II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 790 

To amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

2006 to encourage innovation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2017 

Mr. HATCH (for himself and Mr. BENNET) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to encourage innovation, 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 ‘‘Innovation for Tomor5 row’s Workforce Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INNOVATION FUND. 

7 Section 114 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech8 nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2324) is amend9 ed— 


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1 (1) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(6) INNOVATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) GRANT PROGRAM.—To identify and 

5 support innovative strategies and activities to 

6 improve career and technical education and 

7 align workforce skills with labor market needs, 

8 the Secretary may award grants, by using 

9 early-phase, mid-phase, and expansion grants, 

10 to eligible entities to— 

11 ‘‘(i) create, develop, implement, or 

12 take to scale evidence-based, field-initiated 

13 innovations, including through a pay for 

14 success initiative to improve student out15 comes in career and technical education, 

16 which may include activities that— 

17 ‘‘(I) improve career and technical 

18 education outcomes of students served 

19 by eligible entities under this title; 

20 ‘‘(II) improve career and tech21 nical education teacher effectiveness; 

22 ‘‘(III) improve the transition of 

23 students from secondary education to 

24 postsecondary education, apprentice25 ships, or employment; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) improve the incorporation 

2 of comprehensive work-based learning 

3 into career and technical education; 

4 ‘‘(V) increase the effective use of 

5 technology within career and technical 

6 education programs; 

7 ‘‘(VI) support new models for in8 tegrating academic content, career 

9 and technical education, and pre-ap10 prenticeship and apprenticeship con11 tent in such programs; 

12 ‘‘(VII) support the development 

13 and enhancement of innovative deliv14 ery models for career and technical 

15 education; 

16 ‘‘(VIII) work with industry to de17 sign and implement courses or pro18 grams of study aligned to labor mar19 ket needs in new or emerging fields; 

20 ‘‘(IX) integrate science, tech21 nology, engineering, and mathematics 

22 fields, including computer science edu23 cation, with career and technical edu24 cation; 


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1 ‘‘(X) support innovative ap2 proaches to career and technical edu3 cation by redesigning the high school 

4 experience for students, which may in5 clude evidence-based transitional sup6 port strategies for students who have 

7 not met postsecondary education eligi8 bility requirements; 

9 ‘‘(XI) improve career and tech10 nical education concentrator employ11 ment outcomes in nontraditional 

12 fields; or 

13 ‘‘(XII) support the use of career 

14 and technical education programs and 

15 career and technical programs of 

16 study in a coordinated strategy to ad17 dress identified employer needs and 

18 workforce shortages, such as short19 ages in the early childhood, elemen20 tary school, and secondary school edu21 cation workforce; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) rigorously evaluate such innova23 tions. 

24 ‘‘(B) MATCHING FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRED.— 

2 Except as provided under clause (ii), to re3 ceive a grant under this paragraph, an eli4 gible entity shall demonstrate that match5 ing funds will be provided, through cash or 

6 in-kind contributions, from public or pri7 vate sources in an amount equal to not less 

8 than 25 percent of the funds provided 

9 under such grant. 

10 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary 

11 may waive the matching fund requirement 

12 under clause (i) if the eligible entity dem13 onstrates exceptional circumstances. 

14 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant 

15 under this paragraph, an eligible entity shall 

16 submit to the Secretary, at such time as the 

17 Secretary may require, an application that— 

18 ‘‘(i) identifies and designates the 

19 agency, institution, or school responsible 

20 for the administration and supervision of 

21 the program assisted under this paragraph; 

22 ‘‘(ii) provides an assurance that 

23 matching funds will be obtained before im24 plementation of the grant; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) describes how the eligible entity 

2 will use the grant funds, including how 

3 such funds will directly benefit students, 

4 including special populations, served by the 

5 eligible entity; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) describes how the program as7 sisted under this paragraph will be coordi8 nated with the activities carried out under 

9 section 124 or 135. 

10 ‘‘(D) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants 

11 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall give 

12 priority to applications from eligible entities 

13 that will predominantly serve students from 

14 low-income families. 

15 ‘‘(E) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—In award16 ing grants under this paragraph for a fiscal 

17 year, the Secretary shall award not less than 25 

18 percent of the total amount of funds available 

19 for such fiscal year to eligible entities proposing 

20 to fund career and technical education activities 

21 that serve— 

22 ‘‘(i) a local educational agency with 

23 an urban-centric district locale code of 32, 

24 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the 

25 Secretary; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an institution of higher education 

2 primarily serving one or more areas served 

3 by such a local educational agency; 

4 ‘‘(iii) a consortium of such local edu5 cational agencies or such institutions of 

6 higher education; 

7 ‘‘(iv) a partnership between— 

8 ‘‘(I) an educational service agen9 cy or a nonprofit organization; and 

10 ‘‘(II) such a local educational 

11 agency or such an institution of high12 er education; or 

13 ‘‘(v) a partnership between— 

14 ‘‘(I) a grant recipient described 

15 in clause (i) or (ii); and 

16 ‘‘(II) a State educational agency. 

17 ‘‘(F) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity 

18 that is awarded a grant under this paragraph 

19 shall use the grant funds in a manner con20 sistent with subparagraph (A)(i). 

21 ‘‘(G) EVALUATION.—Each eligible entity 

22 receiving a grant under this paragraph shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) provide for an independent eval24 uation of the activities carried out using 

25 such grant; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) submit to the Secretary an an2 nual report that includes— 

3 ‘‘(I) a description of how funds 

4 received under this paragraph were 

5 used; 

6 ‘‘(II) the performance of the eli7 gible entity with respect to, at a min8 imum, the performance indicators de9 scribed in section 113(b)(2), as appli10 cable, and disaggregated by— 

11 ‘‘(aa) subgroups of students 

12 described in section 

13 1111(c)(2)(B) of the Elementary 

14 and Secondary Education Act of 

15 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(c)(2)(B)), 

16 as amended by the Every Stu17 dent Succeeds Act (Public Law 

18 114–95); 

19 ‘‘(bb) special populations; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(cc) as appropriate, each 

22 career and technical education 

23 program and career and technical 

24 education program of study; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) a quantitative analysis of 

2 the effectiveness of the project carried 

3 out under this paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(H) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘el6 igible entity’ means a consortium that 

7 meets the following requirements: 

8 ‘‘(I) The consortium includes one 

9 or more of the following: 

10 ‘‘(aa) A local educational 

11 agency. 

12 ‘‘(bb) An educational service 

13 agency. 

14 ‘‘(cc) An area career and 

15 technical education school. 

16 ‘‘(dd) A postsecondary edu17 cational institution receiving 

18 funds under this Act. 

19 ‘‘(ee) A State educational 

20 agency. 

21 ‘‘(ff) The Bureau of Indian 

22 Education. 

23 ‘‘(gg) A State apprenticeship 

24 agency or apprenticeship sponsor. 


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1 ‘‘(II) The consortium may also 

2 include regional, State, or local public 

3 or private organizations or employers, 

4 including community-based organiza5 tions. 

6 ‘‘(III) The consortium is led by 

7 an entity, or partnership of entities, 

8 described in subclause (I) and identi9 fied as the leader of the eligible entity 

10 in its application submitted under 

11 subparagraph (C). 

12 ‘‘(ii) PAY FOR SUCCESS INITIATIVE.— 

13 The term ‘pay for success initiative’ has 

14 the meaning given that term in section 

15 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

16 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

17 ‘‘(I) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA18 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro19 priated such sums as may be necessary to carry 

20 out this paragraph.’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘(except for 

22 subsection (d)(6))’’ after ‘‘section’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. OPEN EDUCATION RESOURCES. 

2 (a) STATE LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES.—Section 

3 124(c) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu4 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2344(c)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (16)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

6 after the semicolon; 

7 (2) in paragraph (17), by striking the period at 

8 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(18) making all forms of instructional content 

11 widely available, which may include use of open edu12 cational resources;’’. 

13 (b) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.—Section 135(c) of the 

14 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

15 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2355(c)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (19)(D), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

17 after the semicolon; 

18 (2) by redesignating paragraph (20) as para19 graph (23); and 

20 (3) by inserting after paragraph (19) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(20) to make all forms of instructional content 

23 widely available, which may include use of open edu24 cational resources;’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. PAY-FOR-SUCCESS. 

2 (a) STATE LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES.—Section 

3 124(c) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu4 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2344(c)), as amended by 

5 section 3, is further amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(19) supporting pay for success initiatives (as 

8 defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec9 ondary Education Act of 1965); and’’. 

10 (b) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.—Section 135(c) of the 

11 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

12 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2355(c)), as amended by section 3, is 

13 further amended by inserting after paragraph (20) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(21) to support pay for success initiatives (as 

16 defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec17 ondary Education Act of 1965);’’. 

18 SEC. 5. WORK-BASED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND AP19 PRENTICESHIPS. 

20 (a) STATE LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES.—Section 

21 124(c) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu22 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2344(c)), as amended by 

23 sections 3 and 4, is further amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: 

25 ‘‘(20) providing or supporting work-based learn26 ing opportunities, which may include employer-led 


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1 training resulting in a recognized credential and ap2 prenticeship programs.’’. 

3 (b) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.—Section 135(b)(3) of 

4 the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act 

5 of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2355(b)(3)) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘which may include work-based learning experiences’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘which may include work-based learning oppor8 tunities, such as employer-led training resulting in a rec9 ognized credential and apprenticeship programs’’. 

10 SEC. 6. JOINT DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. 

11 (a) EVALUATIONS.—Section 114(d)(2)(B) of the Carl 

12 D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 

13 (20 U.S.C. 2324(d)(2)(B)) is amended— 

14 (1) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

15 semicolon; 

16 (2) in clause (vii), by striking the period and in17 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(viii) the effectiveness of projects au20 thorized under paragraph (7), including 

21 whether such projects achieved intended 

22 outcome goals and improved the quality 

23 and alignment of career and technical edu24 cation and workforce education and train25 ing programs.’’. 


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1 (b) JOINT DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—Section 

2 114(d) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu3 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2324(d)), as amended by 

4 section 2, is further amended by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(7) JOINT PROJECTS.—The Secretary, under 

7 the authority provided under subparagraph (5), and 

8 the Secretary of Labor, under the authority provided 

9 under sections 156 and 171 of the Workforce Inno10 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3206, 3226), 

11 are authorized to carry out, in consultation with the 

12 Director, joint experimental, research, pilot, or dem13 onstration projects regarding integrated, aligned, co14 ordinated, and effective career and technical edu15 cation and workforce education and training pro16 grams in order to address employment and training 

17 needs.’’. 

18 SEC. 7. COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION. 

19 Section 135(c) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

20 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2325(c)), as 

21 amended by sections 3 and 4, is further amended by in22 serting after paragraph (21) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(22) expanding opportunities for students to 

2 participate in competency-based education programs; 

3 and’’. 

Æ 


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