I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9621 

To award career pathways innovation grants to local educational agencies 

and consortia of local educational agencies, to provide technical assistance 

within the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education to administer 

the grants and support the local educational agencies with the preparation of grant applications and management of grant funds, to amend 

the Higher Education Act of 1965 to support community college and 

industry partnerships, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 

Ms. CRAIG (for herself and Mr. FINSTAD) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To award career pathways innovation grants to local educational agencies and consortia of local educational agencies, to provide technical assistance within the Office 

of Career, Technical, and Adult Education to administer 

the grants and support the local educational agencies 

with the preparation of grant applications and management of grant funds, to amend the Higher Education 

Act of 1965 to support community college and industry 

partnerships, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Work3 force Partnerships Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen7 tary school’’, ‘‘high school’’, ‘‘local educational agen8 cy’’, ‘‘middle grades’’, and ‘‘secondary school’’ have 

9 the meanings given the terms in section 8101 of the 

10 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

11 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

12 (2) BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY PARTNER.—The 

13 term ‘‘business or industry partner’’ means— 

14 (A) a business; 

15 (B) an industry or sector partnership, as 

16 defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innova17 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); 

18 (C) an association of multiple businesses 

19 or other employers in an in-demand industry 

20 sector or occupation, as defined in section 3 of 

21 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

22 (29 U.S.C. 3102); 

23 (D) a community partner; 

24 (E) an intermediary organization; or 

25 (F) a labor management training partner26 ship. 


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1 (3) CAREER PATHWAY.—The term ‘‘career 

2 pathway’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

3 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

4 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

5 (4) COMMUNITY PARTNER.—The term ‘‘com6 munity partner’’ means a nonprofit organization or 

7 a State, local, or Tribal government entity that has 

8 expertise— 

9 (A) in the planning and delivery of edu10 cation, career training, and related programs; 

11 (B) in forging coordination and coopera12 tion between educators and other members of 

13 the community; 

14 (C) in training educators and other 

15 deliverers of educational services; 

16 (D) in development and implementation of 

17 data systems that measure the progress of stu18 dents, schools, and institutions of higher edu19 cation, or career pathways programs; or 

20 (E) in delivering an increase in earnings, 

21 family incomes, or family resources. 

22 (5) ELIGIBLE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

23 agency’’ means— 

24 (A) a local educational agency; 


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1 (B) a consortium of local educational agen2 cies or an agent operating on behalf of the con3 sortium; or 

4 (C) a school operated or funded by the Bu5 reau of Indian Education. 

6 (6) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean7 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self8 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

9 U.S.C. 5304). 

10 (7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

11 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

14 (8) INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATION.—The term 

15 ‘‘intermediary organization’’ means a nonprofit orga16 nization that has expertise in training, forging pub17 lic-private partnerships, systems development, capac18 ity-building, improving scalability, and evaluation. 

19 (9) LABOR MANAGEMENT TRAINING PARTNER20 SHIP.—The term ‘‘labor management training part21 nership’’ means an independent organization jointly 

22 controlled by employers and unions that supports 

23 workforce training and development. 

24 (10) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—The term ‘‘Native 

25 Hawaiian’’ has the meaning given the term in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9621.IH H9621

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1 tion 6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517). 

3 (11) PROGRAM OF STUDY.—The term ‘‘pro4 gram of study’’ means a State approved career and 

5 technical education program of courses that articu6 lates between secondary and postsecondary school. 

7 (12) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PRO8 GRAM.—The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship pro9 gram’’ means a program registered under the Act of 

10 August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 

11 Apprenticeship Act’’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 

12 (13) SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘school 

13 partnership’’ means a partnership that— 

14 (A) shall include, at a minimum— 

15 (i) an eligible agency; and 

16 (ii) one or more business or industry 

17 partners; and 

18 (B) may also include one or more of the 

19 following partners: 

20 (i) A community partner. 

21 (ii) A labor management training 

22 partnership. 

23 (iii) An institution of higher edu24 cation. 


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1 (iv) A State board or local board (as 

2 such terms are defined in section 3 of the 

3 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

4 (29 U.S.C. 3102)). 

5 (v) An apprenticeship college that— 

6 (I) is not eligible to receive funds 

7 under title IV of the Higher Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 

9 et seq.); 

10 (II) is an institution that pro11 vides instruction related to a reg12 istered apprenticeship program or is a 

13 sponsor of a registered apprenticeship 

14 program; and 

15 (III) meets the requirements of 

16 subsection (a) or (b) of section 101 of 

17 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 1001). 

19 (vi) Any other entity that the Sec20 retary, after consultation with the Sec21 retary of Labor, considers appropriate. 

22 (14) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

23 means the Secretary of Education. 


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1 SEC. 3. SECONDARY SCHOOL TO CAREER PATHWAYS INNO2 VATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) CAREER PATHWAYS INNOVATION GRANT PRO4 GRAM ESTABLISHED.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail6 able to carry out this section, the Secretary, after 

7 consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall es8 tablish a career pathways innovation grant program, 

9 through which the Secretary shall award grants, on 

10 a competitive basis, to eligible agencies for the pur11 pose of addressing the specialized skill needs of busi12 ness and industry by carrying out programs of study 

13 or career pathways programs, featuring school part14 nerships, that support career pathways in high 

15 school or career exploration in the middle grades, 

16 leading to higher subsequent employment and job 

17 quality. 

18 (2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

19 section— 

20 (A) shall be for a period of 3 years; and 

21 (B) may be renewed for one additional 2- 

22 year period, if the eligible agency demonstrates 

23 sufficient progress in achieving the goals of the 

24 initial grant. 

25 (b) APPLICATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible agency desiring a 

2 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec3 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

4 and containing such information as the Secretary 

5 may require. 

6 (2) CONTENTS; PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT.— 

7 The application submitted under paragraph (1) shall 

8 include— 

9 (A) an initial partnership agreement, en10 tered into by the eligible agency and all mem11 bers of the school partnership, that— 

12 (i) specifies the duties and responsibil13 ities of each partner; 

14 (ii) describes the commitment of re15 sources or materials to be provided by each 

16 partner toward the school partnership, en17 suring that the business or industry part18 ners in the school partnership provide an 

19 amount of resources, in cash or in-kind, to20 ward the activities supported under the 

21 grant that equals or exceeds the amount 

22 contributed by the eligible agency and the 

23 amount to be provided by the grant under 

24 this section; and 


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1 (iii) describes how the overall goals of 

2 the school partnership align with any 

3 statewide, regional, or local workforce de4 velopment strategies in existence at the 

5 time of the application, including those es6 tablished under the Workforce Innovation 

7 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et 

8 seq.) or the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

9 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

10 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); 

11 (B) a description of how the eligible agency 

12 and members of the school partnership will col13 laborate to ensure the quality of the career 

14 pathways program offered under the grant, in15 cluding any program that leads to an industry16 recognized credential or postsecondary credit 

17 leading to a degree or certification in a career 

18 pathway; 

19 (C) identification of the goals and meas20 ures used to define progress toward student 

21 outcomes, which may align with existing goals 

22 and measurement provided under the Elemen23 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

24 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins Ca25 reer and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 


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1 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), and the Workforce Inno2 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et 

3 seq.); and 

4 (D) a strategic plan describing the role 

5 and activities of the eligible agency and all 

6 members of the school partnership in sup7 porting how the program will be sustained fol8 lowing the end of the grant. 

9 (3) METHODS THAT MEASURE JOB QUALITY.— 

10 The application submitted under paragraph (1) may 

11 include a description of how the school partnership 

12 will experiment with methods that measure job qual13 ity. 

14 (c) AWARD BASIS.—In awarding grants under this 

15 section, the Secretary shall— 

16 (1) ensure that, to the extent practicable based 

17 on the applications received under subsection (b)— 

18 (A) not less than 15 percent of the grant 

19 funds available to carry out this section are 

20 awarded to rural eligible agencies; and 

21 (B) not less than 5 percent of the grant 

22 funds available to carry out this section are 

23 awarded to eligible agencies that serve a sub24 stantial percentage of Indian or Native Hawai25 ian children; and 


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1 (2) except to the extent necessary to comply 

2 with paragraph (1), give priority to— 

3 (A) any eligible agency whose school part4 nership includes an institution of higher edu5 cation offering postsecondary credits, or an en6 tity offering a registered apprenticeship pro7 gram that is articulated through secondary 

8 school programming counting towards the reg9 istered apprenticeship requirements, through 

10 the career pathways program under the grant; 

11 (B) any eligible agency whose career path12 ways program— 

13 (i) in a high school, offers concurrent 

14 enrollment opportunities for postsecondary 

15 credit; or 

16 (ii) leads to a recognized postsec17 ondary credential, as defined in section 3 

18 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor19 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); and 

20 (C) any eligible agency whose career path21 ways programs are focused on serving low-in22 come students (defined as eligible for benefits 

23 under the free and reduced price school lunch 

24 program established under the Richard B. Rus25 sell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 


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1 1751 et seq.)), out-of-school youth, students 

2 with disabilities, students experiencing home3 lessness, students who are English language 

4 learners, students who have low levels of lit5 eracy, or youth who are in or have aged out of 

6 the foster care system. 

7 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

8 (1) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible 

9 agency receiving grant funds under this section shall 

10 use grant funds to build or expand a career path11 ways program featuring school partnerships that 

12 supports career pathways in high school or career 

13 exploration in the middle grades. 

14 (2) PERMISSIVE USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible 

15 agency receiving grant funds under this section may 

16 use grant funds either during or outside of the 

17 school day or school year— 

18 (A) to hire a designated career pathways 

19 partnership coordinator to seek out and build 

20 relationships with business or industry partners 

21 to foster and manage the school partnerships 

22 supported under the grant; 

23 (B) for the costs of new equipment, infra24 structure (such as facilities, technology, and 


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1 staffing), or transportation related to the career 

2 pathways program; 

3 (C) to recruit, or assist with State licen4 sure and credential requirements, career and 

5 technical education teachers, and others imple6 menting career pathways programs; 

7 (D) to train or support the professional de8 velopment of career and technical education 

9 teachers, and others implementing career path10 ways programs, including providing externship 

11 opportunities for educators to spend time in in12 dustry; 

13 (E) for youth apprenticeship, pre-appren14 ticeship training, internship, or experiential 

15 learning opportunities; 

16 (F) to provide, as part of the career path17 ways program, coursework that awards postsec18 ondary credit at no cost to high school students; 

19 (G) to support development of curricula 

20 that offer industry-recognized credentials; and 

21 (H) to experiment with methods that 

22 measure job quality. 

23 (e) REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 (1) MATCHING FUNDS.—An eligible agency that 

25 receives a grant under this section shall provide, toVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9621.IH H9621

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1 ward the cost of the activities assisted under the 

2 grant and from non-Federal sources, an amount 

3 equal to or greater than the amount of the grant. 

4 Such matching amount may be in cash or in-kind 

5 (including leveraged staff time) and shall include 

6 support from business or industry partners of a 

7 school partnership in accordance with the partner8 ship agreement described in subsection (b)(2). 

9 (2) PARTICIPATION OF BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY

10 PARTNER.—In any case where a business or indus11 try partner included in an initial partnership agree12 ment described in subsection (b)(2)(A) withdraws 

13 from a school partnership supported under a grant 

14 under this section, the eligible agency shall notify 

15 the Secretary immediately of the withdrawal and of 

16 the eligible agency’s plan for obtaining a comparable 

17 business or industry partner. 

18 (f) REPORTS.— 

19 (1) ELIGIBLE AGENCY REPORTS.— 

20 (A) INTERIM REPORTS.—By not later than 

21 18 months after receiving a grant under this 

22 section, the eligible agency shall submit a report 

23 to the Secretary demonstrating that the eligible 

24 agency is achieving sufficient progress toward 

25 the goals of the grant. 


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1 (B) FINAL REPORTS.—Each eligible agen2 cy receiving a grant under this section shall 

3 prepare and submit to the Secretary a final re4 port regarding the use of funds for the grant, 

5 including the outcomes of the activities assisted 

6 under the grant, by not later than 90 days after 

7 the end of the grant period. 

8 (2) SECRETARY REPORTS.—The Secretary shall 

9 prepare and submit to Congress, on an annual basis, 

10 a report regarding the grant program under this sec11 tion that includes a summary of the reports received 

12 under paragraph (1) during the preceding year and 

13 the outcomes resulting from the use of grant funds. 

14 SEC. 4. CAREER PATHWAYS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

16 Assistant Secretary of Career, Technical, and Adult Edu17 cation, shall— 

18 (1) administer and manage the career pathways 

19 innovation grants awarded under section 3; 

20 (2) provide technical assistance to eligible agen21 cies preparing grant applications under section 3(b); 

22 and 

23 (3) support career pathways partnership coordi24 nators, or other personnel of eligible agencies that 


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1 have received a grant under section 3, in order to 

2 ensure that— 

3 (A) the eligible agency participates in the 

4 required school partnership; and 

5 (B) the grant results in positive program 

6 outcomes. 

7 (b) DESIGNATED PERSONNEL FOR RURAL AND NA8 TIVE-SERVING APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall des9 ignate not less than 1 employee of the Office of Career, 

10 Technical, and Adult Education who will exclusively sup11 port rural and native-serving eligible agencies with the 

12 preparation of grant applications under section 3(b) and 

13 the development of school partnerships necessary to apply 

14 for and implement a grant under section 3. 

15 SEC. 5. COLLEGE TO CAREER PATHWAYS INNOVATION 

16 GRANT PROGRAM. 

17 Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘PART H—COLLEGE TO CAREER PATHWAYS 

21 INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM 

22 ‘‘SEC. 399A. COLLEGE AND INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS PRO23 GRAM. 

24 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Not later than the end 

25 of the first full fiscal year after the date of enactment of 


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1 the 21st Century Workforce Partnerships Act, from funds 

2 appropriated under section 399B, the Secretaries shall 

3 award competitive grants to eligible entities described in 

4 subsection (b) for the purpose of developing, offering, im5 proving, and providing educational or career training pro6 grams for students, including working students. The 

7 grants shall be awarded for periods of 3 years and may 

8 be renewed for 1 additional 2-year period, if the eligible 

9 entity demonstrates sufficient progress in achieving the 

10 goals of the initial grant period. 

11 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 

12 ‘‘(1) PARTNERSHIPS WITH EMPLOYERS OR AN

13 EMPLOYER OR INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP.— 

14 ‘‘(A) GENERAL DEFINITION.—For pur15 poses of this section, an ‘eligible entity’ means 

16 any of the entities described in subparagraph 

17 (B) (or a consortium of any of such entities) in 

18 partnership with an employer or an employer or 

19 industry partnership representing multiple em20 ployers. 

21 ‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION OF ENTITIES.—The en22 tities described in this subparagraph are— 

23 ‘‘(i) a community college; 

24 ‘‘(ii) a 4-year public institution of 

25 higher education (as defined in section 


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1 101(a)) that offers 2-year degrees, and 

2 that will use funds provided under this sec3 tion for activities at the certificate and as4 sociate degree levels; 

5 ‘‘(iii) a Tribal College or University 

6 (as defined in section 316(b)); 

7 ‘‘(iv) an apprenticeship college (as de8 fined as an institution partnership that is 

9 registered under the Act of August 16, 

10 1937 (commonly known as the ‘National 

11 Apprenticeship Act’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.) 

12 and is an institution of higher education 

13 (as defined in section 101(a))); or 

14 ‘‘(v) a public or private nonprofit, 2- 

15 year institution of higher education (as de16 fined in section 102) in the Commonwealth 

17 of Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States 

18 Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Com19 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Is20 lands, the Republic of the Marshall Is21 lands, the Federated States of Micronesia, 

22 or the Republic of Palau. 

23 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL PARTNERS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL

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1 ployers or an employer or industry partnership 

2 representing multiple employers as described in 

3 paragraph (1)(A), an entity described in para4 graph (1) may include in the partnership de5 scribed in paragraph (1) one or more of the or6 ganizations described in subparagraph (B). 

7 Each eligible entity that includes one or more 

8 such organizations shall collaborate with the 

9 State board or local board in the area served by 

10 the eligible entity. 

11 ‘‘(B) ORGANIZATIONS.—The organizations 

12 described in this subparagraph are as follows: 

13 ‘‘(i) A provider of adult education (as 

14 defined in section 203 of the Adult Edu15 cation and Family Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 

16 3272)) or an institution of higher edu17 cation (as defined in section 101). 

18 ‘‘(ii) A community-based organization. 

19 ‘‘(iii) A joint labor-management part20 nership. 

21 ‘‘(iv) A State board or local board. 

22 ‘‘(v) A State higher education board. 

23 ‘‘(vi) An elementary school or sec24 ondary school, as defined in section 8101 


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1 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965. 

3 ‘‘(vii) Any other organization that the 

4 Secretaries consider appropriate. 

5 ‘‘(c) EDUCATIONAL OR CAREER TRAINING PRO6 GRAM.—For purposes of this section, the Governor of one 

7 of the States in which at least 1 of the entities described 

8 in subsection (b)(1)(B) of an eligible entity is located, 

9 shall establish criteria for an educational or career train10 ing program leading to a recognized postsecondary creden11 tial that leads to higher subsequent employment and job 

12 quality for which the eligible entity submits a grant pro13 posal under subsection (d). 

14 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a 

15 grant under this section shall submit an application con16 taining a grant proposal, for an educational or career 

17 training program leading to a recognized postsecondary 

18 credential, to the Secretaries at such time and containing 

19 such information as the Secretaries determine is required, 

20 including— 

21 ‘‘(1) a detailed description of— 

22 ‘‘(A) the extent to which the educational or 

23 career training program described in the grant 

24 proposal aligns with— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an overall strategic plan devel2 oped by the eligible entity; 

3 ‘‘(ii) a statewide, regional, or local 

4 workforce development plan in existence at 

5 the time of the application, including a 

6 plan established under the Workforce Inno7 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

8 3101 et seq.) or the Carl D. Perkins Ca9 reer and Technical Education Act of 2006 

10 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); 

11 ‘‘(iii) in-demand industry sectors or 

12 occupations, as defined by the State or 

13 designated governing board, as appro14 priate, or postsecondary credit leading to a 

15 degree or certification in a career pathway; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(iv) goals and measurement used to 

18 define progress toward student outcomes 

19 in existence on the date of submission, 

20 which may align with the Carl D. Perkins 

21 Career and Technical Education Act of 

22 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), and the 

23 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

24 (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the program will 

2 meet the needs of employers in the area for 

3 skilled workers in in-demand industry sectors or 

4 occupations; 

5 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the program will 

6 meet the educational or career training needs of 

7 students in the area; 

8 ‘‘(D) the specific educational or career 

9 training program and how the program meets 

10 the criteria established under subsection (e), in11 cluding the manner in which the grant will be 

12 used to develop, offer, improve, and provide the 

13 educational or career training program; 

14 ‘‘(E) any previous experience of the eligible 

15 entity in providing educational or career train16 ing programs, the absence of which shall not 

17 automatically disqualify an eligible institution 

18 from receiving a grant under this section; 

19 ‘‘(F) how the program leading to the cre20 dential meets the criteria described in sub21 section (c); and 

22 ‘‘(G) how attaining the credential will help 

23 participants reach higher subsequent employ24 ment and job quality; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) a detailed plan on how the entity will en2 sure that the program will meet the performance 

3 measures described in subsection (g), and an assur4 ance that the entity will annually submit to the Sec5 retary of Education information on the performance 

6 of the program on the performance measures de7 scribed in subsection (g). 

8 ‘‘(e) CRITERIA FOR AWARD.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants under this section 

10 shall be awarded based on criteria established by the 

11 Secretaries, that include the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) A determination of the merits of the 

13 grant proposal submitted by the eligible entity 

14 involved to develop, offer, improve, and provide 

15 an educational or career training program to be 

16 made available to students. 

17 ‘‘(B) An assessment of the likely employ18 ment opportunities available in the area to indi19 viduals who complete an educational or career 

20 training program that the eligible entity pro21 poses to develop, offer, improve, and provide. 

22 ‘‘(C) An assessment of prior demand for 

23 training programs by individuals eligible for 

24 training and served by the eligible entity, as 

25 well as availability and capacity of existing (as 


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1 of the date of the assessment) training pro2 grams to meet future demand for training pro3 grams. 

4 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

5 section, the Secretaries shall give priority to eligible 

6 entities that— 

7 ‘‘(A) include a partnership, with an em8 ployer or an employer or industry partnership, 

9 that— 

10 ‘‘(i) pays a portion of the costs of 

11 educational or career training programs; 

12 ‘‘(ii) agrees to hire individuals who 

13 have attained a recognized postsecondary 

14 credential resulting from the educational or 

15 career training program of the eligible en16 tity; or 

17 ‘‘(iii) includes an educational entity 

18 that has sought and received bonding au19 thority to fund partnerships program; 

20 ‘‘(B) enter into a partnership with a labor 

21 organization or labor-management training pro22 gram to provide, through the program, tech23 nical expertise for occupationally specific edu24 cation necessary for a recognized postsecondary 


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1 credential leading to a skilled occupation in an 

2 in-demand industry sector or occupation; 

3 ‘‘(C) are focused on serving individuals 

4 with barriers to employment, students who are 

5 veterans, spouses of members of the Armed 

6 Forces, individuals who are basic skills defi7 cient, and first-generation college students; 

8 ‘‘(D) include in the partnership any entity 

9 serving areas with high unemployment rates; 

10 ‘‘(E) include in the partnership an institu11 tion of higher education eligible for assistance 

12 under this title or title V; and 

13 ‘‘(F) ensure geographic diversity, including 

14 appropriate representation of rural areas. 

15 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded under 

16 this section shall be used for one or more of the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) The development, offering, improvement, 

18 and provision of educational or career training pro19 grams, that provide relevant job training for skilled 

20 occupations, that lead to recognized postsecondary 

21 credentials, that will meet the needs of employers in 

22 in-demand industry sectors or occupations, and that 

23 may include registered apprenticeship programs, on24 the-job training programs, and programs that supVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9621.IH H9621

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1 port employers in upgrading the skills of their work2 force. 

3 ‘‘(2) The development and implementation of 

4 policies and programs to expand opportunities for 

5 students to earn a recognized postsecondary creden6 tial, including a degree, in in-demand industry sec7 tors or occupations, including by— 

8 ‘‘(A) facilitating the transfer of academic 

9 credits between institutions of higher education, 

10 including the transfer of academic credits for 

11 courses in the same field of study; 

12 ‘‘(B) expanding access to college-level, 

13 transferable coursework, which may include co14 ordination related to transfers of credit between 

15 institutions or common course numbering or 

16 use of a general core curriculum; 

17 ‘‘(C) developing or enhancing student sup18 port services programs; and 

19 ‘‘(D) establishing policies and processes for 

20 assessing and awarding course credit for work21 related learning. 

22 ‘‘(3) The creation of career pathways programs 

23 that provide a sequence of education and occupa24 tional training that leads to a recognized postsecVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9621.IH H9621

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•HR 9621 IH

1 ondary credential, including a degree, including pro2 grams that— 

3 ‘‘(A) blend basic skills and occupational 

4 training; 

5 ‘‘(B) facilitate means of transitioning par6 ticipants from non-credit occupational, basic 

7 skills, or developmental coursework to for-credit 

8 coursework within and across institutions; 

9 ‘‘(C) build or enhance linkages, including 

10 the development of dual or concurrent enroll11 ment programs and early college high schools, 

12 between secondary education or adult education 

13 programs (including programs established 

14 under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech15 nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 

16 et seq.) and title II of the Workforce Innovation 

17 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3271 et seq.)); 

18 ‘‘(D) are innovative programs designed to 

19 increase the provision of training for students, 

20 including students who are members of the Na21 tional Guard or Reserves, to enter skilled occu22 pations in in-demand industry sectors or occu23 pations; 

24 ‘‘(E) support paid internships that will 

25 allow students to simultaneously earn credit for 


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•HR 9621 IH

1 work-based learning and gain relevant employ2 ment experience in an in-demand industry sec3 tor or occupation, which shall include opportu4 nities that transition individuals into employ5 ment; and 

6 ‘‘(F) develop competency-based education 

7 programs that offer an outcome-oriented ap8 proach through which recognized postsecondary 

9 credentials are awarded based on successful 

10 demonstration of skills and proficiency. 

11 ‘‘(4) The development and implementation of— 

12 ‘‘(A) a Pay-for-Performance program that 

13 leads to a recognized postsecondary credential, 

14 for which an eligible entity agrees to be reim15 bursed under the grant primarily on the basis 

16 of achievement of specified performance out17 comes and criteria agreed to by the Secretary 

18 of Education; or 

19 ‘‘(B) a Pay-for-Success program that leads 

20 to a recognized postsecondary credential, for 

21 which an eligible entity— 

22 ‘‘(i) enters into a partnership with an 

23 investor, such as a philanthropic organiza24 tion that provides funding for a specific 

25 project to address a clear and measurable 


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•HR 9621 IH

1 educational or career training need in the 

2 area to be served under the grant; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) agrees to be reimbursed under 

4 the grant only if the project achieves speci5 fied performance outcomes and criteria 

6 agreed to by the Secretary of Education. 

7 ‘‘(5) The development of a multiple measures of 

8 job quality dashboard that experiments with dif9 ferent metrics to measure job quality. 

10 ‘‘(g) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education 

12 shall establish performance measures for the pro13 grams carried out under this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) MEASURES.—The performance measures 

15 shall consist of— 

16 ‘‘(A) indicators of performance, including 

17 the number of program participants who are in 

18 unsubsidized employment during the second 

19 quarter after exit from the program; 

20 ‘‘(B) a level of performance for each indi21 cator described in subparagraph (A); and 

22 ‘‘(C) analysis of the income of program 

23 participants during the second quarter after 

24 exit from the program compared to the dis25 tribution of earnings across the workforce in 


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•HR 9621 IH

1 the State and the region during that same time 

2 period. 

3 ‘‘(3) MONITORING PROGRESS.—The Secretary 

4 of Education shall monitor the progress of eligible 

5 entities that receive grants under this section in en6 suring that their programs meet the performance 

7 measures. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 399B. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap10 propriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

11 the program established by section 399A. Funds appro12 priated under this subsection shall remain available until 

13 the end of the 5th full fiscal year after the date of enact14 ment of the 21st Century Workforce Partnerships Act. 

15 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE COST.—Not more than 5 per16 cent of the amounts made available under subsection (a) 

17 may be used by the Secretaries for Federal administration 

18 of the program established by section 399A, including pro19 viding technical assistance and carrying out evaluations 

20 for such program. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 399C. DEFINITIONS. 

22 ‘‘In this part: 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘basic skills defi24 cient’, ‘in-demand industry sector or occupation’, ‘in25 dividual with a barrier to employment’, ‘local board’, 


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•HR 9621 IH

1 ‘recognized postsecondary credential’, and ‘State 

2 board’ have the meanings given the terms in section 

3 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

4 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

5 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com6 munity college’ has the meaning given the term ‘jun7 ior or community college’ in section 312(f). 

8 ‘‘(3) EDUCATIONAL OR CAREER TRAINING PRO9 GRAM.—The term ‘educational or career training 

10 program’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) a program that supports career path12 ways, as defined in section 3 of the Workforce 

13 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

14 3102); or 

15 ‘‘(B) a program that involves integrated 

16 education and training, as defined in section 

17 203 of the Adult Education and Family Lit18 eracy Act (29 U.S.C. 3272). 

19 ‘‘(4) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘Secretaries’ 

20 means the Secretary of Education in coordination 

21 with the Secretary of Labor.’’. 

Æ 


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