I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3445 

To provide priority consideration to local educational agencies that establish 

high-quality entrepreneurship education programs for secondary schools, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2011 

Mr. LOEBSACK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To provide priority consideration to local educational agencies 

that establish high-quality entrepreneurship education 

programs for secondary schools, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Learn to Earn Act 

5 of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) One of America’s strengths has always been 

9 that it is a great place to start and grow a business. 


pwalker on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3445 IH

1 (2) According to the 2010 Small Business 

2 Economy: A Report to the President, ‘‘small busi3 nesses—those with fewer than 500 employees—are 

4 generally the creators of most net new jobs, as well 

5 as the employers of about half of the nation’s private 

6 sector work force, and the providers of a significant 

7 share of innovations, as well as half of the nonfarm, 

8 private real gross domestic product.’’. 

9 (3) The April 2009 World Economic Forum 

10 Report entitled ‘‘Educating the Next Wave of Entre11 preneurs’’ recommends that countries transform 

12 their educational systems to integrate entrepreneur13 ship education at all levels and across curricula in 

14 recognition that ‘‘entrepreneurship education is es15 sential for developing the human capital necessary 

16 for the society of the future.’’. 

17 (4) ‘‘Educating the Next Wave of Entre18 preneurs’’ argues that the skills and knowledge 

19 learned through entrepreneurship education—such 

20 as problem solving, economic principles, and negotia21 tion—are critical to success in the 21st century 

22 global economy, in which competition is fierce and 

23 markets and jobs evolve at a rapid pace. 

24 (5) Entrepreneurship education models incor25 porate lessons in financial literacy, economics, and 


pwalker on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3445 IH

1 other business topics such as marketing and ac2 counting which can lead to increased proficiency in 

3 mathematics and English Language Arts. 

4 (6) When young people learn to see opportunity 

5 amid obstacles, to set and achieve high personal 

6 goals, and to apply knowledge and skills to real7 world scenarios—in short, to think and act like en8 trepreneurs—they are armed with tools that will in9 crease their success in college and beyond. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (a) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘local educational 

13 agency’’, ‘‘highly qualified’’, and ‘‘secondary school’’ have 

14 the meanings given such terms in section 9101 of the Ele15 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

16 7801). 

17 (b) ENTREPRENEURSHIP PARTNER ENTITY.—The 

18 term ‘‘entrepreneurship partner entity’’ means an entity 

19 such as a local business, a local community organization, 

20 a local municipality, a local Small Business Administra21 tion office, a local Chamber of Commerce, or another 

22 State, local, or tribal government entity that specializes 

23 in entrepreneurship, small business development, or work24 force development that has entered into an agreement with 

25 a local educational agency designated an entrepreneurship 


pwalker on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3445 IH

1 community under section 4(a), as determined by the Sec2 retary of Education. 

3 (c) HIGH-QUALITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION

4 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘high-quality entrepreneurship 

5 education program’’ means a program that teaches entre6 preneurial skills and includes the following: 

7 (1) High standards in mathematics and related 

8 content areas such as economics. 

9 (2) Curriculum delivered by high-quality teach10 ers who complete entrepreneurship-specific training 

11 and receive ongoing professional development among 

12 a community of peers. 

13 (3) Hands-on activities and project-based work, 

14 such as negotiation simulations and student business 

15 plans, designed to bring abstract concepts to life and 

16 stimulate a wide variety of local educational agency 

17 learning preferences. 

18 (4) A financial literacy component to provide 

19 students with the skills and knowledge needed to 

20 make informed personal finance decisions. 

21 (5) Interactions with entrepreneurs and small 

22 business owners who inspire students and challenge 

23 them to set high personal goals. 

24 (6) Partnerships between educators and busi25 ness community members who volunteer as guest 


pwalker on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3445 IH

1 speakers, guest teachers, field trip hosts, mentors, 

2 business plan competition judges, or in other roles. 

3 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMMU4 NITIES. 

5 (a) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 90 days after re6 ceiving an application from a local education agency, the 

7 Secretary of Education shall designate such local edu8 cational agency as an entrepreneurship community if the 

9 Secretary determines that the local educational agency 

10 satisfies the requirements described in subsection (b). 

11 (b) DETERMINATION.—A local educational agency 

12 satisfies the requirements of this subsection if the local 

13 educational agency is carrying out a high-quality entrepre14 neurship education program for secondary school stu15 dents. 

16 (c) APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall establish an 

17 application process for the purpose of designating local 

18 educational agencies as entrepreneurship communities 

19 under subsection (a). Such application shall include a de20 scription of the proposed high-quality entrepreneurship 

21 education program and any proposed entrepreneurship 

22 partner entities. 


pwalker on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3445 IH

1 SEC. 5. PREFERENCES FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMMU2 NITIES. 

3 In awarding competitive grants to local educational 

4 agencies under title XIV of the American Recovery and 

5 Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5) and the 

6 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) the Secretary of Education shall, to 

8 the extent practicable, give priority consideration to each 

9 local educational agency that is designated an entrepre10 neurship community under section 4(a). 

11 SEC. 6. PREFERENCES FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP PARTNER 

12 ENTITIES. 

13 In making competitive grants, loans, or loan guaran14 tees related to small business development, workforce de15 velopment, community development, or economic develop16 ment the Administrator of the Small Business Administra17 tion, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Com18 merce, and the Secretary of Energy shall give priority con19 sideration, to the extent practicable, to a entrepreneurship 

20 partner entity. 

Æ 


pwalker on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with BILLS