funds for the purchase of updated 20 equipment. 21 ‘‘(x) Not more than 10 percent of 22 grant funds for administrative functions, 23 such as program management and grant 24 reporting. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5961.IH H5961 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 5961 IH ‘‘(xi) Aligning data reporting for aca- 1 demic programs and apprenticeships. 2 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITED USE OF FUNDS.—An eli- 3 gible partnership that receives a grant under 4 this section may not use [Text truncated for display. 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