Enabling Online and Virtual Workforce Training Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7788 To temporarily enable qualified training providers to provide online and virtual training services, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 24, 2020 Mr. SMUCKER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To temporarily enable qualified training providers to provide online and virtual training services, 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 ‘‘Enabling Online and 4 Virtual Workforce Training Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TEMPORARY PROVISION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR CER- 6 TAIN TRAINING PROVIDERS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—During the period beginning on 8 the date of enactment of this Act and ending on December 9 31, 2020, notwithstanding section 122 of the Workforce 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:54 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7788.IH H7788 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7788 IH Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3152), a cov- 1 ered provider of training services described in subsection 2 (b)(1) that is approved by a State board or local board 3 to be eligible to receive funds provided under section 4 133(b) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 5 (29 U.S.C. 3173(b)) for the provision of such training 6 services in a local area in the State shall be deemed so 7 eligible. 8 (b) COVERED PROVIDER DEFINED.—In this section, 9 the term ‘‘covered provider’’ means an entity that— 10 (1) offers a program of training services that 11 leads to a recognized postsecondary credential; 12 (2) has been in existence for not less than 2 13 years prior to receiving approval under subsection 14 (a); and 15 (3) as of June 1, 2020, was included, in at 16 least 2 States, on the list of providers of training 17 services described in subsection (d) of section 122 of 18 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 19 U.S.C. 3152) determined to be eligible to offer a 20 program of training services under such section 122. 21 (c) PRIORITY.—In approving covered providers under 22 subsection (a), a State board or local board shall be en- 23 couraged to consider providers of qualified online training 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:54 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7788.IH H7788 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7788 IH services (as defined in section 122(b)(5) of the Workforce 1 Innovation and Opportunity Act, as added by this Act). 2 SEC. 3. PROVIDERS OF QUALIFIED ONLINE TRAINING 3 SERVICES. 4 Section 122 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 5 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3152) is amended— 6 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by adding at the end 7 the following: ‘‘A provider of qualified online train- 8 ing services shall be included and maintained on the 9 list of eligible providers of training services described 10 in subsection (d) so long as such provider complies 11 with the criteria, information requirements, and pro- 12 cedures established under this section.’’; and 13 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 14 following: 15 ‘‘(5) PROVIDER OF QUALIFIED ONLINE TRAIN- 16 ING SERVICES.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In establishing cri- 18 teria, information requirements, or procedures 19 under this section, a Governor, State board, or 20 local board may not require a provider of quali- 21 fied online training services, in providing such 22 qualified online training services, to— 23 ‘‘(i) maintain a physical presence in a 24 State or local area; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:54 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7788.IH H7788 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7788 IH ‘‘(ii) in the case of a provider that is 1 an organization described in section 501(c) 2 of the Internal Revenue Code and is ex- 3 empt from taxation under section 501(a) 4 of such Code, be a provider described in 5 subsection (a)(2). 6 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED ONLINE TRAINING SERV- 7 ICES.—In this subsection, the term ‘qualified 8 online training services’ means training services 9 that— 10 ‘‘(i) are provided over the internet or 11 through other forms of electronic commu- 12 nication; and 13 ‘‘(ii) lead to a recognized postsec- 14 ondary credential.’’. 15 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 16 It is the sense of Congress that— 17 (1) the COVID–19 pandemic has created sig- 18 nificant challenges in the nation’s labor market that 19 will likely have lasting effects; 20 (2) millions of individuals cannot enroll or par- 21 ticipate in workforce training programs due to re- 22 strictions on movement related to the pandemic; 23 (3) online and virtual training services can help 24 workers learn new skills, particularly during pan- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:54 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7788.IH H7788 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7788 IH demic-related closures and for in-demand industry 1 sectors such as information technology and cyberse- 2 curity; 3 (4) Congress has previously recognized the need 4 to ensure access to online and virtual training serv- 5 ices, including through section 122(b)(1)(B) of the 6 Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (29 7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(1)(B)); 8 (5) some State governments, State workforce 9 boards, or local workforce boards have established 10 eligibility criteria or other procedures that make it 11 difficult or impossible for providers of online and vir- 12 tual training services to qualify as eligible training 13 providers, such as physical presence requirements; 14 and 15 (6) all State governments, State workforce 16 boards, and local workforce boards should move 17 promptly to make programs of online and virtual 18 training services available to individuals residing in 19 their areas. 20 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 21 Except as otherwise provided, the terms in this Act 22 have the meanings given the terms in section 3 of the 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:54 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7788.IH H7788 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7788 IH Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 1 3102). 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:54 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7788.IH H7788 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS