I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3985 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow the Secretary of 

Education to award job training Federal Pell Grants. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2015 

Mr. RICHMOND (for himself and Mrs. LAWRENCE) 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 allow the 

Secretary of Education to award job training Federal 

Pell Grants. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jumpstart Our Busi5 nesses by Supporting Students Act of 2015’’ or the 

6 ‘‘JOBS Act of 2015’’. 

7 SEC. 2. JOB TRAINING FEDERAL PELL GRANTS. 

8 Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 1070a) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(k) JOB TRAINING FEDERAL PELL GRANT PRO2 GRAM.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For award years beginning 

4 on or after award year 2016–2017, the Secretary 

5 shall carry out a program through which the Sec6 retary shall award job training Federal Pell Grants 

7 to students in job training programs. Each job train8 ing Federal Pell Grant awarded under this sub9 section shall have the same terms and conditions, 

10 and be awarded in the same manner, as a Federal 

11 Pell Grant awarded under subsection (a), except as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(A) A student who is eligible to receive a 

14 job training Federal Pell Grant under this sub15 section is a student who— 

16 ‘‘(i) has not yet attained a bacca17 laureate degree or postbaccalaureate de18 gree; 

19 ‘‘(ii) attends an institution of higher 

20 education as defined in section 102; 

21 ‘‘(iii) is enrolled, or accepted for en22 rollment, in a job training program at such 

23 institution of higher education; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) meets all other eligibility re25 quirements for a Federal Pell Grant (exVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Nov 10, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3985.IH H3985

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1 cept with respect to the type of program of 

2 study, as provided in clause (iii)). 

3 ‘‘(B) The amount of a job training Federal 

4 Pell Grant for an eligible student shall be deter5 mined under subsection (b)(2)(A), except 

6 that— 

7 ‘‘(i) the maximum Federal Pell Grant 

8 awarded under this subsection for an 

9 award year shall be 50 percent of the max10 imum Federal Pell Grant awarded under 

11 subsection (b) applicable to that award 

12 year; 

13 ‘‘(ii) no increase shall be calculated 

14 under subsection (b)(7)(B) for a student 

15 receiving a job training Federal Pell Grant 

16 under this subsection; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) subsection (b)(4) shall not 

18 apply. 

19 ‘‘(2) INCLUSION IN TOTAL ELIGIBILITY PE20 RIOD.—Any period during which a student receives 

21 a job training Federal Pell Grant under this sub22 section shall be included in calculating the student’s 

23 period of eligibility for Federal Pell Grants under 

24 subsection (c), and any regulations under such sub25 section regarding students who are enrolled in an 


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1 undergraduate program on less than a full-time 

2 basis shall similarly apply to students who are en3 rolled in a job training program at an eligible insti4 tution on less than a full-time basis. 

5 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol6 lowing definitions apply: 

7 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE CAREER PATHWAYS PRO8 GRAM.—The term ‘eligible career pathway pro9 gram’ means a program that is part of a career 

10 pathway, as defined under section 3(7) of the 

11 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

12 U.S.C. 3102(7)), that is a combination of rig13 orous and high-quality education, training, and 

14 other services that— 

15 ‘‘(i) aligns with the skill needs of in16 dustries in the State or regional economy 

17 involved; 

18 ‘‘(ii) prepares an individual to be suc19 cessful in any of a full range of secondary 

20 or postsecondary education options, includ21 ing apprenticeships registered under the 

22 Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known 

23 as the ‘National Apprenticeship Act’; 50 

24 Stat. 664; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) includes counseling to support 

2 an individual in achieving the individual’s 

3 education and career goals; 

4 ‘‘(iv) includes, as appropriate, edu5 cation offered concurrently with and in the 

6 same context as workforce preparation ac7 tivities and training for a specific occupa8 tion or occupational cluster; 

9 ‘‘(v) organizes education, training, 

10 and other services to meet the particular 

11 needs of an individual in a manner that ac12 celerates the educational and career ad13 vancement of the individual to the extent 

14 practicable; 

15 ‘‘(vi) enables an individual to attain a 

16 secondary school diploma or its recognized 

17 equivalent, and at least 1 recognized post18 secondary credential; and 

19 ‘‘(vii) helps an individual enter or ad20 vance within a specific occupation or occu21 pational cluster. 

22 ‘‘(B) JOB TRAINING PROGRAM.—The term 

23 ‘job training program’ means a career and tech24 nical education program at an institution of 

25 higher education that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) provides not less than 150 clock 

2 hours of instructional time over a period of 

3 not less than 8 weeks; 

4 ‘‘(ii) provides training aligned with 

5 the requirements of employers in the State 

6 or local area, which may include in-demand 

7 industry sectors or occupations in the 

8 State or local area, as defined under sec9 tion 3(23) of the Workforce Innovation 

10 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

11 3102(23)); 

12 ‘‘(iii) provides a student, upon comple13 tion of the program, with a recognized 

14 postsecondary credential, as defined under 

15 section 3(52) of the Workforce Innovation 

16 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

17 3102(52)), that is recognized by employers 

18 in the relevant industry, including creden19 tials recognized by industry or sector part20 nerships in the State or local area where 

21 the industry is located; 

22 ‘‘(iv) has been determined, by the in23 stitution of higher education, to provide 

24 academic content, an amount of instrucVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Nov 10, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3985.IH H3985

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1 tional time, and a recognized postsec2 ondary credential that are sufficient to— 

3 ‘‘(I) meet the hiring requirements 

4 of potential employers; and 

5 ‘‘(II) allow the students to apply 

6 for any licenses or certifications that 

7 may be required to be employed in the 

8 field for which the job training is of9 fered; 

10 ‘‘(v) may include integrated or basic 

11 skills courses; and 

12 ‘‘(vi) may be offered as part of an eli13 gible career pathways program.’’. 

Æ 


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