I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7355 

To direct the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the Secretary 

of Health and Human Services, to award competitive grants to eligible 

partnerships to establish, expand, or support career and technical education programs of study in early childhood education. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2024 

Ms. KUSTER (for herself, Ms. BONAMICI, Mrs. CHAVEZ-DEREMER, and Mr. 

LAWLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education, in coordination with 

the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to award 

competitive grants to eligible partnerships to establish, 

expand, or support career and technical education programs of study in early childhood education. 

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 ‘‘Early Childhood Work5 force Advancement Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL 

2 EDUCATION PROGRAMS OF STUDY IN EARLY 

3 CHILDHOOD EDUCATION. 

4 (a) GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary 

5 of Education, in coordination with the Secretary of Health 

6 and Human Services, shall award grants, on a competitive 

7 basis, to eligible partnerships for the purpose of estab8 lishing, supporting, or expanding career and technical edu9 cation programs of study in early childhood education. 

10 (b) GRANT DURATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

12 grant awarded under this section may not exceed a 

13 5-year grant period. 

14 (2) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may extend 

15 the grant period for an eligible partnership for not 

16 more than 1 additional 2-year period if the eligible 

17 partnership demonstrates to the Secretary that the 

18 eligible partnership— 

19 (A) is achieving the program objectives for 

20 which the eligible partnership is receiving the 

21 grant; and 

22 (B) has improved education outcomes for 

23 students participating in the programs funded 

24 by such grant, including special populations. 

25 (c) APPLICATION.—To be considered for a grant 

26 under this section, an eligible partnership shall submit an 


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1 application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

2 and containing such information as the Secretary may re3 quire, including— 

4 (1) a description of how the eligible partnership 

5 will use such grant to establish, support, or expand 

6 a career and technical education program of study 

7 in early childhood education; 

8 (2) a description of the roles and responsibil9 ities of each partner of the eligible partnership; 

10 (3) the grant budget, how the partnership will 

11 fund necessary expenses for the career and technical 

12 education program of study described in paragraph 

13 (1), which will not be covered by the grant (such as 

14 any funds to be provided by State, local, or private 

15 entities), and how the eligible partnership will con16 tinue the program after the grant period ends; 

17 (4) a description of how the grant will directly 

18 benefit students, including special populations, 

19 served by the eligible partnership; 

20 (5) a description of how such career and tech21 nical education program of study will be coordinated 

22 with the activities carried out under section 124 or 

23 135 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

24 Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2344; 2355); 


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1 (6) a description of how the program reflects 

2 the needs of regional, State, or local employers, as 

3 demonstrated by the local comprehensive needs as4 sessment under section 134(c) of Carl D. Perkins 

5 Career and Technical Education Act of 2006; 

6 (7) a description of how the program will ben7 efit the child care industry and early childhood edu8 cation workforce; 

9 (8) an assurance that the eligible partnership 

10 will— 

11 (A) provide information to the Secretary of 

12 Education, as requested, for evaluations that 

13 the Secretary may carry out; and 

14 (B) make data available to third parties 

15 for validation, in accordance with applicable 

16 data privacy laws, including section 444 of the 

17 General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 

18 1232g, commonly known as the ‘‘Family Edu19 cational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’’); 

20 (9) a description on how the program will in21 clude curriculum and practical training opportunities 

22 focused on infant and toddler development and the 

23 learning and development of infants or toddlers with 

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1 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

2 1432)); and 

3 (10) a description, if applicable, about how the 

4 program will respond to the needs or goals identified 

5 by the applicable State in the statewide needs as6 sessment or statewide strategic plan developed, up7 dated, or implemented for purposes of a preschool 

8 development grant under section 9212 of the Every 

9 Student Succeeds Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 note). 

10 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec11 tion, the Secretary, jointly with the Secretary of Health 

12 and Human Services, shall— 

13 (1) ensure an equitable national geographic dis14 tribution of the grants; 

15 (2) award grants to applicants that propose to 

16 serve communities in rural areas and to applicants 

17 that propose to serve communities in urban areas; 

18 (3) give priority to applicants located in areas 

19 with a documented shortage of childcare providers; 

20 (4) give priority to applicants that include an 

21 institution of higher education with a program of 

22 study in early childhood education or a consortium 

23 of such institutions; and 

24 (5) give priority, if applicable, to applicants 

25 that demonstrate, in the application submitted under 


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1 subsection (c) for a grant under this section, that 

2 the program to be funded with such grant will re3 spond to the needs or goals identified by the applica4 ble State in the statewide needs assessment or state5 wide strategic plan developed, updated, or imple6 mented for purposes of a preschool development 

7 grant under section 9212 of the Every Student Suc8 ceeds Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 note). 

9 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—Each eligible partnership re10 ceiving a grant under this section shall use such grant to 

11 establish, support, or expand career and technical edu12 cation programs of study in early childhood education, 

13 which shall include one or more of the following: 

14 (1) curriculum development and delivery, in15 cluding classroom instruction, work-based learning, 

16 support attainment of dual or concurrent enrollment 

17 credits, industry credentials such as a Child Devel18 opment Associate, a preapprenticeship, and an ap19 prenticeship through career and technical student 

20 organizations; 

21 (2) supporting the recruiting, hiring, and train22 ing of effective educators in early childhood edu23 cation, including educators who became certified 

24 through State and local alternative routes to certifi25 cation; 


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1 (3) improving career and technical education 

2 outcomes of students served by the eligible partner3 ship through activities such as— 

4 (A) supporting the development and en5 hancement of innovative delivery models for ca6 reer and technical education-related work-based 

7 learning (including school-based simulated work 

8 sites, mentoring, apprenticeship programs, work 

9 site visits, job shadowing, project-based learn10 ing, and skills-based and paid internships); and 

11 (B) providing academic and nonacademic 

12 wrap-around supports and services, including 

13 advising, tutoring, test preparation, child care 

14 assistance, transportation, and financial assist15 ance (which may include scholarships or sti16 pends), during the period in which such stu17 dents— 

18 (i) complete a Child Development As19 sociate credential, early childhood edu20 cation associate degree program, or bacca21 laureate degree program, as applicable; 

22 (ii) access and complete State licen23 sure or certification examinations; or 


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1 (iii) receive opportunities to practice 

2 and develop teaching in early childhood 

3 education; and 

4 (4) creating or expanding recruitment, reten5 tion, or professional development activities for career 

6 and technical education teachers, faculty, school 

7 leaders, administrators, specialized instructional sup8 port personnel, career guidance and academic coun9 selors, and paraprofessionals, which may include— 

10 (A) high-quality teacher mentoring by ex11 perienced teachers in early childhood education; 

12 (B) providing resources and training to im13 prove instruction for, and provide appropriate 

14 accommodations to, special populations, includ15 ing the unique needs of teaching in rural or 

16 urban communities; 

17 (C) the integration of coherent and rig18 orous academic content standards and career 

19 and technical education curricula, including 

20 through opportunities for appropriate academic 

21 and career and technical education teachers to 

22 jointly develop and implement curricula and 

23 pedagogical strategies; 


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1 (D) providing resources or assistance with 

2 meeting State teacher licensure and credential 

3 requirements; 

4 (E) implementing initiatives that increase 

5 compensation for early childhood educators who 

6 attain a Child Development Associate creden7 tial, or an associate or baccalaureate degree in 

8 early childhood education; or 

9 (F) training for career guidance and aca10 demic counselors at the secondary level to im11 prove awareness of postsecondary education and 

12 postsecondary career options in early childhood 

13 education, and improve the ability of such coun14 selors to communicate to students career oppor15 tunities and employment trends in early child16 hood education. 

17 (f) EVALUATION AND ANNUAL REPORT.—Each eligi18 ble partnership receiving a grant under this section shall 

19 provide for an independent evaluation of the activities car20 ried out using such grant and submit to the Secretary an 

21 annual report that includes— 

22 (1) a description of how funds received under 

23 this section were used; and 

24 (2) the performance of the career and technical 

25 education program of study funded with such grant 


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1 with respect to, at a minimum, the performance in2 dicators described under section 113 of the Carl D. 

3 Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

4 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2323), as applicable, and 

5 disaggregated— 

6 (A) by subgroups of students described in 

7 section 1111(c)(2)(B) of the Elementary and 

8 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 6311(c)(2)(B)); and 

10 (B) by each special population; and 

11 (3) a quantitative analysis of the effectiveness 

12 of such program. 

13 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) CHILD CARE PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘child 

15 care provider’’ has the meaning given such term in 

16 section 658H(i) of the Child Care and Development 

17 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858f(i)). 

18 (2) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.—The term 

19 ‘‘early childhood education program’’ has the mean20 ing given the term in section 103 of the Higher 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003). 

22 (3) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

23 recipient’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

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1 nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 

2 2302(21)(A)). 

3 (4) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘eligi4 ble partnership’’ means a partnership between or 

5 among— 

6 (A) an eligible recipient; and 

7 (B) one or more of the following: 

8 (i) An institution of higher education 

9 with a program of study in early childhood 

10 education or a consortium of such institu11 tions. 

12 (ii) A child care provider. 

13 (iii) A community stakeholder relevant 

14 to a career and technical education pro15 grams of study in early childhood edu16 cation to be funded under this section, in17 cluding a labor organization, a local or re18 gional business or industry, or a local 

19 workforce development board. 

20 (iv) A Child Care Resource and Refer21 ral Organization (as described in section 

22 658E(c)(3)(B)(iii) of the Child Care and 

23 Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

24 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(3)(B)(iii)). 


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1 (v) A staffed family child care net2 work. 

3 (5) PERKINS TERMS.—Except as otherwise pro4 vided, any term used in this Act that is defined in 

5 section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech6 nical Education Act of 2006 has the meaning given 

7 that term in such section. 

8 (6) STAFFED FAMILY CHILD CARE NETWORK.— 

9 The term ‘‘staffed family child care network’’ means 

10 a nonprofit organization— 

11 (A) that may be a component of a child 

12 care resource and referral organization; 

13 (B) that has at least one paid staff mem14 ber; and 

15 (C) that offers evidence-based professional 

16 development, quality improvement support, 

17 business support, and technical assistance, in18 cluding on achieving licensure as a child care 

19 provider, to family child care providers. 

Æ 


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