II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 52 

To establish a career pathway grant program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 26, 2021 

Ms. HASSAN (for herself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. KAINE, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish a career pathway grant program. 

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 ‘‘Gateway to Careers 

5 Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CAREER PATHWAYS GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 Title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1161a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART BB—CAREER PATHWAY GRANT PROGRAM 

2 ‘‘SEC. 899. CAREER PATHWAY GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) WIOA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘area ca5 reer and technical education school’, ‘career path6 way’, ‘in-demand industry sector or occupation’, ‘in7 dividual with a barrier to employment’, ‘industry or 

8 sector partnership’, ‘integrated education and train9 ing’, ‘local board’, ‘recognized postsecondary creden10 tial’, and ‘State board’ have the meanings given such 

11 terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

12 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

13 ‘‘(2) CAREER PATHWAY PARTNERSHIP.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘career 

15 pathway partnership’ means a partnership— 

16 ‘‘(i) between an eligible institution, a 

17 workforce development partner described 

18 in subparagraph (B), and an education 

19 partner described in subparagraph (C); 

20 ‘‘(ii) evidenced by a formal agreement 

21 between partners; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) that is intended to support the 

23 development and implementation of a ca24 reer pathway program. 

25 ‘‘(B) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PART26 NER.—A workforce development partner deVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:51 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S52.IS S52

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1 scribed in subparagraph (A) means one or more 

2 of the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) A local board or a State board. 

4 ‘‘(ii) An industry association or other 

5 representative of multiple employers in the 

6 target industry, including an industry or 

7 sector partnership. 

8 ‘‘(iii) A community-based organization 

9 with experience in providing employment, 

10 education, or support services relevant to 

11 the career pathway and student popu12 lations receiving services under the grant 

13 under this section. 

14 ‘‘(C) EDUCATION PARTNER.—An education 

15 partner described in subparagraph (A) means 

16 one or more of the following: 

17 ‘‘(i) A local educational agency, as de18 fined under section 8101 of the Elemen19 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

20 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

21 ‘‘(ii) An eligible provider, as defined 

22 under section 203 of the Workforce Inno23 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

24 3272). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) An institution of higher edu2 cation, as defined in section 101, or a post3 secondary vocational institution, as defined 

4 in section 102(c). 

5 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi6 ble institution’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) a public institution of higher edu8 cation at which the highest degree that is pre9 dominantly awarded to students is an associ10 ate’s degree, including 2-year Tribal Colleges or 

11 Universities under section 316 of the Higher 

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c) and 

13 public 2-year State institutions of higher edu14 cation; 

15 ‘‘(B) an area career and technical edu16 cation school that provides education at the 

17 postsecondary level; or 

18 ‘‘(C) a consortium of institutions described 

19 in subparagraph (A) or (B). 

20 ‘‘(4) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evidence21 based’ means an activity, strategy, or intervention 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(A) demonstrates a statistically signifi24 cant effect on improving student outcomes or 

25 other relevant outcomes based on— 


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1 ‘‘(i) strong evidence from not less 

2 than 1 well-designed and well-implemented 

3 experimental study; 

4 ‘‘(ii) moderate evidence from not less 

5 than 1 well-designed and well-implemented 

6 quasi-experimental study; or 

7 ‘‘(iii) promising evidence from not less 

8 than 1 well-designed and well-implemented 

9 correlational study with statistical controls 

10 for selection bias; 

11 ‘‘(B) demonstrates a rationale based on 

12 high quality research finding or positive evalua13 tion that such activity, strategy, or intervention 

14 is likely to improve student outcomes or other 

15 relevant outcomes; and 

16 ‘‘(C) includes ongoing efforts to examine 

17 the effects of such activity, strategy, or inter18 vention. 

19 ‘‘(5) MEASURABLE SKILL GAINS.—The term 

20 ‘measurable skill gains’ has the meaning given the 

21 term in section 361.155(a)(1)(v) of title 34, Code of 

22 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). 

23 ‘‘(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

24 the Secretary of Education. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—The Secretary, in 

2 consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall establish 

3 a career pathway grant program, through which the Sec4 retary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligi5 ble institutions in order to enable eligible institutions to 

6 carry out the activities described in subsection (e). 

7 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible institution desiring 

8 to receive a grant under this section shall submit an appli9 cation, at such time and in such manner as the Secretary 

10 may require, that includes the following information: 

11 ‘‘(1) A description of the career pathway part12 nership, including the roles and responsibilities of 

13 each partner. 

14 ‘‘(2) A description of the career pathway pro15 gram that will be supported under the grant, includ16 ing a description of the in-demand industry sectors 

17 or occupations that will be targeted and the recog18 nized postsecondary credentials to be awarded. 

19 ‘‘(3) A description of how the career pathway 

20 program supported under the grant are aligned and 

21 coordinated with other employment, education, and 

22 support services offered in the geographic area 

23 served under the grant. 

24 ‘‘(4) A description of the student populations 

25 that will be served under the grant, including an 


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1 analysis of any barriers to postsecondary access and 

2 completion that such populations face, and an anal3 ysis of how the services to be provided under the 

4 grant will address those barriers. 

5 ‘‘(5) A description of the activities and services 

6 to be provided under this grant, consistent with the 

7 subsection (e). 

8 ‘‘(6) A description of the performance outcomes 

9 that the eligible institution plans to achieve, includ10 ing a description of how the eligible institution will 

11 evaluate and measure student progress and measur12 able skill gains along a career pathway. 

13 ‘‘(7) Such other information as the Secretary 

14 may require. 

15 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY IN AWARDING GRANTS.—The Sec16 retary shall award grants under this part in a manner 

17 that— 

18 ‘‘(1) supports geographic diversity among 

19 grantees; 

20 ‘‘(2) gives priority to eligible institutions that 

21 seek to serve individuals with a barrier to employ22 ment or individuals with a barrier to postsecondary 

23 education; and 

24 ‘‘(3) gives priority to eligible institutions that 

25 will use grant funds for evidence-based activities. 


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1 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING CAREER

3 PATHWAY PROGRAMS.—An eligible institution receiv4 ing a grant under this section shall use grant funds 

5 to carry out activities that support the development 

6 and implementation of career pathway programs, 

7 which shall include one or more of the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) The planning and implementation of 

9 agreements between the eligible institution and 

10 other partners in the career pathway partner11 ship to support seamless transitions between 

12 elements of the career pathway program offered 

13 by different partners, as appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(B) The development and expansion of 

15 new or existing programs at the eligible institu16 tion that utilize integrated education and train17 ing strategies, and support multiple entry and 

18 exit points for working learners, which may in19 clude— 

20 ‘‘(i) dual-enrollment approaches for 

21 secondary students or disconnected youth 

22 seeking to participate in a career pathway 

23 program; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) strategies that help working stu25 dents and other nontraditional and adult 


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1 student populations access skills and recog2 nized postsecondary credentials. 

3 ‘‘(C) The provision of evidence-based pro4 fessional development for faculty and other 

5 staff at the eligible institution or at partner or6 ganizations described under subparagraph (B) 

7 or (C) of subsection (a)(2) on the development 

8 and implementation of career pathways. 

9 ‘‘(D) The acquisition of equipment nec10 essary to support the delivery of career pathway 

11 programs supported through a grant under this 

12 section. 

13 ‘‘(E) Any other evidence-based activities 

14 identified by the eligible institution or partners 

15 as necessary to support the development or im16 plementation of career pathway programs, as 

17 long as such activities are clearly outlined in 

18 the grant application. 

19 ‘‘(2) STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES.—In addi20 tion to the activities described in paragraph (1), an 

21 eligible institution receiving a grant under this sec22 tion shall use grant funds to provide student support 

23 services to students engaged in career pathway pro24 grams, which shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the provision of direct support serv2 ices such as childcare, transportation, mental 

3 health and substance use disorder treatment, 

4 assistance in obtaining health insurance cov5 erage, and assistance in accessing the supple6 mental nutrition assistance program established 

7 under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

8 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the special supplemental 

9 nutrition program for women, infants, and chil10 dren established by section 17 of the Child Nu11 trition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), housing, 

12 and other benefits, as appropriate; 

13 ‘‘(B) offering career pathway navigation 

14 and case management services, including pro15 viding information and outreach to target popu16 lations to encourage individuals to take part in 

17 programs and service offerings; and 

18 ‘‘(C) the provision of emergency grants to 

19 help students facing financial hardships that 

20 may impact enrollment or completion of an ele21 ment of a career pathway program. 

22 ‘‘(f) DURATION OF AWARD.—A grant under this sec23 tion shall be for a period of not more than 4 years. An 

24 eligible institution may apply for subsequent grants after 

25 the completion of a grant period. 


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1 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) REPORT TO THE SECRETARY.—Each eligi3 ble institution receiving a grant under this section 

4 shall submit a report to the Secretary, on an annual 

5 basis, describing— 

6 ‘‘(A) the activities provided under the 

7 grant, including activities carried out directly 

8 by the eligible institution and activities carried 

9 out by partner organizations; 

10 ‘‘(B) the students receiving services under 

11 the grant, disaggregated by age, race or eth12 nicity, gender, barriers to employment, and in13 come; and 

14 ‘‘(C) indicators of performance for stu15 dents receiving services through a career path16 way program carried out through a grant under 

17 this part, disaggregated by participant type as 

18 described in paragraph (2), including, at a min19 imum— 

20 ‘‘(i) the percentage of program par21 ticipants who are in unsubsidized employ22 ment prior to enrollment in the career 

23 pathway program; 

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1 ment during the second quarter after exit 

2 from the program; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the percentage of program par4 ticipants who are in unsubsidized employ5 ment during the fourth quarter after exit 

6 from the program; 

7 ‘‘(iv) the median earnings of program 

8 participants who are in unsubsidized em9 ployment prior to enrollment in the career 

10 pathway program; 

11 ‘‘(v) the median earnings of program 

12 participants who are in unsubsidized em13 ployment during the second quarter after 

14 exit from the program; 

15 ‘‘(vi) the percentage of program par16 ticipants who obtain a recognized postsec17 ondary credential, or a secondary school di18 ploma or its recognized equivalent, during 

19 participation in or within 1 year after exit 

20 from the program; 

21 ‘‘(vii) the percentage of program par22 ticipants who, during a program year, are 

23 in an education or training program that 

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1 ing measurable skill gains toward such a 

2 credential or employment; and 

3 ‘‘(viii) the percentage of program par4 ticipants receiving support services, disag5 gregated by type of service. 

6 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

7 shall submit a report to Congress, on a biennial 

8 basis, containing a summary of the information de9 scribed in paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(h) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall reserve not 

11 less than 1 percent and not more than 3 percent of the 

12 funds made available under subsection (i) for each fiscal 

13 year to— 

14 ‘‘(1) conduct a rigorous, independent evaluation 

15 of the activities funded under this section; and 

16 ‘‘(2) disseminate and promote the utilization of 

17 evidence-based practices related to career pathway 

18 programs for postsecondary students. 

19 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the activi21 ties described in this section, such sums as may be nec22 essary for fiscal year 2022 and for each subsequent fiscal 

23 year thereafter.’’. 

Æ 


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