I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3259

To provide effective training and education programs for displaced homemakers, single parents, and individuals entering nontraditional employment. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 8, 2003

Ms. HART (for herself and Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL

To provide effective training and education programs for 

displaced homemakers, single parents, and individuals 

entering nontraditional employment.

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 ‘‘Pathways to Advance 

5 Training Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND FINDINGS. 

7 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

8 assistance to States for preparatory services, education 

9 and training programs, support service assistance, and re-
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1 ferral services to displaced homemakers, single parents, 

2 and individuals pursuing nontraditional occupations. Such 

3 assistance will create workforce pathways for individuals 

4 in transition and help meet the employment needs of a 

5 high skilled, high wage information technology economy. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) A high quality, productive, and diverse 

8 workforce is necessary to compete in the global econ9 omy. 

10 (2) There are approximately 15,000,000 dis11 placed homemakers and single parents in the United 

12 States for whom the pathway to employment and 

13 economic independence requires education and train14 ing services. 

15 (3) The education and training needs of dis16 placed homemakers, single parents, and individuals 

17 pursuing nontraditional occupations are not suffi18 ciently met through existing systems. 

19 (4) Displaced homemakers and single parents 

20 represent an untapped resource to enter unfilled po21 sitions in the information technology sector. 

22 (5) Employment in information technology and 

23 high skill, high wage nontraditional careers offers 

24 wages and advancement opportunities to help fami25 lies achieve economic independence. 
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1 (6) Vocational education programs continue to 

2 be highly sex-segregated resulting in a dearth of fe3 male students filling the pipeline for jobs in the 

4 growing high-skill high-wage labor market, especially 

5 in the areas of technology and the skilled trades. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Except as otherwise specified in this Act, as used in 

8 this Act: 

9 (1) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION.—The 

10 term ‘‘community-based organization’’ means a pub11 lic or private nonprofit organization of demonstrated 

12 effectiveness that—

13 (A) is representative of a community or 

14 significant segments of a community; and 

15 (B) provides educational or related services 

16 to individuals in the community. 

17 (2) DISPLACED HOMEMAKER.—The term ‘‘dis18 placed homemaker’’ means an individual who has 

19 been providing unpaid services to family members in 

20 the home and who—

21 (A) has been dependent on the income of 

22 another family member but is no longer sup23 ported by that income; and 
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1 (B) is unemployed or underemployed and 

2 is experiencing difficulty in obtaining or up3 grading employment. 

4 (3) ELIGIBLE STATE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘eli5 gible State agency’’ means a State board designated 

6 or created as the State agency responsible for the 

7 administration of vocational and technical education 

8 in the State. 

9 (4) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

10 recipient’’ means a community-based organization, 

11 an area vocational school, a local educational agency, 

12 a postsecondary vocational institution, or other enti13 ties that have demonstrated ability to meet the edu14 cation and training needs of displaced homemakers, 

15 single parents and students in secondary and post16 secondary programs preparing for nontraditional 

17 training and employment. 

18 (5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

19 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

20 such term in section 14101 of the Elementary and 

21 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801). 

22 (6) NONTRADITIONAL EMPLOYMENT.—The 

23 term ‘‘nontraditional employment,’’ refers to occupa24 tions or fields of work for which individuals from 

25 one gender comprise less than 25 percent of the in-
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1 dividuals employed in each such occupation or field 

2 of work. 

3 (7) PREPARATORY SERVICES.—The term ‘‘pre4 paratory services’’ means services, programs, or ac5 tivities designed to assist individuals who are not en6 rolled in education or training programs in the selec7 tion of, or preparation for participation in, an appro8 priate education or training program, such as—

9 (A) services, programs, or activities related 

10 to outreach in the recruitment of potential stu11 dents; 

12 (B) career and personal counseling and life 

13 skills development; 

14 (C) vocational assessment and testing; and 

15 (D) other appropriate services, programs, 

16 or activities. 

17 (8) POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL INSTITU18 TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary vocation institu19 tion’’ has the same meaning given such term in sec20 tion 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

21 (20 U.S.C. 1002(c)). 

22 (9) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec23 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

24 section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

25 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801). 
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1 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

2 means the Secretary of Education. 

3 (11) SELF-SUFFICIENCY STANDARD.—The term 

4 ‘‘self-sufficiency standard’’ is a measure of how 

5 much income families need to cover their basic costs 

6 without subsidies. It uses a consistent methodology 

7 that calculates the costs of living and working (in8 cluding taxes) based upon sub-state geographic loca9 tion, family size and composition. 

10 (12) SINGLE PARENT.—The term ‘‘single par11 ent’’ means an individual who is unmarried and—

12 (A) has a minor child or children for which 

13 the parent has either custody or joint custody; 

14 or 

15 (B) is pregnant. 

16 (13) SERVICES.—The term ‘‘services’’ means 

17 services such as transportation, child care, depend18 ent care, and needs based payment, that are nec19 essary to enable an individual to participate in edu20 cation and training activities. 

21 SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

22 The Secretary of Education is authorized to provide 

23 grants to States to enable such States to develop or en24 hance programs described in section 8. 
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1 SEC. 5. ALLOCATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall allot funds to 

3 the States under this Act based on the ratio of the popu4 lation between the ages of 16 and 64 of each State to 

5 the total population between the ages of 16 and 64 in all 

6 of the States. 

7 (b) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds provided 

8 under this Act shall be used to supplement not supplant 

9 other Federal, State, and local public funds expended to 

10 provide services to displaced homemakers, single parents, 

11 and students pursuing nontraditional occupations. 

12 SEC. 6. STATE PLAN. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible State agency shall 

14 prepare and submit to the Secretary a plan for a 5-year 

15 period, together with such annual revisions as the eligible 

16 State agency determines to be necessary. 

17 (b) REVISIONS AND REVIEW.—Each eligible State 

18 agency shall—

19 (1) submit such annual revisions of the plan to 

20 the Secretary as the eligible State agency determines 

21 to be necessary; and 

22 (2) after the second year of the 5-year State 

23 plan, conduct a review of activities assisted under 

24 this Act and submit any revisions of the State plan 

25 that the eligible State agency determines necessary 

26 to the Secretary. 
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1 (c) PLAN DEVELOPMENT.—The eligible State agency 

2 may develop the State plan in consultation with experts, 

3 students in displaced homemaker, single parent, and non4 traditional training programs, and any other individual 

5 the State considers necessary. 

6 (d) PLAN CONTENTS.—The State plan shall include 

7 information that—

8 (1) describes the preparatory services and voca9 tional and technical education activities to be as10 sisted that are designed to assist single parents, dis11 placed homemakers, and students pursuing non12 traditional training and employment; 

13 (2) describes the process for soliciting competi14 tive applications and the criteria that will be used by 

15 the eligible State agency in awarding eligible recipi16 ents funds under this Act; 

17 (3) describes how comprehensive professional 

18 development will be provided; 

19 (4) describes how the eligible State agency 

20 will—

21 (A) annually evaluate the effectiveness of 

22 such programs; and 

23 (B) coordinate such programs to ensure 

24 non-duplication with other existing Federal pro25 grams; 
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1 (5) provides assurances that the eligible State 

2 agency will comply with the requirements of this Act 

3 and the provisions of the State plan, including the 

4 provision of a financial audit of funds received under 

5 this Act which may be included as part of an audit 

6 of other Federal or State programs; 

7 (6) provides assurances that none of the funds 

8 expended under this Act will be used to acquire 

9 equipment (including computer software) in any in10 stance in which such acquisition results in a direct 

11 financial benefit to any organization representing 

12 the interests of the purchasing entity, the employees 

13 of the purchasing entity, or any affiliate of such an 

14 organization; 

15 (7) describes how the eligible State agency will 

16 measure and report the progress of the students who 

17 are served pursuant to this Act, including—

18 (A) single parent and displaced home19 maker’s participation in and completion of a vo20 cational and technical education program; 

21 (B) student participation in and comple22 tion of vocational and technical education pro23 grams that lead to nontraditional training and 

24 employment; 
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1 (C) single parent and displaced home2 maker’s attainment of a secondary school di3 ploma or its recognized equivalent; 

4 (D) single parent and displaced home5 maker’s placement in postsecondary education 

6 or advanced training, placement in military 

7 service, or placement in employment; 

8 (E) student placement in nontraditional 

9 employment; and 

10 (F) single parent and displaced home11 maker’s participation in and completion of ca12 reer and technical education programs that will 

13 prepare them to earn wages equal to or greater 

14 than that determined by the self sufficiency 

15 standard; 

16 (8) describes how the eligible State agency will 

17 provide eligible recipients with technical assistance; 

18 and 

19 (9) describes the methods proposed for the joint 

20 planning and coordination of programs carried out 

21 under this Act with other Federal programs. 

22 (e) PLAN OPTION.—The eligible State agency may 

23 fulfill the requirements of subsection (d) by submitting a 

24 plan under section 123 of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational 

25 and Technical Education Act of 1998 (20 U.S.C. 2343). 
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1 (f) PLAN APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall consider 

2 a plan or revision of a State plan approved, unless the 

3 Secretary determines, within 120 days of submission, that 

4 the State plan, or revision, respectively, does not meet the 

5 requirements of this section. 

6 SEC. 7. ACCOUNTABILITY. 

7 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es8 tablish activities, in coordination with the State perform9 ance accountability system, to assess the effectiveness of 

10 the State in achieving progress of career and technical 

11 education in serving single parents, displaced homemakers 

12 and individuals pursuing nontraditional training and em13 ployment, and to maximize the return on investment of 

14 Federal funds. 

15 (b) CORE INDICATORS OF PERFORMANCE.—Each eli16 gible State agency shall identify in the State plan the proc17 ess used to collect data on the core indicators of perform18 ance from eligible recipients that include, at a minimum, 

19 measures of each of the following: 

20 (1) Participation and completion in a pre21 paratory services program. 

22 (2) Participation in and completion of career 

23 and technical education programs that lead to non24 traditional training and employment. 
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1 (3) Attainment of a secondary school diploma 

2 or its recognized equivalent, a proficiency credential 

3 in conjunction with a secondary school diploma, or 

4 a postsecondary degree or credential. 

5 (4) Placement in, retention in, and completion 

6 of, postsecondary education or advanced training, 

7 placement in military service, or placement or reten8 tion in employment. 

9 (5) Placement in nontraditional employment. 

10 (c) ANNUAL REPORT BY STATE AGENCY.—Each eli11 gible State agency shall transmit to the Secretary an an12 nual report of data compiled in accordance with Section 

13 7(b) disaggregated by gender, race, age, disability, na14 tional origin, ethnicity, and English proficiency status. 

15 The eligible State agency may fulfill the requirements of 

16 reporting for core indications in paragraphs (2) through 

17 (5) of subsection (b) by submitting a report under section 

18 113(c)(2) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical 

19 Education Act of 1998 (20 U.S.C. 2324). 

20 (d) ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY.—The 

21 Secretary shall transmit to Congress annually a national 

22 report that describes the extent to which the purposed of 

23 the Act are being achieved. 
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1 SEC. 8. PROGRAMS FOR SINGLE PARENTS, DISPLACED 

2 HOMEMAKERS, AND NONTRADITIONAL EM3 PLOYMENT. 

4 Except as provided in section 8(a), each State may 

5 use funds provided under section 9 only to—

6 (1) provide programs for single parents and dis7 placed homemakers, including—

8 (A) subsidies, reimbursement, tuition as9 sistance, or payment for preparatory services 

10 necessary educational materials (including 

11 books and supplies), career guidance and coun12 seling services, and support services; 

13 (B) information to inform individuals of 

14 career and technical education and training 

15 programs, related support services, and coun16 seling; 

17 (C) program services, counseling, and ac18 tivities to prepare individuals to attain market19 able skills for employment that will lead to eco20 nomic self-sufficiency; 

21 (2) provide programs for secondary and post22 secondary student pursuing nontraditional training 

23 and employment, including—

24 (A) programs, preparatory services, coun25 seling, tuition assistance and activities that will 

26 provide individuals with the skills to pursue 
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1 education and training in nontraditional ca2 reers, including information technology and 

3 other high skill and high wage careers; 

4 (B) programs services, counseling, profes5 sional development, and activities to—

6 (i) increase awareness of nontradi7 tional occupations; and 

8 (ii) to ensure a fair and respectful 

9 learning environment for all career and 

10 technical education students, particularly 

11 those preparing for nontraditional employ12 ment; and 

13 (C) replicable model programs that in14 crease participation, completion, and placement 

15 rates of individuals in nontraditional employ16 ment. 

17 SEC. 9. WITHIN STATE ALLOCATION AND ADMINISTRATION. 

18 (a) RESERVATION FOR STATE ACTIVITIES.—From 

19 the amounts allocated under section 5, not more than 5 

20 percent shall be reserved for State administration. 

21 (b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Each eligible State 

22 agency receiving funds made available under section 5(a), 

23 shall match, from non-Federal sources and on a dollar24 for-dollar basis, the funds received under section 9. 
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1 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—Any State desiring to partici2 pate in a program authorized by this Act shall assign not 

3 less than one individual within the appropriate agency es4 tablished to administer vocational education programs 

5 within the State to assist in fulfilling the purposes of this 

6 Act by—

7 (1) administering the program of vocational 

8 education described in section 7; 

9 (2) gathering, analyzing, and disseminating 

10 data on the adequacy and effectiveness of vocational 

11 education programs in the State as described in sec12 tion 6; 

13 (3) developing the State plan described in sec14 tion 6; 

15 (4) providing technical assistance and profes16 sional development in expanding vocational opportu17 nities for students pursuing nontraditional occupa18 tions and single parents, and displaced homemakers; 

19 (5) managing the distribution of funds pursu20 ant to section 6; 

21 (6) monitoring the use of funds distributed to 

22 recipients under such programs; and 

23 (7) evaluating the effectiveness of programs and 

24 activities supported by such funds. 
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1 (d) COMPETITIVE AWARDS.—The administrator as2 signed under subsection (c) shall—

3 (1) on a competitive basis, provide grants to eli4 gible recipients; and 

5 (2) ensure that each grant is for a program 

6 that is of sufficient size, scope, and quality to be ef7 fective. 

8 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

10 this Act, $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2005 and such sums 

11 as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 

12 years.

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