Apprenticeship Program Clearinghouse Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8789 To direct the Secretary of Labor to enter into interagency agreements to promote and support integration and alignment of programs under the national apprenticeship system with secondary, postsecondary, and adult education, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 19, 2020 Mrs. LURIA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To direct the Secretary of Labor to enter into interagency agreements to promote and support integration and alignment of programs under the national apprenticeship system with secondary, postsecondary, and adult edu- cation, 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 ‘‘Apprenticeship Pro- 4 gram Clearinghouse Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8789.IH H8789 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8789 IH SEC. 2. IN GENERAL. 1 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 2 of this Act, in order to cooperate with the Secretary of 3 Education and promote awareness and adoption of ap- 4 prenticeship programs, the Secretary of Labor shall— 5 (1) enter into an interagency agreement with 6 the Secretary of Education to promote and support 7 integration and alignment of programs under the 8 national apprenticeship system with secondary, post- 9 secondary, and adult education, through the activi- 10 ties described in this Act; and 11 (2) submit to the Committee on Education and 12 Labor of the House of Representatives and the Com- 13 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 14 of Senate, such agreement and any modifications to 15 such agreement. 16 SEC. 3. BEST PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT AND SHARING. 17 (a) DISSEMINATION.—Such interagency agreement 18 shall require that the Secretaries disseminate information 19 on the value of programs under the national apprentice- 20 ship system, including relevant placement, retention, and 21 earnings information, labor market data from the local 22 area, and sector forecasts to determine high-skill, high- 23 wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations of 24 such programs, to local education and training providers, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8789.IH H8789 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8789 IH labor organizations, or joint-labor management organiza- 1 tions (including those representing teachers). 2 (b) CLEARINGHOUSE.—Such agreement shall require 3 the Secretaries to create a clearinghouse of best prac- 4 tices— 5 (1) for improving performance and increasing 6 alignment of education and programs under the na- 7 tional apprenticeship system, including career path- 8 ways; and 9 (2) publicly disseminate information and re- 10 sources on— 11 (A) replicable related instruction and on- 12 the-job learning; and 13 (B) how to build an understanding of ap- 14 prenticeship opportunities available to students. 15 SEC. 4. DATA SHARING AGREEMENT. 16 The Secretaries shall disseminate best practices for 17 the alignment of education records and records of pro- 18 grams under the national apprenticeship system, including 19 information on program participants who enroll in, com- 20 plete, and receive academic credit for postsecondary 21 coursework while participating in such a program. 22 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 23 In this Act: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8789.IH H8789 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8789 IH (1) APPRENTICESHIP.—The term ‘‘apprentice- 1 ship’’ or ‘‘apprenticeship program’’ means an ap- 2 prenticeship— 3 (A) registered with the Department of 4 Labor under the Act of August 16, 1937 (com- 5 monly known as the ‘‘National Apprenticeship 6 Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 7 et seq.), or a State Apprenticeship Agency rec- 8 ognized by the Department of Labor; and 9 (B) that complies with the requirements of 10 subpart A of part 29, and part 30 of title 29, 11 Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on 12 September 18, 2020). 13 (2) NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM.—The 14 term ‘‘national apprenticeship system’’ means the 15 apprenticeship programs, youth apprenticeship pro- 16 grams, and pre-apprenticeship programs registered 17 under the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly re- 18 ferred to as the National Apprenticeship Act). 19 (3) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN- 20 TIAL.—The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary creden- 21 tial’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 22 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 23 U.S.C. 3102), except that such term does not in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8789.IH H8789 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8789 IH clude a certificate of completion of an apprentice- 1 ship. 2 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 the Secretary of Labor. 4 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 5 Any funds appropriated under this Act shall only be 6 used for, or provided to, programs under the national ap- 7 prenticeship system, including any funds awarded for the 8 purposes of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, 9 or the development, implementation, or administration, of 10 program under the national apprenticeship system. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8789.IH H8789 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS